The main objective of our Member Support Program is to understand the biggest challenges facing Landcare members, and respond to those challenges with resources and support. Membership has increased dramatically over recent years. Our annual member engagement projects are tailored to current demand to ensure that sure this momentum can be turned into best practice outcomes.

Image: Cultural Burning workshop 2023, provided in response to members' interest © Jemima Phelps

Recent projects include:

Turning best intentions into best practice: Good Foundations (2023)

Comparing survey results from 2015, 2017, and 2022 revealed that volunteer recruitment - recruiting both participants and leaders - has consistently been the highest concern for Landcare groups. Access to funding and training opportunities has also been of consistent concern. The importance of strong foundations in a volunteer group cannot be understated. Without effective leaders, volunteers and action plans, funding and training are unlikely to achieve best practice on-ground results. For this reason, we launched the project with a series of resources and webinars on volunteer recruitment, succession planning, and action planning. We intend for this pilot project to become something we can offer members every year.

Volunteer Recruitment Training

Landcare Tasmania and The Forever Agenda have teamed up to provide our member groups with a Volunteer Recruitment Online Course for free! This course will help develop the skills needed to recruit and retain volunteers, and comes with resources to download. Read more about the course content here: https://www.theforeveragenda.com.au/volunteerrecruitment. Limited access (closed 22 June 2023)

" (the course was) super helpful for re organising my brain around organising community tree planting days at our place. So many juicy things to remember in your course a the types of people, their motivations, how to ask, and to switch the thinking from asking to inviting" - Esther Nunn (Wrens Hill)

Succession Planning Webinar Q&A

Is your group struggling to fill leadership or committee roles? Even if you have a great committee now, do you have a plan in place to handover leadership roles in future?

Having a pro-active plan can prevent burnout and make it easier to hand over leadership. A plan can help ensure that the collective knowledge of an entire Landcare group doesn't fade away unnecessarily. The webinars will provide practical steps to take and tools to use to carry out a plan. The Q&A session afterwards will take questions about both Succession Planning and Volunteer Recruitment, for those accessing the Volunteer Recruitment course. Hosted by Landcare Tasmania and facilitated by Kim Boswell of the Forever Agenda (July 2023)

Quentin from Seymour Community Action Group Inc shared his new ideas on succession planning at their AGM. "For the first time since we incorporated we had some changes and planted seeds for more."

Community Action Planning Handbook

Coming soon!

This project has been made possible thanks to a successful donation campaign for the Tasmanian Landcare Fund

Core Member Services:

Our core support services are listed below. As partnerships form and funds are sourced through successful grants or donation campaigns, we are able to offer new resources and guidance.

Discounted Materials & Equipment: Partnership with Waratah Wholesale

We partner with Waratah Wholesale to give members access to discounted materials and equipment. We put through a bulk order once per quarter, more often depending on demand. Access is through the Members Toolbox.

Equipment Lending Library

Our equipment lending library is a shared resource available to any member! See what's on the shelf here.

The equipment library has been made possible thanks to the Australian government's volunteer grants

Core Support

As standard, every year we offer the following support services:

• Promote members' working bees, outings, and meetings on our website's Community Events Calendar, and in our monthly newsletter The Dirty Hands
• Promote members' project goals to prospective donors via our website's Project Bank
• Connect members to experts and relevant organisations or Landcare groups dealing with similar challenges through 1:1 email and phone support
• Guide prospective volunteers towards suitable Landcare groups through our Extra Hands Volunteer register and placement process, and our website's Member Group Directory
• Inform members of upcoming training and grant opportunites through the monthly Members-Only mailing list.
• Recognise Landcarers' achievements in our State Landcare Awards every two years
• Fund member-led projects
• Reduce the administrative load of organising a volunteer group through:
  • Free volunteer workers' accident & 3rd party liability insurance
  • A small annual cash grant
  • Centralised communications: A free [email protected] email address and online storage through Google Workspace
  • Branding: a 'caring hands' logo with the group's name
  • An online profile page where each group can list their aims, activities, and upcoming events
  • Guides on safety, governance, and incorporation
  • Auspicing unincorporated groups (by agreement) to apply for grants where incorporation is an eligibility requirement 

This project contributes to our ongoing Member Support Program. At Landcare Tasmania, we help our members reach their individual and community Landcaring goals through our Member Support Program. We provide resources and guidance to help them organize volunteers and carry out their projects on the ground. The Member Support Program is at the core of our Mission: We build resilience and capacity to protect, restore and manage Tasmania’s landscapes by connecting, supporting and educating the community.