3 ways Qudos Bank members are helping protect nature

By simply being a Qudos Bank customer, your banking is helping support local communities, protect nature and look after Australian wildlife.

Since merging with Bank Australia, Qudos Bank customers became members of Bank Australia Limited. As a member, customers support a broader range of initiatives that make a positive difference in the world, including a community grants program. To celebrate Biodiversity Month, here are a few great news stories.

Your banking is backing biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variety of all life on earth. It includes all of the planet’s plants and animals, from the tiniest microbes to the largest mammals, beetles to blue whales, the rainforests to the coral reefs, and the woodlands to the wetlands – and it’s really important. It provides us with the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. It’s the very foundation of our natural world, which half of the planet’s GDP (about $44 trillion dollars’ worth!) depends on.

Unfortunately, biodiversity is under threat around the globe, including right here in Australia, with many animals and plant species at risk of extinction. That’s why action is so important, and why your everyday banking choices are making such a crucial difference.

1. Helping protect over 2,000 hectares of regional landscape

Qudos Bank customers can say they help care for a 2,117-hectare conservation reserve in Western Victoria. The reserve is a group of four properties that are managed in close consultation with environmental organisations, the Country Fire Authority (CFA), neighbouring farmers and local First Nations groups.

The reserve is being restored as a refuge for Australian plants and animals, and records show it’s working. The reserve is now home to over 250 native plant species and over 280 native animal species (nine of which are threatened!). By supporting the recovery of this land, Qudos Bank customers are helping protect this part of our backyard for future generations.

2. Protecting endangered Carnaby’s cockatoos

The Carnaby’s cockatoo is a gentle, joyful, black-and-white bird found only in south-west WA, and sadly, its population is in serious decline. With the help of a community customer grant, Katanning Landcare is hoping to turn that tide.

Working with farmers, volunteers, townsfolk and other organisations, this local not-for-profit has used their grant funding to create nesting boxes (built by local Scouts) and watering stations to ensure the survival of this iconic bird. It’s a powerful example of a country community coming together to protect what matters.

3. Helping to rewild a South Australian property

Up to 90% of native habitat has been lost on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, but The Forktree Project is hoping to reverse that trend. With the help of a community customer grant, this charity is removing invasive species, replanting native vegetation and restoring healthy ecosystems on a 54-hectare block of land.

They also run on-site education programs, inviting schoolchildren, disadvantaged youth, businesses and other local landowners to the property to help share the awareness and skills needed to restore this beautiful part of the country.