Several Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island groups will make good use of bushfire recovery grants stemming from a partnership between Landcare Australia and wildlife organisation WIRES.

The Wildlife Relief and Recovery grants program has awarded $1.185 million to 64 organisations around Australia, including 13 in South Australia.

Three Kangaroo Island groups tackling different aspects of bushfire recovery and habitat rehabilitation received grants.

They were: Eco Action for its After the Fires KI wildlife recovery project; Kangaroo Island Conservation Landowners Association, for capacity building in nature conservations skills; and Kangaroo Island Wildlife Network for Monitoring bats and pygmy-possums during recovery from the summer fires.

The Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association and Trees for Life also received grants.

The Landcare Australia and WIRES partnership is all about implementing immediate response, recovery and resilience building projects for wildlife in bushfire and drought impacted communities across Australia.

The grants program will provide networks and groups additional support to coordinate and fund projects to maximise the impact of their contribution to recovery efforts and strengthen outcomes for wildlife.

It was made possible due to the unprecedented volume of donations to WIRES from within Australia and around the world following the Black Summer bushfires.

Projects include rainforest revegetation, installation of nest boxes to replace destroyed tree hollows for decimated native species, feeding programs for endangered wildlife, management of invasive weeds, erosion control and protection of our waterways and aquatic habitat.

WIRES CEO Leanne Taylor says this initiative in partnership with Landcare Australia has highlighted the remarkable diversity of projects and activities being undertaken by groups nationally.

"This program is an excellent example of how we can use donations to support grassroot community organisations to make a real difference and deliver positive outcomes for our wildlife now and in the future.”

Landcare Australia CEO Dr Shane Norrish applauded the overwhelming response to the grants program, citing the extraordinary commitment landholders and community environmental groups display towards the relief and recovery of bushfire and drought-impacted regions across the country.

Image by zhugher from Pixabay