Community Environment Network

What Community Environment Network does

Community Environment Network (CEN) is a not-for-profit, membership-based environmental organization founded in 1997 and headquartered on the University of Newcastle's Ourimbah Campus in New South Wales, Australia. It operates as the peak regional body for community environmental groups across the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie, delivering a portfolio of citizen-science programs (Waterwatch, Platypus Watch using eDNA sampling, Wildwatch), land-management schemes (Land for Wildlife statewide coordination, Habitat for Wildlife, Landcare Green Teams), a commercial Wildplant Community Nursery, and a professional Bush Regeneration field service. Since 2008 CEN has held the license to coordinate the Land for Wildlife program statewide in NSW and ACT and administers approximately 82 Biodiversity Conservation Trust grants per year at $2,000 each to participating landholders.

CEN's technology stack centers on environmental monitoring and conservation methods rather than software platforms: citizen-science water quality testing systems with an online database, eDNA sampling for platypus detection across 14 Wyong River Catchment locations, and a Regional Seedbank of 100+ locally indigenous plant species managed under Florabank guidelines. The organization generates revenue through three annual membership tiers ($20-$50/year), tax-deductible donations and bequests, wholesale indigenous plant sales, grant administration, and professional bush regeneration contracts. Its GTM motion is community-led, relying on volunteer mobilization, events (e.g., Before the Tide Festival), and grassroots advocacy campaigns including Climate Future, Friends of COSS, Friends of Porters Creek Wetland, Future Sooner, and Friends of Kurrawyba. It partners with NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust, the University of Newcastle, Local Land Services, the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative, and Land for Wildlife Victoria.

Name

Community Environment Network

Legal name

Community Environment Network

Website

https://cen.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community Environment Network (CEN) is a not-for-profit founded in 1997 that delivers citizen-science monitoring, land-management programs, bush regeneration services, and indigenous plant sales across the NSW Central Coast, while coordinating the Land for Wildlife scheme statewide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Conservation Services

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Support Activities for Forestry (115310)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Biodiversity & Habitat Conservation (BPAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD), Conservation, Restoration & Biodiversity Services (Habitat, Wetlands, Riparian) (IMAMAJAH), Urban & Community Reforestation / Street Tree Planting (AFAMACAL), Native, Pollinator & Drought-Tolerant Garden Installations (HSAIAFAL), Environmental Justice & Community Environmental Health (BPAGAGAL)

Keywords

• Environmental conservation services
• Citizen science monitoring
• Native plant nursery
• Bush regeneration services
• Wildlife habitat programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ourimbah

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership subscriptions providing Standard ($30/year), Group ($50/year), and Concession/Student/Associate ($20/year) tiers. Members receive newsletters, event invitations, and two free plants at the Wildplant Nursery.
2. Donations and Bequests: Tax-deductible donations through the website, including one-off or regular contributions. The organization also accepts bequests through wills for legacy giving.
3. Plant Sales: The Wildplant Community Nursery sells indigenous native plants at wholesale prices through an online shop and at the physical nursery location. Popular species like Lomandra longifolia priced at $3.50 per plant.
4. BCT Grants Administration: CEN coordinates Land for Wildlife program statewide and administers Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) grants to participating landholders, managing approximately 82 grants per year at $2,000 each.
5. Bush Regeneration Services: Professional Bush Regeneration Team offers services to landholders including weed eradication, noxious weed control, site evaluations, erosion control, and seed collection/propagation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Community Environment Network is a not-for-profit environmental organization that delivers practical conservation programs on the NSW Central Coast. It sells indigenous native plants through the Wildplant Community Nursery, runs citizen science water quality and platypus monitoring via Waterwatch and Platypus Watch, coordinates the statewide Land for Wildlife program in NSW/ACT, and provides professional bush regeneration services to private landholders. Membership tiers, donations, and government grants fund its community-led conservation, advocacy, and education activities.

Product overview

The Community Environment Network (CEN) operates as a not-for-profit environmental organization offering a diverse portfolio of environmental programs, services, memberships, and campaigns. The core offering centers on the Wildplant Community Nursery selling indigenous native plants, complemented by citizen science programs (Waterwatch, Platypus Watch, Wildwatch), land management programs (Land for Wildlife, Habitat for Wildlife, Landcare Green Teams), and professional Bush Regeneration services. CEN coordinates the Land for Wildlife program statewide in NSW/ACT and participates in the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative. The organization offers three membership tiers (Standard $30/year, Group $50/year, Concession/Student $20/year) and runs active campaigns including Climate Future, Friends of COSS, Friends of Porters Creek Wetland, Future Sooner, and Friends of Kurrawyba. CEN also organizes events such as the Before the Tide Festival.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wildplant Community Nursery: Community nursery established 2009, selling local indigenous native plants at wholesale prices for biodiversity protection and revegetation projects
• Climate Future
• Future Sooner

Products and services

• Wildplant Community Nursery A community nursery selling indigenous native plants endemic to the NSW Central Coast at wholesale prices, supporting local biodiversity and revegetation projects. Includes a regional seedbank collecting and storing seeds from various conservation projects since 2006. Targets individuals, landholders, schools, and revegetation projects needing locally indigenous plant stock.
• Waterwatch A citizen science and community education program empowering participants to protect local waterways and improve catchment health through water quality monitoring, including physical, chemical, and macroinvertebrate testing. Supported by an online database for entering, graphing, reporting, and analysing water quality data collected from catchments. Targets schools, community groups, and individual volunteers.
• Land for Wildlife A voluntary property registration scheme for landowners who wish to manage areas for biodiversity and wildlife habitat, coordinated statewide by CEN in NSW/ACT since 2008 under license from Land for Wildlife Victoria. Targets private landholders with bushland. Includes administration of approximately 82 Biodiversity Conservation Trust grants per year at $2,000 each.
• Habitat for Wildlife A program supporting urban landholders to conserve and improve habitats for wildlife and create wildlife corridors, particularly useful for urban gardens, small farms, and lifestyle blocks. Targets smaller-scale urban property owners who want to support local biodiversity.
• Bush Regeneration Team Professional bush regeneration services rehabilitating ecosystems including wet and dry sclerophyll forests, rainforest, wetlands, coastal dunes, and heathlands. Services include weed eradication, site evaluation, erosion control, and seed collection and propagation. Targets private landholders, councils, and organizations across Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, and Cessnock LGAs.
• Landcare Green Teams Groups of local landholders working together with professional bush regenerators to eliminate weeds from their properties, providing training in weed control, plant identification, and habitat corridor connectivity. Targets private landholders with bushland. Funded by NSW Government through Local Land Services and Landcare.
• Wildwatch Program connecting children with nature by exploring the environment and monitoring flora and fauna, including hands-on activities at the Wildplant Community Nursery. Targets schools, families, and youth groups on the NSW Central Coast.
• Platypus Watch Citizen science program increasing awareness of platypus on the Central Coast through educational workshops and water monitoring programs, using Enviro DNA (eDNA) sampling techniques to detect platypus presence in waterways via water samples containing DNA fragments. Targets community volunteers, educational groups, and conservation researchers.
• Wetlands Program Program focused on protecting and enhancing local wetlands, including advocacy for Porters Creek Wetland and Spring Creek Wetland. Targets community members, policy makers, and local councils on the NSW Central Coast.
• CEN Membership (Standard, Group, and Concession tiers) Annual membership subscriptions to CEN offered at three tiers: Standard ($30/year) for individuals, Group ($50/year) for schools, community groups, and environmental organizations including access to CEN meeting rooms, facilities at Ourimbah UON Head Office, and discounted printing, and Concession/Student/Associate ($20/year) for students and concession card holders. Members receive newsletters, event invitations, and two free plants at the Wildplant Nursery. Targets individuals, community groups, and environmental organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 82 Biodiversity Conservation Trust grants available annually to Land for Wildlife members ($2,000 each)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Land for Wildlife VictoriacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008CEN holds a license from Land for Wildlife Victoria to coordinate the Land for Wildlife program in NSW since 2008. The arrangement ensures consistent standards across Australia through 'Arrangement to Co-ordinate Land for Wildlife schemes 2000'. LfW commenced in Victoria in 1981 and extended to other states including NSW under CEN's coordination.
• NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between CEN and NSW BCT for Land for Wildlife program delivery. BCT provides funding for biodiversity grants to participating landholders (82 grants/year at $2,000 each). BCT and CEN collaborate on promoting conservation options for landholders.
• NSW Government (Local Land Services and Landcare)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Landcare Green Teams project is supported by the NSW Government through Local Land Services and Landcare. This funding enables CEN to provide professional bush regenerators, training, tool kits, and insurance coverage for participating landholders.
• Great Eastern Ranges Initiative (GER)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEN partners with GER to promote connectivity conservation across 3,600km from Western Victoria to far North Queensland. GER brings together people and organizations to link and protect healthy habitats, and CEN supports this through Land for Wildlife and other programs.
• NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and WatercoreOthersWaterwatch program has been assisted by the NSW Government through funding from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The department supports citizen science water quality monitoring across NSW.
• Regional Providers (Landcare groups, NSW Government organisations, NGOs)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUnder CEN's state coordination, regional delivery of Land for Wildlife is carried out by Regional Providers who can be Landcare groups, NSW Government organisations and non-government organisations. Regional providers form partnerships with CEN to deliver consistent Land for Wildlife program at local level.
• Environment VictoriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEN partners with Environment Victoria to promote connectivity conservation and encourage cross-promotion of non-statutory and statutory conservation options for landholders through the Conservation Partners Program newsletter Bush Matters.
• University of Newcastle (Ourimbah Campus)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCEN is located on the Ourimbah Campus of the University of Newcastle. The university provided the recycled building for CEN's headquarters, enabling the organization to have expanded space for the Wildplant Nursery.
• Energy AustraliaminorOthersSponsored energy audit and low energy, CFC-free fridge for CEN's headquarters building as part of sustainable building features.
• Australian Government Water GrantminorOthersSponsored water tanks for the headquarters building used for gardens and rinsing Waterwatch equipment, supporting the organization's water quality monitoring activities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Wilderness Society: Activist conservation NGO focused on forest protection and climate campaigning. Comparable on donor- and member-supported advocacy campaigns against industrial land uses (mining, forestry) similar to CEN's Future Sooner campaign.

Direct peers

• Greening Australia: National NGO delivering native vegetation restoration, carbon plantings, and provenance-controlled native seedbanks. Comparable on bush regeneration services, native plant supply, and restoration project delivery.
• Landcare Australia: National umbrella for Landcare groups; CEN runs Landcare Green Teams funded via Local Land Services. Directly comparable on community-led bushcare, volunteer coordination, and corporate/government partnerships for landholder stewardship.
• Bush Heritage Australia: Conservation NGO acquiring and managing land for biodiversity outcomes. Comparable as a mission-aligned nonprofit delivering on-ground conservation outcomes, donor-driven revenue model, and ecological restoration.
• BirdLife Australia: Australia's leading bird conservation NGO running citizen science (Birdata), woodland bird recovery, and local conservation groups. Comparable on a member-supported model, citizen science data infrastructure, and species monitoring expertise.

Broad incumbents

• Nature Conservancy Australia: Australian arm of The Nature Conservancy focused on conservation science, land/water conservation, and partnerships with Indigenous communities. Comparable on technical conservation work, science-driven monitoring, and major donor/philanthropy fundraising.
• WWF-Australia: Large global-affiliate conservation organization running species recovery, habitat protection, and citizen science programs. Comparable on platypus/species conservation campaigns, citizen science, and donor-supported programs.
• Australian Conservation Foundation: Australia's largest environmental advocacy organization with national scope. Comparable as a member- and donor-funded environmental nonprofit running campaigns and citizen engagement on climate, biodiversity, and planning issues.

Others

• Environmental Defenders Office: Australia's largest environmental legal centre providing public interest litigation and law reform. Comparable as a natural partner for CEN's Porters Creek, COSS, and Future Sooner campaigns where legal action is required.
• Great Eastern Ranges Limited: Initiative linking and protecting healthy habitats across 3,600km in eastern Australia. Directly listed as a CEN partner; comparable as a coordinating body that convenes NGOs, government, and landholders for connectivity conservation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/communityenvironmentnetwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Environment Network