Welcome to the July edition of Bass Coast Landcare Network's E-news. 

Each month as we compile the E-news articles and stories submitted by our Groups, Partner organisations and Landcare members, gradually and quite organically, a general theme or feeling tends to emerge.

This month the theme of ‘leadership’ seems to be the strongest but what is leadership it and how does it fit into a Landcare context? According to Wikipedia, ‘Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to "lead" or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations.’

We think this is actually quite fitting in our grassroots, community Landcare context, where we chat over the fence to our fellow farmers or neighbors, learn from and guide each other through decisions that need to be made on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, or as we organise and share the workload at the family farm and as committees leading Landcare groups and members. In addition to this, many of us also work with teams at our workplaces and lead organisations away from our farms and homes.

With Landcare groups in our network that have been around for 20+ years we are fortunate to have some great leaders out there who continue to inspire their members to do amazing things. Even in our newer groups we see many enthusiastic, encouraging leaders, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with in the future. With a community like this learning from and guiding each other to manage their properties to the best standards possible, no wonder being involved with Landcare in Bass coast is such a great place to be!

This July edition sums up some of the great things happening, gives you updates on projects, new funding, and plenty of interesting resources as well. Enjoy!

You can also stay informed at our website 

www.basscoastlandcare.org.au

or on our facebook page at 

https://www.facebook.com/BassCoastLandcareNetwork/ 

and if you haven't already, give us a like and follow our page!

Slippery Slopes & Giant Earthworms!

On Sunday 29^th of July from 10.30-1pm you can learn about the biology and habits of these fascinating creatures with the South Gippsland Landcare Network in Loch. Find out what you need to know to identify and manage earthworm habitat on your property, discover what other native invertebrates might be calling your property home, and how you can best protect and enhance their habitat.

Plenty of plants to be planted around Bass Coast this season - New Community planting day calendar available

We now have our Community planting days calendar for this year available on the Bass Coast Landcare network website. By clicking on the planting calendar button at the side of our news and events page you can see the many days on offer right across the network. Check it out and join in on some of these great days, meet your neighbors and contribute to restoring your local landscapes. Free yummy lunches are a plenty, lots of fun and laughter are to be had. It’s a real privilege for anyone involved to be invited onto some of the best properties in Bass Coast and contribute to a really worthwhile community group effort. So many reasons to join in today!

Click here for the full calendar and find a community planting day near you.​

Luminous galleries still lighting up waterline towns

The lights are still on in the Luminous Galleries across four towns: Pioneer Bay, Grantville, Corinella and Coronet Bay. Click on the link below for the full calendar pictured above. 

Bought to you by The Edge Of Us: Small Town Transformation, an arts project celebrating life in our tiny Waterline towns. Across 2017 and 2018 artists and residents from CORINELLA, CORONET BAY, GRANTVILLE, TENBY POINT and PIONEER BAY will light up the towns in a series of projects to help understand our connections to one another, our unique environment and our call to the water's edge.

This project is proudly administered by the Bass Valley Landcare Group. 

For more information on The Edge of us click here.​

Come Plant and Dance! August 18^th

If your keen to get your hands dirty planting some trees AND have a little boogie then Gippsland Intrepid Landcare have organised the event for you! The event is for 18-35 year olds in the Gippsland region. They have jam packed the day with 4+ hours’ worth of planting, an inspirational talk, dinner, local live music and DJ's! There’s also on-site camping available. The BCLN Works Crew have been working tirelessly to spray spots and they're coming out a treat! Did we mention the view is amazing…..

For more info and to buy your ticket click here. ​

SKINC inspiring the BCLN Nursery group

The BCLN nursery group enjoyed an informative and inspiring day at the St Kilda Indigenous Nursery Inc (SKINC). Karen Sher (SKINC) and Leckie Ord (Friends of the West Gate Park - Landcare award winners 2010) told us of their amazing journey of hunting rare plant species, trialing germination methods, and greatly increasing the diversity of plants grown and distributed in and around Melbourne (they hold over 200 species! at their nursery in Port Melbourne).

After a recent merger these two groups will continue their journey of conserving flora as one, under ‘Westgate Biodiversity: Bili Nursery & Landcare’.

The visit inspired the BCLN nursery group to emulate Westgate Biodiversity by starting to propagate rare plants. Many thanks to Karen and Leckie for hosting us, and we look forward to returning the favour.

If you are interested in joining the nursery group or finding out a bit more about what they do click here for more information.

Emerging Leader Award for Amelia from Amber Creek Farm and Sawmill

Big Congratulations go out to Amelia Bright from Amber Creek Farm and Sawmill for her well-deserved Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Emerging Leader Award. Along with her partner Dan, Amelia is doing wonderful things on their Fish Creek property. She is also actively involved in the Prom Coast Food Collective. A much-deserved award. Well done Amelia.​

Truck crash at the River garden

On Wednesday the 18^th of July a truck travelling south bound towards San Remo, crashed near the river garden at the bass river bridge, landing on its roof. Thankfully, the driver was able to be rescued and airlifted to hospital.

The tractor & Corrections crew that were working in the garden at the time were luckily not injured by the accident. The BCLN Works crew member leading the corrections crew on the day was a CFA member and assisted with initial fire protection at the crash.

Once the rescue operation was completed, focus switched to the contamination to the river which had seen engine oil and 2 full tanks of diesel leak into the river. A boom was installed downriver to prevent further contamination to the bay, however the tide changed, and additional booms were then installed upriver by Melbourne water with the assistance of the BCLN Works crew.

The damage to the garden was minimal, only damaging 4 trees recently planted on the banks of the river. Thankfully the contamination to the creek is minor however, we have been asked to stay vigilant for any animals that have been impacted by the crash.

Contact can be made with Cameron from our Works Crew on 0437000990 to organise wildlife rescue response if needed.

Holden Partnership Planting day

A very successful planting day was held on the 29^th of June with 25 Holden staff and 5 Bass Valley Landcare Group members. Over 3000 plants went in the ground at the property of Frank and Cathy Leman in Kernot amongst some beautiful old messmate trees to improve the biodiversity of the area and longevity of the remnant trees. Lunch at the Kernot store was of course their signature woodfired pizzas and a great day was had by all.

Holden has been a long-term partner of the BCLN and funded many projects in and around their facility in Lang Lang, as well as providing assistance from employees who have volunteered at various planting days over the years. We look forward to working with Holden into the future.

Find out more about how we work with our various partner organisations including Holden by clicking here.​

Another group of Gippsland farmers have just become Master Tree Growers

Recently over 20 landowners and Landcare support staff from West Gippsland participated in a 9-week Master Tree Growers program. The program proved to be an amazing opportunity for all participants to increase their knowledge, engage with other like-minded people and develop ideas and actions for their own properties.  

Facilitated by national and local leaders in tree growing on farms, participants visited a series of outstanding West Gippsland properties and enterprises that demonstrated ‘what can be done’ and inspired participants to create a vision for their properties and landscapes that includes trees for multiple purposes.   
To read the rest of the story click here.

The Master Tree Growers Course was coordinated by the Western Port Catchment Landcare Network Inc, Bass Coast Landcare Network Inc, Otway Agroforestry Network and the Gippsland Agroforestry Network. ​

Wonthaggi Secondary College Student power gets 6000 plants in the ground on one day!

The 3 Creeks Landcare Group planting season kicked off in late June this year with a successful planting at Bruce and Anna Spiden's property. 60 year 8 students from Wonthaggi Secondary College helped to plant 6000 plants in some pretty ordinary conditions, but hey it’s a day out of school so they were all pretty happy. Thank you to Bruce and Anna Spiden for a great site and as usual a great lunch, BCLN Works Crew and staff, Wonthaggi Secondary College staff and students, Ray Kirk and 3 Creeks volunteers for making it happen.

We will be welcoming Wonthaggi Secondary College students back again in August, this time it will be the year 9’s turn for another massive planting day at Karl and Rachel Russo’s property in the Bass Hills.

Click here for more information on the various Education activities run by BCLN.​

River Garden Hands on learning – A cultural perspective to the last day of the series

The last session in this fantastic series was held on Saturday 30^th of June. This time our focus was on Shelterbelts incorporating bush foods, how to create a food forest structure and species selection. The day started with rain so we started our learning inside.

Jamie Simpson, expert horticulturalist and representative from the Bunurong Land Council came along and shared his amazing knowledge of how indigenous plants were used, some history of the area and the Bunurong people. Jamie also provided an engaging insight from a horticulture perspective on how we can use these plants today for bushfood production on farm or garden properties.

We also welcomed back Jarrod Ruch to again share his wealth of knowledge on how with clever zoning and planning we can incorporate various plant species into shelterbelt structures on small and large properties. 

After the rain cleared we got started on planting our own multi use shelterbelt with nitrogen fixing wattles, mid story flowering indigenous plants and bush food groundcovers like Karkalla, Flinders island celery and Warrigal greens, a fantastic native spinach.

This series was a great success attracting 34 individuals and 69 attendances in total across all 4 workshops with participants from various sized properties. These participants are already putting into practice some of the techniques and information they gained by being a part of these days.

Look out in the next E-news for an updated community plan based on feedback from these workshops, site map and case study on the work done so far at the River Garden.

For further information and any future training program or workshop announcements at the River Garden please click here.

Local Landcare Ladies leading the way at Bass Coast

This week staff from Bass Coast Landcare Network attended The Australian Women’s Leadership Conference in Melbourne. Over an inspiring two days we heard from big names such as journalist Tracey Spicer, comedian Magda Szubanski, author Robyn Davidson, ABC Indigenous affairs Correspondent Bridget Brennan, former Diamonds netball team captain Liz Ellis and many, many more. All spoke about life experiences in their respective fields and how they have dealt with various challenges to successfully work with and lead others.

We gained valuable insights from these inspiring women to help us reflect on our journeys, explore our individual leadership styles and how we can better support the development of our own staff, Landcare Groups and Network.  Events like these are always a great networking opportunity too with this one being no different. Many new connections were made and old ones rekindled. We look forward to putting some of the learning from this event into practice in Bass Coast.

For more information on our staff team click here.

Farmer discussion group days – expert speakers, peer to peer learning

Late in June, the Kongwak Ellipak Farmer Discussion Group hosted guest speaker, agronomist Damian Adcock, at the Grantville property of Faye Tuchton and Graham Wood. Damian is a wealth of knowledge in everything soils and pasture. The group was particularly interested in his knowledge of pasture pests such as the African Black Beetle and others. A walk in the paddock was a valuable exercise to identify these pests and discuss control and management options. A great day all round.

Click here for the training pages on our website where future courses and training activities are announced​

3 Creeks Landcare Group: Fundraising for a good cause, your support is appreciated!

The 3 Creeks Landcare Group has acquired some excellent wine from the Gippsland Wine Co to raise funds for the Group.  Stocks are limited so please call Ray Kirk on 0491136487 or complete and email the attached order form to order your “3 Creeks” branded wine:  Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Cabernet and Chardonnay.  $14 per bottle or $80 for 6.

For a PDF copy of this order form email [email protected]

To find out more about the 3 Creeks Landcare Group click here.​

Leaders sought to propel agriculture to $100 billion by 2030

The Bass Coast area is known for its innovative farmers in Landcare circles, this may be a great opportunity for someone to take their leadership skills and capabilities in the agricultural sector to the next level.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF), with the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF) are inviting applicants who can demonstrate an active involvement in agriculture and are over 18 to apply for the NFF 2030 Leaders Program. Applications are now open and close on the 31 July 2018.

Focus on Farm safety

Earlier this month it was Farm safety week, highlighting that farms can be among Australia’s most dangerous workplaces with about 68 people losing their lives from farm injury each year. Agriculture, like most other industries, is regulated by occupational health and safety legislation. Identifying farm safety hazards is the first step for producers to meet their legal obligations and ensure the safety of themselves, their family and other workers.

An audit of farm safety hazards and the risks they pose will help producers improve the safety of their farm and ensure compliance with occupational health and safety legislation. By going through a simple checklist, producers are prompted to think about the dangers around them and how they can minimise the risk of injury to themselves and other workers.

iFarmwell Website offering a Farmer survey reimbursement

The free ifarmwell farmer wellbeing website shares practical ways to cope with difficult circumstances, tools to improve your ability to cope with uncertainty associated with life on the land and can help to work out where it is most useful for you to put your attention and energy. They are now offering $100 for farmers, or their partners, to complete an evaluation of their self-help modules. The initiative has been developed by the University of South Australia, the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Men’s Health, the University of Adelaide, the National Centre for Farmer Health and Livestock SA.

New Video resources for Bass Coast Landcare Network on Land Capacity and capability

We have recently added some new videos to our website on our completed pilot project titled 'The Land Capacity and Capability Project' which culminated in a successful field day and a multimedia production that documented the entire project. This pilot project was supported by West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority, Bass Coast Shire Council and the East Gippsland Food Cluster Inc.

Keep your eyes open for stage two of this project which recently secured funding from the Victorian State Governments Virtual Centre for Climate Change Innovation and will be starting soon.

To view the full video and other video resources on our webpage click here.

Success in the 2018 Victorian Landcare Grants for 3 groups in Bass Coast

Congratulations to 3 Creeks Landcare Group, Kongwak Hills Landcare Group, Korumburra Landcare Group and Powlett Project for their success in gaining $20,000 of project funding each, through the 2018 Victorian Landcare Grants!

The 3 Creeks Landcare group project will involve establishing riparian revegetation to create habitat for threatened Species and the Kongwak Hills Landcare Group project titled ‘Connecting Kongwak Communities’ plans to do revegetation works across their landscapes to connect remnant bush. Powlett Project group were successful with their new project, ‘Environmental Detectives help protect the Powlett catchment - Powlett Catchment Custodian kids’ which will work with our Education staff to mentor farmers in monitoring activities, match schools to farms and together conduct a range of monitoring activities to coincide with new plantings across the area. We can’t wait to see these new projects in action!

Congratulations also to the Gippsland Intrepid Landcare group who were successful getting $5945 of funding for their project, ‘Getting young people protecting the Bass Coast, Strzelecki Ranges and 90 Mile Beach environments’. Such a great initiative to get the 18-35’s involved in on ground environmental works, well done!

For more about the Powlett Project group please click here

You can now offset your car emissions with BCLN

We are excited to announce our new program to encourage people to offset their car’s emissions. The way the program works is members of the community can make a donation which varies depending on the size of their car, and in return, BCLN will plant a number of native plants which will offset the emissions of that size car.

Participants will receive a sticker for their donation, which states ‘We’ve Offset our Car Emissions with Bass Coast Landcare Network’ which they can proudly place on their rear windscreen to show off their commitment to the environment. We hope to gain lots of interest and see these stickers out on the roads soon.

To offset your car emissions with BCLN click here.

Bass Coast Arc – Public Fund making projects a reality - Donate today to make a difference

The Bass Coast Landcare Network Public Fund is a regional charitable organisation focusing on conserving biodiversity in Bass Coast. We need your tax-deductible donations to help fund small projects by local community groups working with the relevant Land Managers to improve public spaces and create community access.

Under the banner of “Bass Coast Arc – Community Access to Public Space” the Public Fund aims to support local community groups doing things like: Managing pest plants and animals, surveying vegetation, repairing and upgrading infrastructure, including public tracks and fences.

Be a part of this important work - Click here to donate today!​

Luke Phillips

Luke started with Bass Coast Landcare Network in 2015 as a trainee, completing his Certificate 3 in Conservation and Land Management with Landcare. He is currently furthering his study, working towards his Diploma in Conservation and Land Management. Growing up spending his weekends in Kilcunda, Luke's passion for the environment and its conservation was profound from a young age, and has continued today being involved in the Bass Coast Landcare Works Crew. 

Say hi if you see Luke around!

To meet the rest of our staff team, click here.​

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

We look forward to meeting and catching up with you at some of the events coming up around Bass Coast, 

Until next month, 

From the Bass Coast Landcare Network.