Seed collecting with Ruth Mollison, new life jackets for members, photo comps, Landcare project updates and more!  Enjoy the June 2020 Dirty Hands!

Like most Tasmanians, our army of almost 5,000 volunteer Landcarers is emerging from COVID-19 restrictions and getting back into their Landcare projects. There's lots to do, and for many projects, there's a fair bit of catching up as well.

With 30 June is fast approaching, now is a great time to make a tax deductible donation to support the community Landcare effort get back into full swing.

Eighteen months ago we introduced our Project Bank, allowing our members to be proactive in putting forward the projects that will make a difference in their communities. In a little over a year we've been able to support almost 60 new projects, with funds, materials, plants and discounts. See the stories below for some terrific work that's underway right now.

But we've also got over 130 projects that are looking for help, and more coming in all the time. These projects are great examples of the willingness of local people to get involved with local issues, but they also highlight that support is needed to turn best intentions into great outcomes for the environment, land management and sustainability.

Your donation to the Tasmanian Landcare Fund, no matter how small, will help Tasmanians achieve more Landcare outcomes on the ground.

Donations are tax deductible. You can donate generally, or express to support a single project or a particular issue needing to be addressed.

Projects underway again!

We are getting some great updates on projects supported by Landcare Tasmania, our partners, and donors. All of these projects began as proposals in our Project Bank, and we have been able to bring together multiple forms of support to get these projects off the ground.

Cemetery Point Coastcare - Revegetation at Cemetery Point Coastal Reserve

Support Received: Tasmanian Landcare Fund grant (through donations from the JM Roberts Trust), plants through Fifteen Trees. 

Volunteers (socially distanced!) have been combatting coastal erosion by removing boxthorn and revegetating an area recently fenced-off from stock access. Group convenor Christine Bayley shared the following with us: "It's a good place for hop bushes, sagg, and plenty of seagrass, and our previous she-oak plantings are doing quite well". 

"Boxthorn had been reestablishing itself on either side of the track and throughout the reserve. Previous attempts at eradicating it (council poisoning) have only been partially successful and dead plants have been left in situ creating a hazard. We’re now starting to grub out rather than poison any new growth and disposing of it".

"The Cemetery Point Coast Care Group feels incredibly privileged to receive the support of Landcare Tasmania and Fifteen Trees to protect and improve this small coastal reserve on the Tasman Peninsula for current and future visitors."

Photos by Christine Bayley, Cemetery Point Coastcare

Redbank Farm Landcare - Redbank Wetland and Riparian Restoration Project

Support Received: State Govt's Landcare Action Grants, plants through Fifteen Trees, discounted materials through Waratah of Tasmania, and extra volunteers.

Timing of this project is ideal, with many saying this is the best season in 20 years to plant trees in Tasmania.

Assisted by the UTAS Landcare Society volunteers and Landcare Tas staff member Peter Stronach, the Nichols family and farm staff planted out 1200 plants as part of a restoration project on their 380-acre property. 

They also have 100 hectares of adjoining native bushland that contains some of the most pristine remnant forests in the region, including white gum and stringybark forests, blackwood stands and valuable old habitat trees. The farm also hosts a family of wedge-tailed and sea eagles and threatened freshwater lobsters live in local creek systems.

The Nichols family use a range of innovative and best practice initiatives to run their farm sustainably and have been well recognised not only for increasing production and reducing costs but also for protecting biodiversity!

 Read more about their work here.

Friends of Huon Island - New Life Jackets!

Support received: assistance with a successful funding application to the Volunteer Grants Program through Federal MP Julie Collins

Friends of Huon Island do a lot of work on the water as part of their volunteering, but all their volunteer life jackets were coming to the end of their lifespan. With Landcare Tasmania assisting the group in the application process, Friends of Huon Island have been awarded a grant for the group to be furnished with locally made state of the art Stormy Lifejackets. Read more here.

Who is Landcare Tasmania?

A couple of months ago we shared with you who our members are, what they are involved in, and how they are the driving force behind the community Landcare movement in Tasmania. Missed it? Read the membership summary here. 

At Landcare Tas we often find people are surprised or unclear about who we are and how we work. In this issue, let's clarify that.

Some of the common confusions are that we are a government agency or part of Landcare Australia or other organisations like NRM regions - we are none of these. We are an independent, non-profit incorporated association that exists to represent, support, strengthen, and grow community Landcare in Tasmania. For us, it's pretty much all about the members, and ultimately it is THEIR organisation.

Members of Landcare Tas operate independently, taking ownership of the design, delivery, and maintenance of on-ground outcomes for their environment and land management challenges. We assist by keeping track of members' interests and needs, organising our work to support them, and providing guidance on emerging issues. 

Read more about how we operate

Online Outreach Video Series: How to collect and store native seeds

In the first of this new video series, Landcare Tasmania's Kat Traill meets up with Ruth Mollison who shows us how to collect and store the seeds from the native paper daisy.

Ruth Mollison is a passionate Landcare volunteer who is sharing her professional skills in seed collecting, storage, and propagation with the community Landcare movement. Read more.

Photo Competition!

Seven Mile Beach Coastcare Group are organising an Inaugural Photo Comp 2020! 'Backyard Beauties', for a bit of fun at home!

TO ENTER: take a photo of your favourite native animal (including marsupials, mammals, birds, reptiles, insects etc.) or native plant/s (trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers) taken only in Seven Mile Beach (see the map for location). Check out the details on the Facebook post on how to submit a photo. Ends on 01 Sept 2020.

Welcome to our new member groups!

Community Landcare is continuing to grow! New member groups are a great demonstration of the generosity of the Tasmanian community to get involved in caring for our bush, land, coasts, rivers, and wildlife. They're contributing to our vision for all the land and coasts of Tassie to be cared for by the community.

Check out the latest new members: 

Richmond Ripple Landcare Group

Gentle Forest

Selby Landcare Group

St Omer