2010-2014

Skullbone Plains purchase and "The Skullbone Experiment"

The Purves Environmental Fund (PEF) contributed funds towards the then biggest private conservation deal in Australia’s history with the acquisition of Skullbone Plains in Tasmania by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) in 2010. Skullbone Plains is a 1,618 ha highland property less than 10 kilometers from Lake St Clair, adjacent to the Lake St Clair/Cradle Mountain National Park. The land consists of open valleys, old-growth forests, native grasslands, cushion plants, and rare endangered sphagnum moss beds. It also provides some of the last wild habitats for the endangered fish, Clarence galaxies. The site became part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in 2013.

This permanent reserve is managed by TLC, and the PEF provided support for the ongoing land management in the early years. In 2013-2015, TLC run the Skullbone Experiment: A Paradigm of Art and Nature, where Australia’s most renowned contemporary artists were brought together on a retreat to explore and immerse themselves in the ancient landscape of the Plains. The artists then developed artworks inspired by the experience, which were featured on a toured exhibition starting in Launceston followed by Sydney. The residency and resulting exhibition raised TLC profile and its work in protecting Tasmania’s biodiversity, while fostering the inexorable link between art and the natural world, and expanded TLC’s networks into a wider nature conservation-minded community. The project also produced a documentary, which aired on ABC.

2010-2014

Skullbone Plains purchase and "The Skullbone Experiment"

The Purves Environmental Fund (PEF) contributed funds towards the then biggest private conservation deal in Australia’s history with the acquisition of Skullbone Plains in Tasmania by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) in 2010. Skullbone Plains is a 1,618 ha highland property less than 10 kilometers from Lake St Clair, adjacent to the Lake St Clair/Cradle Mountain National Park. The land consists of open valleys, old-growth forests, native grasslands, cushion plants, and rare endangered sphagnum moss beds. It also provides some of the last wild habitats for the endangered fish, Clarence galaxies. The site became part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in 2013.

This permanent reserve is managed by TLC, and the PEF provided support for the ongoing land management in the early years. In 2013-2015, TLC run the Skullbone Experiment: A Paradigm of Art and Nature, where Australia’s most renowned contemporary artists were brought together on a retreat to explore and immerse themselves in the ancient landscape of the Plains. The artists then developed artworks inspired by the experience, which were featured on a toured exhibition starting in Launceston followed by Sydney. The residency and resulting exhibition raised TLC profile and its work in protecting Tasmania’s biodiversity, while fostering the inexorable link between art and the natural world, and expanded TLC’s networks into a wider nature conservation-minded community. The project also produced a documentary, which aired on ABC.

2010-2014

Skullbone Plains purchase and "The Skullbone Experiment"

The Purves Environmental Fund (PEF) contributed funds towards the then biggest private conservation deal in Australia’s history with the acquisition of Skullbone Plains in Tasmania by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) in 2010. Skullbone Plains is a 1,618 ha highland property less than 10 kilometers from Lake St Clair, adjacent to the Lake St Clair/Cradle Mountain National Park. The land consists of open valleys, old-growth forests, native grasslands, cushion plants, and rare endangered sphagnum moss beds. It also provides some of the last wild habitats for the endangered fish, Clarence galaxies. The site became part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in 2013.

This permanent reserve is managed by TLC, and the PEF provided support for the ongoing land management in the early years. In 2013-2015, TLC run the Skullbone Experiment: A Paradigm of Art and Nature, where Australia’s most renowned contemporary artists were brought together on a retreat to explore and immerse themselves in the ancient landscape of the Plains. The artists then developed artworks inspired by the experience, which were featured on a toured exhibition starting in Launceston followed by Sydney. The residency and resulting exhibition raised TLC profile and its work in protecting Tasmania’s biodiversity, while fostering the inexorable link between art and the natural world, and expanded TLC’s networks into a wider nature conservation-minded community. The project also produced a documentary, which aired on ABC.

2010-2014

Skullbone Plains purchase and "The Skullbone Experiment"

The Purves Environmental Fund (PEF) contributed funds towards the then biggest private conservation deal in Australia’s history with the acquisition of Skullbone Plains in Tasmania by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) in 2010. Skullbone Plains is a 1,618 ha highland property less than 10 kilometers from Lake St Clair, adjacent to the Lake St Clair/Cradle Mountain National Park. The land consists of open valleys, old-growth forests, native grasslands, cushion plants, and rare endangered sphagnum moss beds. It also provides some of the last wild habitats for the endangered fish, Clarence galaxies. The site became part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in 2013.

This permanent reserve is managed by TLC, and the PEF provided support for the ongoing land management in the early years. In 2013-2015, TLC run the Skullbone Experiment: A Paradigm of Art and Nature, where Australia’s most renowned contemporary artists were brought together on a retreat to explore and immerse themselves in the ancient landscape of the Plains. The artists then developed artworks inspired by the experience, which were featured on a toured exhibition starting in Launceston followed by Sydney. The residency and resulting exhibition raised TLC profile and its work in protecting Tasmania’s biodiversity, while fostering the inexorable link between art and the natural world, and expanded TLC’s networks into a wider nature conservation-minded community. The project also produced a documentary, which aired on ABC.

2010-2014

Skullbone Plains purchase and "The Skullbone Experiment"

The Purves Environmental Fund (PEF) contributed funds towards the then biggest private conservation deal in Australia’s history with the acquisition of Skullbone Plains in Tasmania by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) in 2010. Skullbone Plains is a 1,618 ha highland property less than 10 kilometers from Lake St Clair, adjacent to the Lake St Clair/Cradle Mountain National Park. The land consists of open valleys, old-growth forests, native grasslands, cushion plants, and rare endangered sphagnum moss beds. It also provides some of the last wild habitats for the endangered fish, Clarence galaxies. The site became part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area in 2013.

This permanent reserve is managed by TLC, and the PEF provided support for the ongoing land management in the early years. In 2013-2015, TLC run the Skullbone Experiment: A Paradigm of Art and Nature, where Australia’s most renowned contemporary artists were brought together on a retreat to explore and immerse themselves in the ancient landscape of the Plains. The artists then developed artworks inspired by the experience, which were featured on a toured exhibition starting in Launceston followed by Sydney. The residency and resulting exhibition raised TLC profile and its work in protecting Tasmania’s biodiversity, while fostering the inexorable link between art and the natural world, and expanded TLC’s networks into a wider nature conservation-minded community. The project also produced a documentary, which aired on ABC.