Earlier this year the Nature Media Centre was formed to shine a spotlight on Australia’s environmental crisis. While public support for nature protection is high, the majority of the community don’t appreciate the scale of the biodiversity loss problem, so they are not yet demanding the level of action required to conserve our continent’s unique natural heritage.
Established by the Biodiversity Council, Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA) and Pew Charitable Trusts, the Centre works with journalists and others to increase awareness and translate that to pressure on policymakers.
“The Biodiversity Council was established three years ago to be an evidence-based voice for nature, for species and biodiversity. We can put the best possible science and recommendations to governments, but until they feel enough public demand to act, we won’t see the level of response required. To generate that bottom-up pressure we need nature issues and their solutions reaching the public every day. That is why we need the Nature Media Centre,” said Biodiversity Council Lead Councillor Professor Brendan Wintle from the University of Melbourne.
Recognising the urgency and need, Nature Impact Collective funded the Biodiversity Council in early 2025 with the flexibility to apply funding to the Nature Media Centre.
The Biodiversity Council’s 2025 Biodiversity Concerns Report shows that a significant majority of people believe that nature is still in reasonably good state, while the Threatened Species Index shows that the average abundance of Australian threatened mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs and plants has fallen to less than half since 2000.
Addressing the decline comes down to political will and resources. “We spend around $35 billion a year on our pets and just the GST from this spending would allow us to ensure we don’t lose any more species here in Australia,” said Brendan. “Our budget for biodiversity conservation is around 1/20th of what is spent on conserving animals and plants in Germany and France, and they’ve already lost many of their species.”
The inaugural Director of the Nature Media Centre, Erin Farley, is faced with a rapidly changing media landscape in Australia, with 161 outlets closing in the 5 years leading up to 2024. With fewer general reporters and far fewer specialist environmental journalists, the Nature Media Centre can make nature-focussed coverage more viable and meaningful.
One of the big challenges facing the Nature Media Centre is communicating the bad news about biodiversity loss without turning more consumers off news because it’s perceived as too negative. “The concept of ‘news avoidance’ is particularly strong when it comes to nature stories,” said Erin. “Essentially, if we are presenting new scientific findings, it needs to be done in a way that doesn’t switch people off. We need to help news do the tricky thing of establishing the problem but not leaving people feeling overwhelmed about environmental disaster and clicking off the story.”
A key strategy is to find and promote relatable spokespeople, and tell solutions-focussed stories. The Centre has made a strong start on establishing a database of spokespeople for nature. It already features more than 150 champions – experts in nature-based issues from all walks of life – scientists, wildlife carers, nature restorers and community advocates. The Centre builds confidence and storytelling skills within this cohort, enabling them to effectively step into the media landscape.
“The most exciting thing is to see just how many amazing, talented people there are in communities across the country and being able to help them connect with media in a more impactful way to bring these messages to Australians,” said Erin. “It is via the trusted voices of local champions, experts and First Nations people that we can effectively communicate environmental issues and counter dis- and misinformation.”
The Nature Media Centre was launched with funding from Biodiversity Council, the Pew Charitable Trust and ALCA.
Nature Impact Collective was pleased to support the Biodiversity Council with $450,000 in our 2025 Funding Round.
$750,000 is required to complete the rollout of the Nature Media Centre beyond its pilot programs. We invite interested funders to reach out directly to [email protected]
Resources: 2025 Biodiversity Concerns Report: A survey of community attitudes toward nature conservation. March 2025.
Photo: Biodiversity Councillor Professor Carolyn Hogg ©University of Sydney