Engaging with the community and identifying education opportunities enhance our operational effectiveness by encouraging voluntary compliance.
This year has seen an increased focus on education and engagement activities. We are strengthening relationships with our partners and key stakeholders to deliver education initiatives for the community more broadly.
Engagement in action: Wildlife crime: It’s your call!
Protecting native wildlife is everyone’s responsibility and the community plays a vital role in solving wildlife crime. In May 2024 we partnered with CrimeStoppers Victoria for the Wildlife crime: It’s your call campaign.
We know that while many Victorians care for wildlife, they may not be sure who to report illegal activity to or what details will help us investigate. Recognising the important role that community assistance plays in our investigations, this campaign helped raise awareness and educate the public about the nature and seriousness of native wildlife crime. We encouraged all Victorians to come forward with any information that could help solve cases. The Conservation Regulator has been able to close several wildlife crime cases thanks to community information, including separate matters that were resolved in court involving two men who were investigated and prosecuted following reports from members of the public alleging acts of cruelty and illegal possession of wildlife
The campaign was seen more than two million times in the media, online, in advertising and at community events. There was also a 30 per cent increase in wildlife crime reports to CrimeStoppers compared to the month before the campaign. This was a significant outcome for both agencies, and we will continue to seek new ways to build community awareness about wildlife crime.
All wildlife is protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure, or interfere with them without authorisation, with maximum penalties of $46,154 and/or two years in jail.
Report wildlife crime to CrimeStoppers Victoria
crimestoppersvic.com.au/report-a-crime or call 1800 333 000
Kids’ education
The Conservation Regulator recognises the importance of promoting a connection to wildlife and our forests with children. This year we published several primary school education resources including lesson plans. The primary school lesson plans are linked to the Victorian curriculum. The lesson plans for years one to six aim to educate students on:
- The importance of looking after the environment
- The rules that exist to protect our native plants and animals
- The role that they play in preserving the cultural and natural heritage of Victoria’s landscapes.
The importance of Victoria’s forests and wildlife are explored through videos, printable resources, outdoor activities, and play. The resources aim to support students to understand more about forests and wildlife and to understand the rules through lessons such as Looking After Places, Keeping the Wild in Wildlife and Physical Activities and Our Environment.
Find out more and view materials
cool.org/unit/guardians-of-nature-environmental-protection-in-action
Teaching kids sustainable camping with a-maze-ing activities
Engagement in action
To help make sure our youngest campers learn about protecting our forests and wildlife, the Conservation Regulator created the Visiting Victoria’s forests and parks activity book for kids.
Over summer, our Authorised Officers visited hundreds of campsites and handed out activity books to kids of all ages to help them learn about campfire safety, protecting native wildlife, and the importance of taking rubbish home. At the end of the book, kids are rewarded with a Junior Forest and Wildlife Officer badge sticker.
These activity books are designed to help kids (and their family) learn safe, responsible camping behaviours with a variety of fun activities, such as mazes, crosswords, and colouring-in. The book also features kid-friendly tips on how to protect the environment while camping.
Creating accessible brochures for culturally and linguistically diverse communities
Breaking language barriers
Some of our brochures are now available in other languages, commonly spoken by campers, recreational users and other visitors to forests across the state.
We are committed to providing accessible information to all Victorians and visitors to our state. This includes anyone from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Translated brochures give those who do not have English as a first language a better chance of understanding what they can and can’t do on public land.
These brochures are helping remove communication barriers, while also making our forests more accessible. They also help us manage risks associated with public land use.
Conservation Matters
Conservation Matters is a quarterly newsletter sent out to hundreds of subscribers (stakeholders and community members) to inform them about priority projects, seasonal compliance issues, education opportunities and regulation changes. This platform also allows us to offer more detailed information and a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the work we do.
In our 2023–2024 newsletters, key topics of focus were campfire safety, responsible firewood sourcing, operational and legal milestones and outcomes, and guidance for permit and licence holders.
Subscribe to Conservation Matters
signup.e2ma.net/signup/1982849/1927755/
Events
Each year, the Conservation Regulator attends community events across Victoria. These are important opportunities to engage directly with the public and educate the community about what we do and why.
Island Whale Festival
30 June – 2 July 2023, Phillip Island, Gippsland
Great Outdoor and 4x4 Expo
24 – 26 November 2023, Sale, Gippsland
Victorian 4WD Show
18 February 2024, Lardner Park, Gippsland
VHS Reptile and Amphibian Expo
9 March 2024, Melbourne, Port Phillip
Open Roads Rally
1 – 4 March 2024, Broadford, Hume
Wimmera Machinery Field Days
March 2024, Longerenong, Grampians
The Pet Show
13 – 14 April 2024, Melbourne Port Phillip
BirdLife Australia National Beach-nesting Birds Conference
May 2024, Anglesea, Barwon South West
Continuing our work with Traditional Owners
Rights to access natural resources
The Conservation Regulator in conjunction with representatives from Taungurung Land and Waters Council ran an information session at Alexandra for environmental regulators on Taungurung Land and Waters Council members exercising their traditional rights to access natural resources. The session was attended by our co-regulators in Game Management Authority, Victoria Fisheries Authority, Parks Victoria, and Forest and Fire Operations Division.
The session covered context and legal authority enabling Taungurung people to utilise their traditional rights over natural resources, the activities they plan to undertake, initial geographic areas where the activities will take place, steps for an Authorised Officer to undertake when encountering a Taungurung member exercising their rights, determining identity of a person claiming to be from Taungurung and key contacts within Taungurung for determining identity if it can’t be verified in the field.
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