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Bug Hunt wins top Australian Geographic award for nature ahead of national launch

Australia’s newest citizen-science project, Bug Hunt Australia, has received one of the nation’s highest honours for nature – the Gold Tier Award ($50,000) at the 2025 Australian Geographic Society Awards for Nature.

Led by the Invasive Species Council in partnership with Invertebrates Australia and Australian Geographic, Bug Hunt invites Australians to help uncover the secret lives of the insects, worms, snails and spiders that keep our country alive.

This award comes ahead of the inaugural Bugs in my Backyard Week from November 17–23. 

‘We’re incredibly grateful to Australian Geographic for backing Bug Hunt and Bugs in My Backyard Week – their support means we can inspire even more Australians to get outside and discover the incredible invertebrates that keep our country thriving, while also being important eyes on the ground to keep them safe,’ Invasive Species Council’s Citizen Science Coordinator, Jess Ward-Jones, said. 

‘All you need is your phone and a bit of curiosity. Every photo you take helps scientists understand and protect Australia’s incredible wildlife – and could even stop the next fire ant or shothole borer outbreak before it spreads.

‘When we say ‘bugs’, we don’t just mean insects – we’re talking about all invertebrates, from beetles and butterflies to snails, spiders, millipedes and worms. Around 70 per cent of our native invertebrates are undescribed by Western science. That means every snapshot can build scientific knowledge – or be an early warning sign that helps protect our wildlife from invasive species.

‘Right now, fire ants are marching through parts of Queensland and could spread across Australia, devastating wildlife, our way of life and costing our economy $2 billion per year if we don’t contain them.

‘These invaders move fast and travel silently – through pot plants, mulch or stormwater drains – and by the time authorities detect them, it’s often too late. It’s a perfect example as to why citizen science is such a powerful tool in our biosecurity arsenal.’

Invertebrates Australia’s Citizen Science Coordinator Alison Mellor said: 

‘When we look closely, we discover how much life is right under our noses. A lovely Christmas beetle or bogong moth on our windowsill is just as fascinating – and important – as a koala or a kookaburra. 

‘Invertebrates make up more than 95 per cent of all animal species on Earth, yet most of Australia’s remain ignored in conservation. That’s an enormous gap in our knowledge about the natural world and how it’s faring.

‘We’re hoping Bug Hunt will inspire people to join the growing movement of folks learning to appreciate these tiny wonders, while in turn discovering the health benefits of connecting with the little critters around them.’

Chrissie Goldrick, Chair of the Australian Geographic Society, said:

‘The awards are both an acknowledgement of past success and a vote of confidence in the future.

‘Thanks to our loyal subscribers and customers who support our all-profits-to-nature model, we can back these inspiring projects and share their stories widely.’

To sign up, go to bughunt.org.au

Media inquiries: (02) 8006 5004

Photo credit: Hayden Starr.

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    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]


    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]