Landcare Australia facts for kids
Landcare Australia is a special community group in Australia. It's a not-for-profit organisation, which means it doesn't try to make money. Instead, it helps local volunteers work together to fix and improve our natural environment. When Landcare first started, it mainly focused on farms. The idea was that farmers, people who care about nature, and scientists could team up. Their goal was to make farms better and also help the natural places around them.
Since it began in the 1980s, Landcare Australia has grown a lot! Now, Landcare groups don't just work on farms. They also help out in towns and cities, looking after parks, waterways, and beaches. For example, Landcare Australia now has groups called Coastcare (for beaches and coasts) and "Junior Landcare" (for younger kids). These groups are different from "Caring for Country" projects, which involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using their special knowledge to look after their traditional lands.
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How Landcare Started
The idea behind "landcare" is to bring people together who have a similar problem with the land, especially if they live in the same "catchment" area. A catchment is like a big bowl where all the rain and water flows to a common point, like a river or lake. By working together in these areas, people can solve problems like land damage. Many of the first groups worked to get rid of rabbits in Australia or fix other issues on farms. Now, Landcare helps with all sorts of things, from farming to making communities better places to live.
The Landcare movement officially began in Victoria, Australia in 1986. A group of farmers near St Arnaud formed the very first Landcare group. They were volunteers who wanted to help fix the environment. Since then, the Landcare idea has spread all over Australia and to about 15 other countries! Today, there are around 4000 Landcare groups in Australia.
Some important people helped create Landcare. These included Rick Farley from the National Farmers Association, and environmental champions Barbara Hardy and Phillip Toyne from the Australian Conservation Foundation. Former Victorian Premier Joan Kirner and farmer Heather Mitchell also strongly supported the idea early on.
Landcare got a big boost when the Australian Federal Government, led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke, announced a "decade of landcare." They also set up a way to keep giving money to Landcare groups. This helped the volunteers continue and expand their important work.
What Landcare Groups Do
Landcare groups do many different activities to help the environment. They might:
- Do research to see if past projects worked well.
- Build fences to keep farm animals away from certain areas, so plants can grow back.
- Plant trees to create windbreaks, which protect animals and soil from strong winds.
- Manage waterways to make sure water flows correctly and doesn't cause damage.
- Fight against soil salinity, which is when too much salt builds up in the soil, making it hard for plants to grow.
- Remove unwanted plants (weeds).
- Use natural ways to control pests (biological controls).
- Share ideas about how to best care for the land.
- Help make farms and local areas look nicer and healthier.
Many of these tasks help fix problems caused by farming practices from many years ago.
Who Supports Landcare
Landcare groups across Australia get help from Landcare Australia, which is the national organisation. They also get support from other groups and government agencies in different states and territories. These include:
- Landcare NSW
- Landcare NT
- The Landcare Association of South Australia (Landcare SA)
- Queensland Water & Land Carers
- Landcare Victoria Inc. (LVI)
- Landcare Tasmania
- The Western Australia Landcare Network (WALN)
Landcare Australia also runs an online directory called the National Landcare Directory (NLD). This directory lists many different community groups across Australia. It includes landcare groups, farmers, landowners, traditional custodians, junior groups, and coastcare groups.
The National Landcare Network is a big group that represents all the community landcare groups in Australia. Its main goal is to "represent, support and help the community Landcare movement." As of 2023, it includes about 2000 Landcare organisations from different states and territories, which represent around 6000 individual Landcare groups!
Who Runs Landcare Australia
As of 2021, the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Landcare Australia is Shane Norrish. The organisation is guided by a board, which is like a team of leaders. The head of the board in 2021 was Doug Humann AM, who used to lead another conservation group called Bush Heritage Australia.
National Landcare Awards
Landcare Australia holds special awards every two years called the National Landcare Awards. These awards celebrate the amazing work done by Landcare groups and individuals. The 2020 awards ceremony had to be moved to August 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The ceremony was held online and was hosted by ABC TV presenter Costa Georgiadis. Awards were given out in nine different areas, including for young people, Indigenous groups, soil care, and farming.
Caring for Country Projects
There are also special projects called "Caring for Country." These projects focus on Indigenous people and custodians working to look after their traditional lands. They use their cultural knowledge and deep connection to country to care for the environment. Often, non-Indigenous people and organisations help with these projects too. The way "Caring for Country" projects are organised and funded is often different from local Landcare groups. The Australian government has helped fund these projects and Indigenous ranger jobs through programs like the National Landcare Program.
See also
- Conservation in Australia
- Environmental issues in Australia
- Indigenous rangers
- Bushcare Group
- Phillip Toyne
