Want to help survey Victoria’s forests and wildlife? 

Join our statewide network of citizen scientists and survey volunteers by filling out the form linked below:

VFA Research Wing Signup Form.

Community science for the protection of Victoria’s forests and wildlife

The Victorian Forest Alliance Research Wing is a new statewide community science program building our capacity to document, understand and protect Victoria’s forests, flora and fauna.

The Research Wing will connect ecologists, researchers, experienced surveyors and citizen scientists with VFA member groups and volunteers across Victoria. Together, we’ll undertake threatened species monitoring and ecological surveys, particularly in places where professional ecological monitoring is limited or where important information simply isn’t being collected.

Image: Tristan Pierce

Why do we need it?

The end of VicForests did not mean the end of forest destruction in Victoria.

Native forests continue to be affected by planned burns, roadside clearing, “salvage” operations and other forest management activities. The State Forest By-Products Framework has also created new pathways for timber removed through fire management activities to be sold.

At the same time, Forest Fire Management Victoria is not required to undertake comprehensive ecological surveys before many of these activities occur.

That makes independent, community-led ecological monitoring more important than ever.

VFA member groups have already shown what can be achieved through targeted surveying. Over the past few years, community survey actions have helped secure long-term forest protection, halt destructive operations and expose what is actually happening on the ground.

The Research Wing will take this successful approach to the next level.

What will the Research Wing do?

We will:

• Connect VFA member groups with ecologists and researchers.
• Bring professional ecologists into the field to mentor and train community survey leaders.
• Provide expert-led field training for volunteers.
• Build our capacity to undertake a wider range of flora and fauna surveys.
• Develop consistent survey protocols and systems for collecting and reporting high-quality ecological data. 
• Acquire specialist survey equipment and research permits where required.
• Support surveying in parts of Victoria where ecological monitoring is currently limited.
• Build a statewide network of people who want to contribute their skills, time and knowledge to protecting native forests.

 Image: Tristan Pierce

The Research Wing will build on our knowledge while filling some of the gaps in our current capacity.

A statewide community of forest scientists

The Research Wing is not just about collecting data. It is about building the capacity of the forest protection movement.

There are people across Victoria who want to get involved in ecological surveys but have never had the opportunity, training or equipment to do so. We want to connect those people with experienced surveyors, ecologists and local forest groups.

By creating a statewide surveyor network and running public field surveys and training days, we hope to bring more people into meaningful, hands-on action for Victoria’s forests.

Because one of the best ways to fight the hopelessness of biodiversity loss is to get out into the forest and do something about it.

We would love to have you join us!

Want to help survey Victoria’s forests and wildlife?

Join our statewide network of citizen scientists and survey volunteers by filling out the form linked below:

VFA Research Wing Signup Form.

Images: Tristan Pierce.

Member Groups: Citizen Science 

The VFA is proud to support many citizen science member groups surveying for critically endangered Leadbeater's Possum, endangered Greater Gliders, and other wildlife and threatened species in forests scheduled for logging and planned burns.

Wanting to volunteer and see some of Victoria's unique and threatened wildlife? Get in touch with Wildlife of the Central Highlands, Goongerah Environment Centre, Kinglake Friends of the Forest, or BEAM Mitchell Environment group who run regular events open to new volunteers - no experience required!

If you're unsure of where to start, just email [email protected] and we can point you in the right direction!

VFA Citizen Science Reports Archive

We regularly submit reports of threatened species to the state government.

For more information, see our joint citizen science reports.  

Read some of our reports here. 

Guide: Recording Species Observations in the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas system

This handy video and attached document provide an insight into the stripped-back way to record your own species observations in the VBA system.

Thanks to Michael Smith from the Victorian Forest Survey Group for putting this together.

Guide Document by Michael Smith