The Dirty Hands newsletter October 2025

Published November 03, 2025

Welcome to the October edition of The Dirty Hands.

At Landcare Tasmania, it’s people that make the difference — nearly 8,000 volunteers strong, working together to nurture our landscapes. 

In this edition, we’re excited to share stories on the official launch of the Catchment Connect Project, reflections from the national Landcare Conference, and an amazing collaboration between The Friends School (associate member) and Gorse be Gone Landcare group in our Member story.

And in other news, we have moved office! Same building, different floor. We are still at 65 Murray Street, Hobart. However, you can now find us on Level 5.  

Image: Celebrating the launch - Landcare Tasmania team members, partners and stakeholders came together on 14 October. 

Communities in action for healthier catchments

The Catchment Connect Project officially kicked off at Logie Farm in Orielton this month, bringing together supporters of healthy, resilient landscapes.

The event marked the beginning of this important five-year initiative to enhance farm dams and strengthen landscape resilience across Tasmania.

"By enhancing farm dams, protecting waterways, and supporting biodiversity, we are investing not only in the health of our environment but in the long-term productivity of Tasmanian farms.," said Landcare Tasmania CEO Peter Stronach.

Farm manager Lachlan Van Balen spoke about the positive results of recent on-ground works — including fencing to limit stock access and revegetation around his farm dam — which has already improved water quality and attracted more birdlife to the property. 

Delivered by Landcare Tasmania and funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, with support from the Tasmanian Landcare Fund, Catchment Connect will work with farmers, community groups, and First Nations partners to build healthier, more resilient landscapes.

Image: Farm manager Lachlan Van Balen, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry the Hon Julie Collins MP, and Landcare Tasmania CEO Peter Stronach. 
Read more

Image: Jacquilin (middle) with other participants at the National Landcare Conference on the Gold Coast. 

Youth perspective | Reflections from the National Landcare Conference

Words and images supplied by Jacquilin Ismay, a youth bursary recipient, provided by generous donors.

Being immersed in the stories and knowledge of so many landcarers from all walks of life and from across the country was so inspiring. 

Day 1 of the conference started with the NextGen Landcare Summit. It was amazing to connect with so many other young people in landcare. Being able to come together as a community was really special, the energy was great and it was a space where everyone felt uplifted, included, and heard. It was great to be in a room of more than 150 people who were concerned about the same issues. 

Day 2 brought more great speakers. I really enjoyed the keynote presentation from Fiona Simson, discussing nature-positive landcare and how the agricultural and environmental sectors need to work together as the climate changes. My main take-away was that we need radical collaboration, communication, corroboration, and curiosity to make change!

Day 3 had more great talks and opportunities to connect with people. The gala dinner allowed me to chat with other people from Tasmanian groups and hear about what they have been working on. It was so exciting to see Tassie bring home awards for some amazing achievements. All of the nominees and award winners from across the country are so deserving of their recognition! 

Read more on the Tassie winners at the National Landcare awards.

"I am feeling so full of ideas, and so happy I got to meet some incredible people who I will be able to connect with into the future, to bounce ideas and thoughts off one another. It was an amazing and fulfilling opportunity and I'm so glad I took it!" - Jacquilin
Read our team's write-up from the conference

Member story: The Friends School & Gorse be Gone

Students take action for wildlife at Petcheys Bay

In September, The Friends School (an associate member of Landcare Tasmania) joined the Gorse be Gone Landcare member group at their Petcheys Bay property for a day of hands-on environmental action.

As part of their environmental sustainability studies, 23 students and teachers installed eight possum boxes — for brushtails and ringtails — with the help of an arborist who scaled the tall blue gums to secure them high in the canopy.

Under the guidance of members of the Gorse be Gone group, the students also rolled up their sleeves to remove invasive gorse and took part in a fun Wildlife Scavenger Hunt, complete with clues about local fauna and a bonus challenge to spot some Tasmanian devil scat!

This collaboration came together through Landcare Tasmania’s Education Team, who connected the two groups — matching The Friends School’s nest box project with Gorse be Gone’s Project Bank request. The team also supported the event by lending binoculars and wildlife ID 'poo flips' from the Education Lending Library.

This is a fantastic example of Landcare connection in action — supporting learning, wildlife, and local landscapes all at once.
Gorse be Gone Landcare group
 

Landcare Tasmania in the news 

Here's a behind the scenes shot of our Network Coordinator (South), Amy, being interviewed by Scout from ABC Radio about the Catchment Connect Project, alongside farm manager Lachlan at Logie Farm, Orielton.

Amy and Lachlan spoke with the Tasmanian Country Hour about how the project is helping farmers improve water quality, boost biodiversity, and build resilience in a changing climate. 
Listen to the interview on ABC's Tasmanian Country Hour

Workshop alert! Feral cats action planning session

Saturday, 15 November
10am-2pm
Sandford Hall

We're inviting landholders and community members from the South Arm Peninsula and surrounds for a hands-on workshop focused on on-ground actions to help the community with feral cat management.
This workshop will focus on how to correctly set up traps, wildlife monitoring cameras and explore how the community can seek additional support and funding to progress responsible cat management.

We are excited to have Clarence City Council's new Cat Management Officer joining us for the day!
RSVP here

Upcoming grant opportunity!

Landcare Tasmania is excited to announce a new round of funding — $240,000 will be available for on-ground projects from April 2026 to April 2027, funded through the Tasmanian Government’s Landcare Action Grants program.

This grant round is designed to support Landcare Tasmania members who are working to maintain healthy landscapes. Whether you're a farmer, land manager, or community group, if you're caring for land that's in good condition, this grant is for you.

Funding will be available for protection, restoration or enhancement activities, such as weed control, fencing, invasive species management, and more.

Full details about the grant will soon be available on our website, and applications will open in December 2025.

The grant is open to current Landcare Tasmania members only. If you’re not a member yet but want to apply, make sure you get in touch soon - new memberships can take up to eight weeks to process.
Become a member today

Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) is coming up soon – a chance for our community to connect, reflect on the incredible work of our members, and help guide the future of Landcare in Tasmania.

Your voice matters! The AGM is where we celebrate achievements, share plans for the year ahead, and strengthen our Landcare community.

 RSVP and join us in shaping what’s next for Landcare in Tasmania.

 
RSVP and find out more

What's on - news & events

New interactive tool for invasive grass

Check out Biosecurity Tasmania's amazing new interactive 3D invasive grass models!

Correctly identifying grass species can be tricky at the best of times. If you’re trying to manage invasive species, getting it right is critical for success.

To help with this, they’ve created 3D models of four of Tassie’s most invasive grass species.

You can move and zoom around the digital models to see all details of the plant, including leaves, flowers, seeds and roots. There’s also handy tips to help people identify plants in the wild.
Find out more

Study maps tidal wetlands of Kalamaluka/Tamar estuary

A major study has, for the first time, mapped the historical post-colonisation (i.e. shortly after European occupation) spatial extent of tidal wetlands bordering the Kanamaluka / Tamar estuary.

Researchers from the University of Tasmania (UTAS) used sketches and surveys from as early as 1809, as well as aerial photography from the 1940s to reconstruct wetland distribution prior to major land reclamation and hydrological change.

 
Find out more

Join a local Landcare group!

Keen to get involved? Check out our directory of groups and upcoming working bees/events happening all over the state!
Find a working bee / event near you

Interested in joining us? 

Become a member today!

Find a group near you

Volunteer with us

 

Thanks from the team at Landcare Tasmania

We want to hear from you!
Get in touch with any questions or feedback:

(03) 6234 7117

[email protected]

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