Five schools in the Collie region have undertaken Junior Landcare projects involving hundreds of students as part of the South32 Junior Landcare Enhancing Habitat Grants.

Launched last year, the grants program provided grants of up to $5,000 to assist 12 schools in Western Australia and New South Wales to enhance and restore habitats within their school grounds and local communities.

In the Collie region, Amaroo Primary, Allanson Primary, St Brigid’s, Fairview Primary, and Wilson Park Primary have all kicked off projects including bush regeneration, bush tucker gardens, and a community nursery.

As part of his 88^th birthday celebrations, former Prime Minister, the Hon. Bob Hawke, has called on the Australian public to put their hands in their pockets to help the Landcare groups working to save the future of our endangered Aussie species.

In an Australian first, Landcare Australia partner, Hawke’s Brewing Co., collaborated with Madame Tussauds Sydney to remould the wax hand of former Prime Minister, Bob Hawke so that he can hold a can of his own beer, Hawke’s Lager. The birthday gift was revealed at an event to celebrate Mr Hawke’s 88^th birthday in Sydney, where wax Bob and real Bob Hawke shared a cheers!

While Mr Hawke was ‘given a hand’ for his birthday, he encouraged all Australians to give him a hand by donating to Landcare Australia’s “Protect Our Aussie Species Appeal”. The appeal funds projects that help protect the future of Aussie species, like vulnerable koalas in the Port Macquarie region of New South Wales.

“I hope this gesture will help Landcare raise awareness and support to safeguard the future of Australia’s vulnerable and endangered species”, said Mr Hawke.

24 November 2017: The boards of the NLN and Landcare Australia met in Canberra on 23rd November to re-affirm their commitment to move forward with the formation of a new national Landcare organisation. They agreed on the next steps to make this happen, with the due diligence to be completed by Christmas and the new entity to be established before the end of this financial year.

Once formed, a new organisation will give the Landcare movement a single national organisation working on its behalf, which will combine and build on the representative capacity and voice of the NLN and the marketing, education, fundraising and program delivery skills of Landcare Australia. Both organisations are committed to doing what is best for community Landcare and recognise that they will have a greater impact together.

06 November 2017 – Cawdor Public School students are getting hands on with nature after they were awarded $5,000 from the South32 Junior Landcare Grants program to go towards a habitat restoration project.

The funding has assisted with the school’s project to enhance and restore the native area that runs along the front fence of the school adjacent to Cawdor Road, and other areas on the property, totalling 64m by 8m. The work includes weeding the area, making a mulch pathway, and improving local biodiversity by replanting local native flora and indigenous bush tucker plants and trees, to make a nature trail.

The nature trail will be used by all students as an outdoor learning area for environmental activities, with teaching programs aimed at developing ecological sustainable learning, crucial for students now and into the future. Students will have the opportunity to engage with the aboriginal community who will impart knowledge about traditional food sources and their other uses.

03 AUGUST 2017 – More than 3,000 students in 25 schools across seven states will soon be donning their gardening gloves and getting stuck into creating their dream gardens thanks to the Yates Junior Landcare Grants for Gardens Program.

Launched in May, the program received a record number of applications, with hundreds of schools submitting creative and exciting ideas for outdoor classrooms and gardens, with hand drawn plans, short films and mood boards.

The funded projects include a number of Indigenous Plant and Cultural projects, including at Yorketown Area School in South Australia, and Gundagi Public School in New South Wales. Sensory spaces and gardens are also a popular choice, with Mannum Community College in South Australia creating a ‘Sensory Wellbeing Garden’, which will be part of an outdoor learning complex. Glengarry Primary School in Western Australia will create an ‘Upcycled Sensory Wonderland’ to include climbing areas, drums, and a sensory pathway around the garden to provide a unique and interactive learning area.