Amazon and The University of Western Australia unite to save iconic Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo from extinction

AU$3.3 million initiative will create the largest Carnaby’s restoration corridor in Western Australian history, combining habitat restoration, Indigenous ranger training, and community action

Australia, 10 June 2026 – Amazon is investing AU$3.3 million to help The University of Western Australia (UWA) save the iconic Carnaby's Black Cockatoo from extinction. The three-year Corridors for Carnaby's (C4C) project will plant 200,000 Banksia trees in southwest Western Australia, providing critical habitat for feeding. Without intervention, the species – found nowhere else on earth – faces extinction. More than half of its population has been lost in 45 years, as its habitat and primary woodland food sources were cleared for farming and urban development.

Professor Kingsley Dixon AO, a world-leading conservationist and Project Delivery Lead of Corridors for Carnaby’s said: "I remember as a kid when the sky went black with Carnaby’s Cockatoos and I knew that Christmas was around the corner and I was filled with joy. We don't have that anymore. This is a turning point, it's mission-critical, planet-critical, if we can't get the Carnaby's right, then we won’t get much else right. This is a story of hope, and the community is right behind us wanting to help.”

“The population of Carnaby’s has halved in my lifetime, and their possible extinction is driven by a loss of seed-bearing forage trees, water sources and tree hollows for nesting. With the support of Amazon Australia, the C4C programme enables us to implement a comprehensive sustainable community-driven solution that addresses these immediate critical needs and will ensure the survival of this iconic and much-loved species.”

Creating the corridor

The new Banksia tree corridor will stretch across 10 kilometres of land near Mandurah, a coastal city south of Perth. Planting, which begins now, will be complete by 2029. 

With their nutritious seeds, Banksia trees are a lifeline for Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos, flowering at key times of the year when the birds need energy to breed and raise their chicks. Adult birds use their huge beaks to crack open the woody cones and eat the seeds inside. 

The trees will provide critical habitat and vegetation between the land and sea, with plentiful food, water, and nesting sites for the birds. Additionally, 50 artificial nests and 20 self-cleaning, solar-powered water stations will be installed across the corridor. Key partner organisation Five Rivers Catchment Council has also arranged for nearby farms to provide dedicated water stations for the Carnaby’s to drink.

From seed collection to career pathways

Amazon's funding will help support a collaboration between UWA's School of Biology and the Winjan Aboriginal Corporation's Aboriginal Rangers Program. The 18-month program combines traditional ecological knowledge with contemporary restoration science, equipping Indigenous participants with commercial seed bank management skills and accredited “micro-credentials” that create certified pathways to degrees and may open up careers in agriculture, horticulture, and environmental restoration.

Turning backyards and schoolyards into lifelines

At the same time, Corridors for Carnaby’s will mobilise the community to turn private gardens into oases of food for Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos. Two thousand fast growing nut trees will be distributed to Perth residents to be planted in urban areas to sustain Carnaby’s while native species mature in the restoration corridors.

The project will also engage 12 Perth schools over three years to plant over 2,000 Banksia and other trees to develop ‘pocket forests’. These tiny forests will provide further food and nesting hollows, while developing and fostering children’s interest in science, nature and conservation.

AI-powered conservation 

Amazon Web Services is supporting the project by developing AI-enabled flock identification technology for Carnaby's Cockatoos. An app, currently in development, will also enable West Australians to participate in flock identification and population censuses from their own backyards.

Michael Miller, spokesperson for Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund said: “I’m sure I can speak for many Australian colleagues when I say I share a deep affection for Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos.  When we built our Perth Fulfilment Centre, we chose this striking bird as a local endangered species to support – and our foyer features a giant Black Cockatoo mural, painted by local artist Jarni McGuire. Today, in front of this mural we begin our three-year journey with The University of Western Australia, the Winjan mob, partner organistions and local communities, schools and families to stop this species from facing extinction."

For more information on the C4C project, or to become involved go to: www.corridorsforcarnabys.com 
 

- ENDS -

About the Corridors for Carnaby’s team 
The C4C project is led by world leading botanist and conservationist, Professor Kingsley Dixon, AO from The University of Western Australia (UWA). UWA will collaborate with Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund, the Winjan Aboriginal Corporation and Five Rivers Catchment Council in association with prominent restoration industry supporter Natural Areas Management to restore one of the largest peri-urban habitat and conservation corridors in Australian history and the largest Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo restoration corridor in Western Australian history.

About Amazon’s Right Now Climate Fund
In 2019, Amazon created the Right Now Climate Fund (RNCF), a $100 million initiative supporting climate resilience and nature conservation in communities around the world. This fund finances nature projects that complement Amazon’s broader operational decarbonisation and sustainability efforts. They include conservation, restoration, and improved land and ocean management activities that increase carbon storage in areas such as forests, wetlands, peatlands, marine areas, and grasslands around the world. These solutions provide additional benefits to preserve the natural world, such as conserving wildlife habitats, protecting biodiversity, improving water quality, and reducing flood risk. All these benefits can enhance well-being and improve the ability of communities to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change.