Great news to end 2021 – the Mt Vandyke land purchase loan is repaid!

If like me, you have been watching the Mt Vandyke loan balance slowly dropping over recent months, then you probably thought things might take a while as we chipped away at it – I know I certainly did! But we have some wonderful news to share to end the year, with a single major matched donation eliminating the land purchase loan for Mt Vandyke!

So just like that, our loan balance instantly dropped from approximately $130,000 down to $0 and NGT is once again in the fantastic position of being officially debt-free.

This final act of generosity caps off a massive six months, after we first launched the new project and fundraiser back on May 28th.

And so all of a sudden, having cleared our first major hurdle for Mt Vandyke, we are now able to fully focus on the important next steps for this project, which will unfold over the next few years. These include:

• Building the new predator-proof fence in early 2022;
• Eliminating feral species from inside the fence once it is constructed;
• Monitoring changes to wildlife at the site (inside and outside the fence) over time;
• Planning and implementing a staged grassland/sedgeland revegetation program to restore habitat structure inside the fence; and
• Planning and implementing projects for the specific native mammals species that will utilise the site in the future.

To each and every one of the 143 individuals who donated (some more than once) – by either contributing to our initial pool of matching funds, or later making a donation that was doubled by being matched – thank you! We simply would not have been able to dream of kicking off a fantastic and exciting project like this without you.

Stay tuned in early 2022 for news of when we will host a celebration out at Mt Vandyke – probably in the autumn once the bulk of the fire season is over. All donors will be contacted closer to the time and with plenty of notice.

Needless to say, we really look forward to showing you around!