Totes for Wildlife

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

This year we need your help to support an iconic woodland bird, the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia).

Following the flowers...

For generations, Regent Honeyeaters have followed waves of blossom across south-eastern Australia, moving through connected woodlands along the way.

These woodland nomads journey hundreds of kilometres to find flowering eucalypts rich in nectar. They once could be seen and heard gathering in large flocks to feed together in the canopy.

With their striking black-and-gold plumage, the Regent Honeyeater is one of Australia’s most distinctive woodland birds and an iconic part of the landscapes many Victorians know and love.

Woodland habitat cleared and broken into small patches

More than 85% of the Victorian box-ironbark woodlands Regent Honeyeaters once inhabited have been cleared. 

This has not only reduced crucial habitat, but also removed the woodland corridors that once helped these birds safely follow the waves of flowering eucalypts across south-eastern Australia.

Areas that were once connected are now broken into smaller, isolated patches, separating birds from each other and from the flowering woodlands they need to survive.

As a result, the Regent Honeyeater is now one of Australia's most critically endangered birds, with fewer than 250 individuals remaining in the wild.

Every Totes for Wildlife bag sold will help fund the planting of native flowering vegetation in critical remaining habitat.

Planting trees will help revitalise woodland habitat, giving Regent Honeyeaters a safe place to feed, breed and thrive, while captive breeding and release programs rebuild wild populations.

By purchasing a Totes for Wildlife bag, you can help secure the future of the Critically Endangered Regent Honeyeater.

With your help, we’ve got conservation in the bag!

How has Totes for Wildlife helped threatened species so far?

Since 2019, more than 100,000 Totes for Wildlife bags have been sold, helping fund critical on-ground conservation projects for threatened species across Victoria.

Want to do more? Continue to support the Regent Honeyeaters by making a tax-deductible donation today.

Zoos Victoria is committed to Fighting Extinction. We work within our zoos and in wild habitats, collaboratively with recovery teams and partner organisations, to ensure the survival of local threatened species.