2023 Victorian Landcare Grant applications are a wrap!
May 2023
Congratulations to all our landcare groups who together submitted a whopping 16 Victorian Landcare Grants earlier this month!! That’s nearly double from last year – well done everyone!! Now we cross our fingers and wait… In the meantime, here is a run down of what everyone applied for, and what might be in store for our region in the next year:
Northern Grampians Landcare has applied to take the next step on the farm dam improvement project they started last year. They hope to get two landholders started on works recommended as part of the ecological assessments conducted last year (you can read more about this in the Landcare Roundup section).
Halls Gap Landcare has applied for the next round of their weed control work and their community awareness project, which aims to inform local residents and visitors about the diversity of wildlife in Halls Gap and support residents in improving habitat, through activities such as creating nesting hollows, monitoring wildlife and planting suitable native plants.
Jallukar Landcare has applied to continue its award winning grasslands project. It also put in a second grant, to strike up a new collaboration with Pomonal Primary School, forming a new Junior landcare sub group. We hope to help the school build their very own propagation tables and watering system, and Jallukar members will be giving the students free reign of their nursery to collect seeds and cuttings to get them started.
Moyston Landcare applied for funds to support trail monitoring cameras, cultural awareness training and a collaboration with Moyston Primary School to take students on bush walks to get up close to native habitat. They also hope to run a community engagement event focused on Composting and Bioenergy, as well as controlling their ongoing control of spiny rush.
Black Range Land Management Group has put in for two grants, to progress the two projects they began last year: 1) to continue to fund their volunteer landholder-led group working to improve the biodiversity, conservation and resilience of the Black Range environment, through group plantings, weed control, and invasive species monitoring; and 2) to fund the second cycle of their cool cultural burning project, which is a collaboration with the Barengi Gadjin Land Council (BGLC) and the Eastern Marr Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC).
Stawell Landcare has applied to continue its regular programs of combating woody weeds, and running community and school nature walks. They also hope to contribute to reviving Stawell arboretum with a native focus.
Concongella Landcare has put in for two grants: 1) continuing the work at Aston’s Scour (read about that here) and 2) funding to collect soil and plant data on the response of soils and pasture in the local area to different regenerative agriculture techniques.
Landsborough Landcare has applied for funds to continue managing priority weeds in their area.
Crowlands/Warrak Landcare has applied for funds to manage their next big priority weed, Spiny Rush, as well as complete some follow up control of blackberry and gorse, to cap off a fantastic effort by locals with the 2021 Gorse & Blackberry project.
Elmhurst Landcare has applied to finish off their long term rabbit control project, as well as to target weeds in sensitive riparian areas.
Project Platypus has also put in three grants this round: 1) PP put in its usual application to support our regular programs of weed control and revegetation, filling in gaps between all the work being done by our Landcare groups. 2) We applied for a small amount of funding to collaborate with the Ararat and Stawell Archers club, to create understory habitat around the archery range in the Great Western Racing Recreation Reserve and build a new partnership with local recreational land users. This is my pet project, as an archery club member! 2) I have also put in for funding to support more school activities, as well as for a series of Landcare group biolinks workshops I hope to bring to you over the coming year…stay tuned on that!