nlss april 2015 - Northern Landcare Support Services

APRIL 2015
www.nlss.com.au
Help Celebrate Landcare’s Local Leaders
Nominations open for the 2015 NSW Landcare Awards
Local Landcarers being encouraged to submit a nomination for the biennial NSW Landcare Awards after the
State led the country with the greatest number of finalists recognised with an Award or being highly commended
at the 2014 National awards.
Celebrating a silver milestone this year, the Awards have been running for 25 years and celebrate the many
achievements of Landcare across a number of diverse areas, including sustainable farming, Coastcare, Junior
Landcare, Indigenous land management, and more.
With nine national categories to choose from there is certain to be one to fit any kind of Landcare project or local
hero, and all winners at a state and territory level will proceed as finalists to the 2016 National Landcare Awards.
CEO of Landcare Australia, Tessa Jakszewicz, is encouraging people who are involved in Landcare or know a
worthy Landcarer to get involved,” Ms Jakszewicz said. “The Landcare Awards have been recognising and
celebrating Landcare’s strength and diversity for 25 years, and are a fantastic way of letting people know the
positive impact Landcare is having in communities across the country.
“Whether it’s a passionate educator teaching our kids where their food comes from or a primary producer
illustrating the link between sustainable land management and an improved bottom line, Landcarers are having a
positive impact in all sectors of our community,” she said.
Applications are now being accepted for the 2015 NSW Landcare Awards.
Awards will be given in the following categories
Australian Government Individual Landcarer
Australian Government Landcare Facilitator or Coordinator
Australian Government Innovation in Sustainable Farm Practices
Australian Government Partnerships with Landcare
Coastcare Award
Junior Landcare Team
Young Landcare Leader
Indigenous Land Management
Landcare Community Group
This year applications will be made through Landcare Australia's online entry portal. Please click here for more
information on the awards and to access the portal.
Further information on the NSW Landcare Awards is also available from:
Colleen Farrow
State Landcare Coordinator, NSW DPI
Ph: 02 63 913238 or 0407 620408
E: colleen.farrow@dpi.nsw.gov.au
How much riparian vegetation is enough?
In an article published in the Ecological Management and Restoration Journal on 20th January 2015 researchers
review studies, reports and guidelines to see if there is an ideal width of vegetated riparian area to provide good
environmental outcomes, including improved water quality.
Not surprisingly, the evidence suggested that ‘effective’ riparian width depends on the landscape, land-use and
the environmental outcomes being sought. The researchers also found that the effectiveness of riparian zones is
not being monitored consistently, and this, coupled with inadequate descriptions of the landscape context, made
recommendations difficult.
The review of current information did find evidence that the continuity and connectivity of vegetated riparian
zones is important. Follow the link below to see the full review by Hansen et al:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emr.12149/full
Rainforest Plant ID Key Workshop
Over 25 participants enjoyed some great sessions learning about Hugh and Nan Nicholson’s Rainforest
Plants of Australia electronic key.
If you have ever spent an hour or so staring at a leaf thinking “domatia or no domatia” this key could
save your eye sight and your sanity. It has many features which make keying out plants easier
including great pictures and explanations and the ability to add in the plant features you do know which
gives you a list of possible matches.
For more information or to purchase the key go to the Terania Publishing website
http://www.rainforestpublishing.com.au/
Parliamentary Report into Landcare Released
The detailed report from the senate enquiry into the National Landcare program has been released. It
covers some interesting ground including the history of Landcare as well as recommendations for the
future.
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communicatio
ns/landcare/Report
UPCOMING EVENTS
Date
Event or Workshop
Location
For more information and to
RSVP
Friday 17th
April
Spotlight Threatened
Species Workshop
Blackhorse Creek
Community
Northern Landcare Support
Services 6632 3722 or
info@nlss.com.au
Norco/Gold Mix Kyogle
Beef Bonanza
Thursday 23
North Coast LLS will be
April
running a stall to
9.30am for pen
provide advice and
judging
guidance to
landholders.
Kyogle Showground
Contact Kyogle Norco for details
663229320
Sunday May
3rd 9am-3pm
Kyogle Garden Club
Friendship Day
Kyogle High School
Geoff Densley 6633 5137
degdejpim@yahoo.com
Sunday 3rd
May 2015
Glossy Black-cockatoo
Birding Day
Throughout South-east
Queensland and Northern
NSW
www.glossyblack.org.au
Thursday 7th
May 2015
9.30 – 12 noon
Biocontrol workshop
Kyogle Showground
Far North Coast Weeds 6623 3847
rd
UPCOMING GRANTS AND FUNDING
Environmental Education Grants
The Environmental Trust is now calling for applications to
the following grants programs:


Environmental Education Program
Eco Schools Program
Environmental Education Program
Grants of $5,000 to $100,000 are available for community organisations, non-profit organisations and
government authorities to support educational projects that develop or widen the community's knowledge of,
skills in, and commitment to protecting the environment.
Expressions of Interest are due by 5pm Friday 10 April 2015.
Eco Schools
The Eco Schools Program will award up to 100 schools grants of $3,500 to deliver environmental management
projects. 18 of these grants are available specifically for projects working with students with special needs.
Applications are due by Friday 15 May 2015.
Application materials
Guidelines, application forms and a range of resources are available here
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/grants/education.htm
Questions?
Contact the Trust Administration on (02) 8837 6093 or email info@environmentaltrust.nsw.gov.au
The Norman Wettenhall Foundation: Small Environmental Grants
Norman Wettenhall Foundation is committed to supporting community biodiversity projects around Australia.
The objectives of the Small Environmental Grants Scheme are to support Australian biodiversity projects that
are concerned with one or more of the following:





monitoring and recording data
community education
community capacity building (training)
research and science
sustainable land management (NSW only)
See the website for information on who can apply and to fill out an expression of interest form.
Website: http://nwf.org.au/grants/small-environmental-grants/
Grant round open 7th April and closes 18th May 2015
Farm Innovation Fund – NSW Rural Assistance Authority
The Farm Innovation Fund provides loans to meet the cost of carrying out
permanent capital works that will have a significant beneficial impact on the land,
long term profitability of the enterprise and address adverse seasonal conditions.
Applicants must be the owner or operator of the property where the work is to be
carried out. Additionally the farm must provide at least 50% of your total gross
income and applicants must not have off farm assets exceeding $5,000,000.
For information about the Program and criteria which may apply go to the NSW Rural Assistance Authority
website http://www.raa.nsw.gov.au/assistance/farm-innovation-fund
Environmental Restoration and Rehabilitation Grants
The next round of Restoration and Rehabilitation grants program is expected to open in August 2015.
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/grants/restoration.htm
Resources
Weed control at your fingertips – NSW WeedWise
The power to control weeds is at the touch of a button, with a new
smartphone app that provides key, up-to-the-minute information to help
reduce the impact of weeds in New South Wales. The NSW WeedWise
app is the first of its kind, profiling more than 300 noxious and
environmental weeds affecting or threatening New South Wales.
The app combines weed profiles and control information as well as the
legal requirements under the Noxious Weeds Act 1993 in one easy-toaccess location. Users can search or browse weeds on the app and view
weed profiles.
Each weed profile contains a physical description of the weed, an image
gallery and detailed information about its impacts, where it occurs, how it
spreads and its preferred habitat. Latest control options are described for
each weed and the herbicides registered for its control are listed, including
application rates and techniques.
Landholders can also directly report sightings of high priority weeds via
email or SMS and as it is important to know that if a weed is declared in
NSW under the Noxious Weeds Act 1993, users can see what legal
requirements exist in their own local area, and elsewhere in the state.
The free app, available on iPhone and Android devices is a fantastic way to involve landowners and home
gardeners in our war on weeds. The app was developed by Department of Primary Industries in conjunction
with Reading Room Australia Pty Ltd. It was supported with funding from the NSW Weeds Action Program and
Murray Local Land Services.
NSW Landcare Directory
The 2015 annual review of the NSW Landcare Directory is currently underway.
For anyone unfamiliar with the NSW Landcare Directory, it is a database of all
known Landcare groups in NSW and it is maintained by the NSW Landcare
Support Team.
It provides the two performance indicators for the NSW State Plan, total number of groups and total number of
Landcare volunteers,that are used to measure the activity of the NSW Landcare movement. These indicators
are part of the suite of tools that is being used to monitor the success of the NSW Landcare Support Strategy.
The NSW Government made an election commitment of $15m over 4 years for Landcare support and the
directory provides baseline data so that we might be able to build a more reliable picture of participation across
the state and through the life of the next program.
If your Landcare group isn’t on the gateway yet, you are still welcome to join at any time. If you’d like to know
more there is a page of helpful hints http://www.landcare.nsw.gov.au/
If you need any help registering or logging onto the gateway please contact:
John Perrott john.perrott@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Prepared by Northern Landcare Support Services for Landcare Groups & landholders
All contributions to the newsletter are welcome.
The articles in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of Northern Landcare Support Services or
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Northern Landcare Support Services (02) 6632 3722 info@nlss.com.au
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