VISITING properties at Mardan and Arawata last week, Victorian Minister for the Environment, the Hon. Steve Dimopoulos, saw firsthand the environmental, economic and social benefits that flow from the Victorian Landcare Program.
Mardan Mirboo North Landcare Group (MMNLG) members and South Gippsland Landcare Network (SGLN) staff welcomed Mr Dimopoulos and Tom McIntosh, member for Eastern Victoria, to Heather Matthies’ beef farm to see the impacts of two Victorian Landcare Grants (VLGs).
Minister Dimopolous and Mr McIntosh then travelled to Alex and Claire Aeschlimann’s property at Arawata where work done by Ararwata Landcare Group (ALG) to enhance and protect biodiversity is on display.
At the first site, Heather and MMNLG President, Helen Hastie, described the work being done through a VLG to combat soil erosion and ensure the improved health of Berry’s Creek and its ecosystem into the future.
SGLN Facilitator, Nick Stephens explained that an important part of the project involves sharing knowledge to assist other farmers facing similar problems by holding field days on-site.
Cassie Wright, SGLN Projects and Education Coordinator, further demonstrated the critical role Landcare plays in informing farming practices by showing Steve and Tom a multi-species trial paddock.
This trial, part of another VLG project, is encouraging farmers to plant more diverse pastures to improve stock health and reduce the need for chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
Landcare’s value in building healthy communities by giving volunteers of all backgrounds and abilities the opportunity to connect with nature and each other was also emphasised.
This led to discussion about the surprisingly high social costs of weeds and pests. SGLN Facilitator, Jane McKenzie-Smith, described receiving daily calls from landholders expressing anxiety regarding high levels of pest fauna and weed species in the region and the need for control obligations to be met.
SGLN Chair, Jillian Staton, urged the Minister to consider funding Pest and Weed Coordinators through the Victorian Landcare Grants Program to build community capacity to address the issue.
The group then moved to Arawata where the Minister was able to see the extensive revegetation work achieved by ALG with the assistance of VLGs.
The transformation from bare landscape to corridors of healthy native vegetation hit home when ALG President, Nick Dudley, displayed aerial photos from 1990 and 2023. The photos also demonstrated the value of the shade and shelter to pasture and livestock, with the Minister observing that biodiversity and farming ‘clearly go hand-in-hand’.
The Minister acknowledged the enormous value of this $77M over the last two decades for the Victorian Landcare Grants program investment to the community, expressing his commitment to working with the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action to consider SGLN’s Pest and Weed Coordinators proposal to improve pest and weed control mitigations.
For more information about South Gippsland Landcare Network and its initiatives, please visit https://www.sgln.net.au/ or contact info@sgln.net.au or call 0419 761 531.
