Murrumbidgee Landcare e-news No. 13 May 2012
- Coles Junior Landcare School Garden Grants
- Eco Schools and Food Gardens in Schools Grants
- The Myer Foundation - Education Small Grants program
- Protecting Our Places grants
- Community grants - Wagga LGA
- NAB Schools First Award grants
- Young farmer & student bursaries - Australian Agronomy Conference
- Nuffield Australia Farming Scholarships - Now open for applications
- Junior Landcare "Perfect Patch of Green" grants
- Feral pig control field day - Adjungbilly
- 'Maximise your lamb survival' - Phone seminar
- Guided walk - The Pinnacle Nature Reserve (ACT)
- National Volunteer Week 2012
- Stress Free Stockmanship for Healthy Landscapes - Adelong
- Lucerne FarmReady PROfarm Course - Yanco
- Identifying Environmental Weeds Workshop - Wagga Wagga
- Weed identification and removal day - Wagga Urban Landcare
- Restoring Woodlands Field Day - Cowra
- Biodiversity in the house paddock bus tour - Coleambally
- A Century of Irrigation on Display
- Farm Business Boot Camp Green - Wagga
- Sustainable Horse Management Field Day - Yass
- Grassland Society of NSW Annual Conference - Wagga
- NSW 'Partners in Grain' Tech Expo - Wagga
- National Tree Day 2012
- 16th Australian Agronomy Conference - Armidale
- Kyeamba Valley Landcare Group - Bush Stone Curlew presentation and dinner
- Riverina Highlands Landcare Network - AGM with guest speaker Graham Strong
- Molongolo Catchment Group
- Tarcutta Valley Landcare Group
- Ginninderra Catchment Group
- Upper Murrumbidgee Landcare Committee
- Wagga Urban Landcare Group
- Junee Area Landcare Network - Meeting and AGM
- Southern ACT Catchment Group - General Meeting
- Position vacant - Regional Landcare Facilitator
- New Weeds of National Significance
- Landcare groups and primary producers - Landcare surveys
- Carbon Farming Initiative - Update
- Review of Caring For Our Country - Final report released
- Volunteers needed to repair flood-damaged fences!
- Improving land management practices - New fact sheets released
- Agriculture and technology survey
- Is carbon Landcare's missing link?
Funding opportunities
Coles Junior Landcare School Garden Grants
The Coles Junior Landcare School Garden Grants offer of up to $1,000 to schools groups to help create gardens in their grounds or community, such as a bush tucker garden, water wise garden or veggie garden. All schools, kindergartens, daycare centers, and Scout youth groups are eligible to apply. Applications for the current round close on Monday 14th May 2012.
Eco Schools and Food Gardens in Schools Grants
The NSW Environmental Trust is calling for applications to their Eco Schools and Food Gardens in Schools programs. Applications for both programs close on Friday 18th May 2012.
The Eco Schools and Food Gardens in Schools Programs aim to provide grants to schools to give them the opportunity to involve their students and community in developing and implementing environmental management projects. 60 grants of $2,500 each will be offered in 2012 under the Eco Schools program, while 20 grants of $3,500 each will be offered under the Food Gardens program.
The Myer Foundation - Education Small Grants program
The Myer Foundation is currently accepting applications for its Education Small Grants Program. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis, with no fixed closing date. The Program is currently targeting three key areas, one of which is young people in rural and regional communities.
Protecting Our Places grants
The NSW Environmental Trust is calling for applications to the Protecting our Places program. The aim of this program is to protect land that is culturally significant to Aboriginal people, and to support education projects about the environment and its importance in Aboriginal life.
Grants of between $2,000 and $35,000 are available, with a total of $500,000 being offered under the program in 2012. Applications close on Friday 1st June 2012.
Community grants - Wagga LGA
Wagga Wagga City Council are offering up to $200,000 in grants to local non-profit community groups in the Wagga Local Government Area, under its Annual Grants Program. The aim of the program is to support a wide range of activities that build community capacity and enhance community wellbeing.
NAB Schools First Award grants
Applications for the 2012 NAB Schools First Awards are now open. This year, $3 million in funding is available to 130 outstanding school-community partnerships. Applications close at 5.00 pm on Friday 29th June 2012.
Young farmer & student bursaries - Australian Agronomy Conference
The Australian Society of Agronomy is inviting young farmers (35 years and under) to apply for a grant to cover free registration plus up to $800 to cover travel and accommodation expenses to attend the 2012 Australian Agronomy Conference.
The Society is also offering bursaries to support students undertaking tertiary studies in agriculture or a related field, with these awards covering free conference registration and up to $500 to cover travel and accommodation expenses to attend the conference. Preference will be given to students who present a paper at the conference.
Nuffield Australia Farming Scholarships open
Applications are now open for the 2013 Nuffield Australia Farming Scholarships. These prestigious scholarships are awarded each year to Australian farmers, with the objective of increasing practical farming knowledge and management skills and techniques generally. The scholarships give Australian citizens the opportunity to study farming practices in New Zealand, Europe, Asia and the Americas and those countries best suited to each scholar. They also promote a closer understanding between farmers in the countries visited. Upon returning to Australia it is expected that scholars will be able to actively spread the knowledge and understanding they have gained among their fellow farmers and others.
Junior Landcare "Perfect Patch of Green" grants
Turf Australia and Junior Landcare are offering 15 green makeovers to schools and youth groups across Australia, which will see up to 100,000 square metres of natural turf professionally laid in school grounds and recreation areas. Grant recipients will be visited by a professional turf grower who will lay real turf in their recreational areas to provide natural grass coverage for kids to enjoy.
All schools, including preschools and kindergartens, as well as youth groups including Scouts, Girl Guides and other community organisations that involve and support young people, are all eligible to apply. Applications close on Tuesday 31st July 2012.
Feral pig control field day - Adjungbilly
Following the successful "Outshine the Swine" field day held in Adjungbilly in February this year, a coordinated feral pig control program is about to being in the Adjungbilly - Wyangle - Goobarralong - Brungle area. A field day will be held on Wednesday 9th May at Adjungbilly to:
- Explain how the coordinated program will be conducted,
- Outline the role of the various agencies involved, including the Rural Crime Force,
- Provide demonstrations on how to set up the control program on your property, and
- Distribute materials such as traps and baits to undertake a control program.
'Maximise your lamb survival' - Phone seminar
EverGraze, Making More from Sheep and the Department of Primary Industries are hosting a free national phone seminar titled ‘Maximise your lamb survival’ on Friday 11th May from 12.00 to 1.00 pm. The seminar will cover key practices to maximise the number of lambs you sell this year. Scientists, including Susan Robertson from Wagga, will present data on the most common causes of lamb losses and key strategies for improving lamb survival.
Guided walk - The Pinnacle Nature Reserve (ACT)
The Pinnacle Nature Reserve is part of a nature corridor across the Belconnen Hills, with connections to Black Mountain and the Murrumbidgee River. The Pinnacles Landcare Group, part of the Ginninderra Catchment Group, are conducting a series of expeditions over the coming weeks to explore those corridors.
May 14-20 is National Volunteering Week! The theme this year is "Volunteering: Every One Counts". This special week is a celebration of the work volunteers do in our community, and a thank you for the contributions they make.
Stress Free Stockmanship for Healthy Landscapes - Adelong
Do you want to better understand livestock behaviour, and de-stress animals to improve their production rates? Learn how to take the first steps to better animal handling with this Stress Free Stockmanship course, being delivered in partnership with Murrumbuidgee Landcare Inc.
The course will be held at Adelong on Tuesday 15th - Wednresday 16th May 2012 (day 3 to be confirmed).
Lucerne FarmReady PROfarm Course - Yanco
Irrigated Lucerne for Profit - PROFarmCourse
Where: Murrumbidgee Rural Studies Centre, Yanco
When: 15-17th May 2012
Cost: $835 GST-free. Includes text book, reference manual and bus tour.
This course is suited for growers, agronomists, retailers, hay and silage contractors, or anyone with an interest in Irrigated Lucerne.
Identifying Environmental Weeds Workshop - Wagga
What pesky plant is that? A 1-day workshop at Diploma level.
Plant Identification is a key step in the control of weeds and the protection of valuable native flora. This hands-on workshop aims to develop skills in plant identification by utilising the Environmental Weeds of Australia DVD. This DVD is another tool in the plant identification kitbag and can assist in accessing information on more than 1000 environmental weeds.
Weed identification and removal day - Wagga Urban Landcare
Wagga Wagga Urban Landcare are holding a weed identification and removal activity day on Sunday 20th May. Come along to learn how to identify some of our local weeds, and get your hands dirty!
Restoring Woodlands Field Day - Cowra
You are invited to a CSIRO field day to look at a new approach to restoring native woodland and pastures which aims to increase soil carbon and the capacity of plants to cope with a drier climate.
Biodiversity in the house paddock bus tour - Coleambally
Would you like to improve the biodiversity value of your garden or farm? Want to make the yard around your sheds both beautiful and functional? Want to learn more about the benefits of local native plants? Maybe just chat with your neighbours and pick the brains of a native vegetation specialist?
Then come along on Coleambally's Biodiversity in the House Paddock bus tour! Wednesday May 30th 9:30am to 3:00pm
A Century of Irrigation on Display
The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area is celebrating its centenary anniversary in 2012. A photographic history of the irrigation area is currently on display at Leeton Visitor's Information Centre.
Farm Business Boot Camp Green - Wagga
Tocal College (NSW DPI) and Vanguard Business Services are running a ground-breaking new program that is designed to help farmers take your business to the next ecological level. Farm Business Boot Camp Green has been built on a foundation of best practice in practical land management - mixing business, production and ecological topics. The program will incorporate principles of Allan Savory's holistic management, in a dynamic network setting. The speakers will include a range of farmers sharing their experiences, and participants will receive easy-to-read manuals as well as a range of computer spreadsheets and materials to help you put your learning into practice.
The program is being offered for FREE for up to 20 participants, through funding from the NSW Department of Education & Training Strategic Skills Program. The course will start on Tuesday 5th June 2012, in Wagga Wagga.
Sustainable Horse Management Field Day - Yass
Murrumbidgee Landcare are holding one of the extremely popular field days on "Sustainable Horse Management on Small Properties" in Yass, on Sunday 24th June 2012. The field day will presented by Stuart and Jane Myers (expert on horse management, and author of "Managing horses on small properties") and Alison Elvin (expert on pastures and weed management).
The field day will include:
- Presentation of sustainable horse properties, including good and bad examples, to assist participants with designing their own properties,
- Discussion and advice on property layouts brought in by participants (be sure to bring in an aerial photograph of your property, if possible), and
- Field trip to a local property, to discuss property planning principles.
Grassland Society of NSW Annual Conference - Wagga
The 27th Annual Conference of the Grassland Society of NSW will be based on the theme "Managing a grazing business for profit in the agricultural landscape". The conference will be held at Joyes Hall, Wagga Wagga, on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th July 2012.
The conference features a huge range of speakers, trade displays and field trips, and offers an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest research and developments in the field.
NSW 'Partners in Grain' Tech Expo - Wagga
NSW Partners in Grain (PinG) are holding a full-day Tech Expo on Friday 20th July 2012. The expo will showcase innovative technological tools, software, and user tips to enhance your farm business, covering all aspect of new business technology systems, apps, software and hardware.
Planet Ark is calling on Landcare groups, schools and community members to get involved in National Tree Day 2012. Help inspire your local community to learn about their natural environment, and do something positive to help protect it for future generations!
This year, National Tree Day is on Sunday 29th July 2012,
16th Australian Agronomy Conference - Armidale
The 16th Australian Agronomy Conference will be hosted by the University of New England on 14th to 18th October 2012. The Conference will be based around the theme "Capturing opportunities and overcoming obstacles in Australian agronomy".
Keynote speakers will include Dr Bob Clements (CSIRO and ACIAR), Jock Laurie (President, National Farmers Federation), and Dr Michael Walsh (Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative, UWA).
Kyeamba Valley Landcare Group - Bush Stone Curlew presentation and dinner
Kyeamba Valley Landcare Group are holding a special dinner and presentation on the Bush Stone Curlew, to coincide with their Annual General Meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend!
Jan and Neville Lubke, farmers from Jindera, are part of the Nature Conservation Working Group, an environmental group undertaking a captive breeding and release program for the endangered Bush Stone Curlew. They will be talking about their progress over the past ten years in creating 'sustainable pockets' to protect the last remaining Curlews in our region. They will also talk about what we can do to help this important species survive in our local landscapes.
Riverina Highlands Landcare Network - AGM with guest speaker Graham Strong
The Riverina Highlands Landcare Network (RHLN) is celebrating 15 years since Landcare in the local area was officially formed! To help celebrate, the RHLN is hosting a gathering at the Tumblong Tavern on Thursday 10th May, from 3.30 pm.
The event will feature guest speaker Graham Strong. There will also be some interesting Landcare memorabilia, as part of the event. "We hope those people who have supported Landcare in both the past and present will help us to celebrate the achievement" said Nick Austin, RHLN Chair.
Molongolo Catchment Group meeting
The Molongolo Catchment Group are meeting on Monday 14th May, between 5.00 and 6.30 pm. Please feel free to come along and participate.
Meetings are held at the Molongolo Catchment Group office, Unit 13, Cassidy Arcade, 72-76 Monaro Street Queanbeyan. If you’d like more information, or are interested in coming along, please contact the MCG Coordinator, Anna See: coordinator@molonglocatchment.org.au.
Tarcutta Valley Landcare Group meeting
Everyone is invited to attend a meeting of the Tarcutta Valley Landcare Group. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 22nd May, from 7.30 pm, at the Tarcutta RSL.
Ginninderra Catchment Group meeting
All are welcome to the Ginninderra Catchment Group meetings. The next meeting will be held on Monday 4th June at 5.30 pm.
Meetings are held at the Kippax Health Centre in Kippax, behind the shopping centre. Please contact the Ginninderra Catchment Group if you are interested in attending, or for more information: landcare@ginninderralandcare.asn.au.
Upper Murrumbidgee Landcare Committee meeting
Everyone is welcome to attend the Upper Murrumbidgee Landcare Committee (UMLC) meeting. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 5th June, from 6.30 pm.
Please contact Tony Robinson (Chair, UMLC) if you are interested in attending, or for more information about the UMLC: chair@umlc.org.au.
Wagga Urban Landcare Group meeting
All Landcarers and interested people are invited to a meeting of the Wagga Wagga Urban Landcare Group.
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 6th June, from 7.30 pm, at the Wagga Council Building, corner of Fitzmaurice and Morrow Streets, Wagga.
Junee Area Landcare Network meeting and AGM
All Landcarers are invited to a meeting of the Junee Area Landcare Network, including the AGM. The next meeting, including the AGM, will be held on Thursday 7th June at the Junee Hotel. Dinner will be from 6.30 pm, with the meeting starting around 7.30 pm.
Read more
Southern ACT Catchment Group general meeting
Everyone is invited to attend the next General Meeting of the Southern ACT Catchment Group (SACTCG). The meeting will take place on Tuesday 26th June, from 4.30 to 6.30 pm.
If you are interested in attending, please contact Steve Welch (SACTCG Coordinator): info@sactcg.org.au.
Position vacant - Regional Landcare Facilitator (maternity leave)
Murrumbidgee Landcare Inc seeks to employ a Regional Landcare Facilitator on a one-year (maternity leave) contract, from June 2012. The position will be based at Mli’s Wagga office. Closing date for applications is Thursday 24th May 2012.
The Regional Landcare Facilitator (RLF) Initiative is an Australian Government Caring for our Country program designed to support community Landcare and production groups in the uptake of sustainable agricultural practices. Whilst the focus is on sustainable agriculture, the RLF also supports groups working on off-farm environmental, conservation and ecosystem services projects.
New Weeds of National Significance
Several species have been recently added to the national register of Weeds of National Significance (WoNS), greatly increasing the number of plant species currently recognised as nationally significant threats within Australia.
Landcare groups and primary producers - Landcare surveys
Landcare Australia is calling on all Landcare groups and primary producers to participate in two surveys about the health of Landcare, to help get a better understanding of your priorities of and the situation that you face. The surveys are available to complete online here.
Carbon Farming Initiative - Update
There have been quite a few new developments under the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) recently. Included on this page is a summary of updates likely to be of most interest:
- New CFI Handbook released
- CFI methodologies now open for comment
- General update on methodologies
- Domestic Offsets Integrity Committee (DOIC) appointed
- CFI now administered by the Clean Energy Regulator
Review of Caring For Our Country - Final report released
The final report on the review of the 'Caring For Our Country' initiative has been released. The review looked at the effectiveness of the program, achievements to date, and options for natural resource management delivery in the future.
Some of the key themes which emerged include:
- The importance of alignment of national, regional and local NRM priorities, and roles of the levels of government and regional NRM organisations;
- Continued strong support for community skills, knowledge and engagement activities; and
- Improving efficiency of funding arrangements, and exploring potential to leverage funding from industry, private sector and philanthropy
Volunteers needed to repair flood-damaged fences!
BlazeAid is a volunteer-based organisation that works with farmers and families in rural Australia after natural disasters such as fires and floods.
Volunteers are currently being urgently sought in Ungarie, Wagga Wagga, Narrandera and Young.
Improving land management practices - New fact sheets released
A series of new Fact Sheets have been released, under the Caring for our Country Program, reporting trends in land management practices in a range of agricultural industries at national and state level. These have been prepared from data collected in the biennial Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) and the ABS’ 1995/96 and 2000/01 agricultural census'.
Agriculture and technology survey
Karen Roberts, District Agronomist from Parkes, has been working with Michael Pengilley to develop a survey to find out to what extent and how farmers are using mobile technology (such as smartphones, websites, ebooks, YouTube, Twitter etc) and help focus the development of apps which assist decision making.
Is carbon Landcare's missing link?
Following is the transcript of a radio interview with Phillip Toyne which aired on ABC Radio National on Sunday 25th March 2012. Phillip Toyne is one of the founders of Landcare, and in this interview he talks about the history and the future of Landcare, as we celebrate the movement’s 25th anniversary.
Robyn Williams: Today, once more we shall celebrate the 25th anniversary of Landcare. Carrie Tiffany mentioned it last week: a movement that recognised that those actually living on the land, the farmers and their families, can know as much as any expert about how to look after it.
And now, 25 years on, the word ‘bipartisan’ is completely forgotten and even dreaded. It is astonishing to recall that Landcare was born when the boss of the National Farmers Federation, Rick Farley, and a conservationist, Phillip Toyne, joined forces. Impossible to imagine isn’t it? Like Tony having dinner with Julia. Well, Rick Farley died a while ago, but Phillip Toyne is still with us and going strong. And here he reflects on what was achieved and what next.
