Bush Blitz scheme to run 3 more years as BHP Billiton and Government commit $6m each  

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Bush Blitz on Flinders Island in March 2014 Image credit: flickr User: Simon Grove

The Bush Blitz scheme — the world’s first continent-scale nature discovery project responsible for unearthing 700 new Australian plant and animal species — has been extended until 2017 via a funding deal involving the government and the mining company BHP Billiton.

Bush Blitz on Flinders Island in March 2014 Image credit: flickr User: Simon Grove
Bush Blitz on Flinders Island in March 2014
Image credit: flickr User: Simon Grove

According to the article on The Guardian, BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities and The Australian Government will contribute $6 million each, allowing the program — which involves expedition teams conducting flora and fauna surveys across Australia — to run until 2017.

A pioneering partnership between the Australian Government, BHP Billiton Sustainable Communities and Earthwatch Australia, the Bush Blitz II program will build on the success of the first stage of the program, which lasted between 2010 and 2013, and is expected to deepen the scientific knowledge of the country’s unique plants and animals.

BHP Billiton committed A$3.9 million to the first stage of the program, which brings its total investment in the program to almost A$10 million.

“BHP Billiton supports a range of initiatives around the world that make a positive contribution to the environment and benefit the broader community. This unique partnership combines BHP Billiton’s commitments to biodiversity, environment and the communities in which operate. That’s why we’ve extended our partnership with Bush Blitz by providing funding for the second phase of the program,” said Mike Henry, President for HSE, Marketing and Technology at BHP Billiton, in a press release.

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“The partnership reflects BHP Billiton’s community strategy — engagement, inclusiveness and participation.  This is reflected in the passion and enthusiasm of our employees who volunteer on the expeditions, and then share their knowledge and insight with colleagues in the workplace.”

Jo Harding, manager of the Bush Blitz program, told Guardian Australia she was “ecstatic” the initiative was remaining at a time when the government was cutting back spending in several areas.

“It shows that government and industry can work together to fund something that couldn’t be achieved otherwise,” she said.

Earthwatch Australia CEO, Professor David McInnes, said the Bush Blitz partnership to discover, document and describe Australia’s unique flora and fauna is providing essential information to help manage and protect some of Australia’s most fragile and precious ecosystems.

“Bush Blitz surveys have already located more than 350 species listed as threatened, vulnerable or endangered, and more than 700 species of weeds and feral animals,” Professor McInnes said.

“Bush Blitz is a great example of citizen science, where teachers and BHP Billiton employees help world-class scientists to conduct their research in the field. These expeditions are life-changing experiences that transform how participants think about science and biodiversity.”