Landcare Australia
Nearly 1000 sign up for ACT bushfire recovery supported by Landcare Australia regeneration grant
After bushfires tore through nearly 90,000 hectares of ACT bush earlier this year, a surge in plucky volunteers have signed up for wildlife habitat regeneration and conservation projects with $15,000 support from Landcare Australia’s $300,000 bushfire recovery grant program.
Over 900 residents have offered up their services to bushfire recovery and Landcare ACT will be supporting these volunteers in massive recovery activities once COVID19 restrictions are lifted.
Activities include weed management, habitat restoration sediment/erosion control, flora and fauna assessments and water quality monitoring, which will be undertaken with partners including Southern ACT Catchment Group and ACT Government.
“Urgent and ongoing restoration is required to reduce identified extreme and high-level risks to biodiversity, water quality and erosion that have resulted from these fires and over 900 new volunteers from the ACT have expressed interest in supporting the Landcare efforts in bushfire recovery on three different registers,” explained Karissa Preuss, CEO Landcare ACT. “This is in addition to the existing 60 Landcare groups operating in the region.”
“This grant provides an important step towards enabling and supporting the volunteer effort in bushfire recovery by providing funds for equipment, coordination and training. The ACT has a high proportion of individuals interested in volunteering for environmental outcomes. We are working to gain additional funding to better support volunteers in bushfire recovery in the ACT Region.”
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.
Key issues for all the grant recipients include restoring essential wildlife habitat, management 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 Landcare Australia partners Brambles CHEP, Bushman’s Tanks, Bloom Aid and Hawkes Brewing.
**Karissa Preuss is
/Public Release.
