MobileMuster provides a free mobile phone recycling program across Australia. In August, they will partner with Landcare Australia to provide an added incentive to recycle.

Every phone recycled will support Landcare Australia’s important work. All brands and types of mobile phones, plus their batteries, chargers and accessories, are accepted and then recycled safely and sustainably.

With Australians spending more time at home over the last couple of months they may have discovered a few forgotten old mobile phones and accessories that they are no longer using.

Spyro Kalos, Head of MobileMuster said “There are millions of mobile phones stored in our homes that are no longer being used. We estimate Australians are holding onto 5 million phones* that are no longer working. MobileMuster helps you recycle them and do some good by supporting the environment with Landcare Australia.”

MobileMuster has set a target to recycle over 20,000 mobile phones in August. The funds raised will help Landcare Australia undertake a linear wetland restoration project with the West Torrens community along the Brown Hill Creek in South Australia.

Landcare Australia CEO Dr. Shane Norrish said that the partnership with MobileMuster helps to raise awareness of the important work of Landcare groups and other environmental care groups who are active in our communities across Australia.

“The funding from this MobileMuster campaign will help support a riparian restoration project in South Australia which is being delivered in partnership with the City of West Torrens, community groups and the local Indigenous land managers – the Kaurana people.”

Through recycling over 95% of the materials in a mobile phone are recovered. This process reduces the impact of mobile phones on the environment by avoiding future greenhouse gas emissions, saving energy and conserving natural resources.

Recycling an old mobile phone this August is free and easy:

1. Drop them off at your nearest participating MobileMuster mobile phone retailer or local collection point, or
2. Recycle from home by ordering a mailing label or using our recycling satchel from Australia Post.

*IPSOS, Consumer insights into mobile phone use and recycling (March, 2020). Based on a used sample size of 1000 people Australia-wide. Respondents were randomly selected from an online panel and were aged 16 years + and owned a mobile phone.

WIRES and Landcare Australia have announced that 64 environmental groups across the country will benefit from a landmark $1.185million grants partnership supporting recovery of wildlife habitats impacted by bushfire and drought.

Launched in April 2020, the WIRES Landcare Australia Wildlife Relief and Recovery Grants is a pioneering alliance between two not-for-profits that have been part of the fabric of local communities for over 30 years.

Made possible due to the unprecedented volume of donations to WIRES from within Australia and around the world following the Black Summer bushfires, this grants program will support wide-ranging regeneration projects focused on restoring habitat impacted by the bushfires.

Projects include rainforest revegetation, installation of nest boxes to replace destroyed tree hollows for decimated native species, feeding programs for endangered wildlife, management of invasive weeds, erosion control and protection of our waterways and aquatic habitat.

WIRES CEO Leanne Taylor said this initiative in partnership with Landcare Australia has highlighted the remarkable diversity of projects and activities being undertaken by groups nationally.

“Regeneration of impacted habitat is key to supporting our vulnerable native wildlife,” said Leanne.  “This program is an excellent example of how we can use donations to support grassroot community organisations to make a real difference and deliver positive outcomes for our wildlife now and in the future.”

Landcare Australia CEO Dr Shane Norrish applauded the overwhelming response to the grants program, citing the extraordinary commitment landholders and community environmental groups display towards the relief and recovery of bushfire and drought-impacted regions across the country, particularly when Australia is facing one of its most challenging times in recent history.

Dr Norrish said: “While the nation has been impacted by the worst global health pandemic in living memory, effectively halting on-ground bushfire and drought regeneration activity, the desire and motivation to get on with the recovery effort has been astounding, and the demand for assistance and the quality of applications so great, WIRES provided additional funding to support more groups than originally contemplated.”

Dr Norrish added: “Landcare and environmental community groups need financial support to help with habitat restoration, regeneration and building resilience of bushland while providing protection for threatened species and other native animals which ultimately, enhances conservation outcomes and connects communities.”

As the largest wildlife rescue organisation in the country, WIRES rescues, rehabilitates and releases native animals.  WIRES is partnering on projects that improve long-term outcomes for native animals and help preserve vulnerable Australian wildlife populations.

Landcare Australia supports the Landcare grassroots movement of individuals and groups who have a shared vision to restore and protect the environment in local communities through sustainable land management and conservation activities.

Awarded Grants Projects Include

Rainforest 4 Foundation – After 5,000 hectares in the Nightcap and surrounding National Parks were devastated in the Black Summer fires, Rainforest4 Foundation are leading the way against fire-prone plant species in the hopes of future-proofing neighbouring rainforest.  Safeguarding habitat for impacted animals including koala and Red-legged Pademelon, Mullumbimby volunteers from Rainforest 4 Foundation, along with bush regenerator members of Madhima Gulgan Community Association, are concentrating on eradicating Running Bamboo, a highly flammable weed which burns exceptionally well, on impacted sites near the Whian Whian and Nightcap National Park

East Gippsland Landcare Network – In the devastating aftermath of the Black Summer bushfires, an ambitious environmental project combining people power with sophisticated DNA science hopes to safeguard the future of the platypus in East Gippsland. The East Gippsland Landcare Network will be supporting volunteers of all ages to collect water samples from waterways in the region to determine how bushfires have impacted platypus populations.

For full list of recipients, please visit: www.landcareaustralia.org.au/wireslandcaregrants

Landcare Australia has opened nominations for the 2020 Bob Hawke Landcare Award.

Monday 6 July 2020: The Bob Hawke Landcare Award is a prestigious, national award that publicly recognises an individual involved in championing Landcare and inspires others to take action on their own property or through a Landcare group.

The award acknowledges a person’s leadership and commitment to Landcare, natural resource management and sustainable agriculture.

The Bob Hawke Landcare Award acknowledges the role that former Prime Minister, the Hon. Bob Hawke AC, played in elevating Landcare from a grassroots community initiative to a national movement with bi-partisan government support that endures today.

Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud said Landcare unites farming communities across all commodities and regions.

“Australian farmers are among the most productive and efficient in the world,” Minister Littleproud said.

“We also farm more sustainably than just about any country on earth, and our clean green image is already paying off and helps us send our food all over the planet. 

“This award is now more significant than ever, with our internationally-recognised clean green reputation helping to underpin our recovery from COVID-19.”

Landcare Australia CEO Dr. Shane Norrish says that the award recipient will be an individual who actively pursues, introduces and shapes innovative farming systems to improve productivity, profitability, sustainability, and the quality of our natural resources.

He said that “The award nomination is open to an individual who champions the uptake of sustainable agricultural practices and can demonstrate the adoption of improved practices among landholders as a consequence of this action.  They will be closely involved in Landcare, and can demonstrate an outstanding commitment to local communities and drive community activity.

The Bob Hawke Landcare Award recipient will be awarded a prize package of $50,000 for further development of their knowledge and skills in sustainable land management to enable an even stronger contribution to Landcare.

The inaugural Bob Hawke Landcare Award was presented in 2012 to Lynne Strong, followed by Colin Seis in 2014 and Stephen Burgess in 2016.   

Charlie Arnott was awarded the Bob Hawke Landcare Award in 2018. A biodynamic farmer and grazier, Charlie practices regenerative farming, organic, biodynamic and holistic grazing principles on his 5000 acre mixed farming property, Hanaminno, at Boorowa, NSW.  He has been an active Landcarer since the inception of the Landcare movement in 1989, with previous roles in all levels of Landcare, from district groups to the Sustainable Farming ambassador for Landcare Australia. He is passionate about growing clean healthy meat, which he sells direct to customers and butchers under his brand Charlie Arnott Natural Grass Fed Meat. The Bob Hawke Landcare Award prize has helped Charlie create a podcast series launched in May call The Regenerative Agriculture Journey.

For more information about the Bob Hawke Landcare Award please visit: https://bobhawkelandcareaward.com.au/

The Black Summer bushfires devastated habitats across East Gippsland but local volunteers and communities are rallying together to restore and nurture impacted species.

With financial support from the WIRES Landcare Wildlife Relief and Recovery Grants, Far East Victorian Landcare is coordinating a citizen science project across the region aimed at monitoring the recovery of habitat and the diverse wildlife it supports including platypus, swamp wallabies and brown falcons.

Identifying key sites within each of the 12 impacted communities throughout East Gippsland, initial stage one activities will focus on monitoring and assessment of effected sites. Trail cameras will record both the activity and return of wildlife and simultaneously, the impacts of pest animals on habitat recovery.

“This will enable environmental volunteers and other interested groups, like schools for example, to undertake accurate fixed point photo monitoring of vegetation recovery over time,” explained spokesperson Penny Gray. “Monitoring the recovery of the flora will identify areas and species that are slow to recover or not recovering at all because the fire was too intense. This information will assist the community and potentially agencies in prioritizing areas for on-ground works or other recovery processes.”

Community volunteers will be trained in the use of the cameras and the uploading of data to a fixed point (it is expected this will be a web page which will be developed as part of the project) where results can be shared with the broader community and enhance subsequent stages of the coordinated project.

“The results would develop management plans that aim to improve habitat and wildlife recovery,” Penny added. “It could inform the strategic location of nest boxes, priority weeds and potential re-vegetation or habitat augmentation works that will lead to improved outcomes for wildlife in our bush fire affected ecosystems.”

Facilitated by unprecedented public appeals and donations, the $1million WIRES and Landcare Wildlife Relief and Recovery Grants is providing a crucial lifeline to the essential work of Far East Victorian Landcare other local Landcare environment networks and community groups working to restore bushfire impacted habitat across the country.

WIRES CEO Leanne Taylor said this grants scheme with Landcare Australia is committed to protecting and preserving Australian wildlife, habitat and local communities from the effects of climate change and extreme natural disasters.

Leanne said: “This partnership between Landcare Australia and WIRES is an important step towards the restoration and recovery of Australian wildlife and landscapes deeply scarred by the unparalleled impacts of bushfires and drought.”

Landcare Australia CEO Dr Shane Norrish said the grants program will improve outcomes for wildlife support and associated habitat rehabilitation projects.

Dr Norrish said: “Through partnerships like this, Landcare Australia is getting on with the job of providing funding to local groups quickly and helping to drive and coordinate national bushfire and drought response with targeted high-priority actions, which are delivered on the ground by locals.”

Landcare Australia have announced more than $300,000 in grants to landcare groups, community groups and land managers who are undertaking crucial bushfire recovery projects.

Made possible due to the extraordinary volume of donations from generous organisations and private donors, the Landcare Australia Bushfire Recovery Grants will support 23 wide-ranging regeneration projects focusing on activities including impacted rainforest revegetation, nest boxes for decimated native species and feeding programs for endangered wildlife.

“This grants program is supporting farmers, Landcare groups and other community groups to overcome the impacts of the bushfires. Key issues for them include restoring essential wildlife habitat, getting on top of invasive weeds, erosion control and protection of our waterways and aquatic habitat. The funding came from generous donations during the bushfires from across the country and around the world, including our partners Brambles CHEP, Bushman’s Tanks, Bloom Aid and Hawkes Brewing.” Dr Shane Norrish, CEO Landcare Australia.

“I would like to thank everyone for their incredible support. The donations have made it possible for Landcare Australia to support Landcare groups and other community groups to undertake good quality, hands on projects that will greatly increase bushfire recovery efforts in their local communities. Without this type of support, most community groups would struggle with the size of the recovery task.”

Landcare groups receiving a grant include:

*Wilson Creek Huonbrook Landcare Inc (90 mins from Gold Coast) –  helping to repair and restore ancient Gondwana Rainforest in Nightcap and Mount Jerusalem National Parks impacted by Mt Nardi fire. Activities include guide development of fire retardant rainforest vegetation and management of invasive weeds competing with natives species.

*Nana Glen Landcare Group (30 mins outside Coffs Harbour) – assisting native species of Nana Glen including goannas, eastern grey kangaroos, pretty faced wallabies, land mullets, water dragons, bearded dragons, sea eagles and Wonga pigeons impacted by Liberation Trail fire with supplementary food and water stations. The group also aim to install 50 habitat nest boxes of various types across 172 hectares of fire-impacted private and public land for animals including cockatoos, small parrots, brushtail and ringtail possums, bats, kingfishers, kookaburras and the Powerful Owl.

*Habitat Recovery Alliance (50 mins outside Adelaide) – after the December 2019 Cudlee Creek bushfires destroyed over 21,000 hectares, this alliance of eight dedicated local groups has received 300 new volunteer participants eager to assist in habitat restoration through the seeding and planting of appropriate local native species on multiple private and public properties within the area impacted by the Cudlee Creek fire.

*Cann Valley Landcare Group/Far East Gippsland Landcare Network (90 mins outside Bega) – Wangarabell Valley and the Genoa River were severely fire damaged in January 2020 causing vast destruction of forest, habitat, flora and fauna. While proposing restoration works on over 160 hectares, works include rescue of the Genoa River Correa, an endangered plant native to the region, which was regenerated in 2012 but now specimens have largely been destroyed. Only one large plant remains a source for cuttings and replanting.

For full list of grant recipients visit landcareaustralia.org.au/2020-bushfire-recovery-grants