Responsible Tourism & Australia By Nature
Sustainable, Responsible, Mindful, Respectful
There are many ways to describe how we approach our role as a tour operator.
After thoughtful consideration of each word’s meaning, we chose “responsible.”
As an Australian-based company, we are fortunate to have some of the world’s most spectacular natural wonders right at our doorstep, and with that comes the responsibility to protect and preserve them for future generations.
Our definition of Responsible Tourism is simple: it’s about working in harmony with the land, its people, and our company to safeguard the destinations we visit.
We are committed to continuously evolving the way we operate, ensuring that the well-being of the environment, wildlife, marine life, and local communities is always at the heart of everything we do. Please see below some of the programs and accreditations that we have currently participated in. Sustainability is a journey and we continue to evolve to do better.
We strive to follow 4 pillars of Sustainability as set out by the Global Sustainability Council Tourism Council (GSTC), which are:
Sustainable Management
Socioeconomic Impacts
Cultural Impacts
Environmental Impact
Sustainable Management
Founder Caroline brings extensive experience in Sustainable Tourism and is committed to ongoing learning in this field and sharing these learnings with our employees.
As our business grows, we understand the importance of educating new staff and continuously refining our practices to operate sustainably.
We work with Take 3 For The Sea as part of their Ground Swell project to reduce litter and educate others on how to safely collect and reduce litter in the areas we visit. We invite you to watch Take 3 for the Sea's Ground Swell Visitor Welcome Video, a powerful reminder of how small actions can create positive change for our oceans and environment. It's a message we truly love and are proud to share.
We actively discourage the use of single-use plastics on our tours and collaborate closely with our partner suppliers to ensure we offer immersive experiences that leave only a positive impact on the destinations we explore. We work with suppliers such as Wallaby Water to provide reusable water bottles to our clients on tour, that are also easier to recycle at their end of life.
All of our tours are carefully curated to work with suppliers who share our values.
We respect that many of our tour guests dream to see and learn about Australia’s beautiful native animals.
We prioritise Wildlife Parks that serve as sanctuaries and rescue centres, dedicated to rehabilitating native animals and releasing them back into the wild when safe.
Our tours emphasise the importance of viewing wildlife from a respectful distance, ensuring both their safety and ours.
Socioeconomic Impacts
Whenever possible, we make it a priority to collaborate with local communities, ensuring that the income generated through our tours stays within the region.
We partner with suppliers who source produce from local farmers and growers for our lunches and picnics, and we support small businesses that offer authentic, immersive experiences.
Our employees are hired locally, and we welcome local tour operator students to gain practical experience with Australia By Nature, where we share our knowledge and promote greater awareness of responsible tourism.
Cultural Impacts
Our tours take place on the lands of the Gadigal, Dharug, Darkinjung, and Gayamaygal Peoples, and we deeply respect the Traditional Owners of Country and the thousands of culturally significant rock sites in these areas.
We collaborate with Bush To Bowl, an Aboriginal-owned company, to ensure that a First Nations guide leads the way on our cultural tours, providing authentic and respectful cultural interpretations throughout our journeys.
Environmental Impacts:
Supporting our oceans with Sea Shepherd Australia
The ocean is an important part of both Sydney's identity and the experiences we share with our guests.
Sea Shepherd Australia is part of a global marine conservation movement dedicated to defending, conserving and protecting the ocean and marine wildlife. Its work addresses major threats to marine ecosystems, including plastic pollution, marine debris, illegal and unsustainable fishing and the destruction of marine habitats.
This commitment to conservation, education and practical action strongly aligns with the values behind Australia By Nature.
Our connection with Sea Shepherd is also a personal and active one. Australia By Nature founder Caroline Rutherford is an active volunteer and Education Coordinator with the Sea Shepherd Sydney Chapter. In this role, Caroline helps coordinate marine conservation education and supports the delivery of educational presentations to schools and community groups, helping young people understand ocean ecosystems, the threats facing marine wildlife and the practical actions they can take to protect our oceans.
Education is a central part of Sea Shepherd's work in Australia. Its education program brings marine conservation into schools and communities through presentations covering ocean ecosystems, marine species, conservation issues and campaigns. The Sydney Chapter also supports local outreach, beach clean-ups, community events and awareness initiatives.
This involvement closely reflects our philosophy at Australia By Nature. We believe tourism has an important role to play in education. A great nature experience shouldn't simply show visitors a beautiful landscape or an extraordinary animal; it should help people understand why that environment matters and why it is worth protecting.
For a Sydney tourism business whose experiences are so closely connected to the harbour, coastline, beaches and annual whale migration, supporting marine conservation feels like a natural extension of what we do.
From this financial year, we have strengthened that relationship by becoming an official supporter of Sea Shepherd Australia, donating $5 from every Australia By Nature tour to help support its work protecting our oceans and marine wildlife.
Our partnership therefore goes beyond financial support. It combines conservation, education, volunteering and tourism, bringing together values that are fundamental to Australia By Nature.
Respect for wildlife is paramount; we always maintain a safe distance to avoid disturbing animals in their natural habitat.
Supporting native wildlife with Hills Wildlife Sanctuary
While our partnership with Sea Shepherd reflects our connection to Sydney's coastline and marine environment, our support for Hills Wildlife Sanctuary reflects another fundamental part of Australia By Nature: our love of Australia's extraordinary native wildlife and the habitats it depends upon.
Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is a not-for-profit wildlife conservation organisation founded in 1977, dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and preservation of Australian native wildlife.
Located across 35 acres of natural bushland adjoining Berowra Valley National Park in Sydney's north-west, the sanctuary rescues and rehabilitates injured, orphaned and displaced native animals, with the aim of returning wildlife to the wild wherever possible. For animals that cannot be released, it provides lifelong sanctuary and care.
Its work extends well beyond wildlife rescue. Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is working towards becoming a hub for biodiversity conservation, environmental education and threatened species recovery in Sydney.
The organisation undertakes breeding and re-wilding programs for endangered species, supports the conservation of species native to the Hills and north-west Sydney, and collaborates with universities, conservation organisations and wildlife experts to advance wildlife conservation.
Education is also an important part of its mission, helping people connect with Australian wildlife and inspiring the next generation to understand why our native species and their habitats need protection.
These values strongly align with Australia By Nature.
Wildlife is an important part of many of the experiences we share with our guests, but we believe responsible wildlife tourism should be about much more than simply seeing an animal. We want our guests to understand the ecosystems that support our native species, the pressures those animals face and the importance of protecting the natural habitats on which they depend.
That is why, from this financial year, Australia By Nature is proud to donate $5 from every tour we operate to Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.
Our donations contribute to an organisation where funds raised go towards the protection and rehabilitation of Australian native wildlife, helping support the practical conservation work taking place here in Sydney.
Combined with our $5 donation from every tour to Sea Shepherd Australia, this means $10 from every Australia By Nature tour now goes directly towards conservation organisations protecting Australia's wildlife and natural environments.
For us, these partnerships connect the experiences we provide with something tangible. Our guests come to Australia to experience its national parks, coastline, wildlife and extraordinary biodiversity. We believe tourism should also play a role in helping protect those places and species for the future.
By supporting Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, we're helping an organisation that doesn't just care for wildlife in need today, but is also working towards a future where Australia's native species can continue to thrive in the wild.
