The degradation of land and forests around the world means many ecosystems are at severe risk of destruction. In Tasmania, a pioneering experiment is underway to use private money on private property to regenerate an ecologically-significant area.
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00:00In the middle of Tasmania sits a 5,000 hectare private property, known as the coin after
00:11these Jurassic era dolerite cliffs.
00:14The varied landscape is home to mobs of forester kangaroos and endangered animals such as the
00:19Tasmanian devil.
00:22More than a century of sheep grazing has degraded the land.
00:27But in 2021, an unlikely buyer moved in who wanted to restore the land, not farm it.
00:35The coin is a patchwork landscape of areas that are in relatively good condition and
00:40then areas that have been quite degraded.
00:45Wedgetail is a private company investing in projects around the world that conserve valuable
00:50ecosystems.
00:52It's challenging and costly work, made possible by a successful business venture.
00:59Lisa Miller is married to billionaire Cameron Adams, one of the co-founders of Canva, an
01:03online graphic design tool.
01:06We've been able to take some of that capital and we really wanted to deploy it against
01:11our mission which I mentioned before around improving outcomes for biodiversity and nature
01:15loss in conjunction with climate change.
01:20Wedgetail has partnered with the University of Tasmania to test out new technologies.
01:25So we're heading over to Honeysuckle Homestead, which is my study site for my project.
01:34Alice Robbins is using a drone to map an area on the property.
01:39Here they're doing a bit of work on the creek system behind us, doing some replantings to
01:43help increase landscape connectivity.
01:45So we're going to map that over the next two years and just see what we can pull out of
01:48it and hopefully show what you can do with drones to map active land management works.
01:55The university says its role is to provide the supporting science.
02:00But the chance to say how can you make a difference to a whole landscape, to whole animal populations,
02:07that's a fantastic opportunity and as a university we're interested in being able to operate
02:11at that scale because it's pressingly what the planet needs.
02:15Wedgetail says it won't lock the coin up away from the public.
02:19Bushwalks, educational opportunities and on-site accommodation are all in the works so people
02:23can interact with the environment.