Our People

© Brad Leue/AWC
Ourpeople Ourfounder Awc 1712 003 © AWC

Our Founder

The late Martin Copley founded AWC after purchasing a parcel of land for conservation in south-west Western Australia – what we now know as Karakamia Wildlife Sanctuary.

Martin’s objective for AWC was to make a practical contribution to conserving native fauna and habitats while raising awareness of Australia’s diverse natural heritage.

Martin’s legacy is that AWC has developed into a national conservation organisation dedicated to practical, on-ground conservation.

In 2010, Martin was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to conservation and the environment through the preservation of Australia’s native species of flora and fauna. Martin passed away in 2014.

Ourpeople Ourboard Waynelawler Graememorgan(greghollandtimallard)pilligason0139 © Wayne Lawler/AWC

Our Board

Our Board brings a wealth of experience to managing the strategic direction of AWC, focusing on driving the effective conservation of all Australian animal species and the habitats in which they live.

Endangered Species © Wayne Lawler/AWC

Our Executive Team

Our experienced executive team is based in our Perth Head Office and in strategic locations across Australia. They lead our scientific and operational teams to ensure excellence in the delivery of our programs.

Our People Jane Palmer/AWC

Our Staff

70 per cent of AWC’s staff are based in the field, working across some of the most remote parts of Australia. AWC’s innovative team work together to design, implement, measure and communicate the effectiveness of the land management strategies we undertake. AWC’s field staff are supported by administration and operational staff based across Australia.

AWC Patron_Prince Charles © Jason Thomas

Our former Patron

AWC was honoured to have had the former Prince of Wales, HRH The King of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms, bringing global attention to the plight of Australia’s threatened wildlife. His lifelong record of supporting conservation played a vital role in raising awareness of the need for decisive, practical action to protect Australia’s threatened wildlife.

As Patron, King Charles III highlighted and promoted the globally significant efforts of AWC to halt and reverse the tide of extinctions in Australia. His Royal Highness is committed to conservation and has a long history of involvement and interest in environmental, sustainability and conservation causes. This includes through his own Charitable Foundation and a range of organisations of which he is Patron, including a number in Australia, where he established The Prince’s Charities Australia.

Faure Island_Photo by Wayne Lawler © Wayne Lawler/AWC

Our Science Advisory Network

Science underpins all of AWC’s conservation work. One of our key strategies is to implement practical land management, feral animal control and fire management informed by the best available science. Guiding this work is AWC’s Science Advisory Network, currently made up of scientific experts Carolyn Hogg, Lesley Hughes, Chris Johnson, David Lindenmayer, Brett Murphy, Anne Peters, Katherine Tuft and John Woinarski.

Kalamurina Wildlife Sanctuary Fauna Survey September 2016 © Wayne Lawler/AWC

Work with AWC

Our staff play a key role in AWC’s success, and we are dedicated to attracting and retaining top professionals. We encourage people who are passionate about their field of expertise to join the AWC team and help save Australia’s threatened wildlife and their habitats. 70 per cent of our people are based in the field, delivering practical on-ground conservation programs which are based on the best available science.