The Narrandera Koala Count is one of Australia’s longest-running citizen science monitoring programs, critical to sustaining the Narrandera Koala colony’s conservation over five decades. After successfully lobbying for the first koala translocation for conservation purposes in NSW in the early 1970s, the Narrandera Koala colony experienced a lack of sustained formal monitoring and an increase…
About 25 years ago the Riverina Highlands Landcare Nursery was opened, under a different name, in a different time. The initial coordinator lasted two weeks, and trusty volunteer Ken stepped up to the challenge. Tumut local, Ken Stubbs, was the Nursery Coordinator and he still plays a significant part in both the Nursery and Tumut…
How Batlow rallied local community networks and Landcare groups to restore bushland and build environmental resilience after the devastating 2020 bushfires. The 2020 Black Summer bushfires devastated Batlow’s bushland, wiping out swathes of native vegetation and wildlife habitat, whilst leaving the landscape badly scarred. In the aftermath, the Batlow Environment Network (BEN) formed to bring…
Landcare groups spend thousands of volunteer hours restoring habitat. Telling the stories of their efforts and storing maps and surveys of a group are sometimes forgotten about until there is no sign of the records. As people get older and Landcare groups fold and change there is a need to store information built up by…
Junee Regenerative Landcare is trying to focus on more hands-on activities to reconnect people with the local landscape. At the Junee Reefs Bioblitz participants recorded 78 observations and 52 species, including one never recorded in the shire. A great result from a small start! Case Study: Small Team, Big Discovery at Junee Reefs Case Study…
A lack of communication channels, combined with low-capacity communication skills amongst individuals, has left Landcare groups struggling to connect with their community, share successes and recruit new members. Important updates, opportunities and event announcements are often overlooked, curbing participation and local awareness within communities, adding to the volunteer burnout. Without someone skilled in media, social posts, or public speaking, many groups miss out on effective storytelling and broader engagement,…
Coolamon Landcare Group wanted to encourage the local community to reconnect with nature and rediscover the unique biodiversity of Kindra State Forest. The forest had always been well-loved, yet many people were unaware of its rich orchid population and the subtle seasonal changes that make it so special. Driven by curiosity and care, the group…
The Swift Parrot (Lathamus discolor) is a spectacular parrot found across the Riverina and many parts of south-eastern Australia during the autumn and winter months. In spring they migrate a distance of up to 4,000 km to their breeding grounds in Tasmania. With only approximately 750 birds thought to remain in the wild, Swift Parrots…
Hay Plains Landcare delivered an educational Cultural Burn Workshop: Building Drought Tolerance, facilitated by Dean Freeman and the Gugaa Collective to broaden understanding of Cultural Burns to reduce exotic weed, promote native ground cover and increase drought tolerance. Over the two days we shared learning and strengthened Cultural understanding, supporting intergenerational learning and preserving First…
Murrumbidgee Landcare addresses mycology knowledge gap and fosters soil health and ecosystem resilience across the region. Relative to plants and animals, the diversity and significance of fungi is little known. Fungi are frequently referred to as the “Forgotten Kingdom”, yet they are vital in creating and stabilising soils, nourishing and interconnecting plants, recycling nutrients, retaining…