James Darling AM and Lesley Forwood commit to the NGT Foundation

The feedback so far on the establishment of the NGT Foundation has been extremely positive, as people clearly understand our desire to ensure that NGT’s impact is lasting.

James Darling AM and Lesley Forwood care deeply about our region and have been tremendous supporters of NGT, in a variety of ways, ever since our journey began almost six and half years ago. With this context in mind, I feel it is truly fitting that the first Named Fund in the NGT Foundation created by individual donors, the James Darling AM and Lesley Forwood Fund, will recognise their renewed and now ongoing commitment.

For anyone connected to the environment, arts or farming sectors, James and Lesley need no introduction – but for a small taste of what they have achieved at Duck Island in the Upper South East (and beyond) please refer to this article I wrote after visiting James at Duck Island in 2013.

But that is enough from me, because James has very kindly written a short contribution to explain why he and Lesley have taken the significant step of setting up a Named Fund in the NGT Foundation:

James Darling with a Malleefowl mound at Duck Island

James Darling with a Malleefowl mound at Duck Island in 2013

NGT is an extraordinarily successful organisation.

It has energy and integrity.

It has administrative credibility.

It has science at the base of its wetlands restoration and conservation projects.

It inspires community members to donate their time and their labour for shared objectives.

It acknowledges volunteers as integral to its many and growing environmental achievements.

The establishment of the NGT Foundation is a further step in the evolution of NGT, most obviously in response to the purchase of areas of high conservation value. These assets will require guaranteed funding in order to be maintained. The objectives of the NGT Foundation address this need.

The NGT Foundation gives community members another opportunity to be part of preserving significant and precious environmental assets in a manner in which they can be enjoyed in our lifetimes and benefit future generations.

Lesley Forwood and I consider it a privilege to play a part in that achievement.

James Darling AM.


NGT Foundation Banner

Named Funds as at May 2018:

James Darling AM & Lesley Forwood Fund

NGT Reserves Fund

OneFortyOne Fund


Mark Bachmann