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

Happy Volunteer week to all of our treasured volunteers! From our volunteer Board, Landcare Group committees and members, to the tree planters, the plant growers at our Nursery, the River Garden volunteers, plus many more volunteers of all kinds, thank you for all of your assistance. It is all of you that make Landcare such a great thing to be involved in. 

As we head towards winter it's nice to see a green and lush landscape. The first few Community tree planting days are planned and underway,  so get your gumboots ready and look out for the rest of many community tree planting days across Bass Coast to be advertised next week. This month's E-news contains other interesting events, general news, grants and more too. Grab a beverage, sit back, relax and enjoy the read. 

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Join the Korumburra Landcare Group to help plant out 1600 grasses, shrubs and trees which will add to a wildlife corridor and habitat around the property of Carolyn & David Field. In August 1999 Landcare worked with the Field's to plant upwards of 6000 plants over approximately 5 acres, so it is also great opportunity to see what a Landcare project looks like after 25 years. Afterwards, stay on and enjoy a lovely morning tea with fellow Landcarers!

Click here for more details on the Korumburra Landcare Facebook post, so you can RSVP for catering by May 31st. 

The Bass Coast Shire Council has organized a Detox your Home event coming this year to Wonthaggi.  Household chemicals can be dangerous. They may harm your family and pets, add extra fuel to a house fire, release toxic fumes and pollute the environment.  Disposing of these items responsibly will reduce the risk of poisoning, keep toxic chemicals out of waterways and minimise environmental pollution and fire hazards.

For further information and to register click here.

Kongwak Hills Landcare Group are organizing a soils workshop with Stefanie Hildmann.  Stefanie is based in South Gippsland and works as an educator about all things soil. She is known for her no-nonsense approach to soil health and has recently published a book titled 'Radical Soil Care'. The workshop is scheduled for Saturday 15th June.   Details will be available soon.   

For further information and to register please click here to email. 

You are invited to an exciting agroforestry farm walk at the Archies Creek property of Ric Oldham.  Ric has recently commenced integrating agroforestry into his farming operation with support from a VicForests support grant.  Ric will be presenting why and how he is integrating agroforestry into his beef farming operation, and how it fits into his long-term property management plan. 

For further information and to RSVP click here.

The Phillip Island Landcare Group has now released their 2024 planting calendar, with the first planting of the year scheduled for Saturday 22nd June at Kate Darling and John Field's property, adjoining Swan Lake. Help increase habitat and improve water quality by planting more vegetation to filter water as it runs off agricultural landscapes and down into Swan Lake. Plant in comfort with their well set up camper trailer, where you can enjoy hot drinks, seating, shelter and a complimentary lunch. 

Click here for all Phillip Island Landcare planting details and to RSVP. 

Learn about cultural safety to create inclusive, safe and welcoming spaces. Cultural safety is about providing an environment that considers and respects the cultural identity, values and norms of the peoples attending your activities. These cultural values and standards may often differ from your own and majority of society.  For Australia’s First Peoples, culturally safe practices and attitudes demonstrate an understanding, acceptance, and respect for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultural identities, cultural ways, and our ongoing connection to culture, Community and Country.

For further information and to register click here. 

GROUP, NETWORK AND GENERAL NEWS

The BCLN Nursery has a dedicated group of around 15 volunteers, who meet every Friday morning to pitch in and help with the propagation and care of our plants. A lot of our passionate volunteers have been coming routinely from the very beginning, and the group has grown along with the nursery. The volunteer group was founded in 2016 along with the nursery itself, as we begun as a solely a volunteer based nursery, propagating around 10,000 plants in the first year. It’s thanks to the hard work and good spirits of our delightful volunteer group that the nursery has been able to grow into what it is today, producing over 160,000 plants this season. A big thank you to our amazing volunteers for persevering rain hail or shine, they always come in with smiling faces for some good chats, hard work and cup of tea. The nursery wouldn’t be what it is without them.

Click here for more information on the Nursery Group. 

A fantastic field day was held at Jon Hauser's Glen Alvie property in early May with over 30 attendees. Jon Hauser along with guest speaker, Clinton Tepper, took us through Jon's journey into agroforestry, from planning and planting through to harvesting and marketing. Jon is an advocate for agroforestry on farms in Bass Coast and spoke candidly about the challenges and opportunities for farmers who wish to incorporate agroforestry into their farming operations. Thank you to Jon Hauser for hosting the day, to Clinton Tepper for sharing his expertise and to Vic Forests for supporting the event.

Click here for notices and information on upcoming events on the News and Events page on our website. 

Formed in 2021, Land Covenantors Victoria (LCV) is an independent, not-for-profit, member-driven organisation.  Since this time LCV has already lobbied the State Government to provide exemptions to land tax on conservation covenanted properties, surveyed members, and published a strategic plan.  If you have a covenant on your land, you are warmly invited to join LCV as a full member at no cost. 

For further information on LCV, click here. 

Check out the Summer 2023-24 Victorian Landcare Magazine with a focus on Landcare Support Staff, featuring BCLN's very own Dave Bateman and Lisa Wangman, discussing 'Building a successful Landcare Network' and 'Landcare life/work balance.'  This is fantastic recognition of the great work we do at BCLN, and showcases the progressive leadership philosophy that continues to nurture our highly motivated staff.  

To access these great stories and many more click here. 

Hi there! We’re three final year Environmental Science students from RMIT University. We are excited to invite you to take part in our survey which is a collaboration between us and BuildFit P/L, a social enterprise. Your insights will help inform the design of the ‘Carbon Thermostat’, a new and innovative carbon accounting tool. The results will contribute to our report on the unique challenges and opportunities carbon accounting presents to members of the Bass Coast Landcare Network, from primary producers, land management stakeholders and rural businesses, to hobby farmers and the broader community. We are looking forward to hearing from you and to share our final report.

Please click here to participate.

The 2024 Junior Landcare Biodiversity Grants are open for applications for up to $5000 to fund environmental education activities and biodiversity focused on-ground projects. Schools, Kinders, childcare centres, Scouts, Guides, youth and Junior Landcare groups are eligible to apply, applications close at 3pm on Friday 14th of June. Please encourage your local school to apply, lets get more of our next generation involved in Landcare activities. This could be an excursion with your BCLN Landcare Education staff, working with Landcare Group volunteers, activities with other Environmental Education providers, or planting indigenous vegetation to create habitats for our wildlife on school grounds.   For advice on applications, our Education Manager Lisa Wangman can be contacted at [email protected] and our range of facilitated activities in the Environmental Detectives range can be found here www.basscoastlandcare.org.au/education.html

For more ideas, guidelines and to apply, please visit the Junior Landcare Website by clicking here. 

The Victorian government is again offering grants to landholders in Gippsland to assist in establishing trees for timber. Timber plantations can be established as woodlots, shelterbelts or wide-spaced plantings (or any combination of these) and be ideally placed within the context of a whole farm plan. The minimum eligible plantation establishment area for a grant application is 3 hectares. Grant applications open on 4 March 2024 and will close on 7 March 2025. During this open period, grants will be assessed and administered with the interested landholders progressively.

For further information click here.

The Australian Government is inviting organisations via an Open competitive process to apply to deliver projects under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program – Small Grants Round 1. Small Grants are for small-scale projects at the grassroots and community level that will support farmers and land holders to adopt sustainable agriculture best practices, as well as facilitate and implement practice change. The grants will improve management of our natural resources and increase sustainable on-farm productivity and resilience to climate change. The grants allow for a wide range of projects and initiatives, providing opportunities for information delivery and extension as well as scaling up of existing local initiatives. New or innovative, as well as tried and tested, climate-smart, sustainable agricultural practices are in the scope of activities that can be funded.

For further information and to apply click here.

Our Bass Coast Landcare Network website has some great resources available, ranging from topics such as soils through to sustainable homes. The Soils of Southern Gippsland video series is one of many that you can access.  The video series describes the main soil types of Southern Gippsland and is a great help to those who are starting to plan their farm around soil types.  

Click here to access this fantastic resource.  

Its great to see so many young families having a great time and getting involved at the River Garden through our River Garden Little Kids program. We have had four sessions so far in this Autumn round, Super Seeds, Growing Great Veggies, Wiggly worms, plus Beautiful Butterflies and Bugs. We have four more sessions to go, they are fully booked but we often have some away sick, so if you would like to go on the waiting list for any of these please email [email protected]  On Saturday 11th of May we hosted our first Garden Gems Workshop with Rick Coleman from Southern Cross Permaculture Institute on Introduction to permaculture, and funded by Bass Coast Shire Council. Rick very generously shared his vast knowledge with a great group of eager participants.

With the cold setting in, the weeds and grass growth has finally slowed down. In the winter months we will weed, renovate and top up garden beds, then get ready to do our winter pruning of the fruit trees, which is also the topic of the next Garden Gems workshop in July. This winter we will also be planting out the outer areas of the River Garden as a Conservation Zone and Seed Orchard, working with the West Gippsland Seed bank and local schools too. Looking forward to seeing you down at the River Garden!

For all things River Garden, including booking into the Garden Gems Workshop series, please 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.

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, or by leaving a bequest in your will, 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.