Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards
Community Group Caring for Private Land - Labertouche Landcare and Sustainable Farming Group
The leading lights of our local environment were recognised today when the winners of 2010 Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards were announced at a celebration held at Zinc, Federation Square, Melbourne.
The 2010 Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards celebrate the environmental contribution that individuals, community groups, schools and councils make to the environment undertaking activities that improve the quality of land but also influence, educate and inspire others to make a difference.
The winners were presented by Doctor Kate Auty, Victoria’s Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability and special guest Doctor Rhonda Galbally AO former CEO of Our Community.
The premise of the landcare movement is that action makes a difference. The Landcare movement has grown from a group of farmers that came together to address erosion in the 1980s to become both a known brand (Landcare Australia) and a way to care for the land through community action.
These days, landcare activity also encompasses the work of ‘friends’ groups and ‘committees of management’ who often form because of a shared desire, or need, such as controlling weeds next to a walking track, or helping protect an endangered species.
One of the local groups recognised for their work is the Labertouche Landcare and Sustainable Farming Group, recognised in the category of Community Group Caring for Private Land for their work after the 2009 bushfires.
This category calls for nominations from environmental community groups who have been able to develop strategic vision for land improvement, have been able to repair or protect land from degradation, have been able to work with and influence others and have shared their results and practices with others in the community. Labertouche Landcare and Sustainable Farming Group (LSFG) demonstrated outstanding results for the category.
The group, which was formed 15 years ago, had made a massive impact on Labertouche and its surrounds, delivering 102 projects containing 59.6 kilometres of fencing (equivalent distance of Cranbourne to Melbourne), 141.3 hectares protected or planted with more than 38,000 plants, and 11.3 kilometres of direct seeding.
In February 2009, the Labertouche community was devastated by the Black Saturday Bushfires and nearly every member of the group was directly impacted, most losing sheds, fencing, fodder, livestock and vegetation and nearly every Landcare project completed over the previous 10 years burnt, leaving not only devastation in its wake but also the loss of so many years work.
The astounding part of the recovery story, is that in rebuilding from the fires, members of the Labertouche Landcare and Sustainable Farming Group wanted to ensure that environmental considerations were made equally with livestock and property considerations. They focused on re-fencing burnt vegetation areas before the livestock could access them, which protected the quality of recovering vegetation after fires and limited the impact of weeds.
The dedication of local Labertouche Landcare and Sustainable Farming Group members to the environment was amazing with every member of the group re-fencing areas that had previously been funded through Landcare. All remnant vegetation was re-fenced, and in some cases additional remnant vegetation was protected.
Since July 2009, over 47 kilometres of Landcare fencing has been re-erected, 120 hectares of remnant vegetation and shelterbelts protected and over 20,000 plants planted.
Labertouche Sustainable Farming Group embodies the impact that positive action can have on the environment and on the social wellbeing of others in recovery from such disasters. They are deserving winner and are one of the Leading Lights of Landcare. Their actions speak more loudly than words.
All winners will now be nominated for the Victorian landcare Awards in 2011. |