Landcare Australia

Not to be confused withNational Landcare Program.

Landcare Australiais a communitynot-for-profitorganisation that involves local groups of volunteers repairing the natural environment. Initially, projects focused on agricultural farmland. The idea was that farmers, conservationists, and scientists could work together to improve both farm quality and natural ecosystems.

The Landcare Australia organisation has grown and diversified since its small-scale origins in the 1980s. The Landcare concept has grown to include groups working on town and city green areas, waterways, beaches and larger park areas. For example, Landcare Australia now hasCoastcareand "Junior Landcare" groups. These are unrelated toCaring for Countryprojects in whichAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleare involved.

History

The concept of "landcare" brings people together who share a common problem and usually live in the samedrainage basinor "catchment", an area that collects and directs water to a common point. By working together in a catchment,land degradationproblems can be tackled successfully. Many of the first groups were set up to eradicaterabbits in Australiaand to address other specificfarmland degradation issues. The Landcare concept has now extended beyond this, to includeruralfarming, lifestyle and community development.

The movement began inVictoria, Australia,in 1986 when a group of farmers nearSt Arnaudin central Victoria formed the first Landcare group, a voluntary group to repair the natural environment. Since then, the Landcare concept has spread acrossAustraliaand to about 15 other countries. There are approximately 4000 Landcare groups in Australia.

Important people in the creation of Landcare wereRick Farleyof theNational Farmers Association,environment lobbyistBarbara HardyAOandPhillip Toyne,both from theAustralian Conservation Foundation.Former premier of VictoriaJoan KirnerandHeather Mitchellwere also early proponents of the idea.

Landcare as an organisation received a great boost when theAustralian Federal Governmentof Prime MinisterBob Hawkedeclared a decade of landcare and established a continuing funding mechanism to enable the volunteers to continue and expand their work.

Activities

Landcare Australia was one of the supporters of this regenerated habitat for thesuperb parrot.

The range of activities now included within Landcare programs has expanded to include research that measures the effectiveness of previous activities, fencing out stock so that vegetation can regrow, creatingwindbreaksfor livestock protection, channelling and speeding waterways, and combatingsoil salinity.Many of the tasks are carried out to correct mistakes in farming practices conducted decades ago, and sometimes, a project simply involves sharing ideas related to caring for the land. Other activities include weed removal, using biological controls, and farmbeautification.

Affiliates

Landcare groups in Australia are supported by Landcare Australia as a national body as well as by national and state-based agencies or organisations, including:

• Landcare NSW
• Landcare NT;
• The Landcare Association of South Australia, aka Landcare SA
• Queensland Water & Land Carers;
• Landcare Victoria Inc. (LVI), formed in 2017 when the Farm Tree and Landcare Association (FTLA) merged with the Victorian Landcare Council (VLC) in 2017
• Landcare Tasmaniaand
• The Western Australia Landcare Network (WALN), formed May 2013

Landcare Australia maintains the online National Landcare Directory (NLD), which includes a wide variety of community-based groups across Australia, including landcare networks and groups, farmers, landholders,traditional custodians,junior groups and coastcare groups.

The National Landcare Network is the national peak body representing community landcare groups in Australia. Its aim is to "represent, support and foster the community Landcare movement". As of 2023its members include around 2000 landcare organisations from the states and territories, which represent around 6000 individual Landcare groups.

Governance

The CEO of Landcare Australia as of 2021is Shane Norrish.The organisation is governed by a board headed by chair (2021)Doug HumannAM,former leader ofBush Heritage Australia.

National Landcare Awards

Landcare Australia runs the biennial National Landcare Awards.The 2020 awards ceremony was postponed to August 2021 owing to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Australia,with an awards ceremony hosted byABC TVpresenterCosta Georgiadiswas held online, along with the Landcare Australia conference. Awards were given in over nine categories, including: youth,Indigenous,soil care, and farming.

Caring for Country

There are a number of projects known as "Caring for Country" in operation. These focus on localIndigenous peopleandcustodiansworking to repair Indigenous lands and to preserve the environment usingtheir cultural knowledgeandconnection to country,and are often carried out in conjunction with non-Indigenous people and organisations who are willing and able to assist. The organisation and funding of Caring for Country projects is often different to local Landcare groups. Federal government landcare (under theNational Landcare ProgramandCaring for Our Countrybudgets) has funded projects andIndigenous rangerpositions.

See also

• Conservation in Australia
• Environmental issues in Australia
• Bushcare Group

External links

• Landcare Australia