Adelaide Festival and Wilderlands call on community to help save vital habitat in The Coorong

Adelaide Festival and Wilderlands are asking South Australian audiences and communities to help reach the target of 5,000 square metres of protected critical habitat in the Coorong Lakes region.  

They have already protected 3,424 square meters of vulnerable habitat and since starting with the 2023 Festival, the collaboration has resulted in the safeguarding of 38 bird species and 11 threatened species, marking a significant stride towards preserving Australia's precious biodiversity.

Adelaide Festival Artistic Director, Ruth Mackenzie CBE, and Chief Executive, Kath M Mainland CBE share "Our collaboration with Wilderlands is part of our program to work with artists, audiences and biodiversity experts to help save the beautiful diversity of plants and animals in South Australia. Please join us in this cause, contributing to the protection of Australia's ecosystems, one square meter at a time.”

Adelaide Festival holds deep-rooted values in environmental stewardship and the importance of addressing biodiversity loss. In the Adelaide Festival program, artists from across the world and South Australia are sharing art about issues of climate change, danger to plants, animals, country including free events Create4Adelaide, Floods of Fire, a two-day festival within the Festival, and HARBINGERS:Care or Catastrophe, as well as ticketed events Gondwana VR: the exhibition and world-leading Akram Khan with Jungle Book reimagined.

Wilderlands Chief EXecutive Ash Knop said the leadership shown by Adelaide Festival has attracted global attention among nature markets and biodiversity credit developers, as more organisations recognise that biodiversity loss is detrimental for business and look to innovate ways to make protecting the planet part of their everyday operations.

Knop adds "We speak to businesses every day looking for creative ways they can protect nature as part of their way of working and we always reference the Adelaide Festival partnership as such a relevant way to take action and bring your community on the journey with you.”

Through collective action and commitment, Adelaide Festival aims to create a sustainable future where the richness of our natural world thrives.

Help Adelaide Festival and Wilderlands safeguard 5,000m² of Coorong Lakes habitat. Scan the QR code and claim your free 1m² to take action now.

It’s easy to participate. Simply go to wilderlands.earth/af/ or use the QR code on signs at select Adelaide Festival and Writers’ Week events – sign up via this website by 22nd April and Wilderlands will reserve you a square metre of land for free, with the chance to donate for further square metres you are able to help preserve more land.

The 2024 Adelaide Festival will be held from 1st – 17th March.

Image top credit: Adelaide Festival is asking audiences and communities to help us reach the target of 5,000 square metres of protected critical habitat; image centre :Image credit: Wilderlands Co-Founder Paul Dettmann working alongside Wayne Mark at the Coorong Lakes project as part of their partnership with the Ngarrindjeri people.