Powering Nature and Communities
Partnerships between corporate organisations and community-led Landcare groups play an increasingly important role in delivering practical environmental outcomes. In its first year, the ENGIE–Landcare Australia partnership has shown how targeted funding and hands-on involvement can support local priorities while strengthening environmental resilience across regions.
Established in 2025, the three-year partnership focuses on supporting on-ground Landcare projects in regional communities likely to be impacted by the energy transition, alongside a commitment to corporate environmental volunteering. During its inaugural year, three projects were funded across South Australia and Victoria, each responding to distinct local challenges while contributing to shared goals of sustainable land management and community connection.
In South Australia, Tarcowie Landcare Group addressed a longstanding water security issue. With no access to mains water, the group has relied on rainfall and donated water to support decades of revegetation work. ENGIE’s partnership funding enabled the installation of a 30,000-litre rainwater tank at the Tarcowie Town Hall, providing a reliable supply for watering seedlings during their first year and an important backup resource during fire emergencies. This important infrastructure supports ongoing revegetation, building on more than 100,000 native trees and shrubs already planted by the group.
“Regional communities are playing a critical
role in the energy transition. Partnering
with Landcare allows us to give back in a
practical way, supporting communities to
protect and restore their local environment
while giving our people the chance to make
a positive, lasting contribution.”
Krystin Dudley, ENGIE Australia & New
Zealand
Across Victoria, projects in the Latrobe Valley, nearby to ENGIE‘s Hazelwood Rehabilitation Project, and Benalla Shire – home to the Goorambat East Solar Farm, focused on habitat connectivity and recovery following disturbance. The Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network’s Biolink Enhancement Project is strengthening wildlife corridors through fencing, revegetation and waterway protection, while also providing opportunities for ENGIE staff to participate in planting and restoration activities. In Benalla Shire, Gecko CLaN has supported multiple local Landcare groups with native plants, tree-guards and nest boxes to reconnect fragmented landscapes after severe weather events.
Corporate environmental volunteering has complemented these projects. In the first year, 88 ENGIE employees have contributed 478 volunteer hours across four events, supporting plant propagation, revegetation, citizen science and habitat restoration alongside local Landcare groups. As the partnership enters its second year, planned planting activities in autumn 2026 will build on this groundwork, highlighting the importance of sustained partnerships in delivering long-term outcomes for both landscapes and communities.
For more information on Corporate Environmental Volunteering with Landcare Australia, please visit here.
Read the May 2026 edition of Landcare In Focus Magazine here.
