Hello to all of our Landcare Members, Partners, Sponsors, and Friends throughout the Bass Coast Landcare Network and welcome to the May edition of the BCLN Enews.

We must start by saying, happy Volunteer Week to all of our amazing volunteers - the nursery volunteers, the tree planters, the River Garden volunteers, the Board and Group Commitee members and all of the other Landcare related tasks you all take on... we couldn't do it without you!

This month's Enews is absolutely jam-packed with a range of events, planting days, general news, lots of grants and more! We hope you enjoy this edition.

For all the latest updates, follow us on Facebook and Instagram... just click the links above!

This year’s Sustainability Festival on May 21st from 10am-3pm at the River Garden in Bass is going to be an informative, inspiring and educational event for all ages. We have a chockablock day of fantastic speakers for our event stage, interesting stallholders, live performances, plus demonstrations and workshops to book into, children's activities and more. We have now published a full program of presentations, demonstrations, workshops, as well as a list of stall and food options (Link below this article). This event is bought to you by the Bass Coast Landcare Network with support from our sponsors, Bass Coast Shire Council, Westernport Water, the Bass Coast Community Foundation, Western Port Biosphere Reserve, Ecoliv and Earthworker Cooperative.

Click here to check out the website for all the latest updates!​

You are invited to this exciting book launch event with respected soil consultant, Chris Alenson, who will talk about his new book, ‘Deep Time - and the Implications for a Sustainable Agriculture’. This will be followed by an informative farm walk facilitated by Chris, visiting areas of the farm that have recently transitioned to a regenerative agriculture management approach. This event will be held in Archie's Creek on Wednesday June 7th, from 10:30am-1:30pm, with food provided.

Click here for further information and to book your spot.

Landcare professionals and volunteers working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are encouraged to take part in Cultural Safety training to be provided by the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO). The training provides contextual examples of the experience of Aboriginal people including examining the legacy of intergenerational trauma. It also examines the complexities and nuances of Aboriginal culture and some approaches to consider when interacting with indigenous Australians. The course was offered to almost 60 participants from Landcare in 2022. This Zoom sessions will be held on Monday June 8th from 10am to 3pm. To register your interest to attend, email Barry Kennedy at [email protected]​

On the 17th of June, Bass Coast Landcare Network will hold its Hooded Plover Conservation Dinner. Bass Coast Landcare Network is a grass-roots network of staff and volunteers who actively provide solutions to our most pressing environmental challenges. We do this locally, with a small but dedicated team. This year and through this dinner, we are hoping to raise funds to go towards our Hooded Plover conservation program.  This program has seen the numbers of ‘vulnerable’ local Hooded Plovers increase steadily and then double in the past year. The program itself, however, is now at risk as critical funds have not been renewed. We hope you will join us for dinner, dancing, and an auction, to help us raise funds to save the Hoodie. 

To ensure your place, please click here to register - tickets are limited.

DEECA has partnered with Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic) to deliver free online workshops on youth engagement for environmental volunteer managers. This session will provide some basic theory and guidance on developing strategies for ethical practice in your group. This workshop will be held on June 27th from 9am-12pm.

Click here to register.

Phillip Island Landcare Group's planting calendar is out, and there is something a little different happening this year. The group are trialing smaller fenced planting sites, that exclude both rabbits and wallabies. Adjacent to the fenced area will be a control site. They will be monitoring the impact animals have on vegetation. It will be a ‘lighter‘ built fence allowing it to be easily removed and used again in the future. Attendees on the day will learn how to install the fencing, a useful skill for your own property.  All fencing install and planting sessions start at 9.30am for morning tea, with work beginning at 10.00am. Sessions finish around 12.30pm, ready for a complimentary lunch. Please RSVP to Carolyn Atherton on 0433 284 148 or [email protected] if you can attend any of the dates below:
May 27th - McFee’s Fence install & tree planting, 175 Mc Fees Rd, Rhyll.
June 3rd - Morton’s fence install & tree planting, 14 Wiltshire Rd, Ventnor.
June 17th - Jones tree planting, 100 Cowes Rhyll Rd.
June 25th - Francis Gilley fencing install & planting, 1125 Phillip Island Rd.
July 15th - Fields tree planting, 300 Watts Rd, Ventnor – session 1.
August 12th - Fields tree planting. 300 Watts Rd, Ventnor - session 2.

Click here to check out the Phillip Island Landcare site for more info.​

​Kongwak Hills Landcare Group have announced some upcoming planting dates... Save the date for the following events:
May 27th - Kongwak - 500 plants
June 18th - Bena - 2200 plants
July 8th - Bena - 2500 plants
July 29th - “Love your Reserve” National Tree Day - Kongwak Pioneer Reserve - plants and guards
For more information email: [email protected] 

Click here to learn more about Kongwak Hills Landcare Group​

Korumburra Landcare group have also announced some upcoming planting days. Details will be available soon for these events... check their Facebook page for the latest info. Please note that the dates are subject to change due to weather.
June 3rd - Strzelecki - 1,400 plants
June 24th - Jumbunna - 1,400 plants
July 8th - Bena - 3,000 plants
August 5th - Bena - 1,400 plants

Click here to head to their Facebook page for updates​

Some more planting dates to add to your calendar, within the Three Creeks area. These planting generally run from 10am-2pm. Please email [email protected] for more information or to RSVP. Lunch will be provided by the landholder. Dates below!
June 3rd - North Wonthaggi - 1,300 plants with Powlett Project
June 17th - Kilcunda - 3,000 plants
June 24th - Woolamai - 2,000 plants
July 15th - Cape Paterson - 2,200 plants with Powlett Project and Bunarong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation.
June 29th - Ryanston - 4,500 plants
August 12th - Dalyston - 1,800 plants

Click here to learn more about 3 Creeks Landcare Group​

GROUP AND NETWORK NEWS

Earlier this week, Bass Coast Shire Council held their very first Bass Coast Community Awards. All gathered to recognise the best community leaders and groups as nominated by Bass Coast Shire residents! We think it is highly fitting that the Environment and Sustainability award went to our Landcare Legend Paul Speirs. Congratulations, Paul! Well deserved!

This article has been extracted from the French Island 'Off The Grid' newsletter.
​Landcare has been a part of French Island life for around thirty years, restoring and improving foreshore and farmland. It has brought a lot of grant money into our community for projects that otherwise would not have happened. We all benefit from the improvements made, for example the Tankerton jetty carpark was a bare and windswept place before native planting created shelter and shade there. An exciting new phase of Landcare is about to begin. It is leaving Long Point, where the Hatton family have generously housed it for nearly 20 years, to a more central location, next to the CFA. This also involves establishing a new island resource - a community garden. Coinciding with this milestone moment Cath Harper has documented a history of the first days of Landcare, 1993 to 2002 It’s an interesting tale. Kath Harper has done us a great service capturing this Early Landcare history. We hope ensuing eras will be recorded too, so we can appreciate all the good efforts that were made.

Click here to read Kath's fantastic document on the history of French Island Landcare Group.

Click here to learn more about French Island Landcare Group as it is today.

Are you concerned about Eucalypt dieback on Phillip Island? Over the past several years, many of Phillip Island Landcare Members have noticed Eucalypts, young and old, dying back across Phillip Island. The nature of dieback in different areas can vary due to many complex, and often interacting causes. Phillip Island Landcare Group have formed a Sub-Committee of scientists, farmers, Phillip Island Nature Parks and Bass Coast Shire Council representatives to look into local dieback issues. You can help in the research on this issue as a landholder or community member, by becoming a ‘Citizen Scientist’. They have launched a Pilot Dieback Survey Program and need your help to record the location, extent and nature of any dieback happening on your properties or roadsides. Collecting information on where dieback is occurring across the island with any factors affecting local trees, may help us to see if any patterns emerge. The development of this program was supported by the Victorian Government Biodiversity Action Grants. See their Dieback page​ for a downloadable Land for Wildife note, explaining the complex nature of tree dieback. For any inquiries and for filled out forms/photos, please email Lisa Wangman, Group Facilitator for the Phillip Island Landcare group on
[email protected]

If you would like to volunteer some time at the Sustainability Festival (May 21st, 10am-3pm), please get in touch! Volunteering could include anything from setting up and packing down event spaces, greeting people at the entrance, to helping out with stage management. We would love to hear from you if you are able to help out in any capacity, for as little or as long as you like. Please email us at [email protected]​ to express your interest in volunteering at this year's Bass Coast Sustainability Festival. 

GRANTS, TRAINING, INFORMATION, RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR LANDHOLDERS

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Are you a small agribusiness or farm? Bass Coast Shire Council, along with ION Group and Agriculture Victoria are running a FREE Small Agribusiness & Farming Diversity and Resilience Program to empower your farm or agribusiness! Seize this opportunity to enhance business planning, succession planning, risk management, improve mental health and well-being, and explore innovative diversification strategies with other like-minded participants.

Register your interest here.

​Victorian Gorse Taskforce’s (VGT) Community Grants for 2023-24 is now open. The VGT, with support from Agriculture Victoria, offers funding support for community-led gorse control projects. VGT’s Community Grants’ objectives are to reduce the impacts of gorse on environmental, agricultural, and social values, strengthen community and stakeholder connections for better gorse outcomes, build community knowledge and capacity in managing gorse and promote best practice gorse management.
Community groups may apply for funding up to $8,000 for gorse control works on private land. All participating landholders may receive up to $1,500 in grant funding but must match this with their own monetary contribution. Applications close: 30 June 2023.  

Click here to learn more about the grants, including eligibility and application details.

The Nuffield Scholarship Program offers Australian primary producers a chance to travel and study. In 2024, scholars will receive $35,000 to travel overseas and study ways to improve their farm business and industry. It is an opportunity to step back from your business, explore the world, develop business friendships and explore new innovative opportunities for agriculture. Applications are open until the 9th of June.

Click here for more information.​​

The Gallagher Animal Management and Landcare Australia partnership are going bigger this year than ever, providing 22 grants for permanent electric fence product worth $8,000 each to Landcare Groups, Landcare Networks and landholders to support fencing projects that will produce long-term environmental rehabilitation outcomes in areas including riparian protection and farm dam restoration. Closes June 15th.

Click here for more information and to apply.

When we held the 2021 Sustainability Festival, we gathered a bunch of recorded webinars, fact sheets, websites, videos and other online resources and put them up on our website to be available to you, anytime. There is a huge range of things, with topics such as Sustainable Living, Farming, Energy, Rebates and Incentives, Sustainable Homes and Gardens, Reducing Waste and Resource Use, and more. It's well-worth a look! Of course, you can also update your connections and knowledge of all things Sustainability at this year's festival this Sunday 21st of May, see story above. 

Click here to check it out!​

Our May River Garden Blitz was held last weekend with a fantastic group of volunteers eager to learn how to start their own seed collection journey with open pollinated and heirloom seeds. Participants learnt the difference between these and hybrid seeds, tips and tricks on growing vegetables for seed collection, harvesting, drying, and storing, and also got to take home their own new stash of vegetable seeds. We also got busy clearing out old spent plants in the swales, collecting seed as we went and preparing the River garden for hosting the Sustainability Festival on Sunday 21st of May. Our staff have been busy setting up the River Garden for the Festival this week too, using machines to move, compost, mulch, stone and more, to get the Garden bed demonstration area ready for Workshops to be held by our local Permaculture guru, Rick Coleman. Rick will be showing how to create both a No Dig Garden Bed and Wicking Garden bed in two hands on workshops. Entry to the Festival is by gold coin donation which will get you access to these and many other free activities on offer. We would love to see you down at the River Garden!

Click here to check out our River Garden page, register as a volunteer or to stay in the loop for upcoming events.​

Capturing Carbon for a Biodiverse Bass Coast - In local planting projects!

If you feel passionate about the environment and want to contribute to action on climate change by reducing the impact of your car on our planet, why not consider becoming a part of our ‘Capturing Carbon for a biodiverse Bass Coast’ program? Head to our web page at the link below and simply click on your car's size to make a tax-deductible donation, so we can plant indigenous plants in biodiverse plantings across Bass coast on your behalf. These plantings will increase habitat and important wildlife corridor connections while capturing carbon from the atmosphere. All your friends and family will also see your complimentary car sticker showing your commitment to the Bass Coast environment and climate action.

Landcare Public Fund making projects a reality – Donate today to make a difference!

The Bass Coast Landcare Public Fund is a regional non-profit organisation focusing on conserving biodiversity throughout Bass Coast.​ We do this by supporting community groups to work in their local area to add value to their conservation efforts, encourage broader community ownership and participation and by working in partnership with other land managers. We work to help protect native plants and animals in Bass Coast’s most ecologically important landscapes. Your tax-deductible contribution, no matter how small, helps to protect native plants and animals in Bass Coast’s most ecologically important landscapes. ​

What's your story?

We would love to hear from you and your Landcare group with stories and photos of what's been happening in your area and any suggestions of things that you would like to see in your E-news.

We look forward to meeting and catching up with you at upcoming events and activities around Bass Coast.

Until next edition, 

Happy reading, from the Bass Coast Landcare Network.

The Bass Coast Landcare Network would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Land Owners within the Network area, The Bunurong and Boon Wurrung people. We also recognise the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations in Land and Natural Resource Management.