Get involved in Landcare – what you can do!

If you’re passionate about caring for the environment and searching for ideas on what you can do at home, work or in your community to get involved in Landcare, we have created a list of ideas:

Volunteer

Get your hands ‘landcare dirty’ and volunteer with a group near you. There are a few ways that you can volunteer:

• • Find a group on the National Landcare Directory here: Find a Group to volunteer
  • Register your interest on the Landcarer platform, sign up Volunteer Sign Up
  • Search for Events to volunteer on Landcarer: Volunteer Opportunities – Landcarer Contact the local Landcare peak body in your region
  • Connect with your local council for information about local groups and their activities.

Start A Group

Anybody can start a group, firstly you may want to check if there is a group near you. We recommend that you contact your local council for more information about the environmental issues in your community and what support they can provide. Landcare Australia has created a resource on how to start a group, you can read more here.

Donate

Your donation will support the landcare community with their conservation projects. From planting native trees, shrubs and grasses to create habitat for native animals, to caring for our coasts by protecting and stabilising beaches and sand dunes to protect our fragile coastline. You can donate to Landcare Australia or to a local group. For more information go to Make a donation

Landcarer Online

Get online and connect with people like you in the Landcarer platform. Landcare Australia manages a user generated website called Landcarer – it is the destination website for anyone interested in natural resource management and conservation activities. Through its resources and tools for learning, volunteering, event management, engagement and interaction, Landcarer helps landcare and other environmental community groups, to share and expand their knowledge, skills and resources, visit Landcarer here.

At Work

With your colleagues, you can get involved in landcare in your community. Talk to us about the following opportunities:

Corporate Environmental Volunteering gets you and your colleagues out of the office and outside for some on-ground, get your hands dirty activities. There are multiple projects you can get involved in from planting, cleaning up rubbish and removing weeds, seed propagation, building walkways, nest boxes….and so much more! For more information please visit: Get your workplace involved

Partner with Landcare Australia and support a diverse range of groups and projects that align with your business objectives. Read more about how to partner with us here.

Grab your work colleagues and get involved with a local group and help them with their next working bee – lending your hands to landcare will help a local group with their project and can help create community engagement for your business. Find a group near you on our National Landcare Directory here.

At Home

We know many people are time poor but there are many ways to get involved that don’t take up a huge amount of time. Every little bit helps!

Plant native shrubs, trees and flowers to bring bird life and bees into your garden.

Save your items from landfill by joining your local Pay It Forward/Free Staff Facebook group to pass on preloved goods through a give and take system, helping save our environment while helping others within your community.

Fundraise for a local group. Your donation can help buy trees and native shrubs, or materials like timber to build boardwalks at your local beach, animal nesting boxes and so much more!

Get social and connect with your local group online and help share their activities with your network.

Handy with your hands? Many groups need help from people who like woodwork, and can help them make and maintain birdhouses and nesting boxes for different species like birds, possums and bats. Every animal needs a home!

Sign up to Landcare Australia’s newsletters and keep informed on grants, campaigns, challenges and learn what other groups are doing so you can do it too!

You can sign up to your local landcare, ‘friends of’ or environment group newsletter to keep informed on what is happening in your neighbourhood.

You can help protect native species in your own backyard. Bring back native bees and birds by enhancing their habitat simply by creating a bee hotel or bird nesting boxes.

Woof woof! Ensure your dogs are kept on a leash in nature reserves or bushland where native animals are likely to be vulnerable. Landcare groups work on these sites to enhance the habitat of native animals to protect them

Go natural and help give bees and local insects a helping hand by avoiding chemical pesticides and herbicides in your garden, consider using natural alternatives.

Keep cats inside overnight. Even well fed cats roaming at night hunt and kill possums and other small native mammals while birds are often targets at dawn and dusk when they are most active.

At the beach keep on the walking tracks. This protects the vegetation that provides habitat for local native birds and other animals, and prevents erosion.

Learn more about your community’s Indigenous heritage. First Nations Peoples have been caring for country for tens of thousands of years.

Local business owners can support their local group and help sponsor fundraising activities, promote their community working bees.

Help injured or lost wildlife by calling WIRES or the local authorities

Reduce your plastic footprint to help protect our rivers and waterways, and keep our beaches and oceans clean to protect marine animals from the impact of rubbish including plastics.

Reuse if you need to use plastic products, make sure you reuse items over and over again before disposing of them thoughtfully at the end of their useful life

Recycle if you can’t reuse an item or if it is at the end of its useful life, recycle it or compost it. Putting something in the rubbish bin for landfill should only be a last resort. Many household groceries come in soft plastic wrapping. Most major supermarkets now will recycle your soft plastics for you. Just bag them up and take them in to the supermarket when you go shopping.

Compost your food waste and fertilise your garden, it will help make your garden grow and reduce waste to landfill.

Be water wise and water your gardens early in the morning or late afternoon to reduce water wastage.

Sustainability at home can start by using products that are good for the environment. Look for ecolabels or environmental star ratings on products. Generally, the more stars the more environmentally friendly a product is.

Find a transport buddy and carpool to work, or taking your children to school. Consider taking public transport or riding your bike to work or school

The Junior Landcare Learning Centre has many fun, educational activities for children of all ages. A great way to introduce Landcare to the young people in your life so they understand how to care for their local environment.

Students may want to set up a Youth Landcare Group at high school, university or a youth group. Get connected to the local Landcare group in your area and volunteer with their local community environmental projects.