Landcare in our community
The Wimmera has a diversity of landscapes and land uses, and an enthusiastic volunteer community. Wimmera CMA wants to help volunteers and landholders undertake actions that improve the condition of our environment and the sustainability of farming practices, drawing on local knowledge and expertise. Landcare is a long-running community-based movement that facilitates and coordinates collective actions such as invasive plant and animal control, revegetation, waterway monitoring, and improving farming practices on a local scale.
Project Platypus, Elmhurst Plantout There are 63 community-based groups comprising approximately 1,400 members in the Wimmera, supported by a range of network structures. Local groups are critical for the successful delivery of a range of Natural Resource Management (NRM) programs in the Wimmera.
Local farming, conservation, and waterway protection groups include Landcare groups, ’Friends of’ groups, Top Crop groups, Farm Tree groups, farming extension and trial research groups, River Improvement Committees and Waterwatch groups.
As well as groups that implement sustainable farming and environmental projects on-ground, many individual landholders choose to champion local Landcare principles and practices on their land outside of formalised group structures. Wimmera CMA Landcare group support is designed to be inclusive and targeted, tailored for specific circumstances or interests and extending opportunities for participation in cross-property planning and activity as widely as possible while also strengthening opportunities to empower groups/networks.
Landcare was formally launched in Victoria in 1986.
Australian Government-funded Regional Landcare Facilitators
Regional Landcare Facilitator positions are supported by the Australian Government in each of Australia’s 56 NRM regions as a resource for farmers and groups. Regional Landcare Facilitators have information and local experience in the adoption of sustainable farm and land management practices. They deliver community capacity building activities in response to community need. The Wimmera region has three part-time Regional Landcare Facilitator positions based in local communities (West Wimmera, northern Wimmera, and the upper Wimmera catchment). Contact details for these positions can be found here.
How do I get involved with Landcare?
It is easy to become involved in Wimmera Landcare. To find out about the groups and activities in your area visit the Wimmera Landcare website, or contact us. At present, Government at both the state and federal level invest in facilitator positions in the Wimmera to strengthen community capacity and to act on problems in the local landscape. The Wimmera Landcare website link includes details for all facilitators.
Landcare plant out events
Every year the Wimmera hosts major plant out weekends across the region. These family-friendly events are a fantastic opportunity to get your hands dirty, enjoy great food and great company, and make a difference to the environment. Each Wimmera plant out event showcases a unique mix of participants and landscapes. Many city-based volunteers and volunteers from diverse cultural backgrounds have been welcomed over the years.
Major annual community Landcare weekends include:
Landcare links
Victorian Landcare Gateway
Landcare Australia
Landcare grants
Victorian Landcare grants support efforts by groups to address local environmental priorities through the delivery of on-ground works. Grants can support group activities with clear public benefit including fencing to protect environmental assets; revegetation; and coordinated pest management around waterways, hill country, and fragile soils.
APPLICATIONS FOR THE LATEST VICTORIAN LANDCARE GRANTS FOR THE WIMMERA NOW OPEN
Read Wimmera Guidelines
Apply HERE
Wimmera Landcare Report Cards
These report cards provide an overview of the activities and achievements in the financial year.