Intrepid Travel is expanding its local impact welcoming Arkaba Environmental Projects as the newest Australian partner of The Intrepid Foundation, the company’s not-for-profit arm.
Australia has the world’s highest mammal extinction rate globally. The arrival of European settlers and hoofed livestock to the Flinders Ranges in the 1850s led to the degradation of fragile landscapes and saw 22 of the region’s 58 mammal species becoming locally extinct.
Arkaba Environmental Projects exists to restore biodiversity in the Flinders Ranges, with a focus on reintroducing native flora and fauna to the Arkaba Conservancy, a 60,000-acre private wildlife sanctuary.
The partnership will connect travellers on Intrepid’s South Australian itineraries, including the Flinders Ranges Walk, and guests staying at Stay Intrepid property Arkaba Homestead with the conservation work taking place on the land they explore.
Through The Intrepid Foundation, travellers will be able to support Arkaba’s conservation efforts, from educating local schoolchildren about caring for the bush to helping create safe habitats for native wildlife, including the western quoll (idnya), in the Flinders Ranges.
Intrepid will also explore ways to bring these conservation efforts into the Stay Intrepid experience at Arkaba Homestead, giving travellers a closer connection to the landscape and the people working to protect it.
Charles Carlow, Founder & Director, Arkaba Environmental Projects said: “Our work comes from a symbiotic relationship between tourism and conservation in regenerating a landscape, a relationship that provides the resourcing and hope that all species, ourselves included, need to survive in the long term.”
Biheng Zhang, General Manager of The Intrepid Foundation, said: “The partnership reflects Intrepid’s broader commitment to creating positive change through travel, connecting its trips and accommodation experiences with local organisations working to protect the places and communities travellers visit.”
Frances Pollock, Lodge Manager at Arkaba Homestead said: “Our experiences are designed to connect our guests with the bush, which is reliant on nurturing a harmonious relationship with our environment. Our team endeavours to allow natural processes to reassert themselves in the landscape through ongoing conservation programs, including removing feral species from the landscape and allowing native vegetation communities to reestablish are at the heart of this.”
