Bushfire recovery grant recipients
The Landcare Australia Victorian Bushfire Recovery Grants program awarded 11 grants valued at more than $160,000, supporting community-led environmental restoration projects across fire-impacted regions of Victoria following the devastating January 2026 bushfires.
The funding is supporting communities to rebuild native habitat and shelterbelts, manage invasive pests, and address erosion across fire-affected landscapes, helping to restore environmental health while also strengthening community connections during recovery.
This grants program was made possible thanks to a bequest alongside generous contributions from corporate and private donors, including General Mills, Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure and The Wood Foundation, and we would like to thank everyone for their incredible support to date.
Bushfire recovery extends well beyond when the flames have been extinguished. It takes years not months or days. Many other impacted communities continue to deal with the long-term effects of the fires and still require funding. To support Victoria’s bushfire recovery visit our Donate page, or if you would like to discuss a corporate donation please contact us at [email protected].
The successful grant recipients were:
| Organisation Name | Project Title | Project Summary | Project Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goulburn Murray Landcare Network | Peter Kennedy Reserve Fire Recovery | The Muckatah Landcare Group will restore Peter Kennedy Reserve through weed control, habitat creation, and community engagement. | Muckatah, Victoria |
| The Lismore Land Protection Group Inc. | Post Fire Recovery - Lismore Region | Supporting fire-affected landholders with revegetation, weed management, and fencing to restore habitat, productivity, resilience, and long-term landscape recovery. | Lismore, Victoria |
| The Leslie Manor Landcare Group | Post Fire Recovery - Leslie Manor Region | The project rebuilds habitat, improves farm productivity, and strengthens community recovery by providing practical support to landholders and encouraging continued collaborative, landscape-scale restoration. | Lismore, Victoria |
| Connecting Country (Mount Alexander Region) Inc. | Harcourt Environmental Recovery | Supporting community recovery through nestbox workshops and installation, vegetation recovery and weed management skill development. | Harcourt, Victoria |
| Burnt Creek Landcare | Bushfire Recovery Support | Burnt Creek Landcare will support coordinated pest plant and animal management and landholder training to restore fire-affected Longwood landscapes sustainably. | Avenel, Victoria |
| Gooram Landcare Inc. | Restoring and Extending Conservation Areas and Shelter Belts | The Grooram community will protect natural regeneration areas to support native vegetation recovery and engage the community in workshops and citizen science to support long-term recovery. | Gooram, Victoria |
| Upper Goulburn Landcare Network | Focus On Fauna | Focus on Fauna will restore habitat around Merton, Koriella, and Yarck through nest boxes, wildlife surveys, monitoring equipment, and community-led conservation, education, and citizen science. | Yarck, Victoria |
| Upper Goulburn Landcare Network | Lorax Project | The Lorax Project will restore native habitat, reduce erosion, support wildlife, enhance climate resilience, and engage community in revegetating. | Yarck, Victoria |
| Horsham District Landcare Network Incorporated | Restoring Natimuk - After the Fire | Supporting post-fire habitat recovery and community wellbeing through revegetation, nestboxes, hollow creation and community events. | Natimuk, Victoria |
| Upper Murray Landcare Network Inc | Supporting Fire Recovery in the Upper Murray | Supporting fire-affected landholders in the Upper Murray with weed control, erosion repair, habitat restoration, and recovery guidance for natural assets. | Berringama, Victoria |
| Mitta 2 Murray Landcare Inc | After the Fire - Mitta 2 Murray Landcare Network | Supporting landholder recovery in the Bullioh, Tallangatta Valley and Granya areas with fencing, revegetation and erosion management. | Bullioh, Victoria |
Bushfire Recovery Activities
The activities below are examples of what community Landcare groups and volunteers across Australia will co-ordinate during bushfire recovery:
- Forging partnerships to understand the individual needs of local affected communities.
- Supporting mental health outcomes for farmers and others in the community by organising volunteer working bees, community workshops and Landcare meetings.
- Removing burnt and fallen trees from fence lines, roads and access tracks.
- Cleaning up rubble from burnt sheds and other infrastructure including fencing which usually involves many kilometres and therefore days of rolling up and removal of damaged wire.
- Installing temporary fencing to manage immediate stock and pest control needs.
- Replacing permanent fencing over a longer period of time.
- Revegetating bush areas, paddock trees and shelter belts as conditions become appropriate.
- Restoring habitat for wildlife including construction and installation of nest boxes and re-planting indigenous vegetation (grasses, shrubs and trees).
- Organising knowledge sharing workshops to provide information to land holders on best practice fire recovery for pastures, weed management, erosion control, fencing, nest box installation and revegetation to restore biodiversity and productivity to the landscape.
- Supporting farmers and landholders with projects that improve soil health, conservation activities, and adaptation to climate change techniques critical to managing land and water assets.
- Working with Traditional Owner groups to protect and enhance cultural heritage and environmental outcomes on Country.
- Building community capacity and resilience with communications, storytelling, volunteering and creating partnerships for on ground action.
- Mobilising volunteers to help farmers and landholders with recovery activities.