Happy reading!

Image: Environmental superheroes Wren, Anna, Elsie, and Saskia (L-R). Photo by Barbara Marshall. 

Environmental Superheroes

On Sunday 25th February families joined Landcare Tasmania and Kingston Beach Coastcare to become ‘Environmental Superheroes” in a day of interactive environmental storytelling, a puppet show, and a beach clean-up.

The day included a sing-along with Landcare Tasmania’s Education Officer Bennie Mildren who wrote the educational tune “It’s all a load of rubbish” highlighting the impacts of pollution on marine life.

Participants in the environmental storytelling session got the chance to create an ocean of fish and marine animal puppets with the expert guidance of Sue Stack, an environmental educator. Children got to dress up as superheroes such as Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle, Repurpose and Rot Heroes.

A big thanks Sue Stack for the puppet show, Huon Douglas for photographing the fun, Kingborough Council for the loan of childrens Gardening gloves and Kingston Beach Coastcare members for participating on the day.

Coming up

Workshop: Bug Hunt

Know Your Local Patch School Holiday Workshop in Devonport

Join at the Tasmanian Arboretum in Eugenana for a bug hunt with local experts and scientists. Learn why little critters are so important to our ecosystems, and get up close to some creepy crawlies!

When: Saturday, 13th April, 10:00am - 12pm

Where: Tasmanian Arboretum, Eugenana

Workshop: Platypus and Waterbugs

Know Your Local Patch workshop at Garden Island Creek

Spend the morning in a beautiful riverside bush location with platypus and water bug experts, discovering which water bugs live in the Garden island Creek area. These Water bugs are a favourite food for a very special animal, the platypus!

When: Monday, 15th April 2024, 10:00am - 12pm

Where: Garden Island Creek "Flat Rock"

Landcare Tas at North West EcoFest

Join Landcare Tasmania at the 2024 North West EcoFest! We are excited to be a stallholder at this event which brings together sustainability information, presentations, workshops, exhibitors and more in Tassie's north west.

When: 6th April 2024

Where: Camp Clayton, Ulverstone

Catch us at AgFest

Passionate and hardworking Rural Youth volunteers have been proudly organising Agfest in Tasmania for over 40 years, delivering an iconic event declared one of the top three agricultural field days in Australia. 

We are looking forward to attending this landmark event. Come and get involved with Landcare Tas at AgFest!  We can't tell you all the details yet... but hunt us down to have a chat, join one of our walk and talks, discover the Quercus Park Nature Trail or wish us happy birthday (Landcare Tas turn the big 30 this year).

We'll see you there!

Stay in the loop with our upcoming events by checking out our Outreach Events Calendar here. 

Looking for a school holiday event for the kids? Find them on our Know Your Local Patch calendar!

Member spotlight: Rainbow Lorikeet Management Group

"Rainbow Lorikeets (RL)  take over crucial feeding and nesting habitiat of the critically endangered Swift Parrot as well as that of numerous other endemic birds. The RL are interbreeding with our native Musk Lorikeets, which places at risk the gene pool of the Tasmanian Lorikeet. RLs also pose a huge threat to our agricultural sector. If flocks become large enough they will have a devastating effect on apple, pear and small fruit crops." 

The Rainbow Lorikeet Management Group aims to promote awareness of the introduced Rainbow Lorikeet in Tasmania and provide factual information regarding the impacts these invasive birds are having on the well being of our native birds as well as on farming and agriculture. Rainbow Lorikeets are not native to Tasmania and have been increasing in numbers throughout Northwest and Southern Tasmania since at least 2008 (NRE recorded sitings).

The group works with the community to trap and euthanise Rainbow Lorikeets under license from NRE.

How can you help? 

• Report sightings to [email protected]
• Record sightings on iNaturalist
• You can get in touch with the group to arrange Rainbow Lorikeet control on or nearby your property via their Facebook group.

The Election: What Happened?

This election we were happy to see that support for Landcare Tasmania was part of State Environment and Agricultural policy pledges by major parties and prominent independents.

Leading up to the election we advocated hard for all the Landcarers across Tasmania to be considered and recognised by political parties as an essential part of our community. You can view the breakdown of the pledges that were made in our survey prior to the election here. 

We believe these investments are crucial for reversing biodiversity decline, improving food and fibre production, protecting natural areas and involving the community in Landcare for greater collective health and resilience. 

We look forward to working with the new State Government to ensure that Landcarers get the support needed to continue our critical work. 

If you have any questions about Landcare Tasmania's State Budget recommendations, don't hesitate to get in touch at [email protected] 

Photo credit: Nick H. Visuals

Fun at Sustainable Living Fest

We had a great day at Tamar NRM's Sustainable Living Festival early this month in Launceston. A big thankyou to the people who helped out with the Landcare Tasmania stall, especially Peter Voller, from West Tamar Landcare and Brian and Jenny Baxter from East Tamar Landcare.

We were all kept busy answering lots of questions about invasive species, controlling weeds, project funding and what’s been digging little holes in my lawn!

We were really impressed by the amazing array of sustainable living presentations, workshops and exhibitions. Thanks for a great day Tamar NRM!

State and Territory Landcare Awards - thanks for nominating

A big thanks to everyone who submitted a nomination to the Tasmanian State and Territory Landcare Awards in time for the March 31 deadline. The awards are a great way to provide well-deserved recognition and boost morale in our Landcare communities. We are very excited to celebrate your achievements in our upcoming awards ceremony in May. Stay tuned for more details!

Other news

• Checkout the City of Hobart Bushcare Working Bee Program for Autumn
• The Tasmanian Community Fund are supporting a program of handy Community Governance Workshops statewide.  Check out upcoming events here.
• Submissions for the proposed declaration of foxgloves closing 21 April 2024. Information on making a submission here. 

Thanks for Reading!

The Landcare Tasmania Team 

Landcare Tasmania

[email protected]