28 Apr 2021

Every year we take a snapshot of our membership. Our members form a vast network of people across the state who are making a positive difference in their natural and working environments. The Landcare Movement is growing! Our membership has been increasing strongly for several years.

276 Member Groups

As of today we have 276 Member Groups (plus 5 new groups with applications in progress!). Landcare Tasmania's Member Groups are a diverse lot. We have three broad categories of groups:

• Community groups - made of members of a community who come together to support each other on a chosen issue or at a certain location, and sometimes work in close association with local council or Parks & Wildlife. These include community associations, Bushcare & Coastcare groups, Wildcare groups, conservation groups, and many others.
• School groups - These are individual schools who have a distinct Landcaring element at their school - be it a kitchen garden, dedicated nature play, or sustainability focus - or all of the above!
• Property groups - These are typically large properties managing a wide range of land use types with a small group of people (often family) who are taking the initiative to make a positive difference towards caring for their land. 

What contributions do Landcare Member Group volunteers make?

Our renewing groups reported on their volunteer activity in 2020:

• 5,600 Regular Volunteers - these are the volunteers who regularly came to activities.
• 3,465 Events were held around the state, including working bees, meetings, outings, market stalls, info sessions and workshops.
• 111,656 Hours were contributed by volunteers.

That's the equivalent of 64 people working full time all year!! (However, this is close to 50,000 hours less than the hours reported for 2019, we suspect because of COVID-19)

What issues do Landcare Member Groups address, and what activities do they participate in?

We asked our member groups what issues and activities they will actively be working on in 2021. The most popular Landcare activities continue to be weed control, planting, clean-ups and community education and skill building. There has been a notable increase in the proportion of groups active in seed collection and propagation from 16% in 2020 to 23% this year. 

Where do Landcare Member Groups make a difference?

We asked our member groups whether their activities take place on public or private land, in urban, natural, or rural landscapes, and in what type of habitats. You can see there are many groups who are active in multiple settings - these are the striped sections on the first two charts, showing where they overlap.

Worth a mention is the fact that the number of groups working on private land increased significantly from last year, from 30% to near 50%. This is a result of new members in all categories - not just Property-based Landcare groups - working with private landholders, and demonstrates the strength communities can have in looking after their local environments. This is very exciting for Landcare Tasmania, as it brings us closer to our vision for all the land and coasts of Tasmania to be looked after by the community. 

92 Individual Members

These Individual Members hail from 24 out of 29 of Tasmania's municipalities, plus a few interstate.  These valuable members give financial support and/or are active in Landcaring in many ways. Some are part of several groups, many have succesfully completed projects funded by the Tasmanian Landcare Fund, Landcare Tasmania's Landcare Action Grants, or Fifteen Trees plant sponsorships, and everyone shares a passion for looking after the environment. See a summary of membership benefits here. 

2 Associate Members

Associate membership is open to organisations such as businesses, councils, government agencies and other community groups and people who do not meet the requirements of being a community care group or an individual member. Membership agreements are tailored to your needs, with benefits including:

• Acknowledgment and branding opportunities
• Access to funding opportunities, including the Tasmanian Landcare Fund
• Free Member Outreach events, networking and occasional training opportunities
• Discounted tickets to our Tasmanian Community Landcare Conference and Awards

Current Associate Members: Southern Waste Solutions and Harvest Farms

What services did members access in 2020?

• 189 Groups accessed the 2020 LAP Grant ($150)
• 174 Groups were insured through Landcare Tasmania Bulk Insurance
• 45+ Projects (Individual & Group members) were supported through Landcare Tasmania's Project Bank
• 602 Events were advertised on our Events Calendar
• Hundreds of stories shared and profiles raised, through our newsletter and news blog, facebook, and Instagram.
• Click here for a summary of membership benefits

What do we do with this information?

This information is collected from the Annual Membership forms, and is used to ensure our programs match the needs of our members, helps us advocate for more funding for the important work they are doing, and helps us raise awareness of Community Landcare's impact in Tasmania.