About our partnership with AWC (Australian Wildlife Conservancy)
Carolyn Larcombe talks with Joey Clarke, AWC Science Communicator, and shares the story of her family property Wandiyali on the outskirts of Canberra, where threatened native animals will be restored under a new partnership with Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
AWC video on social media April 24, 2025
Located at the intersection of Ngambri, Ngarigo, Ngunnawal and Ngunawal Country, Wandiyali~Environa Wildlife Sanctuary protects a vital stretch of critically endangered woodlands near Canberra.
Last year, AWC formed a partnership with the Larcombe family to help shape conservation plans and implement a strategy for restoring locally extinct species across the property
Hear more from Carolyn Larcombe.
Wandiyali~Environa Wildlife Sanctuary protects critically endangered Box Gum Grassy Woodlands on the border of the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales. Threatened and iconic wildlife makes a home here – endangered Gang-Gang Cockatoos croak and creak in the trees and Speckled Warblers forage in the leaf-litter looking for insects. Bare-nosed Wombats can be spotted quietly grazing on the grassy hills at night while Echidnas waddle slowly across the sanctuary by day, poking around for ants and other invertebrate prey.
In December of last year, sanctuary owners, the Larcombe family, and Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) announced a ten-year collaboration at Wandiyali with a shared vision to bring back the site’s missing biodiversity.
With a view of Federal Parliament from the homestead veranda, the sanctuary offers a unique opportunity for AWC to expand our impact in a region that is increasingly fragmented and under pressure, and one in which we have not previously worked. Working together, the Larcombe family and AWC will shape a strategy for restoring species that have become locally extinct.
Carolyn Larcombe, Landowner, Custodian, Conservation Manager
"This old country is Ngambri, Ngunnawal, Ngunawal, and Ngarigo, and cradles their whispers in scar trees and worked stone."
“My grandfather, a surveyor and visionary, bought land in 1924, in New South Wales, just over the border from the newly formed Australian Capital Territory. This was named Environa, and we moved here as a family in the 1960s, running fine wool merino sheep initially, and then transitioning to Hereford beef cattle as nearby development rapidly precluded grazing sheep. My brother now runs grass-fed Angus beef cattle on the western part of the property. We grew up here, roaming the land and developing a deep connection with the rolling hills and serpentine bends, precipitous cliffs and swimming holes of Jerrabomberra Creek, favoured haunt of sneaky Tiger Leeches and shy Rakali.
I have always been interested in our native mammals in particular, with a vision to restore those species missing from their historical landscapes. There is joy in the now familiar presence of Bare-nosed Wombats, something we never saw around as kids. We moved here to Wandiyali, on the eastern side of Jerrabomberra Creek, with soon-to-be two sons, in 1999. By living and walking on the land and studying botany at Australian National University, I gained new knowledge of local plants and ecosystems, highlighting the conservation values of this area. This was strengthened when ecological studies identified the presence of the critically endangered Box Gum Grassy Woodland ecosystem, as well as threatened species such as the Small Purple-pea (Swainsona recta) and Pink-tailed Worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella).
With reverberations from urban development and increasing impact of feral predators, we looked for a pathway to further enhance and protect these animals, plants and ecosystems. The family moved towards creating (on title) conservation covenants over three blocks, giving them permanent protection, and defining what would become Wandiyali~Environa Wildlife Sanctuary. We also set up the not-for-profit Wandiyali Restoration Trust to consolidate the vision for the sanctuary as a safe haven for threatened and locally missing species and facilitate the building of a 10-kilometre conservation fence.
As part of this process, it’s been exciting to be involved in many projects with local natural resource management groups, which have helped us improve habitat and biodiversity as we work towards reintroducing locally extinct species; projects like the Small Purple-pea Project with Australian National Botanic Gardens, Banks to Bush Riparian Linkages with Molonglo Conservation Group, NSW Government’s Saving our Species program targeting the Scarlet Robin and Pink-tailed Worm-lizard, mid-storey plantings for small bush birds with Queanbeyan Landcare, and Allocasuarina species restoration for Glossy Black-Cockatoos with Greening Australia. We have also been able to add valuable ground structure with semi-trailer loads of coarse woody debris, ironically from nearby road widening and urban development.
I have supported AWC for nearly 25 years. I remain excited at their evolution and translocation successes. I have been delighted by the opportunities to visit AWC sanctuaries with my young sons and other family. After this long association we are thrilled to partner with AWC. Their expertise in safe havens, biodiversity restoration and resilience, and species translocation planning and execution will be critical to the success of our sanctuary.”