Totes for Wildlife

Totes for Wildlife highlights a local threatened species each year and, through the sale of exclusive design tote bags, raises funds for the vital conservation projects we and our partners undertake to protect them.

This year, the Golden-rayed Blue Butterfly needs your help.

The Golden-rayed Blue Butterfly

With a wingspan of less than 3cm, these beautiful butterflies are not only small but they’re special too – they are the only known butterfly species to be found exclusively in Victoria.

They are also an endangered species, restricted to floodplain habitats that border a number of salt lakes in the Wimmera in western Victoria. There, they rely on just one species of host plant, known as Creeping Boobialla (Myoporum parvifolium).

Every stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is linked with this plant; without it, it is unable to feed, grow, or reproduce. This means the presence of Creeping Boobialla is critical to the Golden-rayed Blue Butterfly.

Unfortunately, Creeping Boobialla is being threatened by habitat degradation along the borders of salt lakes, placing these beautiful and special butterflies at risk of extinction.

The sale of every Totes for Wildlife bag will help plant Creeping Boobialla for the Golden-rayed Blue Butterfly.

Working alongside organisations such as the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria, Landcare, Trust for Nature, the Dalki Garringa Native Nursery as well as private land owners, we will be planting Creeping Boobialla within known habitat for the Golden-rayed Blue Butterfly in a first for the conservation efforts of this species.

The Barengi Gadjin Land Council, which represents the Traditional Owners in the Golden-rayed Blue Butterfly’s habitat, run the Dalki Garringa Native Nursery where the local variety of Creeping Boobialla shrubs for planting will be grown.

These plantings and further habitat restoration work will not only help the butterfly but the conservation of the broader salt lake ecosystem in western Victoria.

How has Totes for Wildlife helped threatened species so far?

Since 2019, more than 45,000 Totes for Wildlife bags have been purchased. Thanks to everyone who bought a tote bag and our conservation partners, this has resulted in:

• 15,000 plants being planted within Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve to the east of greater Melbourne to improve and increase available habitat for Helmeted Honeyeaters.
• Over 6,000 Mountain plum pines and other alpine food plants planted in Mountain Pygmy-possum habitat here in alpine Victoria, and habitat improvement works and planting in alpine areas of New South Wales to help the Mountain Pygmy-possum recovery after the Black Summer bushfires.
• 35 Hectares of land to be protected for the Plains-wanderer through a conservation covenant in northern Victoria to maintain as habitat for this unique bird species, forever.