About

The games

The EARTHCARE and CONSERVATION games are a fun way to explore how we can care for the earth, connect with nature and help conserve the planet's resources.

Take small steps to save the planet and earn points. Make a mess, waste energy or water and lose points. I CARE cards help you do good things. Suitable for 6 - 106 year olds.

EARTHCARE BOX GAME: Australian made, the game pieces are made of recycled cardboard, clay, and smooth upcycled glass and aluminium.

EARTHCARE CANVAS GAME: Australian made, Australian canvas (cotton grown in Queensland and milled in Rutherford NSW), game pieces are made of recycled cardboard, clay, smooth upcycled glass and aluminium and sustainably sourced wood.

1976 CONSERVATION game: original board artwork is printed in Melbourne on organic cotton tea towels made in India.

2026 CONSERVATION game: new artwork is printed in Melbourne on organic cotton tea towels made in India. The cards and tokens can be downloaded (for a $1 fee per card set) from https://www.earthcaregame.org/shop and printed or make your own, to DIY the game components.
Information on what you need to play the game can be downloaded from https://www.earthcaregame.org/instructions.

The original game

The EARTHCARE/ CONSERVATION game is a re-invention of a beautiful 1976 NZ board game called CONSERVATION. The original CONSERVATION board game was invented by R.J. Reynolds. Five thousand of copies were sold, mostly across NZ in the late 1970's. One of those games was given to Lisa's family, by family friends. It was described as a game of skill for children and adults about recycling resources and caring for our land. It was well known as the "Be a Tidy Kiwi" game. A copy of the game is included in the collection at Te Papa Tongarewa (Museum of New Zealand) in Wellington. Bob Reynolds and Lisa Wriley signed an Intellectual Property Agreement in February 2020, giving Lisa permission to re-invent the game for the 21st Century, when we need it more than ever.

Who we support

We will donate 50% of profits from all games to CONSERVATION projects.
See https://www.earthcaregame.org/conservation-projects for details of donations made.

Nominate a conservation project for us to share and support by emailing earthcaregame@gmail.com

If you are part of a Conservation/Earthcare/Permaculture group and would like to sell games directly to raise money, please contact us to discuss the details.

Who supports us

I am grateful for:

Bob Reynolds - testing me and then trusting me with his game;

Friends who helped me find Bob and encouraged me to follow my dream;

Nancy Shelley Bequest Fund (managed by Blue Mountains Quakers) who gave me a grant to help develop the game;

Friends and family who have played the game with me, in its various stages of development;

To all the people who have told me they would buy the game;

To all the people who have listened to my ideas and helped by providing materials, and making parts of the game.

How have the different games been made?

Illustrator: Elia Bourke,

Graphic Design: Nick Baron, the Bean Farm Studio,

Canvas game - Australian made, cotton grown in Queensland, milled in Rutherford NSW by Wax Converters

Printing of canvas by Steve at Earth Textile in Sydney using water-based ink and heat treatment

Binding of canvas game mat with pre-loved fabric - by George from All about Uniforms in Morisset

Drawstring bags made from Op Shop calico and Etamine fabric from Full Circle Fibres, sewn by Libby and Jane
Cloth creative work: Libby Bourke, Jane Bourke, Colleen Broadbent, Lindsay Cameron and Yvonne Shire

Scrap glass supplied by: Indigo Glass,

Glass cutting: Lisa Wriley, Andrew Wells, Peter Street and Tom

Scrap aluminium, laser cutting: Hi-Tech Electrical

Glass & Metal tumbling: Lyn Thomsen,

Clay suppliers: Keane Ceramics, Somersby

Clay pebble makers (shaped, stamped, glazed): Lisa Wriley, Neroli Addley, Michelle Addley, Suzanne Jeremy, Tam Hanson, Alice Renwick, Jenny Bolton, Ruth Hessey, Linda Agresti Hogue

Firing of clay pebbles: Centered Ceramics and Umina Pottery

Sustainably sourced wood: Rob Osmond, Narara Eco Village

Wooden tokens, dyed and laser cut: Laser Craft, West Gosford

Card printing on recycled stock: Gosford Printing,

Box and board production: Phoenix Packaging, Berkeley Vale

Organic Cotton Tea Towels, made in India, printed at: Organic Print Studio, Melbourne.

Game testers: Lily and Willow Owen, Wahroonga Quakers, Harry Wulff, some participants at the Australian Association of Environmental Education conference 2019, Jasmine Payget, Violet and Milo Addley, Christine Freeman, Anni Griffiths, Nick Carson, Ashleigh Kelly and Jane Smith.

Mentors and accountability buddies: Julian Bowker, Ruth Hessey, John Michaelis and Linda Agresti Hogue.

Film: Ruth Hessey

Original Webmaster: James Wright

Website support 2026: Emma French

Photography for Game boxes: John Addley (Birrawanna Track, NSW) and Trevor McGavin (Butterfly Creek, Lower Hutt, NZ)

and everyone I have neglected to mention!

Acknowledgement

I acknowledge with respect the Indigenous custodians of the land, waters and sky where I live, work and play. I recognise that there has never been a treaty or compensation for stolen land. To live together in the future is to understand the past.