The humane destruction of livestock, animals caught in traps or pest animals on the farm requires qualified, licensed and capable firearms operators. During times of economic depression or emergency, stockowners are faced with the difficult decision of on-farm destruction of their animals. Pest animals also require the use of firearms, in order to prevent the…
Mistletoe is a very misunderstood plant. For this reason, people often chop it out of trees or even worse they remove the whole tree. Yet mistletoe is considered an ecological keystone for biodiversity and has been eaten by Aboriginal people for thousands of years. It plays a key role in providing food, habitat, biodiversity and…
Best practice pasture management has been linked to improved soil health in agricultural landscapes. To investigate this, we assessed the soil chemistry and biology of four different land management systems: alley plantings, pasture cropping, standard pastures, and native woodland. The different systems were on the properties of five landholders and a state forest in Boree…
The Dunns Road fire started in a private pine plantation near Ellerslie Nature Reserve, located in the SW Slopes near Adelong, on 31st December and travelled in a southwesterly direction, threatening the townships of Batlow and Tumbarumba, and burning out an area of 333,940 ha in total. Catastrophic fire weather on the 4th January resulted…
Erosion in the Kyeamba Valley has been a significant issue for many years, with most landholders dealing with headcut formation and migration, channel incision and gully or tributary erosion at multiple sites across their properties. In order to manage the erosion, and reduce its ongoing progression across valuable farmland, landholders have used a range of…
Whitton Public School was interested in connecting the children of the local primary schools to the older members of the community, particularly the Grandparents and Grandfriends of the community. The purpose of the event was to celebrate the contributions grandparents make to all our lives, and foster intergenerational learning and opportunities for older people to…
Microbats of the Young District was a four-year project, funded by a Riverina Local Land Services Community Grant. It was developed in response to the continuing decline of microbat habitat in the wheat/sheep belt, and the general lack of awareness amongst landholders regarding microbats and the important role they play in ecosystem services. The first…
Junee Landcare members and surrounding farmers were keen to address the past removal of vegetation on farmland through the planting of native shrubs and trees to improve habitat and connectivity, and support regenerative farming practices. However, conditions presented a big challenge for the project, from drought to bushfires to Covid-19. The drought caused planting to…
Paddock trees are keystone structures providing a number of local and landscape ecological functions, including provision of habitat and connectivity for native species. Research has indicated that paddock trees are declining due to natural and accelerated mortality, and most will be lost in less than forty years resulting in an undesirable ecological regime shift. Research…
Wagga Wagga Urban Landcare were looking for a way to engage the many young families in our area in Landcare-related activities. The challenge was to provide an activity which would get families outdoors and inspire them to appreciate our amazing natural areas and native biodiversity, in a way that was fun, engaging and – importantly…