Agribusiness Yarra Valley

The project aims to raise awareness and promote active blackberry management among land managers in the Yarra Valley. This will be achieved through a series of field days, workshops and webinars. The project will target high-priority conservation areas and areas of high value horticultural production along the Wandin Yallock, Olinda and Stringybark creeks in Silvan, and the Stringybark Creek in Gruyere and Yering. Through partnering with the Victorian Blackberry Taskforce, the group hope to improve land productivity, restore biodiversity, and reduce biosecurity risks.

$50,000

2 years

Bellarine Catchment Network

This project aims to increase the capacity and awareness of weed control in the community, and help coordinate collaborative efforts that are best practice, targeted and culturally sensitive. The group will create an A6 'Weeds of the Bellarine Peninsula and Surrounds' booklet that covers the Bellarine Peninsula, Geelong, Surfcoast and Otways region. A project group will be created featuring local experts, taskforces, volunteer groups, Wadawurrung Traditional Owners, councils and land managers to build a repository of knowledge and expertise.

$40,400

1 year

Cathedral Landcare Group

The project aims to empower local landowners to manage pest plants and animals themselves, using efficient, effective and best practice techniques. The group will engage a Blackberry and Rabbit Action Project Officer to support local landowners by providing technical advice and information, raising awareness, and promoting best practice management through field days and workshops. The group will also hold an ArcGIS mapping training event for land owners.

$20,039

1 year

Conservation Ecology Centre

The project aims to reduce the impact of feral pigs by producing communication materials educating the public on the feral pig problem, how they can help, and best-practice management strategies. The group will produce videos of feral pig case studies, featuring environmental/social/economic impacts and management regimes. The project will establish partnerships with landholders adjoining the Great Otway National Park and Otway Forest Park, furthering the on-ground objectives of Parks Victoria and DEECA through increased community participation in reporting and enabling cross-tenure actions.

$47,500

2 years

Feral Rabbit Group - Emerald

The project will build on community led engagement on rabbit control by implementing a community awareness campaign across approximately 60,000 people in Dandenong Ranges including a mailout to all residents about collective action on rabbits. 10 local community champions will boost community capacity by engaging with their community on rabbit management. The project will deliver community forums, facilitate the local delivery of a VRAN bootcamp and develop a management plan for on ground works for 2025-2027 with council and other relevant stakeholders.

$35,000

1 year

Friends of Truganina Wetlands

Within Melbourne’s inner west, the project seeks to reduce predation harm caused by the foxes on wildlife populations and backyard poultry flocks. The group aims to enhance the effectiveness of fox management efforts by providing more frequent monitoring of high-value conservation areas and establish a ‘community of practice’ in the western suburbs for fox management. The project will also provide backyard chicken  owners with an effective, appropriate, non-lethal means to reduce chicken losses.

$40,695

1 year

Gecko CLaN Landcare Network

This project will deliver a full day invasive species forum, establishing a local invasive species working taskforce and identifying priority areas for control. The forum will create a collaborative space for stakeholders to discuss their knowledge of pest plants and animals, learn about best practice control methods, and generate a community action plan. Through these activities the group will achieve increased community capacity and cohesiveness to improve long term weed and pest animal management in the region.

$40,300

2 years

Kiewa Catchment Landcare Group

The project aims to raise awareness and build community capacity in best practice Blackberry control in the Kiewa Catchment. The group will deliver educational events and engage with a range of industry experts from Agriculture Victoria, Soil Land Food, Rotor Solutions, David Hillhorst, VRAN, and VBT. These events will be open to everyone in the Kiewa Catchment, with an emphasis on engaging those new to land management. They will also include demonstrations from local contractors of techniques and technologies.

$50,000

1 year

Landcare Victoria

The project will produce capacity building activities and resources for Landcare organisations and make them readily available across Victoria.  The group will develop collaborative partnerships and deliver training sessions with community group leaders and key employees around risk management, leadership and group facilitation skills. Online events for community, a workshop at the Victoria Landcare Annual Forum and a bus tour to visit a demonstration site will allow the group to meet the awareness raising and community capacity building objectives of the program.

$50,000

2 years

Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network

This project aims to increase public awareness, interest and participation in weed and pest animal monitoring, reporting and control activities across the Network and provide Landcare groups and land management agencies with much needed support. A part-time Project Officer will help drive coordinated public education and awareness activities including the formation of Communities of Practice, delivery of technology showcase workshops and develop Latrobe region’s Invasive Weed and Pest Animal Strategy. After the success of the PAP funded 2024 forum, the group will also organise the 2025 Regional Multi-stakeholder Weed and Pest forum.

$49,985

1 year

Maffra and District Landcare Network

The Maffra & District Landcare Network aims to provide landowners with a new perspective on pest plants and animals. The project will engage a soil scientist with specialised knowledge in holistic land management. This approach to improve the health of soils and pastures and create conditions less favourable for weeds will be delivered through a series of videos. The group will then host a launch event / field day and promote the video via an advertising campaign.

$21,366

1 year

Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere Reserve Foundation

The focus of this project is to raise awareness and provide best practice management information for unfamiliar weeds in difficult to reach areas. The group aims to achieve this by convening two public forums focussing on the weeds of the Western Port coast and by producing and distributing simple, easy to use guides on weed identification and reporting. The organisation’s aim is to bring community groups and government agencies together through partnerships with local council and landcare networks.

$36,301

1 year

Mudgegonga and District Landcare

The group aims to increase knowledge of new landholders to enable them to meet the challenges of new weeds threatening agriculture in the district such as Chilean Needle Grass and African Love Grass. The project will engage speakers to deliver on-farm advice and demonstrations to bring landholders up to date on the latest techniques and technology for established invasive species management. These initiatives will support funding secured by the group to coordinate AgVet Chemical User courses for new and current holders.

$11,400

2 years

Parklands Albury Wodonga Limited

This project targets blackberry, African lovegrass, black willow and whiskey grass. The group will conduct demonstration days for each target species to raise awareness and educate on species identification. The project will upskill members of the community in drone use and drone mapping. The group will map via drone the extent of willow infestations along sections of the Kiewa River and share the data with local agencies.

$25,000

2 years

Project Platypus Association Inc

The second year of the Project Platypus project (launched in 2024 via the Round 2 PAP program) will continue to build on the partnerships established in year 1. The group will highlight education through subsidised chemical user training opportunities, vehicle hygiene workshops and by nominating local champions to attend a VRAN rabbit bootcamp. By fostering a network of trained and certified leaders, the group aims to lead local efforts, advocate for best-practice biosecurity management, and contribute to long-term pest management strategies across the Gariwerd and Wimmera regions.

$50,000

1 year

South Gippsland Landcare Network

This project aims to reach a broad cross section of the community. The project will build capacity and capability in management of blackberry, ragwort, thistle and pest animals through collaboration with VRAN on a Rabbit control bootcamp and established invasive species control workshops. The group will raise awareness throughout the district through a citizen science campaign using the latest in monitoring and recording technologies and circulating information packs to new landholders developed in collaboration with partners.

$49,979

1 year

Swamps Rivers and Ranges Inc

This project delivered in collaboration with the Ovens Landcare Network aims to educate peri-urban landowners about the importance of managing invasive species and build their skills and knowledge in best practice management. It will deliver resources to encourage neighbours and communities to collaborate to align timing on control activities to best achieve landscape wide change. It will do this via a series of in person events in Chiltern, Wangaratta and Myrtleford that will be complemented by 4 online events open to all landowners across North East Victoria.

$32,180

2 years

Threatened Species Conservancy Inc

This project focusses on controlling gorse and willows on private land around Five Mile Creek at Woodend. The project will develop and distribute educational material to private landowners in the area, deliver a field day with best practice management demonstrations, work with individual landowners to develop long term management plans, map infestations, produce a social and traditional media campaign, deliver a market stall day at Woodend market, and develop an overarching strategic framework for managing gorse and willow on private properties in the area.

$48,875

1 year

Up2Us Landcare Alliance

This project will deliver a wide range of events and communication products aimed at improving established invasive species management in the Mansfield Shire. The project will engage a project officer to lead the delivery of 3 field days, 3 facilitated large acreage farmer discussion groups, 1 webinar aimed at engaging absentee landowners, 1 subsidised chemical user training course, and 5 multi-year land management plans for landowners. They will also produce a range of communication products to promote participation in the events and provide information on best practice management.

$49,475

1 year

Upper Goulburn Landcare Network

This project aims to reduce the impact of foxes and feral cats on biodiversity and agriculture assets in the King Parrot Creek catchment. The project has 54 participants that cover approximately 4000 Ha. The project will collect data via remote camera monitoring and fox scat analysis to help inform future control programs. The project will also deliver an upgraded website and communication products to improve community awareness and technical knowledge of best practice management options.

$10,850

1 year

Upper Loddon & Avoca Landcare Network

This project will deliver a series of 3 rabbit control demonstration workshops in conjunction with 3 Landcare Groups across 3 Local Government Areas. The workshops will provide information about best practice control with a particular focus on providing the latest information and dispelling misinformation or out-dated views, and ensuring cultural heritage is considered in control programs. The project will also produce pamphlets on rabbit biology and control for distribution to landowners across the network area.

$10,890

2 years

Upper Plenty Merri Catchments Landcare Group

This project tackles the challenges associated with a range of land use types in peri-urban areas. It will engage a Project Officer to work with landowners to develop invasive species management plans for their properties, deliver a series of weed and rabbit field days and workshops, undertake infestation mapping, and improve online presence and communication materials. The project aims to provide tools to reduce incidence of invasive species and provide an improved sense of community through tackling a shared problem together.

$33,585

2 years

Western Port Catchment Landcare Network

This project works across three Local Government Areas and 13 Landcare Groups and will deliver a series of strategic planning and networking workshops with agency partners, farmer discussion sessions, a 4-day farm planning training course, and several social and traditional media publications. The project will ultimately produce an invasive species strategic plan which aims to align all stakeholders across the catchment with achievable and strategic goals and set priorities for future investment.

$36,634

1 year

Wildlife Unlimited Ltd

This project brings community and agency stakeholders together to collaborate on innovative fox control solutions for East Gippsland. It will deliver a webinar on fox impacts and control, and two FoxScan App training workshops to enable community members to actively record and share regional fox activity. It will also work with community to produce an East Gippsland Remote Communities Fox Control Strategy including recommendations for improved, innovative and cost-effective fox control solutions.

$50,000

1 year

Wodonga Urban Landcare Network

This project will deliver six workshops on invasive species best practice management with a focus on effective control techniques for smaller properties. Workshops will be targeted at and designed for tree changers, hobby farmers and small landowners that may lack the technical knowledge, resources and support networks that larger scale farmers have. The workshops will feature expert presentations, demonstrations and field visits.

$44,114

1 year