Dear <<First Name>>,
I'm hoping everyone caught a bit of the rain that has been going around, and fingers crossed for some much more substantial falls in the near future!
Autumn continues to be incredibly busy for Landcare in our area. We have a great range of events coming up across the network, make sure you put any that catch your fancy in the calendar and register quickly so you don't miss out.
The Victorian Landcare Grants are now open with applications of up to $30,000 considered. If you have any great ideas that you'd like to see enacted, contact your local Landcare group or reach out to me on 0427613970 or at landcare.penny@gmail.com.
- Penny Raleigh, Victorian Landcare Facilitator
|
|
Grant Success for our Landcare Network
|
|
The Ovens Landcare Network has been very fortunate in receiving two large federally funded grants this year.
Earlier this year we received $79,600 for our project "Building the capacity across the Ovens Landcare Network to plan and implement sustainable on-ground solutions" through the National Landcare Programs Smart Farms Small Grants Program.
This project will build the capacity of Landcare groups and their members to make actionable decisions leading to increased uptake of best management practices across a diverse farming landscape. Landholders throughout the catchment of the Ovens Landcare Network will have the opportunity to develop Property Management Plans with professional support. Participants and key Landcare community leaders will then be invited to attend facilitated workshops, exploring their prioritised on-farm actions and receiving expert advice on enacting changes. These workshops will increase the opportunity for peer-to-peer learning and provide Landcare groups with data to pursue collaborative projects in the future.
At the end of April it was also announced that the OLN has been successful in our $111,000 application to the Future Drought Fund: Natural Resource Management (NRM) Drought Resilience Program Grants for our project "Understanding landscape and water to manage for drought conditions".
The objective of this project is to provide landholders in the Ovens Landcare Network with resources to plan for and manage drought conditions by increasing the understanding of how water, landscape, and vegetation interact.
We will:
- host a series of events to be held across the catchment area to explore hydrology, water storage and soil capacity.
- develop water management plans with 30 landholders.
- provide examples for the broader community to further increase the awareness of best practice land and water management.
Keep an eye out for upcoming events and expressions of interest to participate in these projects.
|
|
Launch of the Threatened Species Mosaic Trail on Reform Hill
Myrtleford
|
|
On Saturday the 24th of April, Myrtleford & District Landcare & Sustainability held a massively successful opening of their Threatened Species Mosaic Trail on Reform Hill. The group's president Claire Stock lead the proceedings, with Daniel Littlewood (DELWP - Bushfire Biodiversity Recovery Project Officer) and John Taylor OAM (Friends of Reform Hill) speaking about the importance of Reform Hill and the work that has been undertaken.
Myrtleford is already home to a mosaic trail that attracts tourists from all over. This new trail winds up and around Reform Hill, a former pine plantation where the Landcare Group and Friends of Reform Hill have undertaken significant weed control and revegetation. Reform Hill is home to the threatened Stony Bush-Pea (Pultenaea lapidosa) that the local Landcare group have spent over 5 years working to protect, and hopefully in the near future it will provide habitat for more of our locally threatened species.
As part of Myrtleford & District Landcare & Sustainability's "Piecing Together Our Threatened Species" project, the group has worked with local mosaic specialists The Crackpots to create 11 mosaics for the new trail. They also ran workshops where community members had the opportunity to create their own mosaic of a threatened or locally native species that they could take home.
Next time you are in the area, take a break and enjoy this beautiful walk. Along the way keep your eye out and see if you can find all the mosaics. The species represented along the trail are the: Striped Legless Lizard, Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Long-footed Potoroo, Crimson Spider-orchid, Barking Owl, Bush Stone-curlew, Stony Bush-pea, Spot-tailed Quoll, Turquoise Parrot, Lace Monitor, and Greater Glider.
This event and project was funded by the Victorian Landcare Program with support from DELWP throughout the project. Thank you to Andrew R Jones Photography for the images of the event.
|
|
Building Soil Knowledge in NE Victoria
|
|
Friday 14th May | 9.30am - 4pm
The George Kerferd, Hotel 22 Oak Avenue, Beechworth
Join NECMA at this free conference for all land managers, agriculture industry groups and soil health service providers in north east Victoria, providing the latest information about monitoring and managing soil acidification.
For more information and to register go here.
|
|
|
Practical workshop: Managing your shelterbelt in the long term
|
|
Friday 14th May | 2pm - 4pm
Greta Valley, RSVP for location details
Guest speaker Kylie Macreadie from Agriculture Victoria and Sally Day will co-present to discuss a range of options for improving the effectiveness of your shelterbelts in the long term. They will cover how to assess whether your shelterbelt is meeting your needs, options for top-up planting and assisting natural recruitment and how to improve the biodiversity value of your corridors. Sally will also run through the 20 most common shrubs in our local area and their benefits in our landscape. A light afternoon tea will be provided. RSVP essential. RSVP online here or text Sally on 0437 136 162.
|
|
|
Hodgson & Horseshoe Creeks Landcare: Celebrating 30 Years
|
|
Sunday 16th May | 4.30pm - 7.30pm
Everton Hall, Great Alpine Rd, Everton
Join Hodgson & Horseshoe Creeks Landcare Group to celebrate their AGM and 30 years of local Landcare, with a presentation from expert Julian Martian on the effects of the 2018 floods on local waterways.
Dinner provided: $25 or $15 for members and primary school aged children. Please RSVP to Ruth Kneebone on 0402 104 188 by the 12th of May.
|
|
|
Practical ways to improve shade and shelter on your property
|
|
Monday 17th May | 7pm - 9pm
Bobinawarrah Memorial Hall
Cnr Dock-Carboor Rd & Allans Lane, Bobinawarrah
Kylie Macreadie from Agriculture Victoria will deliver practical advice on how to design and manage shade and shelter for a productive farming system. Shelter belts, blocks of trees and paddock trees provide enormous benefits to livestock productivity in extreme hot and cold weather events, as well as being valuable assets for biodiversity and carbon on-farm. Light supper provided. RSVP essential. To RSVP please fill in online form here or email cblg.secretary@gmail.com.
|
|
|
Wangaratta Spotlight Walk and Talk
|
|
Friday 21st May | 6pm - 8pm
Wangaratta Bowls Club, 20 Park Lane Wangaratta
Join the Rural City of Wangaratta and Wangaratta Landcare & Sustainability to learn about our fascinating nocturnal native animals. Dinner and talk from 6pm-6:30pm before a night walk at Northern Beaches to spot wildlife. All ages are welcome.
This is a waste free event so please bring your own mug and spoon for a soup dinner and a water bottle. Don’t forget your warm clothes! Places are limited - please RSVP by Monday 17th May here.
|
|
|
Saturday 22nd May | 10am - 12pm
Cnr Indigo Creek Rd and Cheesleys Rd, Indigo Valley
The loss of natural tree hollows is a major concern for the protection of Victoria’s hollow-dependent wildlife. Nest boxes are a solution to this problem. Check out what's living in local nesting boxes and learn more about why they are important.
RSVP for catering by 14th May - indigovalleylandcare@hotmail.com or phone/text 0444 541 569
|
|
|
How To Enhance Your Farm Dam
|
|
Sunday 23rd May | 9am - 12pm
498 Glenrowan-Moyhu Road, Greta West
Join ecologists from the Sustainable Farms team to learn about the scientific research that is currently being undertaken on farm dams across NE Victoria and the multiple benefits of enhancing farm dams for biodiversity and production. We will visit several farm dams on the property of Marc & Sharon Sealey to hear about the improvement works they have been undertaking and talk about how to get started planning and implementing similar projects on your own property. Breakfast will be provided at 9am, followed by a short AGM at 9.30am. The workshop will commence at 9.45am. RSVP essential. RSVP here or text Sally on 0437 136 162.
|
|
|
Sunday 30th May | 10.30am - 12.30pm
Whorouly East, register for further details
Would you like to know how to attract more native birds into your backyard?
Join Myrtleford Landcare for an informative presentation and garden walk with Sue Brunskill. Sue is a keen twitcher with a lifetime in conservation, working to provide habitat for native species on properties in both rural and urban settings. For further details and to RSVP online go here.
|
|
|
Establishing populations of Southern Pygmy Perch in farm dams
|
|
TBC ~ 3rd June
Glenrown, RSVP for further details
Over the last three years, the Greta Valley Landcare Group has been involved in a pilot program with the Arthur Rylah Institute to translocate native fish to farm dams in their landcare area. In the continuation of this work, the Group is looking for potential farm dam sites that might be suitable homes for these native fish for future grant programs. In particular, the team is looking for sites that have good aquatic vegetation, is spring fed or has never dried out, preferably fenced from stock and is located on the floodplain of a tributary of the King or Ovens Rivers. Interested landholders are encouraged to attend the information session being held in Glenrowan in early June. To find out more about this program and to RSVP for this event, please call Sally Day on 0437 136 162.
|
|
|
Understanding and Using GPS
|
|
Saturday 12th June | 9.30am
Regional Study Centre, 218 Tone Road Wangaratta
Join Swamps Rivers Ranges to learn how and why we use GPS. The presenters CSU will look at what GPS is and how we can use and understand it on a range of devices.
This is a great practical workshop if you’d like to get involved in monitoring programs, bushwalkers or anyone interested in finding remote areas.
We encourage participants to bring their own GPS device if they have one, please arrive for a prompt start. Bookings are essential but all are welcome, please book here.
If you have any questions please get in contact with Sophie via swampsriversranges@gmail.com
|
|
|
Small Community Grants | Victorian Gorse Taskforce
Applications close 28th May 2021
The Victorian Gorse Taskforce (VGT) supports communities to reduce gorse in their local area. The Small Community Grants Program provides up to $5,000 for small-scale gorse control on individual properties (2 or more). It mainly provides funding to rebate 50 per cent of costs for landholders to undertake gorse control.
If you have a gorse problem, speak to your neighbours to see if they would like to join in, and reach out to your Landcare group or Landcare Facilitator. For guidelines and to start an application go here.
|
|
2021 Victorian Landcare Grants | Victorian Landcare Program
Applications close 5pm 16th June 2021
The Victorian Government is providing $2.55 million funding for project and support grants across the state.
Project grants
Up to $30,000 is available for on-ground works, capacity building activities, community education and engagement that protects, or improves natural assets such as native vegetation, native fauna, waterways, wetlands, and soils.
Support grants
Up to $500 is available for assistance with costs such as insurance, incorporation and operational needs, or meetings and events or newsletters, websites, and other communication.
Grants are open to all Victorian Landcare and environmental volunteering groups and networks that have a focus on on-ground land and natural environment improvement work. This includes Landcare groups and networks, 'Friends of' groups, Conservation Management Networks, Committees of Management, Coastcare groups and Aboriginal groups and organisations working on Country. For more details and to read the guidelines go here.
|
|
Tackling Tough Times Together | FRRR
Applications close Monday 24th May 2021
The Tackling Tough Times Together grant program helps communities access the resources they need to support one another through the ongoing effects of the drought.
Grants are available for a broad range of grassroots, community-led initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and assessed quarterly. For more information click here.
|
|
Strengthening Rural Communities | FRRR
Applications close Tuesday 25th May 2021
The Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) program aims to give the thousands of small rural, regional and remote communities across Australia an opportunity to access funding to support broad community needs. Given the events of summer 2019/20, it has also been expanded to offer funding to support recovery in bushfire-affected communities.
Grants are available for a broad range of grassroots, community-led initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and assessed quarterly. For more information click here. For more information click here.
|
|
Small Environmental Grant Scheme | Norman Wettenhall Environment Trust
Expressions of Interest open regularly
Providing support for people undertaking projects that will make a positive difference to the natural living environment, in land, sea or air, rural or urban. The Norman Wettenhall Environment Trust supports grassroots organisations and individuals, and academics who are working with on-ground community groups. The expression of interest process opens regularly throughout the year. For more information click here.
|
|
Agricultural Chemical User Permit Training (ACUP)
|
|
Hosted by Rural City of Wangaratta, open to everyone. Cost of the course - $50
Course participants limited to 10 people
Training Dates:
• 27 May 2021 – Everton (registration closes 24 May)
• 18 June 2021 - Springhurst (registration closes 14 June)
For more information, or to register for the ACUP Training, please contact Alandi Durling
on a.durling@wangaratta.vic.gov.au, or 0438 828 660.
|
|
|
Comment on the draft Hume Regional Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
|
|
Consultation closes 25th May
The draft Hume Regional Climate Change Adaptation Strategy has been developed as a five-year vision for the Hume Region.
Reviewing the draft Strategy and completing the short survey will help finalise the Hume's climate change adaptation priorities and programs
To provide feedback, please review the draft Strategy and complete the short survey here.
|
|
|
Fungi of North East Victoria: An Identification and Conservation Guide
|
|
We are now lucky to have another fantastic identification brochure for our area. Published by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, in collaboration with Wooragee Landcare, the North East Catchment Management Authority, and the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority. Research, text and photography by Alison Pouliot. Click here to view the PDF version or keep an eye out at upcoming events for a hard copy.
This guide represents 96 species from hundreds, possibly thousands that grow in the diverse habitats of North East Victoria. It includes some of the more conspicuous and distinctive species that can be recognised in the field, using features visible to the naked eye or with a x10 magnifier.
|
|
|
|
|
|
