The Shelterbelters arose from a local drive to plant trees and engage the farming community in pest control, weed control, research into salinity, and Landcare activities during the early 1990s.

Over the following 15 years many projects were completed, including planting swathes of native vegetation on and around district farms.
Between 2011 and 2016 they ran a gorse program across Moyne under the subset of The Moyne Weed Eradication Network with funding from the Victroian Gorse taskforce.

Since 2012, The Basalt to Bay Landcare Network has picked up a role in brokering grants for the St Helens area, and coordinated habitat and threatened species program works in The St Helens Flora Reserve.
The gorse work of the group has also been picked up by Basalt to Bay and continues.