Protect Our Parklands

Protect Our Parklands started after watching hundreds of beautiful mature trees being destroyed at Possum Park/Pirltawardli in South Australia during the North Adelaide Golf Course expansion, while wildlife were injured and lost critical habitat right in front of our eyes.

Trees that had stood for generations were gone within days, along with the hollows, shade, canopies, and ecosystems that depended on them. Possums, owls, bats, birds, and native wildlife were losing their homes while more and more habitat continued to disappear.

Like a lot of people, we were angry, frustrated, and tired of feeling helpless watching it happen, especially knowing there are now even more trees and parklands across South Australia and Australia on the chopping block. We knew we had to do whatever we could to contribute in a meaningful and constructive way.

This project was created independently in Adelaide, South Australia to turn that heartache and frustration into something positive.

Every clothing item is designed to raise awareness, start conversations, and keep public attention on what is happening to South Australia's parklands and native habitat long after the news cycle moves on.

Eligible clothing sales contribute toward independent donations made to established Australian tree planting and habitat restoration organisations supporting long-term revegetation and ecosystem rehabilitation efforts.

Currently, planting donations are being directed to Carbon Neutral. However, Protect Our Parklands is not formally affiliated with, partnered with, or endorsed by Carbon Neutral or any other external organisation, movement, charity, or political group. The tree planting component of this project works through independent donations made via eligible clothing sales and is not a formal partnership or affiliation arrangement.

As the project grows, the organisations receiving planting donations may evolve depending on factors such as scalability, transparency, measurable environmental outcomes, and alignment with the long-term goals of the initiative. The priority will always be directing contributions toward programs where clear and tangible ecological benefit can be demonstrated.

This project is not officially affiliated with any charity, activist organisation, political group, or grassroots movement. This project intentionally operates independently and without affiliations so the focus can remain on simply doing the right thing for our trees, wildlife, ecosystems, and future generations without political bias or competing personal, professional, or political agendas.

We believe meaningful action doesn't always need to pass through layers of committees, organisations, or competing interests. While organisations and community groups play an important role, we've seen too many important conversations, opportunities, and actions become delayed, diluted, or lost in bureaucracy while the natural places we care about continue to disappear. By remaining independent, we have the freedom to focus on awareness, education, restoration, and practical action while staying true to the values that inspired this project from the beginning.

This project was never created to compete with, replace, or divide any existing community groups or grassroots movements. The protectourparklands.com project, planting initiative, and clothing concepts were already being developed independently before other groups or websites using similar wording existed.

The clothing itself matters too. Where possible, the clothing is made using high-quality organic and sustainably sourced materials, including GOTS certified organic cotton, OEKO-TEX® certified fabrics, and PETA-Approved Vegan materials. You'll find material information in the individual product descriptions.

Every item is individually custom printed on demand to help reduce overproduction and landfill rather than mass producing and wasting stock that may never be worn.

As a small independent project, we work with established third-party production and fulfilment partners worldwide to print and ship clothing on demand. This allows us to avoid unnecessary overproduction and waste while focusing our time and resources on awareness, education, restoration, and supporting environmental initiatives. Like many modern online businesses, we also rely on a range of third-party platforms, software providers, and service partners to help operate the website, process orders, and deliver products. As a result, visitors may encounter references to companies, services, or legal documentation originating from outside of Australia. All designs, content, and creative work are produced independently in-house in Adelaide.

Protect Our Parklands is for the people who are tired of watching trees disappear, sacred Kaurna land continue to be cleared, and native wildlife lose more habitat every year.

The purpose of this project has always been simple:

1. To raise awareness around the loss of parklands, habitat, and native wildlife.

2. To keep public attention on these issues after the news cycle moves on.

3. To support native tree planting and ecosystem rehabilitation through independent donations made to established Australian organisations that carry out tree planting and habitat restoration work.

Different people contribute to causes in different ways. This is simply the way we've chosen to contribute using our own skills, creativity, time, and personal resources.

We are raising awareness through every piece worn, backing that awareness with tangible action through independent planting donations, supporting revegetation initiatives, and helping preserve and protect what's left for the wildlife, ecosystems, and future generations that depend on it.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this project so far, whether through kind messages, sharing posts, purchasing clothing, helping fund tree planting, or simply caring about what's happening to our trees and wildlife.

Protect Our Parklands acknowledges that we live, work, and create on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people. We acknowledge the Kaurna people as the Traditional Custodians of the Adelaide Plains and the lands on which we advocate. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and future, and honour their enduring connection to Country. We recognise that caring for the environment and protecting these landscapes is a responsibility shared across generations.

Photographs below courtesy of Samra Teague. Taken at Possum Park/Pirltawardli in May 2026. (Thank you, Samra)