2024 Victorian Landcare Grant Applications

Yarrilinks facilitator Alicia was busy in April preparing applications for the 2024 Victorian Landcare Grants. These are funded by the Victorian Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action, and administered through the Wimmera CMA.

These annual grants help to support Landcare and environmental volunteer groups and networks with on-ground works, education and capacity building projects that protect and restore our land and natural environment.

Outcomes of the applications will be announced in Spring 2024. Fingers crossed for our projects to go ahead!

Alicia helped prepare and submit an application for 4 groups within our network:

Yarrilinks Landcare Network

Revitalising Landcare in Yarriambiack: Reviving the Yarrilinks plantout and a new Landcare group in Warracknabeal

This project follows a year and a half of efforts to reestablish activity for Yarrilinks Landcare Network after the disruption of Covid and a long vacancy in the Landcare Facilitator position. It will include a number of components to re-engage the community in Landcare.

1. Yarrilinks plantout: These were a feature of Yarrilinks for much of its history, and aim to engage the community in environmental restoration. A 7ha site has been selected near Minyip for planting in winter 2025. There will also be one additional, small site (0.6ha) planted out as a family planting weekend.

2. Warracknabeal Landcare Group: This part of the project will explore the feasability and scope for a Landcare group in Warracknabeal. The grant budget also includes funds to organise events for the future group in their first year.

3. The grant budget also includes funds for training and development of Network volunteers.

Lah Landcare Group

Environmental water refugia, revegetation, and propagation of a threatened endemic eucalypt

This project will take place in the Lah-Brim area north of Warracknabeal and involve members of Lah Landcare Group in 3 main project components: ecological assessments of dams/wetlands at two landholder properties, revegetation at two properties, and a seed collection and propagation activity.

1. Ecological wetland assessments: Two assessments will be conducted by qualified ecologists from the Wetland Revival Trust to explore the feasibility of the sites as refuge sites for environmental water.

2. Revegetation: Trees, guards, and stakes will be funded for revegetation on two properties, with planting to take place in winter 2025.

3. Seed collection: The project will focus on collecting seed from a species of eucalypt endemic to an area north of Brim (Eucalyptus yarriambiack), for inclusion in local revegetation projects.

Minyip Landcare Group

Local action and Landcare knowledge exchange linking the Wimmera and the Corangamite Lakes

This project will include a number of activities relevant to the Minyip/Boolite area in the form of weed control, remnant protection and revegetation. It will also facilitate knowledge exchange between regions by including a bus trip for members of Minyip Landcare Group to visit another group.

1. Weed control (mainly targeting horehound) and replacement of exclusion fencing around native vegetation will take place at a property covered by Trust for Nature covenants.

2. Revegetation will take place at 3 sites, two being private property and the third the Boolite Hall, where Minyip Landcare Group has a long history of tree planting.

3. Minyip Landcare Group bus trips are some of the most popular activities for the group, helping to maintain vigour and cohesion. This trip will take us to Corangamite to be hosted for a weekend by Lismore Land Protection Group. It will include site visits to Landcare projects and features of the Victorian Volcanic Plains Landscape. This will help to build relationships between the Landcare communities of the Wimmera and Corangamite.

Rupanyup Landcare Group

Nature connection for the residents of Rupanyup

There are three main components to the project: Weed control at two sites near town that are used as walking tracks by the community, a citizen science event, and a native gardens project.

1. Weed control will be undertaken at "Jack's Track" and The old Rupanyup Reservoir. Both are popular walking tracks used by residents of the town, and weed control will help keep track clear for safety and promote growth of revegetated native species.

2. Citizen science event: In order to promote the use of these tracks for fitness and nature connection, there will also be at least one citizen science event held at one of these two sites during the term of the project (ie the Aussie Bird Count or FrogID week, or other).

3. The native gardens project will engage the community of Rupanyup by facilitating access to information and native plants for home gardens. The project will include garden visits to new and established native plant gardens in the area and produce a factsheet about gardening with locally native plants.