Landcare Australia

Last updated

Landcare Australia is a community not-for-profit organisation that involves local groups of volunteers repairing the natural environment. Originally, projects focused on agricultural farmland. The idea was that farmers, conservationists, and scientists could work together to improve both farm quality and natural ecosystems.

Contents

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 has Coastcare and "Junior Landcare" groups. These are unrelated to Caring for Country projects in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are involved.

History

The concept of "landcare" brings people together who share a common problem and usually live in the same drainage basin or "catchment", an area that collects and directs water to a common point. By working together in a catchment, land degradation problems can be tackled successfully. Many of the first groups were set up to eradicate rabbits in Australia [1] and to address other specific farm land degradation issues. The Landcare concept has now extended beyond this, to include rural farming, lifestyle and community development.

The movement began in Victoria, Australia in 1986 when a group of farmers near St Arnaud in central Victoria formed the first Landcare group, a voluntary group to repair the natural environment. Since then, the Landcare concept has spread across Australia and to about 15 other countries. There are approximately 4000 Landcare groups in Australia.[ citation needed ]

Important people in the creation of Landcare were Rick Farley of the National Farmers Association, environment lobbyist Barbara Hardy AO and Phillip Toyne, both from the Australian Conservation Foundation. Former premier of Victoria Joan Kirner and Heather Mitchell were also early proponents of the idea. [2]

Landcare as an organisation received a great boost when the Australian Federal Government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke declared a decade of landcare and established a continuing funding mechanism to enable the volunteers to continue and expand their work. [3] [4]

Activities

Landcare Australia was one of the supporters for this regenerated habitat for the superb parrot Regenerated habitat for superb parrot on the abandoned Boorowa railway line.jpg
Landcare Australia was one of the supporters for this regenerated habitat for the superb parrot

The range of activities now included within Landcare programs has expanded to include research that measures effectiveness of previous activities, fencing out stock so that vegetation can regrow, creating windbreaks for livestock protection, channelling and speeding waterways, and combating soil salinity. Many of the tasks are carried out to correct mistakes in farming practices conducted decades ago and sometimes a project simply involve the sharing of ideas related to caring for the land. Other activities include weed removal, using biological controls and farm beautification. [1]

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 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. [12]

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 2023 its members include around 2000 landcare organisations from the states and territories, which represent around 6000 individual Landcare groups. [13]

Governance

The CEO of Landcare Australia as of 2021 is Shane Norrish. [14] The organisation is governed by a board headed by chair (2021) Doug Humann AM , former leader of Bush Heritage Australia. [15]

National Landcare Awards

Landcare Australia runs the biennial National Landcare Awards. [16] The 2020 awards ceremony was postponed to August 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, with an awards ceremony hosted by ABC TV presenter Costa Georgiadis was held online, along with the Landcare Australia conference. Awards were given over nine categories, including youth, Indigenous, soil care and farming. [14]

Caring for Country

There are a number of projects known as "Caring for Country" in operation. These focus on local Indigenous people and custodians working to repair Indigenous lands and to preserve the environment using their cultural knowledge and connection 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 the National Landcare Program and Caring for Our Country budgets) has funded projects and Indigenous ranger positions. [17] [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Kirner</span> 42nd Premier of Victoria (1938–2015)

Joan Elizabeth Kirner was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982 to 1994, she was a member of the Legislative Council before later winning a seat in the Legislative Assembly. Kirner was a minister and briefly deputy premier in the government of John Cain Jr., and succeeded him as premier following his resignation. She was Australia's third female head of government and second female premier, Victoria's first, and held the position until her party was defeated in a landslide at the 1992 state election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salinity in Australia</span>

Soil salinity and dryland salinity are two problems degrading the environment of Australia. Salinity is a concern in most states, but especially in the south-west of Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation Volunteers Australia</span> Australian conservation organization

Conservation Volunteers Australia is an Australian not-for-profit conservation organisation that attracts and co-ordinates volunteers for environmental restoration projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Conservation Foundation</span> Australias national environmental organisation

The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability.

The following lists events that happened during 1990 in Australia.

The Natural Heritage Trust (NHT), or National Heritage Trust Account was set up in 1997 by means of the Natural Heritage Trust of Australia Act 1997, with the main objective of conserving the "natural capital infrastructure" of Australia. Money from the NHT Account must be spent on the environment, sustainable agriculture and natural resources management (NRM). Since its establishment, a considerable number of community groups and organisations have received funding for environmental and natural resource management projects, delivered via a number of different initiatives since 1997. As of June 2020, the NHT account is funding a program known as Phase Two of the National Landcare Program. The original National Landcare Program was launched in 1992, but in 2014 merged with the Caring for our Country program.

Richard Andrew Farley was an Australian journalist, politician, land rights and civil rights activist for the rights of Indigenous Australians. He emerged in the public's eye as a prominent member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, an organisation that looked to establish healthy, multicultural relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bush Heritage Australia</span>

Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund. Its vision is: Healthy Country, Protected Forever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous Protected Area</span> Area of land or sea in Australia managed by traditional owners

An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisations. Each is formally recognised by the Australian Government as being part of its National Reserve System. The areas may comprise land and sea, and are managed by Indigenous groups for the conservation of biodiversity. Managing IPAs also helps to protect the cultural values of their country for future generations, and has benefits for Indigenous health, education, economic and social cohesion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in New Zealand</span> Overview of agriculture in New Zealand

In New Zealand, agriculture is the largest sector of the tradable economy. The country exported NZ$46.4 billion worth of agricultural products in the 12 months to June 2019, 79.6% of the country's total exported goods. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector directly contributed $12.653 billion of the national GDP in the 12 months to September 2020, and employed 143,000 people, 5.9% of New Zealand's workforce, as of the 2018 census.

The Conservation Council of South Australia, also known as Conservation SA and Conservation Council SA, is an environmental organisation serving as a peak body, representing over 50 member groups, representing over 90,000 individual members, in the state of South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental movement in Australia</span>

Beginning as a conservation movement, the environmental movement in Australia was the first in the world to become a political movement. Australia is home to United Tasmania Group, the world's first green party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrnambool College</span> Government, co-educational, day school in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia

Warrnambool College is a government high school in the regional town of Warrnambool in south-west Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penelope Mitchell</span> Australian actress (born 1991)

Penelope Mitchell is an Australian actress, best known for playing the roles of Letha Godfrey in the American horror television series Hemlock Grove, and Liv Parker in The Vampire Diaries.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is an Australian non-profit membership based advocacy and lobby group that represents farmers in Victoria. The organisation represents its members in lobbying state and federal government on policy matters that affect farmers and regional communities. The VFF is a member organisation of the national farm lobby group the National Farmers Federation.

Phillip Toyne AO was an Australian environmental and indigenous rights activist, lawyer, and founder of Landcare Australia. He was the head of the Australian Conservation Foundation from 1986 to 1992. He negotiated the Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act and the successful native title claim of the traditional owners of Uluru in 1983.

Heather Mary Mitchell, neeHutchieson was an Australian farmer, community leader and conservationist. From 1986 to 1989, she served as the first female president of the Victorian Farmers Federation, and played a central role in the establishment of Landcare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reconciliation in Australia</span> Movement to improve relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

Reconciliation in Australia is a process which officially began in 1991, focused on the improvement of relations between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia and the rest of the population. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR), created by the government for a term of ten years, laid the foundations for the process, and created the peak body for implementation of reconciliation as a government policy, Reconciliation Australia, in 2001.

Bradley Paul FarmerAM is an Australian advocate, author and conservationist. He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia on the 2019 Queens Birthday Honours List for a lifetime of voluntary service towards coasts, conservation and communities. His first environmental campaign, aged 12, was on the Gold Coast where he grew up. He continues to be an adviser of coastal conservancy in Australia and elsewhere.

References

  1. 1 2 Meredith, Peter (1995). "Landcare: A grassroots revolution down on the farm". Australian Geographic . Terrey Hills, New South Wales: Australian Geographic Society. 40: 69–85.
  2. ↑ Campbell, Andrew. "Joan Kirner united farmers and conservationists to care for the land". The Conversation.
  3. ↑ "Bob Hawke Award | Bob Hawke Award".
  4. ↑ "Evolution of Landcare in Australia - Department of Agriculture". www.agriculture.gov.au.
  5. ↑ "Home". Landcare NSW. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Home". Landcare NT.
  7. ↑ "Home page". Landcare Association of South Australia. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Home page". Queensland Water & Land Carers. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "LVI: Landcare Victoria Inc: Our purpose". Victorian Landcare Gateway. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "About us". Landcare Tasmania. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "About WA Landcare Network". Western Australia Landcare Network. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "National Landcare Directory". Landcare Australia. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "About". National Landcare Network. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
  14. 1 2 Honan, Kim (5 August 2021). "National Landcare winners recognised for their passion, environmental excellence". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "Board of Directors". Landcare Australia. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "State & Territory Landcare Awards". Landcare Australia. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  17. ↑ "NAIDOC Caring for Country Award - the amazing Warddeken Project". NITV.
  18. ↑ "Caring for Country". Northern Land Council. Archived from the original on 17 August 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.