22nd Dec 2022 |
Landcare Tasmania acknowledges and pays respect to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people as the traditional and original owners, and continuing custodians of this land on which we live today. We acknowledge Elders – past and present.
Our vision that all Tasmanian communities are empowered and enabled to care for the land and water of lutruwita/Tasmania. Let’s sit back and take stock of the 2022 Landcare journey in Tasmania.
Image: UTAS Landcare volunteers and Seymour Community Action Group
Highlights
⭐We supported over 6,000 volunteers contribute 107,000 Landcare hours - that’s over 12 years of time donated!
⭐Our long-term members Seymour Community Action Group Inc. managed to get their project area added to the Seymour Conservation Area, doubling it in size.
"We come from a rag-tag bunch. But Landcare have been a constant thread of support to us from the very beginning” said group convenor, Quentin Smith.
⭐In August, Tasmanian Landcarers took home two (out of eight) National Landcare Awards, making it our most successful year yet. Congratulations to Yanti Winoto-Lewin for winning the Young Landcarers award and to Friends of Bass Strait Islands for winning the Coastcare Award.
⭐ Watch our our wrap-up of 2022!
Helping Tasmania build resilience
"Why do I do it? Because if we don't... we're going to bugger the planet right up." - Graeme Stevenson, 2020 Tasmania Senior Australian of the Year, longtime Landcarer and all-round legend
In the face of significant environmental pressures, including widespread biodiversity loss and climate change, we are at a crucial moment in time. Our rapidly growing membership understands this urgency and is responding with meaningful actions to restore the health of their local environments.
Extreme events
In October, the north-west of the State was hit particularly hard by significant flooding. Landcare Tasmania pulled together its resources for a Tasmanian Landcare Fund grant round to help Landcare projects recover from the impacts of the disaster. A special shout-out to the JM Roberts Charitable Trust for supporting this round.
Some of the flood affected Landcarers, while devastated by destruction on their property, noticed the clear difference in flood impacts between established revegetation sites and other areas.
This shows us the importance of Landcare projects like these in mitigating the impacts of increasing extreme weather events.
Ecosystem restoration
The 5th of June 2022 was World Environment Day, one year since the United Nations declared we have just one decade to restore the planet.
At Landcare Tasmania we are supporting over 500 members statewide undertake some form of restoration activity. Our ecosystem restoration workshops this year supported Landcarers in undertaking successful ecosystem restoration and provided information on the National Standards for Ecosystem Restoration, with internationally recognised restoration expert Todd Dudley.
Community Action
On the 19th July 2022, the 2021 State of the Environment report was released. Amidst a ‘sobering’ story for the environment, the Report highlighted that community action is important to mitigate further deterioration and is essential to building resilience.
New Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek offered the Landcare story as an antidote to despair.
“We know how to restore landscapes, repair coral reefs, and recover threatened species. We’ve got thousands of volunteers out there, every weekend, planting trees, collecting rubbish, and cleaning up their local creek – many of them through community Landcare groups” she said.
We look forward to working with state counterparts and the National Landcare Network to strengthen our national voice.
Supporting vibrant programs
Our programs continued to flourish this year, here’s the run-down.
Education
Our citizen science workshops gave students meaningful opportunities to explore their local environment, through a range of hands-on activities. These included water bug monitoring, bird watching, nature journaling, habitat exploration, and wildlife monitoring with cameras, to name a few. We held 20 workshops this year, across 10 schools, with approximately 400 students ranging from prep to grade 10 in attendance.
“Looking after endangered extraordinary creatures has been great,” said Felix from Austin’s Ferry Primary School.
Check out the drone footage of our Bandicoot bunker project at Howrah Primary.
Image: Water health monitoring with Mole Creek Primary School
We also recommend you watch the Bandicoot Dancers from Mole Creek Primary School Outdoor Camera– part of our School Citizen Science Program in 2022!
Landscape Restoration
We wrapped up four rounds of Landcare Action Grants this year, supported by the Tasmanian Government. During the five year Landscape Restoration project, 50 recipients received funding to deliver 63 on-ground projects. The scope of this work extended from the Coal River Valley to the Tasman Peninsula and the Pitt Water Coal catchments.
Our Landscape Restoration projects aim to bring landholders and community groups together to increase sustainable food production, highlight on-property biodiversity benefits, and improve overall catchment health. To support this, Landcare Tasmania provided education, training, and workshop events, introducing themes of sustainability, citizen science, plantation restoration training, and small farm food production.
“Landcare [Tasmania] very kindly assisted us with identifying and supplying Australian native plants for the refurbishment of our creek area. It was fantastic, very successful. A vast number of the 1,000 plants survived really well.” - Landcare Action Grant participant Carlos Souris from Tolpuddle Vineyard
Image: Landscape Restoration at Baldock's Road
Landcare Action Grants have also enabled the Northern Slopes Landscape Project to get underway in the north-west. This involves on-ground projects combined with training on topics such as carbon farming, environmental markets, revegetation techniques, ecological restoration, feral cat management, and school engagement.
Our next project focusses on the Huon and Channel region, supporting numerous project ideas that our members and partners have put forward in our project bank. We are looking forward to working with Huon and Channel locals next year!
Outreach
We held 42 Outreach events this year. These events provide opportunities for networking and skills building, through a variety of workshops with a range of guest speakers.
Image: Future Food Workshop at Bream Creek
This included workshops on dung beetles, seed propagation, biocontrols for weeds, sustainable farm practices, and pest management info sessions. We also held a pilot workshop on caring for Landcarers, which demonstrated how groups can look after their volunteers.
In response to the question: ‘Did you enjoy the workshop?’
“Yes! Very informative, knowledgeable speakers. Friendly people and environment. Excellent delicious lunch.”
“There was no ‘one thing’. I enjoyed all speakers. Each one offered insights and gems.”
“Yes! Lots to learn, powerhouses of knowledge.”
“Yes. Immensely. Great speakers who knew their topics sooo well.”
“Fabulous. So very informative, great networking too.”
“YES! Great speakers and GREAT food!”
Advocacy
Our advocacy program brings light to issues that our members are focused on. One example of this has been our rodenticides program, which has included workshops in Ulverstone and Huonville, and numerous presentations to key stakeholders involved in rodenticide use.
In response to our members expressing concerns about the impacts of feral cats in Tasmania, we held multiple workshops across the state, with specialist guest speakers providing insight on the impacts of feral cats, changes to legislation, and what can be done to help manage their impacts in the community. We also worked with the National Fox and Feral Cat Management Coordinator for the Invasive Species Council to produce a comprehensive resource on community management of feral cats. The feral cat program extends throughout most of our focus areas as they have wide reaching impacts on our environment and communities.
Member Support
Our member services program is at the core of what we do. Your donations have helped us to support our members with project assistance, insurance, annual grants to help with the costs of running a group, and the resources needed to coordinate their volunteers.
Our membership saw an increase from 384 to 513, encompassing both group and individual memberships. Under our Landcare Assistance Program we insured 192 groups for volunteer and public liability insurance, allowing groups to continue their onground activities across Tasmania. 118 new projects were submitted to our project bank, and we supported 30 new projects to get up and running.
This year we purchased more equipment for our lending library, and it has proven highly practical and valuable - a real hit for our members.
With such a huge range of volunteers, project partners and a constantly growing project bank, it's clear that the Landcare movement is continuing to grow momentum year after year. Your donations have allowed all of this to happen - so again, we thank you.
What they’re saying
“We wouldn’t be functioning without Landcare Tasmania." -Kathy Grieveson, Group Convenor of Penguin Rehab & Release, and Cooee-Camdale Coastcare
"We are reminded that we are part of something bigger, part of a tribe. This recognition, consistency of support, and connection to the whole community is why I battle on." -Quentin Smith, Seymour Community Action Group Inc.
Looking back, looking forward
Annual Report FY 2021-2022
This document provides an overview of our key programs and operations for the 2021-2022 financial year.
Strategic Plan 2022-2027
Our Strategic Plan 2022-2027 defines Landcare Tasmania's high-level vision for the next five years.
The preparation of this document has been informed by feedback from our members. We thank Landcare Tasmania's staff, Board and Members Council for their contributions in preparing this plan.
