Hello to all of our Landcare Members, Partners, Sponsors and Friends throughout the Bass Coast Landcare Network and welcome to the February edition of our E-news. What good timing for our E-news as Victoria gets put into a circuit breaker lockdown for five days.....now you have something else to read!

This month there are many grants available to Landcare Groups and Members. Read on to get an overview of the grants you might qualify for and the latest updates on what our landcare groups and members have been up to over January and February. There are also some events coming up, restrictions permitting of course. We hope you all stay well and happy, grab a cuppa and enjoy our latest edition of the Bass Coast Landcare Network Enews. 

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

UPCOMING EVENTS 

Burrows, bunnies and boats...well you will need one to get there for a Rabbit Control workshop at the French Island Hall to be run by Jason McCracken, Rabbit Officer from Bass Coast Landcare Network.  A BBQ lunch will follow the workshop which starts at 10am on Sunday 28th February. R.S.V.P by 20th Feb 2021 by  email to  [email protected] for catering purposes and to organise ferry/transport details if you are not already on French Island.

For more information on Rabbit Control click here.

Are you interested to learn more about integrating compost onto your farm? Join us for this exciting farm walk featuring David Walker from Aussie Compost, who will demonstrate the process used to create compost on farm, and respected agronomist Chris Alenson who will discuss the benefits a healthy compost can provide to a farming enterprise on Thursday 4th March from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm.

Find out how to use compost in a sustainable farming system, do’s and don’ts and what to look out for! Please RSVP by Monday 1st March for catering purposes by emailing Joel Geoghegan on  [email protected]. For further information call 0409 705 652.

Click here to view the online flier. 

We can't wait to welcome you back to the River Garden....Come along and join our River Garden Community, meet like-minded people, assist to consolidate and maintain our growing spaces and more. There are tasks for all abilities, sharing of information and produce plus learning for all. The produce is growing, however so are the weeds and grasses, we need your help!!  Saturday13th March 2021, 930am -1230pm - Session will include a short tour of River Garden progress, a chance to revamp the Van hut into your very own volunteer base, summer bounty harvesting, inductions for new volunteers and many other tasks for all ages, abilities and interests. Follow the link below to book your place, see you down at the River Garden!

GROUP AND NETWORK NEWS

On the 22nd of January 2021, long time members of the Wonthaggi Urban Landcare Group met at the State Coal Mine for the groups AGM. The group officially reformed this year after a year in recess, and aims to continue weeding, protecting, and promoting the fantastic bushland reserves Wonthaggi is lucky to have.

New Office Bearers are as follows: President – Tina Mayling, Vice President – Carolyn Charles, Secretary – Vacant, Treasurer – Leo O’Brien.

Click here for more info or to join the Wonthaggi Urban Landcare Group. 

The Bass Valley and 3 Creeks Landcare groups held a fantastic joint social gathering at the Gurdies winery on Friday the 5th of February. In total, 64 people attended the event. Bret Dodd and Mez Oldham did a great job organising the event, ensuring everyone was well fed on the night. The event has sparked some interest in holding a Bass Coast Landcare Network social gathering for all groups, which we will discuss at the next Board meeting. Bruce and Wendy from the Gurdies Winery did a great job hosting the large group on a very stormy night.

Click here for more info or to join the 3 Creeks Landcare Group

The nursery group recently spent a morning collecting seed adjacent to the Grantville Nature Conservation Reserve late in January. Unfortunately many species had already dropped their seed, however the group still managed to collect a dozen different species! Thanks to the volunteers, to Sand Supplies for allowing us to collect seed on their property, plus WIRES and Landcare Australia Limited for funding the activity. 

Click here to read more about the BCLN Nursery Group.

Dave Bateman and Jye Anderson recently visited Karl and Racheal Russo’s property to check on the progress of one of our largest ever revegetation projects. The site looks fantastic after 75000+ plants were planted over the past 3 years. Photo shows a section of the Russo's Property in the Woolamai Hills which was planted by 200 Wonthaggi School kids back in 2017. 

Learn more about undertaking your own Landcare project by clicking here.

The Centre for Invasive Species has launched a Feral Photo and Video competition with prizes of outdoor cameras, books and trap devices. BCLN has entered this photo of Fox with a Magpie! You too can submit images and video footage which showcase invasive species such as pest animals, weed infestations, exotic insects and/or the damage these species cause. Remote camera images and footage is allowed. Entry is free and you can enter as many times as you'd like. The winning entries will be completely decided by you, the audience, through a popular vote.

Entries Opened 2nd February and close on Friday April 30th.
Click here to see the competition rules and to apply.

GRANTS, TRAINING, INFORMATION AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR LANDHOLDERS

Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio recently announced the $7.4 million Community Environment Grants package, which will fund small and large-scale projects dedicated to preserving Victoria’s biodiversity and waterways. Available grants include The Community Volunteer Action Grant, Aboriginal Caring for Country Grant, Victorian Landcare Facilitator Program, Victorian Junior Landcare and Biodiversity Grant and Port Phillip Bay Fund.

Click here to read more about the available grants. 

Woolworths and Junior Landcare (Landcare Australia) are offering support for hands-on projects in schools and early learning centres that focus on sustainable food production, improving waste management practices and enhancing habitats. This year, in addition to the grants of up to $1000 on offer, there is extra funding of up to $500 for projects that have a bee component,  as bees and pollinators are so important to our environment. With up to 1,000 grants on offer, this is the largest number of Junior Landcare Grants ever given out in a single round. Applications close on 19th March 2021.

Click here to find out more.

This program aims to help small to medium Australian producers, farmers and manufacturers to innovate and grow their business. Grants of up to $500,000 are available. A total funding pool of $50 million will be available over five years, of which $24 million has already been offered. This round is open until Friday 19th March 2021.

Click here to read about the program.

There is a program is designed for primary producers who are wanting to work out whether their business idea is worth pursuing. The three month program, Farmers2Founders equips you to test ideas, build capability and confidence to launch new products and services, as well as kick start new
business ventures. The Program will be commencing on the 29th March 2021 and runs to mid-June 2021. Applications close on the 26th of February.​
Click here to find out more about the Farms2Founders Program. 

Melbourne Water has launched a new streamlined and flexible grants program: Liveable Communities, Liveable Waterways. Landowners, councils and public land managers, school and community groups, universities and research institutions, multi-partner projects and collaborative groups have the opportunity to partner with Melbourne Water for projects that align with the following themes: Connected habitat and catchments; Integrated water management (IWM) enablers; Science, innovation and technology; and Liveable cities. The program offers a flexible application process that can be accessed at any time during the year. Grants are available to BCLN Group members within the Westernport Catchment.

If you are interested in a Melbourne Water grant then please contact Bridgette Sullivan at [email protected] or phone on 0407 205 749 to arrange a site visit. 

Click here to visit the grant website.

The Summer 2021 issue of the Victorian Landcare and Catchment Management magazine is available online. This issue is a feature on small farms and food production and includes stories from Peter Ronalds from Western Port Catchment Landcare Network, Rita Bikins and David Margetson, olive growers from Pomonal in the Wimmera and Andy Gray from Central Otway Landcare Network, amongst others. 

Click here to read the online magazine.

Coastcare Victoria are planning to deliver two capacity building workshops to volunteer groups and organisations to assist you with planning projects and writing grant applications.
• Workshop 1 - Project Management: the essentials of designing a project so you have a solid base for your grant application (Anticipated delivery early-mid March 2021)
• Workshop 2 - Grant Writing: Building skills to help you formulate responses to a range of funder questions, and develop a project outline that responds to the key objectives and criteria of the potential funder (Anticipated delivery early-mid April 2021)

To help make these workshops accessible and useful for you, Coastcare Victoria would first like to understand your level of interest and certain preferences. Below is a short survey for you to complete - your answers to these questions will help guide the delivery of these workshops.

 Click here to help by filling out the survey.

We recently captured Lace Monitors on our wildlife cameras at Marj Scott’s property near Inverloch. The species is widespread in Australia, however only a few small populations exist on the Bass Coast. We had 2 x large remnant blocks fenced off from stock as habitat for them, funded through our Places for Laces Victorian Landcare Grant. This will help leverage future funding to fence off some other remnant blocks on the same property and proves that this project has been highly valuable ecologically.

Click here to read about the Anderson Inlet Group.

We are very happy to announce that South Gippsland Tree Care have partnered with us as part of our Arborists for Forests Initiative!
South Gippsland Tree Care have been in operation for more than half a decade with a strong environmental focus. They have been involved with their own Agroforestry projects and from now on they will be contributing to the regeneration of native forests in the Bass Coast as part of the AFF initiative.

For more information, please check out our Arborists for Forests webpage.

Bass Coast Landcare River Garden has had fruit trees pruned and sheet mulched by a new group of volunteers from Interchange Gippsland.  Pictured is volunteer Barry with the fig tree he sheet mulched just after planting a kaffir lime tree with the group! We have also been helped by a number of individual volunteers hand weeding, tying tomato plants, harvesting and tending to the swales. Thank you to everyone involved! 

Unfortunately due to restrictions imposed via the latest Covid lock down, we had to cancel our River Garden Blitz morning on Saturday 13th of February. Thank you to the lovely community volunteers who signed up, we hope you can make it to the next one on March 13th, please see the events section at the top of this e-news for details.

A small amount of produce has so far been harvested this season and sold to Udder and Hoe in Kilcunda, more summer and all-season vegetables have been planted, the 3-sisters trial (despite kikuyu invasion) continues to grow, the sunflowers are smiling, and the tomatoes will be ready in the next few months.

Click here to read about volunteering opportunities at the River Garden in March!​

Offset your Vehicle Emissions in Local Planting Projects!

If you feel passionate about the environment and want to do your bit for our beautiful native flora and fauna, why not consider offsetting your car emissions with Bass Coast Landcare Network? Just click on your car's size to make a donation, which will cover the planting of enough indigenous plants to offset your car’s emissions for a year and contribute to restoring your own local landscape. 

All your friends and family will also see your complimentary car sticker showing your commitment to the Bass Coast environment.

To offset your car emissions with BCLN click here.​

Bass Coast Arc – 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.​ The Bass Coast Arc – “Community Access to Public Space” concept supports community groups to work with public land managers to improve the environment of our public spaces and create appropriate access to these unique areas.

Your contribution, no matter how small, helps to protect native plants and animals in Bass Coast’s most ecologically important landscapes. 

Click here to find out more about how you can assist this important work.​

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.