Australia Pacific QBE Foundation climate change local grant recipients 2024

• Four $40,000 local grants were awarded by Australia Pacific QBE Foundation to local projects that are helping to address climate change.
• From reducing the human impact of heatwaves to ensuring wetlands remain wet, a number of projects are helping tackle climate change.
• Read on to find out about the work of Positive Change for Marine Life, Murray Darling Wetlands Working Group, Carbon Neutral Charitable Fund and The Karrkad Kanjdji Trust.

Building resilience within communities is at the heart of QBE’s purpose. Why? Because by building resilient communities, we’re all in a better place to embrace change, thrive and succeed.

Resilience comes in many forms. Each year, the Australia Pacific QBE Foundation’s local grants program provides much-needed funding to help new projects that can have a significant impact get off the ground – and help those that are already established to have an even greater impact.

The annual local grants program invites community organisations to apply for a $40,000 grant. Applicants must be registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, be based in Australia or have initiatives in Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific, and address issues within our grant categories.

Through our 2024 grants program, a total of $480,000 has been awarded to 12 community organisations across three categories. Those categories were inclusion, climate resilience and employee choice, where we invited our QBE colleagues to nominate an organisation that’s impacted them or their communities.

Australia Pacific QBE Foundation local grants climate category 2024

The 2024 climate resilience category aims to provide support and mitigation options for communities to become more resilient and prepared for climate impacts. Initiatives can be working to address environmental regeneration, climate change mitigation and disaster preparedness, resilience and recovery.

Each application was assessed by the Australia Pacific QBE Foundation Committee and subject matter experts across multiple rounds, with key criteria including the expected outcome and impact of the initiative, and the long-term impact it could make.

“The impact of our changing climate significantly affects our communities, and for us to build genuine resilience as a global community, we need local projects and initiatives to have impact,” says Chris Esson, Australia Pacific QBE Foundation Chair.

“We were so impressed by the projects that applied for funding this year – from innovative solutions that can have a significant impact to ongoing projects that can help tackle biodiversity challenges, there’s a lot of exceptional work happening in communities that can not only create change in their own right, but set an example for others to follow, too.”

Australia Pacific QBE Foundation local grants climate category recipients 2024

Positive Change for Marine Life

The background

Positive Change for Marine Life is an Australian-based organisation that runs three programs – Waste to Wealth, Fishing for Change and Rewilding our Floodplains – across Australia, India and the Solomon Islands. Each program is designed to help provide cleaner and healthier living conditions for marginalised communities living near the ocean. The grant application for 2024 is to support the Rewilding our Floodplains project on the Brunswick River catchment in Northern New South Wales.

The community need

Pollution, habitat degradation and the impacts of climate change are just three of the ecological threats facing the Brunswick River catchment. As a consequence, coastal wetlands have been severely degraded, reducing the ability to sequester carbon and protect against extreme weather events.

“Recreational pressures and poor land management practices compound these challenges, and the community needs a comprehensive and effective strategy to restore ecosystems, improve water quality and enhance resilience to climate change,” says Community and Partnerships Coordinator Lucy Jepson.

What the grant will be used for

With initial research and community outreach undertaken over the past four years, the grant will be used to continue and evolve the project over the coming years, in partnership with local communities, Traditional Owners and academic institutions. Funding has already been secured for the costs of planting materials and fencing for upcoming restoration sites, and additional funding was sought to support key roles and activities to realise the program’s potential and ensure a long-term impact.

The key resourcing gap lies in funding the Indigenous Ranger activities and the PCFML Coordinator position, and Positive Change for Marine Life believes these roles are critical to the program’s success and sustainability.

“Securing funding for these roles will significantly enhance the program's capacity to deliver long-term, sustainable outcomes,” says Jepson.

“We can help the community be well-prepared to manage the Brunswick River catchment collaboratively. The skills and connections developed through our work will empower residents to continue restoration and conservation efforts, fostering a deep sense of stewardship and resilience, and contributing to the program's continued success.

We’re excited to restore new sites on the Bruns getting us one step closer to creating a landscape-scale wildlife corridor from the mountains to the sea.”

Murray Darling Wetlands Working Group

The background

For more than 30 years, the Murray Darling Wetlands Working Group (MDWWG) and its predecessor, NSW MWWG, has been rehabilitating wetlands through community education, landholder support, and government agency and non-government organisation liaison.

Its focus is to restore and improve the management of the wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin by connecting the local communities and taking a scientific approach. It does this by focusing on key activities such as revegetation, grazing management, pest management and infrastructure to enable improved visitor access.

The community need

Well-managed and rehabilitated wetlands contribute significantly to climate resilience and biodiversity – as well as local economies. When wet, the wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin provide a home to water birds, fish, frogs and turtles.

“Our vision is for community understanding, caring and rehabilitation of wetland environments,” says Sascha Healy, Senior Environmental Water Manager.

“We implement sound, scientifically based restoration works, monitoring and reporting of wetland restoration and management activities, to restore and improve wetland health within the inland catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin.”

What the grant will be used for

The grant will be used for two initiatives that will help enhance wetland resilience and community engagement at two sites in the Murray-Darling Basin – Bottle Bend Reserve and Coomealla Lagoons.

Bottle Bend Reserve offers a place to boat, fish, caravan and camp in the natural surroundings, while the Coomealla Lagoons provide recreational opportunities including walks, bike rides and a quiet place to birdwatch.

At Bottle Bend Reserve, the grant will be used to establish a compliant water meter, which will enable the delivery of metered environmental water to ensure surrounding mature river red gums and black box will be resilient during drought and changing climate. This will help protect existing vegetation for people to enjoy in the future.

At Coomealla Lagoons, meanwhile, the installation of a bird hide allows enthusiastic birdwatchers, as well as school groups and the wider community, to observe waterbirds in a near natural environment without disrupting colonies or disturbing foraging birds.

“This small, multifaceted initiative focuses on showcasing wetland rehabilitation in rural and remote communities,” says Healy.

“Improving wetland conditions through compliant water meter installation to precisely measure environmental flows at Bottle Bend provides opportunities for community involvement in natural resource management, access to green and blue spaces and increased regional tourism. You do not need to be a birdwatcher to use a bird hide. The informative and interactive signage – embedded with QR codes – should appeal to all walks of life.”

Carbon Neutral Charitable Fund

The background

For more than two decades, Carbon Positive Australia has helped communities and individuals take climate action through tree planting and ecosystem restoration initiatives.

The organisation has a number of key programs, including tree planting at two key biodiversity hotspots – the South West of Western Australia, and the Big Scrub area in Northern New South Wales, as well as supporting national community tree planting across the country through its Plant Trees Australia program. It also works with individuals and businesses to calculate their carbon footprint and take action to reduce carbon emissions.

The grant will be used to support a project in Perth, Western Australia, to help address the impacts of urban heat through the establishment of Miyawaki forests.

The community need

“Recent data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) highlighted a concerning trend: extreme weather, particularly heat, is driving up injury-related hospitalisations¹,” explains Catherine Patterson, Head of Partnerships.

“The rise in hospitalisations due to heat is causing serious and disproportionate health risks to our most vulnerable populations. Alongside investments in cooling infrastructure, widespread heat safety education, and improved building insulation, the deployment of urban greening, particularly through the establishment of Miyawaki forests emerges as a potent strategy to reduce heat-related deaths.

What the grant will be used for

Miyawaki forests are planted using specialised planting method that enables trees to reach maturity nearly 10 times faster than conventional reforestation methods. By using this method to establish Miyawaki forests throughout the Perth region, particularly in communities disproportionately affected by urban heat and extreme heatwave events, the natural canopies created contribute to localised extreme heat mitigation temperatures and enhance the wellbeing of impacted communities, and bolster resilience in the aftermath of extreme heatwaves.

The grant will be used to deliver training and educational materials, in partnership with Murdoch University, to teach the Miyawaki technique to groups with on-the-ground planting capacity.

“Currently, the Carbon Positive team has limited capacity to build forests across Perth,” says Patterson. “For more forests to be planted, more forest makers need to be trained in the methodology – by increasing training in the methodology, it increases capacity and benefits.”

The Karrkad Kanjdji Trust

The background

The Karrkad Kanjdji Trust was formed in 2010 by Traditional Owners of the Warddeken and Djelk Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs), and brings together First Nations ranger groups, communities and philanthropists to address some of our nation’s most pressing issues. These include the regeneration of our natural environment, taking action on climate change, creating meaningful and equal employment opportunities, and supporting the continuation of the world’s oldest living culture.

One of the projects supported by the Trust is Warddeken’s Mayh (Species) Recovery Program, which was launched in 2016 to help curb the decline in animal biodiversity within the Warddeken IPA in West Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

The community need

In Australia, significant biodiversity loss has occurred in remote areas, primarily due to invasive plants, feral animals and lapses in land management.

These lapses lead to what is referred to as ‘empty’ or ‘orphaned’ Country: land without its people.

What the grant will be used for

The grant will be used to support the Mayh (Species) Recovery Program, which has been a permanent fixture since 2016.

Led by Bininj (Indigenous) knowledge holders and rangers, the program integrates traditional ecological knowledge with modern conservation techniques to manage threats and enhance the survival of endangered species within the Warddeken IPA – particularly the djabbo (northern quoll), djebuyh (northern brushtail possum), and yirlinkirrkirr (white-throated grasswren), which are all culturally and ecologically significant.

‘We believe that animals… They will feel the footsteps of the right people walking on their Country and they will come back.’ says Terrah Guymala, Traditional Owner of Ngolkwarre, Warddeken ranger, director of Warddeken and alternate director for Karrkad Kanjdji Trust.

'It's a good feeling to know what we have on Country. If only one animal's life is changed, it's all of us saving the big stories of that mayh,' Guymala added.

In addition to the biodiversity response, the program also presents a real and lasting opportunity for Nawarddeken people to engage in meaningful employment and training.

Since its inception, it has generated over 5,000 hours of casual wages across all three outstations where there is typically little employment outside of ranger programs, and almost 50% of rangers involved are women.

QBE Foundation – Helping communities build resilience

As a global business, QBE is proud to be able to help community projects such as these have an impact.

Chris Esson says, “It’s an honour to be in a position to help these organisations build on the exceptional work they’ve already undertaken.

“We’re excited to be supporting these projects over the coming 12 months. We believe they can have a significant impact, and we look forward to seeing the results in due course.”

Learn more about the 2024 local grant recipients in the inclusion and employee choice categories, or visit QBE Foundation to learn more about the work the Foundation does in the community.