Welcome to the Woodland Recovery Initiative

The Woodland Recovery Initiative is a world-class environmental project proposed by the University of Adelaide to halt the loss of animal and plant species in the Mount Lofty Ranges and help combat the effects of climate change.

The University’s property at Glenthorne, south of Adelaide, will be the focal point for the initiative, providing research and teaching facilities for scientists, technicians, teachers and managers to drive habitat reconstruction across the Mt Lofty region and save the region’s wildlife from imminent extinction.

Research at Glenthorne and elsewhere across the Mt Lofty Ranges will help scientists to produce habitats that support the region’s wildlife. Glenthorne will also allow urban communities – including school groups and local residents – to be engaged in this work.

Species extinction is predicted to be severe in the Mt Lofty Ranges, with 50% of woodland bird species facing regional extinction because there is not enough native vegetation to support them.

Ten species are already extinct in the Mt Lofty Ranges and a further 60 species continue to decline in number. Climate change will exacerbate these losses.

The initiative aims to provide long-term environmental and social gains for the local community, the State and the nation.