What is the Threatened Species Bake Off?
The Threatened Species Bake Off is an invitation to Australians to bake a dessert in the shape of a threatened species. The Bake Off aims to build awareness in the community about Australia’s remarkable and unique threatened wildlife.
The Threatened Species Commissioner is delighted to announce the Threatened Species Bake Off for the seventh year running in 2023!
Key dates
24 August – Entries open
7 September – Threatened Species Day – why not hold an event to celebrate threatened species and eat cake?!
24 September – Entries close
How to participate
Using your baking skills, produce a baked creation that resembles or represents an Australian native threatened species and share it with the Threatened Species Commissioner on social media. A list of nationally threatened species can be found on the right under resources.
Upload an image of your baked creation to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram by using the hashtag #TSBakeOff2023 and tag the Threatened Species Commissioner. Include your first name, the species and the category you are entering. If you are unable to enter via social media, please send your entry to tsbakeoff@dcceew.gov.au.
Schools and organisations are encouraged to submit their entry along with a short video or 100-word comment about why their threatened species is important to their school, organisation or region. Schools and organisations can enter via social media or by sending their entry to tsbakeoff@dcceew.gov.au.
Winning entries will be displayed on the Threatened Species Commissioner's social media channels.
By entering the Threatened Species Bake Off you are giving permission for the Department and judges to use the image or video to promote the initiative.
Entries are open until Sunday 24 September 2023.
Loving the unlovely and getting to know the unknown
This year’s Bake Off theme will highlight the threatened species that don’t often hit the headlines and the species that some people might call ugly or uncharismatic.
It’s a reminder that these species matter too. They play important roles in our ecosystems and are valued parts of Australia’s biodiversity.
We invite you to take on the challenge to enter a baked creation that encourages others to love the unlovely or get to know the unknown.
Entries of baked creations that resemble one of the perennially popular big-eyed, colourfully feathered or fluffy threatened species are still welcome!
Categories
The 2023 Threatened Species Bake Off includes six categories so everyone can get involved. Entries will be judged based on the likeness to the chosen threatened species and the creativity of the design and how well it reflects the theme. Judges will also consider the content of the written or video comments when judging the schools’ and organisations’ categories.
Early Learner’s Award
The Early Learner's Award is open for children aged 4 years or younger.
Children’s Award
The Children’s Award is open for children aged 5 to 15 years.
Open
The Open category is for entries by individuals 15 years and over. This can include entries from organisations and community groups.
People’s Choice
The winner will be decided by you, the public! All entries will be uploaded into an album on the Threatened Species Commissioner’s Facebook page during the competition. The winner will be the entry with the most likes.
Schools Award
Open to all Australian schools. Schools are encouraged to submit their entry along with a short video or 100 word comment on why their threatened species is important to their school or region. Schools can enter via social media or by sending their entry to tsbakeoff@environment.gov.au.
Organisation Award
Open to all organisations and community groups. Organisations and community groups are encouraged to submit their entry along with a short video or 100 word comment on why their threatened species is important to their organisation or group. Organisations can enter via social media or by sending their entry to tsbakeoff@environment.gov.au.
Judges
Michael Atkinson
Michael Atkinson, AKA Outback Mike, is an adventurer, survivalist, filmmaker, author, and former military pilot. When not sailing up the Great Barrier Reef in a home-made dugout canoe or surviving alone in the Tasmanian wilderness for 64 days as he did on the hit SBS TV show Alone Australia he’s either editing his films or dreaming up the next adventure. He’s partial to a pickled pigface and is passionate about the reintroduction of Aboriginal land management techniques to return the bush to the condition Europeans found it in. Whilst not a pro at prepping sea cucumber, he can bake a mean fishcake from a speared mullet.
Dr Bec West
Bec is an ecologist for the University of New South Wales’ Wild Deserts project, which is reintroducing seven locally extinct mammals to Sturt National Park. Bec is an avid baker and has been making threatened species cakes for various events since 2010. The Threatened Species Bake Off was strongly supported by Bec in her capacity as a judge and co-founder when the initiative was launched in 2017. She is excited to see what the nation can produce for 2023’s Threatened Species Bake Off.
Dr Fiona Fraser
Fiona’s role as Threatened Species Commissioner is to champion the implementation of strategies and practical conservation actions to recover our most imperilled plants and animals. Using the principles of science, action and partnership, Fiona works with First Nations people, conservation organisations, governments, community and the private sector. Fiona is Australia’s third threatened species commissioner and is supported by a small team that is equally committed to and passionate about threatened species recovery. Fiona is looking forward to judging the incredible threatened plant and animal entries!