Who is the Wilderness Society?

The Wilderness Society is a national, community-based, environmental advocacy organisation whose purpose is protecting, promoting and restoring wilderness and natural processes across Australia for the survival and ongoing evolution of life on Earth.

The Wilderness Society works through the avenues of public education and empowerment, advocacy and negotiation, and desk and field research. The Wilderness Society is politically unaligned, but uses democratic processes to maximise wise conservation decisions.

The Wilderness Society values passion for our purpose, the power of people to make change, organisational independence and integrity, compassion in dealing with our staff and others, and a commitment to success in protecting the environment.

The Wilderness Society supports indigenous people's land and sea rights, and is committed to proper and detailed consultation with affected indigenous people before and during campaigns to protect wilderness and biological diversity.

Established in 1976, The Wilderness Society is a not-for-profit, non-government organisation. The vast majority of our funding is provided by members who pay membership and regular donations to support our work. Other funds come from public fundraising, bequests and donations, and online and retail sales of campaign merchandise. See our annual reports.

The Wilderness Society comprises a number of separately incorporated organisations and has Campaign Centres located in all state capital cities, Cairns and Launceston.

From these centres, we undertake research, policy development, campaigning and community outreach activities to help protect nature.

Two national offices, in Hobart and Melbourne, handle membership servicing, national fundraising projects, communications, and business operations.  This includes the production of our magazine, Wilderness News, and our wilderness calendar and diary.

Some Campaign Centres also operate a retail shop, as a source of funds for their campaigns. These shops operate within an ethical buying policy that is based on minimal impact on the environment and encouraging support for, and knowledge of, current environment issues.

While our offices and Campaign Centres are of varying size and function, all operate largely through the efforts of volunteers - people of all ages, from all walks of life, who give their time and energy on many projects. These include: running information stalls, painting banners, field surveys, conducting public meetings, raising funds, working on office tasks, serving in our shops, writing submissions to government inquiries - or just using their energy and enthusiasm to get others involved.

If you have the interest, energy and some spare time, do the planet a favour and visit your local Wilderness Society Campaign Centre - they'll give you a warm welcome!