Victorian Landcare Magazine - Winter 2021, Issue 81
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Warrnambool Wave School has used a Victorian Junior Landcare and Biodiversity Grant to create a garden of indigenous plants at the school and take a field trip to the Basalt to Bay Landcare Network’s Green Line Project. This former railway line site is home to a heritage-listed Aboriginal scar tree that is now managed and protected for biodiversity conservation by VicTrack in partnership with Landcare.
The field trip was an opportunity to learn from Traditional Owner Brett Clarke, a Kirrae Whurrong man, who helped students identify indigenous plants and explained their many uses as food and medicine. Brett also demonstrated a variety of Aboriginal tools and weapons and explained how Aboriginal people used them for collecting, hunting, and harvesting resources on Country.
The day was a great success with both students and teachers learning a lot about Aboriginal culture and connection to Country.
For more information please contact Jackson Chatfield on Jackson.chatfield@delwp.vic.gov.au or 0419 504 451.
The Australian Government’s Wild Otways Initiative, Community Environment Grants Program, has awarded $855,000 in funding to Landcare and other natural resource management community groups to deliver 23 projects in the region. These projects will deliver critical on-ground works for our community and local environment, including threatened species protection.
In early May the Corangamite, Goulburn Broken, North Central and North East CMAs partnered to deliver Cascade Connections, a networking and peer learning event for Landcare facilitators across the four CMA regions.
Corangamite Lakes Landcare Area ran a Budj Bim Aboriginal heritage day tour for its community in April, including a visit to Tyrendarra Indigenous Protected Area to learn about complex fish and eel traps. Bellarine Landcare Group has partnered with Agriculture Victoria to trial an online farm planning short course and with the Otway Agroforestry Network through the CMAs National Landcare Program funding to deliver a Master TreeGrower course.
For more information visit www.ccma.vic.gov.au (Get involved/ Landcare) or contact Elisia Dowling on 0418 397 521.
The community continues to focus on bushfire recovery across the large area that was impacted by the 2019/2020 summer bushfire. Funding has been sourced for several recovery projects including on-ground works, species-specific recovery, capacity building and learning and training projects. Far East Victoria Landcare has employed Shirali Dave as Bushfire Recovery Project Officer working with communities to provide support and project delivery.
Landcare staff from across East Gippsland presented at a Statewide Integrated Flora and Fauna Teams (SWIFT) seminar on fire recovery projects within the region in March and presented at a recovery forum in April.
Landcare groups in non-fire affected areas are working on their five-year strategic plans, as well as looking at project ideas
for coming funding opportunities.
For more information visit www.egcma.vic.gov.au (What we do/Landcare) or contact Carolyn Cameron on 0419 892 268.
Landcare groups were delighted to see the return of the Victorian Landcare Grants. The grants are a key activity for many of the production focused Landcare groups. They provide an important opportunity for members to collaborate and learn from each other. Strong commodity prices are another catalyst to increase the biodiversity on their farms.
The CMA’s Working for Victoria Crew have done a fantastic job assisting many Landcare groups around the region. They have worked on weed control and helped many landholders plant and protect paddock trees.
The Upper Hopkins Land Management Group and the Beyond Bolac Catchment Action Group teamed up to run a marquee at the Lake Bolac Eel Festival Harmony Day. There was a lot of interest in the groups’ activities and it proved to be good recruitment opportunity.
For more information visit www.ghcma.vic.gov.au (Get Involved/Landcare) or contact Tony Lithgow on 0418 180 996.
It was all about facilitation in the region over the first quarter of 2021 – what do we need to do to retain our existing Landcare facilitators and how conservation management networks and environmental volunteer groups go about applying for Landcare facilitator funding through the 2021-24 Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program.
It has been great to see groups and networks getting back to doing some events like field days, property inspections and even face-to-face meetings with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. We have also been catching up on a few postponed AGMs.
The loss of face-to-face interaction over the past year has highlighted the significant role that groups play in the social connection of our communities.
For more information visit www.gbcma.vic.gov.au (The Region/Community natural resource management) or contact Tony Kubeil on 0408 597 213.
The region experienced below average rainfall over summer and into autumn. There’s hope for improved rainfall conditions in the near future.
The CMA congratulates all community groups for successfully completing and reporting their works from the 2019-20 Victorian Landcare Grants. Excellent on-ground achievements were completed through this round of grants, including substantial areas of pest plant and animal control, revegetation, and educational events for schools. We look forward to the projects that will be delivered through the next round of Victorian Landcare Grants.
For more information visit www.malleecma.vic.gov.au) or contact Nelson Burand-Hicks on 0427 540 469.
The Landcare community has welcomed the recent opportunities to apply for various environmental grants to support their projects and priorities. We wish every applicant the best with their submissions.
The Cascade Connections Landcare Facilitator Forum bought Landcare support staff from across four catchments together on 3–4 May in Creswick. Workshop sessions focused on inclusive leadership, resilience thinking and peer-support. 2021 was the event’s third iteration. It continues to grow from strength to strength in support of facilitator networking and development opportunities.
The CMA was thrilled to get back out into the community delivering face-to-face drop-in sessions to complement the draft Regional Catchment Strategy release in March. The strategy can be viewed online at www.northcentral.rcs.vic.gov.au/
For more information visit nccma.vic.gov.au (Get involved/Landcare) or contact Tess Grieves on 0438 357 874.
The Landcare community has been very active with many groups hosting activities. Three networks worked together to host a number of dung beetle workshops for property owners, which were met with great interest.
All the Landcare facilitators funded through the Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program have been involved in the process of groups and networks applying for Landcare facilitator funding through the 2021-24 Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program. Groups and networks have also been actively seeking out new funding and grant opportunities and getting ready for the tree planting season over autumn and winter.
For more information visit www.necma.vic.gov.au (Solutions/Landcare & community groups) or contact Richard Dalkin on 0409 683 467.
Many Landcarers in the region have been busy with grant writing, taking part in the application phase of the 2021-24 Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program, and returning to COVID-safe on-ground volunteer activities.
Another bumper round of applications is expected to be received for the Victorian Landcare Grants. The CMA has the most Landcare and environmental volunteering groups in Victoria, making it a challenging task for the seven members of the Regional Assessment Panel for the Victorian Landcare Grants.
Many Landcare groups benefitted from the Working for Victoria Environmental and Agricultural Work Crews that assisted on dozens of sites across the region clearing woody weeds and planting projects.
The CMA has announced that it will be integrated into Melbourne Water from January 2022. With all the CMA’s roles going across to Melbourne Water through the new arrangement, Landcare support (from 2022) will be part of the suite of services provided by Melbourne Water. However, there is not expected to be any significant change in how these services are provided.
The development and maintenance of Partnership Agreements with Landcare networks and the renewal of a Regional Landcare Support Plan will continue to be developed over 2021.
For more information visit ppwcma.vic.gov.au (What we do/Landcare support) or contact Barry Kennedy on 0447 821 559.
Parts of Gippsland received decent rain in March which increased soil moisture for tree planting projects. There were many happy farmers as dams and water tanks over flowed.
Yarram Yarram Landcare Network has been successful in gaining $100,000 in funding through the Australian Government Smart Farms Small Grants Program and will work with farmers, foresters and fishers to improve water quality at Corner Inlet.
Dr Russ Barrow from the National Dung Beetle Ecosystems Engineers project presented a series of field days in Gippsland to educate landowners on the benefits of dung beetles. In addition to these field days, the Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator is supporting South Gippsland Landcare Network to establish dung beetle nurseries throughout Bass Coast, Latrobe and Maffra Landcare Networks.
Maffra and District Landcare Network is working closely with the Wellington Shire to deliver the Wellington Weeds and Pest Animal Control Project.
For more information visit wgcma.vic.gov.au (Getting involved/Landcare) or contact Marnie Ellis on 0472 503 088.
After a challenging year for Landcare groups and networks across the region, we are all looking for opportunities to reconnect and inject some fresh motivation and inspiration into local activities.
Landcare facilitator positions will play a vital role in helping to rebuild momentum at a local and regional level by providing support and resources for groups, landholders, and volunteers. Landcare groups who have participated in the application process for the 2021-24 Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program look forward to next steps.
A new soil moisture and weather station program coordinated by the CMA as part of the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund will engage with many Landcare groups across the region to improve management of natural resources and build drought resilience into agricultural and broader landscapes.
For more information visit wcma.vic.gov.au (Get involved/Landcare) or contact Joel Boyd on 0429 949 196.