Recently, the impacts of climate change have been felt across our country more than ever before. We've witnessed large parts of Australia burning through extended fire seasons, koalas and vulnerable native wildlife perishing in catastrophic bushfires, cities shrouded in toxic smoke haze, and drought-devastated farms and regional towns.

Climate change not only impacts us, but it also threatens the survival of our wildlife. In Australia, we have the worst mammal extinction rate anywhere in the world, with over 500 of our native animals at risk of extinction. 700 threatened native species depend on our forests for their survival, and every year an estimated 500,000 football fields worth of forests and woodland are lost due to excessive tree-clearing.

The catastrophic bushfire season of 2019-20 made the outlook for our wildlife more dire as nearly 3 billion native animals were impacted by the fires, and over 19 million hectares of Australian landscape burned. If we don't stop excessive tree-clearing and help solve climate change, our wildlife and landscape will only continue to be at risk.

Take #TimeOutForNature this Earth Hour as we reflect on the incredible benefits our forests provide us and work together to protect it.