Landcare NSW has awarded 100% of its funds from the 2019/2020 drought and bushfire fundraising appeal to its Landcare NSW member groups.
Landcare NSW CEO, Dr Adrian Zammit said the funding will help support Landcare groups re-establish projects and sites that have been affected by drought and bushfires.
“It is so important to support our NSW Landcare community through these times. With tens of millions of dollars of damage and loss this is just one small way we are supporting our communities back to recovery.”
“The projects funded are as diverse as the affected landscapes, and range from education, re-vegetation projects to animal habitats.
“The re-vegetation projects stretch from the south coast to western NSW highlighting the widespread impact these extreme natural disasters have had on all Landcare community projects.”
The Fund was made possible thanks to generous donations received from private donors from NSW and around the world in response to the devastating natural events experienced in the last 12 months.
“We would like to thank everyone for their contributions. The financial support received through donations from our Landcare NSW community and abroad means we can support member Landcare groups on the ground to have a direct impact on rebuilding and repairing these valuable existing projects, said Dr Zammit.
Projects include management of invasive weeds, erosion control and protection of our waterways, native seed collection and restoration and re-establishment of Landcare nurseries.
“The stories from our community’s struggles are devastating, with fire-affected communities sharing that up to 90% of their understory canopy has been lost along with their natural seed banks. It will be a long road to recovery for all our communities affected, but this funding is an opportunity to start this process and support one another during this time.”
“Landcare NSW’s mission is to provide resources to empower Landcarers in NSW to have all that they need to care for our land, environment and communities, and this is just one way we are delivering on our mission.”
Projects funded are as below:
Revegetation of Busby’s Creek (Whian Whian Landcare)
Planting of approximately 200 trees and native bushes along Busby’s creek. This will help with the re-establishment of native forests along the creek, re-establishment of native habitat and over time reduction of erosion potential due to the establishment of tree cover with additional fencing included to exclude cattle from all planting areas.
Moonbi Ranges Habitat Restoration Nesting Box Project (Tamworth Regional Landcare Association)
This project will see the installation of 30 nesting boxes for fauna in areas where tree cover, hollows and shrub layer vegetation is degraded due to fire in the Moonbi range on public and private land. The project will engage with local TAFE students, JobSeeker crews and Landcare volunteers to create, deliver and install the nestboxes further investing and supporting the local community.
Seeds Save Our Species (Dunedoo Coolah Landcare)
Re-establishment of seed collection and storage and establishment of project specifically relating endangered ecological communities including Grassy Box Woodland and native grasses.
Bushfire recovery – creating new habitat for native wildlife (Wytaliba Landcare)
This project is a two-day community workshop for Wytaliba Landcare members and residents to learn how to construct next boxes to provide habitat for native fauna and bird life. This will replace habitat lost in the catastrophic fires of 2019 and help bring together community members to work together to restore the natural environment.
Propagation of native trees and understorey plants for the wider Ulladulla, Milton, YatteYattah, Conjola area (Milton Rural Landcare). This project will help re-establish endemic seed species that have been lost in the 2019 bushfires. This will include collecting seed, fruit and cutting material for propagation of native trees and including for rainforest species and going to more remote locations as seed stock is diminished from drought and fire. This will help re-establish lost tube stock and ensure future plantings have species that endemic to the area.
Upper Richmond River post fire riparian recovery project (Border Ranges Richmond Valley Landcare Network)
This project will replant 300 native endemic species that are urgently required to commence restoration. This project will commence replanting of riparian areas that were severely impacted by the 2019 Border Trail fire. Post fire assessment through the riparian area has indicated up to 70% of the trees at canopy level and more than 90% of the understory have been killed by the fires and many of the mature trees have fallen across and into the river causing significant soil disturbance and creating areas of instream log jams. Kyogle Landcare volunteers will work alongside the Llewellyn and Tribolet landholders to prepare the planting site and get the trees in the ground.
Replacement plants for drought-affected projects in the Grenfell district – (Weddin Landcare Steering Committee)
This project will assist landholders who participated in the Weddin Landcare Environmental Grants program in 2016-2017 to replace a portion of the plants they lost during the 2017-2020 drought so that their individual revegetation projects may achieve their intended outcomes. The Grenfell district experienced severe, prolonged drought conditions from late 2017 to early 2020. All seven Environmental Grant projects have reported significant plant losses (around 800 plants) due to the drought. This has impacted the integrity of these projects, with the outcomes significantly compromised. The cost of replacing the lost plants will place additional financial pressure on landholders, who will feel the financial impacts of the drought for years to come.
Animal Habitat Replacement in the Richmond Catchment (Richmond Landcare)
This project will help purchase and install nest boxes in identified areas in the Border ranges that were severely fire affected in the Border Ranges area of the Richmond Catchment. The nest boxes will be for small parrots, arboreal marsupials and or micro bats.
Rehabilitation of Fawcett’s Creek (Kyogle Landcare)
Due to the severity of the drought in 2019/2020 many of the recent plantings along the riparian zone at Fawcett’s Creek Recreation Reserve have died. The funds will be used to purchase replacement trees and shrubs to help rebuild the native flora that has been lost.
Bat’s & Glider Boxes (Little River Landcare)
The funds will be used to buy materials to make the nest boxes for local species who live in hollows. After the drought and floods this will be a way to connect people and wildlife.
Revegetation of Goombridges (Granite Borders Landcare)
The funds will be used to re-establish a site that was destroyed by fires in late 2019. A planting event will be held to replace plants and infrastructure lost in the fire.
Capturing hollow bearing species in tree dieback, drought and fire affected region in the Snowy Monaro (Upper Snowy Landcare Network)
Upper Snowy Landcare Network is responding to a massive tree dieback episode, a relentless drought and more recently the region acts as a refuge for native species in need of habitat after being flanked by bush fires in every direction. The funds would be used for replanting efforts and tracking local species through the use of trail cameras to positively ID species that are currently using tree hollows and measure improvements (greater species use of hollows) over a five year period as our landscape restoration activities kick in.
Building Resilience through Revegetation (Coonamble-Castlereagh Landcare)
The funds will be used to purchase 250 native tree tube stock and guards for on-farm revegetation projects that have had large scale dieback due to extensive drought.
Nestboxes for Citizen Science (Holbrook Landcare)
The funding will be used to buy nest boxes to replace nestboxes lost in the Dunns Road and Green Valley Fires in January and help re-establish sites where ecological damage was extensive. Training and education as part of the program would be established to help the community to understand the needs of wildlife after fire and implement some on-ground activities like citizen science monitoring of returning wildlife.
Landcare and Plant Recovery (Lithgow Oberon Landcare Association)
The funds would be used to provide plants, stakes, surround to people in the Bell and Clarence areas which were destroyed by bushfires and drought for planting in the Spring and to provide a planting activity for small landcare groups within the Lithgow-Oberon LGA.
Revegetate Fire Ravaged 15yo Riparian Planting adjacent to St Peter’s Preschool (Armidale Urban Rivercare Group)
The funding received will be used to purchase trees, shrubs, groundcovers, stakes, and cartons with most of our needs for clean-up and site preparation will be labour input by AURG volunteers. The output will be 400 native plants planted, staked guarded, watered, and mulched. The proposed revegetation of the damaged Riparian Planting is adjacent St Peter’s Preschool, whose students regularly undertake nature study excursions.to the site, and the Challenge Foundation for Disability Services, whose clients regularly take walks along the site.
Frog Dreaming Youth Learning Program (Southern New England Landcare)
Funds will be primarily used for materials and resources for the Frog Dreaming event. e.g. seeds to make seed balls. The youth learning program is held near Uralla NSW – connecting young people with each other and their local environment, building skills as well as confidence to turn ideas into on-ground projects within their communities. All areas have been in severe drought and all were affected by bush fires in the last fire season. This means some students from these very same small schools had to rely on donations for even basic school supplies such as school bags, clothes and shoes. Many of the past Frog Dreaming plantings done by students will have been affected by the drought and will be in need of replanting or at least supplementary planting.