Hello to all of our Landcare Members, Partners, Sponsors and Friends throughout the Bass Coast Landcare Network and welcome to the May edition of our E-news!

Although restrictions are slowly easing, most of us are still stuck at home and we hope you are all coping okay with the temporary change to all of our lifestyles that we have experienced over the last few months during this unprecedented Covid-19 time. Its has been great however, to hear all that rain on the roof and to see our dams fill up throughout Bass Coast. We've possibly had more autumn rainfall already than we have had for a long time!!

We still don't know exactly how this tree planting season will run, as a result of this we are working on contingency plans to support those with larger planting projects this year and hoping that small group or rotating community tree plantings with a few people at a time will be possible as new changes are announced to the current restrictions. Watch this space. 

For now there is still lots to do online, webinars, courses, fun activities with the kids if you have them at home and other interesting news items and project updates from us here at BCLN. Please reach out to any BCLN staff at any time if you need to, we would love to hear from you by phone or email. Although we are working from home we are still contactable and you can find all of our details by clicking  here for the Our Team webpage. As always we hope you enjoy this Enews!

For all the latest updates follow us on Facebook by clicking here and if you haven't already, give us a like and follow our page!

UPCOMING EVENTS 

26 and 27th May 2020, 8.30am - 10am (both days) Note - different governance topics will be delivered on each day of the training
Presenter: Not-for-Profit Law
About: suitable for executive committee members of Landcare/Coastcare groups/networks.
Topics:

• Legal roles of committee/board members as decision makers
• Differences between governance and management
• Legal structure and status of your organisation
• Importance of rules and legal purpose or objects
• Four key legal duties of committee/board members
• Potential liabilities, protecting yourself and your organisation
• Other relevant laws and additional resources

Organised by: Mallee CMA
Register: here – you must register by 22 May to attend both webinars live and/or to view a recorded version afterwards - only 500 places available
Note - as this is a two-part webinar, both dates need to be chosen when registering and obtaining tickets via Eventbrite. For those that cannot attend these days, don’t worry as the webinars will be recorded. However, you must register before 22 May to enable you can access the recorded webinars afterwards

The LVI Committee of Management invites you to attend our 2020 LVI AGM on 29^th May 2020 at 11 am via video conference. Please RSVP to [email protected] to receive the video conference details and meeting papers when they become available. Some agenda items include;

• Update rules to apply for Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status
  
• Nominations for Landcare Professional, as well as Committee of Management and Members Council positions
  

Click here for further details and nomination forms 

As you are aware, the National Landcare Conference was scheduled to be held this year from 11 to 13 November 2020. Due to COVID-19, the National Landcare Conference Steering Committee have announced the conference will now take place on 10 to 12 March 2021 at the International Convention Centre, Sydney. The committee would like to take this opportunity to extend the deadline for the Call for Abstracts to 1 July 2020.

The new key dates are:

• Wednesday 1 July 2020 - Call for Abstracts new closing date
• Wednesday 2 September 2020 - Launch conference program with early bird tickets
• Wednesday 10 to Friday 12 March 2021 - National Landcare Conference  
• Thursday 11 March 2021 - National Landcare Awards

For more information on the events and abstracts required, click here!​​

GROUP AND NETWORK NEWS

A big thank you to Climate Specialist with Agriculture Victoria, Graeme Anderson, who has developed this fantastic YouTube resource for the Growing Southern Gippsland project. Here Graeme summarises some of the climate predictions for Southern Gippsland and presents the climate drivers that influence our weather and climate.
Its 20 minutes of worthwhile viewing so make sure you grab a cup of tea or coffee before you settle in. Happy viewing everyone.
​
Click here to watch the presentation. ​

After receiving lots of questions about volunteering under Covid 19 restrictions, as well as being involved in discussions about grant programs and future projects, the Victorian Landcare Program and Community Programs teams at the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning have put together a PDF which provides great information on what you can be doing now to stay involved with environmental volunteering in a safe manner.

Click here to download the full document.​

Public engagement for Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park is now open!

The Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park will combine 40km of parks and reserves along the Bass Coast on Bunurong Country. Parks Victoria are now asking the public to give their ideas to help develop an Access and Infrastructure Plan for a trail linking San Remo and Inverloch.

Share your ideas and feedback for a trail and activities in the park by visiting Engage Victoria at: www.engage.vic.gov.au/yallock-bulluk-marine-and-coastal-park-access-and-infrastructure-plan.

You can also submit your ideas, register for events, or give feedback over phone (13 19 63) and email ([email protected])

In early 2020, the Kongwak Hills Landcare Group circled Sunday 29 March on the calendar and scheduled the first general meeting for the year, keen to get together and plan for the upcoming planting season.

However, as the date approached, strict government regulations on social interaction were introduced, quashing the regular format of gathering to discuss business over a drink and home-cooked treat, shared at a volunteering member's home.

Lateral-thinking President Jon Hauser was quick to act with a solution, organising an virtual meeting room via the online platform GoTo Meeting.

This allowed for members and group facilitator Lisa Wangman to join the room and meet "face to face" for business as scheduled (still with a drink and home-cooked treat at hand).

Note from KHLG: even though we may be physically "distanced", it's still important for us to stay connected and get creative in the ways we carry on as a group. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please forward to: kongwakhillslandcare@gmail.com.

Imagine if getting Australians back to work also helped nature to heal…Conservation and farming groups around Australia have come together to offer a plan to do just that - employ tens of thousands of Australians in land management and conservation as part of the bridge to recovery as we respond to coronavirus. What do you think of this idea? We can repair degraded river systems and areas burnt out in this summer’s bushfires. We can tackle weeds, feral animals and improve farm sustainability. Young people, tourism operators, tradies, retail workers - amongst others who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own – can be given a lifeline with safe, meaningful and socially beneficial work, which can leave enduring benefits, especially in rural and remote Australia, for the environment, tourism and farm businesses. Imagine what your Landcare group or local environment would be like with this kind of support!!

There are also  few things you can do, outlined by Landcare Victoria Inc. to maintain the momentum on this proposal. 

Click here to find out more about the proposal and how you can contribute to this becoming an important part of Australia's economic recovery.  ​

The VEWH (Victorian Environmental Water Holder) & the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment have highlighted some suggestions below for activities to get the whole family involved in some Landcare related activities. There is everything from 'where water comes from', to fun bird watching activities... something for everyone!

Click here to check out these great activities!​

The Birdlife Australia Photography Awards are on again! With categories including bird portrait, birds in flight, bird behaviour, birds in backyards, and many more, there is a category every every keen birdo, even the kids. 

Entries are open from May 15th until August 3rd, giving you plenty of time to get that perfect shot.

Click here for all the info!

The latest Junior Landcarer newsletter contains so much great stuff this month, we decided to just linkyou to the whole newsletter rather than sharing individual stories. This newsletter is a free subscription, and is a fantastic resourse for parents and teachers to get great ideas on projects and activities for the kids to get them involved in environmental activities, having fun while learning!

Click here to view the newsletter​

Gippslandscapes is a local podcast, highlighting just some of the many people involved in Landcare, working hard to make the region and it's beautiful ladscape a better place. 

You can find these podcasts by searching 'Gippslandscapes' on your preferred podcast listening platform, or clicking the link below.

Click here to listen!​

GRANTS, RESOURCES, TRAINING, INFORMATION AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR LANDHOLDERS

The sixth round of the Young Farmers Scholarships is now open, providing young farmers in Victoria the opportunity to access scholarships of up to $10,000 to help boost skills and implement new on-farm initiatives. It aims to support them in building productive and profitable careers in agriculture.

Click here for more information!

Does your farm or small business need an online presence?

Through the Victorian Government's new Digital Opportunities Program, you can learn to improve cyber-security and harness benefits from the digital economy.

Click here for more info and to register​

Together with Rabbit Project Officer, Chantelle, we have put together a page on our website dedicated to controlling rabbits in the Bass coast Shire. The page contains information, brochures and fact sheets, and has a contact form for you to quickly and easily request some help if you have a rabbit problem on your property.

We have planted 3,300 mangroves across 4 sites in recent months to combat the effects coastal erosion as part of our Ramsar Protection project, funded by PPWCMA. The establishment of mangroves has proved to be an incredibly difficult task, due to the harsh conditions of the intertidal environment. Revegetation of mangroves has been trialled by many organisations, universities, landholders and volunteers with varying results over the years. John Eddy of the Phillip Island Conservation Society has developed what seems to be the most efficient and cost-effective approach, which we have used in our recent plantings. The Direct-seeding method involves attaching the mangrove seed to a bamboo stake using a rubber band (backed up by a cable tie to ensure no litter is created). We are seeing some promising results thus far and we are hoping to continue to refine our methods and plant more mangroves in the future!

Click here to check out Neil Daly’s article on mangroves in the Waterline News

After concluding our most recent 1080 fox baiting program in South Gippsland last week, we are now firing up our pest animal programs on the Bass Coast for our Biodiversity Response Planning project.

A 1080 baiting program is being run across 4 sites simultaneously, in the Mouth of Powlett river, Mouth of Bass River and Lang Lang/Gurdies regions over the next few weeks. Soft jaw trapping programs will be run at a number of other sensitive sites, reducing the effects of fox predation on local faunal species.

Rabbit control programs, via Calicivirus release and Pindone baiting will also be continued across a number of Bass Coast sites in the coming weeks.

Check out our Biodiversity Response Planning page for more updates. 

The latest planting at the River Garden will be a small scale demonstration of a 'kitchen garden' on the top set of swale beds with a range of herbs and annual vegetables. Stage one of planting a range of herbs has now been completed with seasonal vegetables to be planted over the coming months.

Our Orchard is also looking full now with the addition of more fruit trees over the past few months, adding citrus and avocado into the mix of stonefruit, apples, pears, and other fruiting trees on site.  

Once restrictions are lifted  we can't wait to welcome you back into a revamped, one weekend a month volunteer program to catch up on maintenance and get this site working to its full potential. We also have a couple of volunteer projects planned including constructing and planting a wicking worm bed, creating a herb spiral and rejuvenating the sweet potato beds. This will be a great opportunity to learn about these different techniques of growing your own healthy nutritious food!

See you down at the River Garden when its safe to so so of course....For now though, if you follow us on Facebook, you may have noticed our Education, Training and Communications Manager Lisa, posting videos  from the River Garden to keep you all updated!

Check out our Facebook page to see Lisa's River Garden updates!

Offset your Car 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.