Hello to all of our Landcare Members, Partners, Sponsors, and Friends throughout the Bass Coast Landcare Network, and welcome to the November 2024 edition of the BCLN E-news.

It's certainly warming up and drying out across Bass Coast, as we transition into the busy hay season, so this month's enews is short and sweet, with upcoming events, project updates, grants, webinars and group news, so grab a cool drink, sit back and enjoy the read.

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

You are invited to this exciting and informative event on Becoming Fire Wise in Bass Coast and French Island with guest speaker Owen Gooding.  Recently retired, Owen has over 18 years experience with the CFA, working on land use planning, planned burning, and the management of biodiversity and cultural heritage values in bushfire mitigation work. Owen was also a member of the national Task Force investigating house loss in the 2009 Victorian bushfires. Mark your calendar for the Bass Coast session at the Kernot Community Hall on 28th November and the French Island session on 29th November. For further information and to RSVP please email Joel Geoghegan: [email protected] 

Click on the links below to stories on each event on our News and events page. Bass Coast Event.                    French Island Event.

Are you ready to revolutionise your Landcare projects? Join the National Landcare Network for an insightful Lunch and Learn session with Ian and Michael Davidson and Larry Langman as we delve into the powerful COVRAM app! This online event will be held on Tuesday December 3, from 12:00pm – 1:00pm.

Click here to register.

Bass Coast Landcare in partnership with the Kongwak Ellipak Beef-cheque farmer group are hosting an informative field day to help farmers better understand weed control techniques and timing for control of our common Summer/Autumn weeds. Guest speakers will include Bill Barry from BCLN works crew, as well as Aaron Stephens, our Invasive species coordinator to talk through Fox and Rabbit control techniques and timing. We are also lucky enough to have Emanuel Vlamis from Skyline Management, who will speak about his team's recent success in partnership with the Triggs to obtain the first-ever trapping permit in Victoria, with information on how this will be implemented and future opportunities for other landowners to enter into a potential cross-tenure trapping program. 

Click here for full details and to book.​

Hosted by Landcare Agriculture, this webinar offers a unique opportunity for land managers, farmers and graziers to understand how carbon management can impact their agricultural business. Carbon is a hot topic in Australia’s Agriculture sector but what does it mean at a local, practical level? Join the Landcare Agriculture Webinar on December 5th and learn from industry specialists, scientists, and producers how carbon management can impact your agricultural business.

Click here for further details and to register.

Our very popular River Garden Little Kids program for 3-5 year olds and their parents is back by popular demand! We have already completed two sessions, Super Seeds and Wiggly Worms, with both sessions being big hits with the little ones! The remaining sessions are fully booked, however if you're keen, pop your name in the wait list, there are often last-minute cancellations, and we will notify you if a place comes available. 

For all things River Garden please click here for our web page and events. ​

This is a great opportunity for you to participate in this 3-year training and mentoring program facilitated by Bioferts expert, Daniel Hodges from Soil, Water and Plants. A Biofert is a fertiliser that you can make on farm from several different bases. It is a brewed product which can be scaled from 20L to 20,000L and has a really stable shelf life. Bioferts use bacteria to aid in the chelation of minerals. The best thing about Bioferts are they are fun to make and cheap, and can also easily be modified to suit your individual farm needs.

Click here to read more about this exciting opportunity and to book your place!

Korumburra Landcare group were invited by the Korumburra Scout Group to assist with a mixed planting of Blue Gum, Strzeleckii Gum, Musk Daisy and Hemp Bush, along the banks of the Bass River. The Joey Scouts were very good listeners and very quick learners who all proved to be natural tree planters! They all enjoyed jumping on the Junior Hamilton Planters to make a hole. They learnt how to very carefully tap the tube upside down to remove the plant before gently placing it in the ground. Small hands then firmed loose soil in and around the seedling. Tapping in the stakes that secured the plant guards with a rubber mallet was a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone at the Korumburra Scout Group for inviting Korumburra Landcare to assist in facilitating some environmental activities with their Joey Scouts!

Get involved with the Korumburra Landcare group here. 

The inaugural Landcare Art Prize showcased the best of the best in art in many forms, as a major fund raiser for the Bass Coast Landcare Network Public Fund. Bass Coast Landcare Network Public Fund plan to use the funds raised by the art show in programs that will educate young people, encourage responsible care for our environment, and planting programs to mitigate the effects of climate change. The opening night saw a record crowd fill the Kernot Community Hall to hear the judge Herman Pekel, make his selection from almost 250 paintings, sculptures and photographs entered by artists from around the state.

Click here to read all about it!

Natoora Melbourne have recently announced the local opportunity of their Farm Fund: Boosting Young Farmers in the Southern Hemisphere. Grants of $8,000 to $30,000 are available to farmers aged 35 and under, to support projects enhancing resilient, productive, and nutritious food systems. Focus areas include soil health, cultural identity, biodiversity, education, accessibility and innovation, with aims to create case studies for future farming practices.

​​For details and applications, click here. 

Green Links is a $10 million investment to improve habitat, water quality, and provide cool green spaces for communities around our urban creeks, rivers and waterways. The program aims to fund up to 200 hectares of revegetation projects over 3 years. Green Links builds on work underway to protect our iconic urban waterways from inappropriate development and complements the aspirations of Traditional Owners and the community for our waterways.

Click here to find out more. 

The Bob Hawke Landcare Award is a prestigious national award that publicly recognises an individual, group or organisation that has been involved in championing landcare and inspiring others to take action on their property or in their community. The award acknowledges the remarkable commitment to improving land and natural asset management, and promotional efforts to share their knowledge and support others.

Nominate your Landcare champion here.

The Strengthening Rural Communities (SRC) Small & Vital stream gives small remote, rural and regional communities across Australia the opportunity to access funds for a broad range of initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities.
Grants up to $10,000 are available for a broad range of grassroots, community-led initiatives that directly and clearly benefit local communities that strengthen local people, places and climate solutions, with a preference for smaller communities (populations under 15,000).

Click here for more information and to apply.

We have been busy removing massive amounts of our spring weeds in a few blitz days with our Works crew and the Community Corrections teams, lots of mowing, and preparing our garden beds and planting our spring/summer veggies in the past month. We have had a lot of sessions with the students from both the Village High School and Bass Coast College, who have planted seeds, prepared gardens, and are now busy planting, allowing them to see the full cycle of growing healthy food, thanks to our Secondary Schools in Agriculture grant from the Victorian Government Department of Education. Our last River Garden session in the Bass Coast Shire Council funded Garden Gems program on Preserving and fermenting produce was well attended with around 30 people who had a great time learning how to make dairy free strawberry ice-cream, warrigal greens pesto and sauerkraut, with Ric Coleman from Southern Cross Permaculture institute, as well as how to safely make preserves and bottle produce with our own Education Training and Communications Manager Lisa Wangman. The last of our wetland works are scheduled so our big dam will finally hold water, with funding from the Victorian Landcare Grants and Westernport Water. Plans are being drawn up now for our Education Shelter funded by the Regional Development Victora Tiny Towns program through the Victorian Government, and we can't wait to have a functional shelter and storage space hopefully by mid next year. We hope to see you down at the River Garden!

Click here for all things River Garden. 

Have you seen a threatened species?
The Bass Coast is home to many threatened species, and we have limited records of their distribution. Species like Southern Brown Bandicoot, Powerful Owl, Southern Toadlet, Lace Monitor, Blue-winged Parrot and many more can be found locally. Gippsland Threatened Species Action Group are collating data on threatened species for their ongoing protection. If you or someone you know has seen, heard or observed signs of a threatened species, please get in touch!

Got a sighting to report? Click here!

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.

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, or by leaving a bequest in your will, helps to protect native plants and animals in Bass Coast’s most ecologically important landscapes. ​Click below to make your tax-deductible donation today. 

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.