National Landcare Awards | Choosing Tree Guards | Soils Field Day | 1st, 25th and 60th anniversaries for Landcare Groups | Feral Cats and Deer + more 

Tassie nominees head to the National Landcare Awards

Next week, Landcare Tasmania and Tasmanian award nominees will be heading to Sydney for the National Landcare Conference and Awards. 

Landcare Tasmania has 8 award candidates for the national awards this year, both Landcare groups and individuals. These nominees were all winners in the 2021 State and Territory Landcare Awards and have progressed to being finalists for the 2022 National Landcare Awards.

Awards will be presented by Costa Georgiadis and will be presented in categories such as Australian Government Individual Landcarer Award, the Coastcare Award, and the KPMG Indigenous Land Management Award, to name a few.

We are very proud of Tasmania’s award nominees and think it’s great these Tassie achievements are being recognised on a national scale.  Last year we had our first National Landcare Award winner in eight years. We are hoping to keep the streak going with another winner this year!

National Tree Day in Bridgewater - One Year On

Image: National Tree Day in Bridgewater © Huon Douglas

Bridgewater Landcare Group was born last National Tree Day, and have been caring for a little patch of foreshore ever since.

The group have made some real progress on removing weeds, collecting local seed and creating habitat for native species.

This National Tree Day was another wonderful day with locals and friends from afar coming together to plant some important understorey plants along the foreshore.

This new group are one of only handful of community Landcare groups in Brighton, so we’re really excited to see Landcare activities take root in this area.

Happy Anniversary to Bridgewater Landcare!

A big thanks to Centacare Evolve Housing, 24 Carrot Cardens and the Material Institute, local Federal Member - Brian Mitchell MP and Brighton Council for making this event a possibility. Thanks also to the Understorey Network for growing the plants!

Feral Cats Info Session 9th Sept - Impact to Action, What You Can Do

Join us for a free info session on feral cat management with some of the best people in the state. Learn about the impacts of feral cats, what you can do and recent changes to legislation.

WHEN September 09, 2022 at 6:00pm - 8pm

WHERE Montgomery Room, Carpark Ln, Ulverstone, TAS 7315

This info session will share knowledge from experienced people working with feral cats. We will take an in-depth look at how feral cats affect livestock and wildlife and steps we can take to manage the state-wide feral cat problem.

We will be joined by Gill Basnett, the National Feral Cat and Fox Management Coordinator at the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, who has a wealth of knowledge to share.  We'll also hear from former NRE senior veterinary scientist Bruce Jackson.  The session will end with a demonstration from experienced cat trapper John Bowden on how to trap cats properly and effectively.

This workshop is part of our Outreach Program which aims to increase capacity for Landcarers so that all our land and coasts can be cared for by the community. Funded by: State Government's Landcare Action Grants.

25 Years of Turners Beach Coastcare

25 years ago, a group of 4 residents found themselves becoming increasingly concerned about the constant threats to the local natural environment, their impacts, and the lack of response by those with authority. 

Rather than continue to lament that someone needed to take action to address the situation, they decided to be that someone and with the help of advice from another resident, Turners Beach Coastcare Inc was formed.

The simple objective, to protect, preserve and enhance the local natural environment, has guided the work of the group, and has contributed to the maintenance of a diverse, robust and healthy coastal ecosystem.

25 years is quite an achievement for what is essentially a group of volunteer workers. Whilst volunteers have come and gone over the years, as their circumstances changed, there has always remained a strong group of dedicated volunteers to continue the work of Turners Beach Coastcare.

"How satisfying to walk along the shoreline, knowing that the dunes have considerably fewer weeds due to our efforts, to admire maturing planting projects that have been undertaken over the decades, to see healthy native fauna populations and to observe areas where native vegetation has re-established because of the removal of competitive weeds. Volunteering isn’t hard when there is so much satisfaction to be gained from knowing that Turners Beach is a better place for it." said Turner's Beach Coastcare volunteer. 

Congratulations on 25 years, Turners Beach Coastcare. 

See you at AgFest 

Come and join Landcare Tasmania at AgFest 2022! We will be exhibiting with our UTAS pals. Rural Youth Tasmania's team have outdone themselves this year with amazing exhibits and plenty to see and do.

Capturing the Deer Problem Using Tassie Deer Spotter

As the fallow deer population in Tasmania has increased over the years, so too has their damage. Feral deer impact native vegetation and crops through overgrazing and trampling, and damage fences, wetlands, streams, and other fragile areas. These issues are now being seen in sensitive areas like the World Heritage area, and have the real potential to become worse in both spread and impact.

With an outbreak of foot and mouth disease occurring in our neighbouring Indonesia, there are concerns that feral deer could harbour and spread the disease, should it reach Australia. With deer populations increasing so rapidly, the effects of an FMD outbreak could be magnified.

Peter Jacobs from the Invasive Species Council has emphasised that recording deer sightings is crucial. To help track deer numbers, the Invasive Species Council has developed Tassie Deer Spotter, a citizen science project hosted on iNaturalist. The site allows users to capture photos of evidence of deer (deer poo, tracks, etc), or the animals themselves, along with a location. The project is particularly useful in identifying the number of deer entering into areas of high conservation value. The information will be fed into national scientific databases, and will help contribute to knowledge about how fallow deer are spreading in our state.

This features as part of our Advocacy work, to raise the profile and get better support for important issues and Community Landcare in Tasmania

Celebrating Over 60 Years of Landcare Work in Kingborough 

Image: Flora Fox planting a tree in 1983 with son Ben at age 5 

Kingborough has a rich history of community Landcare. Cr Flora Fox has reflected on her time as part of the Kingborough Landcare Advisory Group (KLAG) and as councillor, taking us through the history of care groups in the Kingborough landscape.

"As a young girl in the late 50’s I often walked with my sister through the bush across the hills from Blackmans Bay to Kingston. There were very few houses behind Blackmans Bay, and we enjoyed the water and mountain views, the wild-flowers, and native birds. We visited the library and shops at Kingston Beach." said Flora. 

"In 1996 many volunteers had evolved into Landcare, Bushcare and Coastcare groups, from Taroona to Bruny Island. We got together regularly for mutual support, and in 2005 we decided to formalise as the Kingborough Landcare Advisory Group (KLAG) Incorporated." she said. 

KLAG's work has paid off- in 2010, their consistent lobbying resulted in the council including environmental management in their budget, and employing two Weed Care Officers. The 2022/23 budget includes $1.3 million to environmental management. 

Today, KLAG represents over 24 Landcare Groups caring for Kingborough's Landscapes and continuing over 60 years of community Landcare in the area.  If you would like to be part of the future of KLAG, come along to the AGM on the 31st August at Kingbrough Council Chambers.

Soil First Tasmania Workshop - Fertiliser Efficiency and Cover Crops in Potatoes

On 31st August we will be joining Soil First Tasmania, VegNet and TIA to talk cover crops. Theresa Chapman and Doug Clark from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture will join us for a walk through a cover crop diversity trial at the Forthside Research Farm at Forth.

Soil First Tasmania's members have been running a number of workshops as part of their Tasmanian Landcare Fund project "Introducing Diversity of Cover Crops" and are keen to promote the soil benefits of mixing it up a bit. Getting on the ground is the best way to see the success of varying cropping methods so get along and see for yourself. Thanks to the JM Roberts Charitable Trust for their support of projects like these.

On guard: Which tree guards do you use? 

With a variety of tree guards available, you might be wondering which ones are the best for you and the environment.

Tree guards are invaluable in helping to protect your seedlings and small plants from the elements, as well as small animals, giving them the best start in life.  But with a variety of tree-guards on the market, which is best for your purpose?  

Threatened Plants Tasmania Seeking Committee Members

Threatened Plants Tasmania (TPT) is a volunteer organisation that has been actively involved in the conservation and monitoring of Tasmania's threatened plants since 2009. TPT is founded in the ethos of knowledge-sharing between professionals and non-professionals alike. Many of our members have had no prior experience with Tasmanian native plants, while others may be amateur or professional botanists. A willingness to learn and share is all that's needed.

TPT is seeking committee members: Secretary or Treasurer, and general committee members, to be elected during our AGM this Saturday at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. Committee meetings take place via video call, so location is not a barrier to getting involved. If you are interested, please contact Judy Foulkes secretary@tpt.org.au, or download and return the nomination form.

Catch us at Lilydale District School Fair

We will have some great information about our local area and programs currently running. Stop by the stall and have a chat with Jason and Nigel!

Featured Photo -'Celebration of Nature' - by Leanne Hays

Submitted to the Landcare Tasmania Photography Competition 2021 

Landcare Tas Online Shop

Why not pick up a slick set of Dave Watts Tassie playing cards? Sales through our store raise funds to assist Landcare Tasmania in supporting our member groups across Tasmania, undertaking landscape restoration projects and boosting our education and advocacy programs. We appreciate your purchase!

Orders can be shipped to you (within Australia) or collected from our office in Hobart.

Donate

As a small not-for-profit organisation we are always seeking donations to help support our important work. 

Whether you are able to donate regularly or once off, every contribution helps thhe Landcare movement grow. 

Thanks for reading

The Landcare Tasmania Team

Peter Stronach – CEO
Priscilla Richards – Member Services Manager
Rachel Larner – Finance and Administration Manager
Jenn Gason – Communications Officer
Evie Drinnan – Project Officer
Joy Pfleger – Project Officer
Cynthia Schaap – Project Officer