Impact Report
Director
A word from our Director
Picture the sunlight piercing the rainforest canopy, gently lighting the forest floor below, the sound of a river spilling over the sandstone, the feeling of a fresh morning breeze… It sounds like a meditation voiceover – in actual fact it’s a snapshot of some of the days we call work, and the places we work to protect.
This year the team has covered more ground than any year prior – continuing to contribute towards land protected under conservation agreements, reduce project impacts, and implement novel survey solutions and mitigation measures.
I am deeply grateful that we are able to do such purpose driven work, even more so with the group of people that work at Lodge. Together, we are a small but mighty force, creating a legacy across our projects that we can be proud of.
Looking ahead, I am excited for the positive impact we’ll continue to make across our projects, with our team and with our clients, not to mention numerous big-ticket announcements to come in the 25/26 financial year. Stay tuned.
Impact Highlights
Through Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements and Vegetation Management Plans, we have helped to conserve, protect, and improve the biodiversity of this land.
Through our 1% for the Planet donations and other fundraising, we have proudly supported Great Eastern Ranges & Seatrees.
Every year, our team participates in a planting day to help revegetate Critically Endangered Robertson Rainforest on private property in Kangaloon.
Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements are now the company’s largest project-based revenue stream.
Avoidance
One of our missions is to improve the way humans operate within our environment. Where impacts to native flora and fauna occur, our role is to reduce them as much as possible. Through our involvement in development projects this year, we have avoided impacts to 59,000 m² of native vegetation, including:
- 376 Ziera granulata individuals (endangered)
- Yellow-bellied Glider feed trees (vulnerable)
- Melaleuca biconvexa individuals (vulnerable)
- Themeda grassland on seacliffs and coastal headlands (endangered ecological community)
Hollow-bearing trees are incredibly important for our native fauna, in NSW at least 174 animal species rely on tree hollows.
When impacts to these habitat features cannot be avoided, installing replacement habitat is a crucial mitigation measure.
This year, our trained tree-climbing ecologists installed 67 carved hollows.
Where appropriate, we prefer the use of carved hollows as opposed to traditional nest boxes. Our climbing team is trained in using the Hollow-Hog tool to carve custom artificial hollows. You can watch our hollow carving video here to learn more.
Creating Habitat
Breakdown of revenue by project type
This year saw a 58% increase in revenue from BSA work when compared to
2023/2024. To have 40% of our revenue come from conservation work is an
achievement we are hugely proud of. Our goal is that our proportion of
conservation work will continue to grow.
Glossary
BSA: Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements
BDAR: Biodiversity Development Assessment Report
REF: Review of Environmental Factors
MP: Management Plan
VMP: Vegetation Management Plan
BMP: Bushland Management Plan
FFA: Flora and Fauna Assessment
FA: BSA Feasibility Assessment
ECO: Ecological Constraints and Opportunities
Out of Office
After a busy 2023/2024 year, the team was in need of some rest and relaxation. Of course, the perfect way to unwind as an ecologist is some time offline and in the bush – with no work and no distractions.
This year Lodge partnered with Unyoked to prescribe each team member some well-earned time in the wilderness. We were each prescribed 2 nights in an Unyoked cabin to help our busy minds reconnect with nature.
Days were spent making coffee, counting birds and not knowing what time it was. Absolute bliss.
Learning and Sharing
At Lodge, ensuring our team is continuing to grow and share their knowledge in ecology is very important to us.
That is why each team member receives a yearly training budget to learn and upskill in areas they are passionate about.
Our staff are also encouraged to attend and participate in conferences and lectures to share knowledge and form connections with like-minded people.
Here are some of the training and events our team attended this year.
- National Biodiversity Offsets Conference (EIANZ)
- Advanced Plant Identification Course (UNSW)
- Ecological Monitoring Module Training Day (BCT)
- Bat Call Analysis Workshop (Titley)
- Environmental Law Guest Lecture (UOW)
- Wildlife Field Techniques: Animal Handling (UTS)
- SXSW Sydney
- 1% for the Planet Global Summit
- QGIS Masterclasses (AP Spatial)
- Operate and Recover 4WD (Risk Response & Rescue)
- Remote Advanced First Aid (Outdoor Academy)
- Sydney Leadership Workshop (EIANZ)
Team Fun
At Lodge, we are a passionate and creative team, always looking for new ways to share our love of ecology and the outdoors.
Every year we host an internal Threatened Species Bake Off. It’s a great excuse to learn more about threatened species, take a cake break, and share the fun with our community.
This year we also partnered with local business Soft Power Studio to design and print T-shirts showcasing a beautiful BSA we worked on in Bawley Point. For every tee sold, 40% of the sales were donated to Great Eastern Ranges. It was a great way to celebrate conservation whilst continuing to contribute to a great cause.
In June, the Lodge Team joined the Wollongong Running Festival, because what better way is there to celebrate the start of winter than running 10km? It was a great opportunity for the team to motivate each other, spend more time outdoors, and get some cool custom caps made.
Annual Report Download
Thank-you to our team & clients for a fantastic year. You can download this year's Impact Report below.
