Landholders who have a conservation covenant on the title of their property (sometimes known as “covenantors”) have taken on the responsibility of managing their land for nature.

As with many things, the enthusiasm of landholders to continually manage their land in ways that benefit biodiversity is driven in large part by why they got involved in the first place, and stay involved (their motivations) and how satisfied they are with participating (satisfaction).

Following a similar study in South Africa, our group has helped develop and send out a survey on motivations and satisfaction to covenantors across Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania, in conjunction with members of the Australian Land Conservation Alliance. It is part of a broader initiative to better understand how landholders feel about participating in private land conservation initatives, and will help guide the development of these programmes.

A summary of the results will be made available early next year, so stay tuned…

Oh, and if you are a covenantor in NSW, Victoria or Tasmania and you have been sent a link to the survey, we politely urge you to fill it out and have your say!