Nature Impact Collective funding supports extraordinary organisations with very impressive leaders. Spending time with these leaders in person is gold and our “Hearing from Champions of Inland Waters and Coastlines” event bringing together four organisations funded in 2025 didn’t disappoint.
Each shared updates on their work over the past year, along with the challenges and opportunities they are currently navigating. They emphasised the importance of Nature Impact Collective’s untied funding, highlighting how flexibility to allocate resources where they are most needed promotes staff retention and enables a stronger focus on their core missions.
- Murray Darling Wetlands Working Group CEO Jac McArthur spoke of how they were able to advance critical areas of work that had previously been beyond the reach of their core operating budget. Progress has been made across three key strategic frontiers: developing a framework to measure the social and economic benefits of private wetland restoration in the Basin to complement the investment-grade environmental monitoring already underway; expanding opportunities for storytelling and amplification; and co-designing a Wetland Stewards Network with community.
Looking ahead, they require additional support for the Wetland Stewards Network and delivering their communications plans. - Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists CEO Dr Celine Steinfeld told us they received this funding at a critical time, just as they entered a significant phase of work on the Murray Darling Basin reform. This is the first major opportunity for comprehensive change in more than 12 years, with the potential to set a positive national precedent for water policy.
Looking ahead, they are seeking further support to build more capacity for their Murray Darling Basin reform work as well as advancing the implementation of their 2024 Blueprint to Repair Australia’s Landscapes, a suite of 24 practical actions and investments aimed at restoring the country’s degraded environments. - Funding to the Southern Australian Aboriginal Land and Sea Management Alliance (SAALSMA) has supported their organisational start-up, in response to the aspiration of Aboriginal communities in Southern Australia to work together and play a stronger role in land and sea management. Key to this is the appointment of their inaugural Executive Director, Anne Buchan who joined the meeting along with Emma Lee, Co-Chair of the newly elected SAALSMA board. Anne is working with the board to establish a culturally grounded structure to advance the priorities of First Nations communities with shared platforms and a collective voice .
Looking ahead, SAALSMA needs early stage support as they establish the initiatives to build sustained, long-term outcomes for Country and Nature. - Rainforest Rescue CEO Branden Barber spoke about the crucial role of untied funding in allowing them to shift from operating at capacity to operating with stability and strength, building a foundation to scale restoration impact responsibly and sustainably into the future. They value the ability to plan and deliver long-term outcomes, using their restoration skills and expanded nursery.
Looking forward, a major opportunity is to transition the Daintree Oxbow – a former meander of the Lower Daintree River – from farmland back to wetland. The end of sugarcane farming in the region presents a unique chance to restore critical habitat, enhance ecosystem function, and demonstrate large-scale, nature-positive restoration in practice. $1M has already been secured towards a $8-10M goal.
If you are interested in supporting their work, and would like us to put you in touch with the leaders of any of these organisations, please reach out to our CEO Esther Abram: [email protected]
