Due to the impacts of colonisation, traditional knowledge about identifying and protecting Aboriginal Cultural Sites has not always been passed down through generations. As a result, many community members and local stakeholders lacked the practical skills and legal understanding needed to accurately identify, record, and protect these sites. Unfamiliarity with relevant legislation and limited experience…
Boys to the Bush empowers disengaged young males through mentoring and community engagement. However, accessing the natural environment—a core component of its mission—presents challenges due to diverse environmental topics, limited public access points, and inherent safety risks. Determining where to begin can often be difficult. The collaboration between Murrumbidgee Landcare’s Local Landcare Coordinator in Narrandera and Boys to the Bush’s Leeton…
Flowerdale Lagoon in Wagga Wagga receives stormwater from nearby suburbs, meaning litter dropped in the streets of these suburbs can wash into the Lagoon, threatening its biodiversity and water quality. Most people aren’t aware that their actions upstream are harming sensitive downstream habitats. Wagga Wagga Urban Landcare Group engaged Ashmont Primary School students to learn…
Murrumbidgee Landcare teamed up with a group of local not-for-profits to bring the Riverina Harvest Festival to life, a two-day celebration showcasing the region’s rich agricultural and artistic diversity Despite being the food bowl of NSW, Riverina producers often struggle with local visibility and connecting with the community around our rich, high-quality local produce.…
Native wildlife populations across the Riverina, especially the Squirrel Glider, are on a steep decline. The continued loss of intact native vegetation, coupled with habitat fragmentation and other human activities, has pushed these species to the brink. Recognising this, the need for increased community awareness and stronger conservation efforts has become urgent. With this in…
Knowing when to step in and when to step back as a coordinator in navigating the natural cycle of Landcare Groups Landcare groups, like any community-driven initiative, experience phases of growth, consolidation, and reflection. As a result we can see Landcare groups become quite disheartened when they reach low points in the adaptive cycle.…
Communities engaging in citizen science face several challenges, including citizen science initiatives not being readily available or promoted, funding constraints, and the ability to continue contributing after one – off events are finalised. Limited access to technology and resources can hinder effective communication and engagement, making it challenging to sustain long-term participation and collaboration. Murrumbidgee…
Effective communication is vital to ensuring our community understands the work we do as Landcare and have the opportunity to engage in our projects and events. Often seen as ‘behind the scenes’ work, effective communication is central to every Landcare project mission to engage the community. But how do you produce communication products which provide…
In recent years, Murrumbidgee Landcare have commenced a program of school holiday workshops, providing fun activities to connect local school-aged children with Landcare and nature. While the workshops were a great success, they really did not provide the right environment for my autistic son. Being in a noisy and busy environment, with large numbers of…
Steve and Cheryl Mathews have a property with a good creek line through it, but unfortunately the creek often overflowed and caused erosion and flooding. The Matthews’ received a grant from the then Catchment Management Authority (now Local Land Services) for 12km of fencing along the creek line in 2009. Where possible the area was…