Jeffreys’ approach to working with birds is underpinned by care and ethics. She only partners with organisations and rescue centres that operate with integrity and put the wellbeing of animals first. For example, the barn owls at the Ojai Raptor Centre, healing from injuries, live in custom-designed habitats. They often foster orphaned barn owl chicks that arrive at the centre, passing on knowledge and rearing them as they would in their own environment. These chicks are later safely released into the wild.

For Jeffreys, the comfort of the birds she works with is her highest priority. Her projects, which take years to realise, involve meticulously selecting birds that are suitable, familiarising them with her equipment and bonding with them to build mutual trust and rapport. She often collaborates with talented bird behaviourists and completes months of rigorous and ethical training to bring her visions to life.

Jeffreys regularly collaborates with a range of not-for-profits such as the Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre, California’s Ojai Raptor Centre, Twinnies Seabird Rescue Centre and Sydney’s Taronga Zoo. She contributes to their critical work and supports future fundraising campaigns by paying for photoshoots and donating print editions for auction.

In 1954, Jeffreys’ grandfather bought a piece of bushland in southwestern Australia. There, the artist and her brother spent much of their childhood playing among the trees and swimming in Wellington Dam, a nearby rapids.

Their father, a great lover of nature, hand-built a cabin out of recycled materials and, together, they removed invasive species and started replanting cleared paddocks. They placed a covenant on forty acres of the property to protect this sanctuary from the threat of development when he passed away.

Now, they partner with Living Legacy Forest, an initiative that combines regeneration efforts with acts of memorial, inviting those who’ve lost loved ones to plant a tree in their honour. It’s a gesture of love that’s also part of a powerful conservation project. Participants help rehabilitate eight hectares of land by planting native flora – such as jarrah, marri and bull banksia – that are habitats for the quokka, the Carnaby’s black cockatoo and other endangered species.

The Living Legacy Forest is part of Jeffreys’ commitment to celebrating our profound connection with nature. It bridges the gap between past and future and preserves the fragile ecologies we depend on for generations to come.