Vital Work Appeal 2026
After the rain, the Buffel surges. Your gift this EOFY can hold it at bay.
Station Creek, Witchelina Nature Reserve by Sam Hughes
In a single March night, Witchelina received more rain than fell across all of 2025. The country responded with extraordinary speed — and so did the Buffel.
We’ve been managing Buffel grass at Witchelina since 2014. Twelve years of disciplined work has held it in check across most of the reserve. The March rains have undone a great deal of that work in weeks. We are now facing the largest Buffel outbreak in Witchelina’s history.
The seed has set faster than crews could reach the country due to the rain. The work in front of us now is twofold: control as much standing biomass as possible to reduce fire load and prevent further seed shedding, and retreat emergent growth across the reserve to minimise spread.
This year’s Vital Work Appeal is focused entirely on holding the line.
What your EOFY gift makes possible
A $150,000 collective effort will scale up Buffel control across Witchelina before the outbreak compounds. Your gift directly funds:
- Track repair and grading so crews can reach the worst-affected country.
- Herbicide, equipment, fuel and PPE for ground operations.
- Additional Buffel control crews through the critical treatment window.
- New spray-tech hardware that improves accuracy and record-keeping across the season.
Put another way:
- $60 helps cover 1 hour of Buffel grass spraying labour
- $120 supports complete Buffel management across 1 hectare
- $300 helps repair 2 km of damaged road
- $1,000 covers the additional PPE required to allow the teams to safely treat the Buffel grass
- $6,000 would allow the purchase of new spray-tech hardware and software
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Why Witchelina, and why now
Witchelina covers an area roughly the size of Kangaroo Island — one of the largest private nature reserves in Australia and one of the most ecologically significant arid landscapes in the country.
Buffel outcompetes native vegetation, fuels hotter and faster bushfires, and burns plants that would normally survive — including old-growth trees that have stood for centuries. What we treat in 2026 stays out of the seed bank for years. What we miss compounds, season on season.
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“I consider Buffel grass to be the single greatest invasive threat to our arid ecosystems.
We must work together to stop its spread.
It has had a significant boost in recent rains and presents a significant risk to biodiversity
by competing with local species but also is a very significant fire risk.”
– Jan Ferguson OAM, Chair, Nature Foundation.
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Buffel grass outbreak at Witchelina Nature Reserve, Sam Hughes / Nature Foundation.
Supporting critical needs across Nature Foundation's reserve network
Your contribution to Nature Foundation's annual Vital Work Appeal funds the property maintenance and infrastructure improvements required across our growing network of nature reserves, enabling us to conduct and improve conservation efforts and achieve better results.
It also allows you to see how your support directly helps protect biodiversity and nature, making you a vital part of on-ground conservation efforts.
Managing invasive species and threats is an ongoing task that ensures future generations can enjoy healthy habitats, and your support will secure that legacy.
Your gift before 30 June
Every dollar donated to Nature Foundation before 30 June is tax-deductible. We’ll send your receipt straight away and a consolidated record of your FY26 giving at the start of the new financial year.
Whether you can give $60 or $6,000, your gift goes directly to the on-ground work that protects Witchelina for the long term.
Prefer to support nature month by month?
If protecting Witchelina over the long term matters deeply to you,
you can leave a gift in your Will through our Vision for Nature Society.
Thank you for your ongoing support of Nature Foundation and for helping us keep the Buffel at bay.