Friends of Parks

Friends of Parks Incorporated is an umbrella organisation for 130+ individual volunteer community groups and over 5,000 individual volunteers in South Australia, who are each affiliated with a specific national park or historic site. The objectives of "Friends" groups are: to provide opportunities for public participation in the management of national parks and historic sites; to raise funds to support national parks, historic sites and the social functions of the Friends group; to publicise national parks and historic sites as well as the objectives of the Friends; and to provide cultural and social events for the benefit of members, staff and the general public.
Each "Friends" group is financially self-supporting, through a combination of members fees and fundraising. In addition, the Department of Environment and Water (DEW) provide "Friends Grants" for which individual groups apply on a project basis.
The first "Friends" group started at Fort Glanville Conservation Park in 1980, where there had been an existing historical society. The second group was formed at Ferguson Conservation Park in Stonyfell. In 1983, the National Parks and Wildlife Service set up the Friends of Old Government House in Belair National Park. The success of the Friends model had been demonstrated and in the following years many more groups were set up. In 1993, the Friends of Parks umbrella group was incorporated.
A central Volunteer Support Programs Unit based in Adelaide coordinates the network of groups. Each group is answerable to a Liaison Ranger in order to ensure co-ordination with the goals and policies of DEW and park management. In 2015–16, members of "Friends" groups contributed the equivalent of 11,161 days of volunteer work to the state's protected areas.