Bass Coast Landcare Network

This project will increase awareness of weeds and pest animals with new residents and disengaged landowners through workshops, a calendar, new resident packs, roadside signs, and community meetings. The group will convene quarterly stakeholder meetings to coordinate control efforts. The project will focus on weed species of greatest community concern, rabbits, and foxes. The group have collaborated with Bass Coast Shire Council, Bunurong Land Council, Parks Victoria, and Phillip Island Nature Parks.

$38,200

Bellarine Landcare Group Inc

This project continues the work of the ‘Rabbit Sweep’ program, which aims to identify opportunities to engage with disengaged landowners. The project will engage a facilitator to hold a series of presentations, training events, and workshops on rabbit control. The group will contribute to newsletters, produce brochures, and facilitate regular meetings with local Rabbit Action Group. They will also create a ‘Rabbit Library’ designed to make existing rabbit control resources easier to search and access. The group have collaborated with Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee of Management, City of Greater Geelong, Victorian Rabbit Action Network and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners.

$30,800

Buloke & Northern Grampians Landcare Network

The project will partner with a range of stakeholders to increase awareness about weeds and pests in the district. This includes engaging year 9 students across four schools and mapping the extent of specific species using online tools. The group will develop management plans and deliver a series of educational community displays, forums, workshops, and publications. This project is a subcomponent of the Windharp Horizons Program and will benefit from its extensive list of collaborators.

$37,500

Bush Heritage Australia/ Djandak

Bush Heritage Australia will partner with DJANDAK to deliver on Country field days for the public and for Dja Dja Wurrung peoples to share the story of wheel cactus control and country healing at Buckrabanyule. The project will produce a video focussed on sharing knowledge, designed to attract future investment in wheel cactus control in the region. The video will include results from trials using a range of innovative wheel cactus control methods to build the capability of land managers in managing wheel cactus.

$30,000

Connecting Country

The project will run several field days alongside a seasonal communications campaign to build awareness of weeds and pest animals in the community. This includes hosting weed identification and control field days, a rabbit control field day with the Victorian Rabbit Action Network, monthly blogs, social media, articles and radio spots. The group will attend market stalls, develop a weed control technique video and deliver a cultural awareness and Country plan information session in partnership with Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation.

$43,076

Heytesbury District Landcare Network

This project will deliver ‘Weed Busters’ events with focus on the barriers to weed control and building community capacity to support on ground action. The group will also deliver weed and pest education activities to the local P-12 school. Landcare network staff will be trained in video editing and produce a series of six case study videos involving local community members. The project is targeting blackberry, ragwort and rabbits which are the species of most concern to the local community. The group is collaborating with multiple schools, several historical societies, the Victorian Blackberry Taskforce and Vic Roads.

$30,700

Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network

This project will deliver a one-day stakeholder forum to address gaps in regional weed and pest animal information and help codesign a weed and pest management strategy. Information collected at the forum will be used to develop a region-wide pest management strategy. The project is supported by Baw Baw Shire Council and LaTrobe City Council, as well as TAFE Gippsland and the Department of Transport and Planning.

$34,320

Mitta 2 Murray Landcare

This project will provide opportunities for people to gather, learn and share information about weed and pest animal management. This includes the delivery of events at several locations over the network, including:

• a   stakeholder forum to promote collaboration with Parks Victoria and the North   East Catchment Management Authority
• training/field   days with the Victorian Rabbit Action Network and the Victorian Blackberry   Taskforce.
• knowledge   sharing on Country with Duduroa Dhargal Aboriginal Corporation.

$28,705

Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group

This project will deliver extension, education and mapping activities. These will include mail outs, articles for print and social media, seminars with guest speakers, and hands-on weed identification workshops. The Victorian Blackberry Taskforce, Victorian Gorse Taskforce and Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party will assist in this delivery of information. Videos will be created as an enduring educational resource. The project will also deliver a community wide mapping project to record weed infestations to inform a strategic approach to future control works.

$24,759.50

Mornington Peninsula Landcare Network

The project will increase support and raise awareness about weeds and pest animals through several engagement and education activities, including training to build skills of Landcare leaders and upgrading digital and printed educational materials. A series of community workshops will focus on best practice management with an aim to facilitate co-ordinated control across land tenures. The group has partnerships with the Mornington Peninsular Shire to erect dynamic road signage.

$38,540

Port Campbell Progress Group

This project will continue the community’s rabbit control journey by equipping private landholders and public land managers with rabbit control knowledge, skills and confidence, specific to their situation. The project will engage with the Victorian Rabbit Action Network for rabbit management workshops tailored to land size. The project will be documented via video to provide an enduring educational product. Project partners include Parks Victoria, Corangamite Shire and Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority.

$20,587.20

Project Platypus

This project aims to establish long term partnerships between stakeholders and private landholders to protect Gariwerd (the Grampians) from weeds and pest animals. The project will establish formal partnerships between stakeholders and run a series of workshops to connect experts with community. The project will create locally focussed resource packs and support training for Barengi Gadjin Land Council staff. This project also supports the partnership with the Wimmera Biodiversity Seminar to deliver on the theme of invasive species for 2024.

$37,450

South Gippsland Landcare Network

The project will deliver a range of initiatives including a seminar with guest speakers on weeds and pest animals.  Two community management groups will be established for local collaborative action. The groups will hold field workshops with technical experts on target species. The project will also engage with Traditional Owners to share information and build partnerships. Project partners include the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority and the South Gippsland Shire Council.

$33,792

Up2Us Landcare Alliance Mansfield

This project focusses on priority species for the local community including rabbits, feral pigs, blackberry, gorse and Paterson’s curse. The project will provide community education via online resources, site visits, education events and field days with expert guest speakers. The group will develop neighbourhood pest management plans and case studies and provide advice on pasture management and controlling weeds in times of drought. The project will build on place-based action year on year and is collaborating with Mansfield Shire and Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority.

$28,520

Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare Network

This project will bring together a range of stakeholders using a comprehensive community education and engagement program. Workshops will aim to focus and improve control efforts to achieve best return on investment. The project will facilitate the delivery of workshops from Victorian Blackberry Taskforce, Victorian Gorse Taskforce and Victorian Rabbit Action Network. A collaborative taskforce will be formed with 15 partnered organisations to host events where experts will deliver information about cultural and environmental values and best practice management. The project will develop a localised set of resources using expert and local experience.

$41,942

Western Port Catchment Landcare Network

This project will deliver community farm walks focussed on priority species detailed in the Cardinia Shire Bio-links plan. It will also deliver vertebrate pest information nights, as well as farmer discussion groups led by a professional facilitator to drive discussion and action. This project involves collaboration with Agriculture Victoria’s Established Invasive Animal team, the Victorian Blackberry Taskforce and Cardinia Shire Council.

$16,230