Landcare NSW has commissioned a document to record it’s history and foundation years.
Foreword – Dr Adrian Zammit, Chief Executive Officer, Landcare NSW:
In 2017, reflecting on the foundations of our organisation in 2007, we recognised Landcare NSW had come a long way in a decade and our story should be preserved. We hoped the documentation of our history might explain to future generations the culture and values of the founders of Landcare NSW. A professional historian, Virginia Macleod, was engaged to undertake research and with input from staff and volunteers of Landcare NSW she has produced this excellent record. I would like to thank Virginia for her dedication to the project. I also extend my sincere appreciation to those who were interviewed and other individuals who contributed to this project, particularly Landcare NSW staff members Jodie Lovell, Leigh McLaughlin and Sonia Williams.
Landcare NSW gratefully acknowledges the support of a NSW Cultural Grant from the Create NSW funding program 2018, administered by the Royal Australian Historical Society on behalf of the NSW Government. It has allowed for five recorded interviews and transcripts to be lodged in the State Library of NSW oral history collection, seminal documents to be gathered together and archived, and this written history to be made available on the Landcare NSW website.
We now have on record the observations and stories of a number of people involved in the formative years of Landcare NSW. It is my hope this history will inspire others involved in the NSW Landcare community to come forward to share their views and add to the historical record. As more material is uncovered, I envisage we will be able to fill in gaps and add to the richness of our story.
In the year we release this history, 2019, it is 30 years since the late Bob Hawke announced the ‘Decade of Landcare’ during his tenure as Prime Minister of Australia. It was a moment in time that inspired the formation of thousands of community groups across the nation who to this day are working to change the management of the environment and our natural resources.
Despite the massive success of Landcare, the environmental challenges we face on every level remain daunting and the need for Landcare is stronger than ever. I hope this history inspires a new generation to get behind Landcare and work together to undertake the transformational change needed to protect and restore the natural environment which sustains us.
Read the full document here: Caring for Land and People: A History of Landcare NSW 2007 – 2019
This project is supported by the Create NSW Cultural Grants Program, a devolved funding program administered by the Royal Australian Historical Society on behalf of the NSW Government.