Will you help the Carlisle Heath recover from the 2026 bushfires?
The CEC is an ACNC-registered charity and all donations over $2 are tax deductible.
The Carlisle Heath is burning. We need to act before the smoke clears.
We are asking for your help to establish the Otways Bushfire Wildlife and Habitat Recovery Fund.
The fires currently burning in the Carlisle Heath around Gellibrand in the Otway Ranges are large, hot, and very destructive.
As of 30 January 2026, they cover over 11,000 hectares, which is over 100 times the size of Melbourne’s CBD, and five times the area burned in the Wye River fires a decade ago. Their impact will be devastating.
These fires have already had very real impacts on people and property. And alongside these human impacts, a profound ecological crisis is unfolding.
The fires have torn through the Carlisle Heathlands – a landscape of exceptional ecological importance.
This area supports some of the highest recorded densities of small mammals in south-west Victoria and is widely recognised as a critical stronghold for species that have declined dramatically elsewhere.
Our researchers have spent much of the past 10 years studying the Carlisle Heathlands, including the unique flora this area supports and the small mammals, such as the Long-nosed Potoroo who live there. And more recently, working with Traditional Owners to develop a vision for the biocultural management of this “Ground Parrot Country”.
We are asking for your help today to establish the Otways Bushfire Wildlife and Habitat Recovery Fund.
While the full impact of this fire on wildlife and habitat will not be known for some time, this fund will support urgent action to protect surviving wildlife and fund research to inform the long-term recovery of the Carlisle Heathlands and surrounding habitats.
Your support will enable us to respond as soon as we possibly can to this crisis.
The CEC is an ACNC-registered charity and all donations over $2 are tax deductible.
We have the knowledge from our decade of work to act quickly, to help those animals who have survived the fire have the best chance of surviving for the long-term. To minimise the establishment of new pest plants and animals, and more.
The response needs to be rapid, but the recovery will take another decade at least.
And the lessons we learn from how the landscape responded to this fire can be taken and applied elsewhere, ensuring we continue to manage landscapes for resilience into the future.
While the fires are still burning, we will be developing our response and recovery options along with local agencies.
As soon as it is safe to do so we will act.
Fire is an integral part of this landscape, but our research has been focused on how we can ensure this amazing place is resilient to threats such as climate change and more intense bushfires.
And now that time has come.
We know from our research that these fires will have destroyed small mammal habitat, that they are creating hunting grounds for feral foxes and cats, as well as opportunities for other pests such as pig and deer to become established. The fire will open up areas for weeds to colonise, and for the plant pathogen phytophthora to spread to and infect new areas.
Your support today will help heal the heathlands. Donations to the Otways Bushfire Wildlife and Habitat Recovery Fund will support urgent action to protect surviving wildlife and the long-term recovery of the Carlisle Heathlands and surrounding habitats.
The CEC is an ACNC-registered charity and all donations over $2 are tax deductible.
We are establishing the Otways Bushfire Wildlife and Habitat Recovery Fund to get our teams on the ground the moment it is safe to do so.
Your donation will directly fund our research on the ground in these landscapes to ensure recovery efforts are informed by long-term science, which may include:
Provision of habitat pod structures to provide refuge for small mammals.
Informing immediate predator control to protect surviving wildlife.
Installation of remote monitoring cameras so we can assess impacts on small mammal populations, monitor their responses and keep an eye out for predators.
Habitat restoration to prevent permanent loss of unique flora and rehabilitate critical small mammal habitat.
Vital research to build and share knowledge of how to effectively protect and restore these precious heathlands.
Long-term planning and advocacy to support ongoing recovery and ensure we are ready to respond to future events.
We need your help to support and nurture this remarkable place when it’s at its most vulnerable.
The CEC is an ACNC-registered charity and all donations over $2 are tax deductible.
