Seminars Across the District
Four evening seminars across the district revived a Landcare tradition, drew strong community turnout, and strengthened partnerships with four key organisations.
Capacity building - LEP23-014LLC05-5
The issue
Evening seminars have long been part of Landcare culture, but the practice faded during COVID and never fully recovered in our district. As an amalgamated group covering a large area of small townships, GDL faced a real programming challenge. We wanted our events to reflect the full geography of the district, not just its centre, and to serve communities that rarely get access to quality environmental programming. We also wanted to strengthen relationships with the partners working across the region alongside us.
The solution
With funding from Mary MacKillop Today, GDL ran four evening seminars across the district, with topics drawn from a community survey. Each was held in a different township: feral animals with Local Land Services in Gunning, erosion with the Australian River Restoration Centre in Dalton, biodiversity with Ray Sheil from FROGS Landcare and Goulburn Mulwaree Landcare Landscapes in Breadalbane, and planting for birds with BirdLife Australia in Collector. Events were designed with plenty of time for questions and mingling, and LLS contributed an in-kind erosion field day to complement the Dalton event.
The impact
There was strong attendance across the seminars, with 69 attendees in total. Considering the populations of these towns, this series had excellent reach, with the majority of attendees new to Landcare. Each event built something lasting. Our relationship with LLS was even stronger after the feral animals seminar and their in-kind field day. We worked with ARRC on a major grant application for habitat restoration in Dalton. We also worked with BirdLife Australia on a grant application for Collector. Breadalbane was an opportunity to work on an event with Goulburn Mulwaree Landcare Landscapes for the first time. A modest investment in funding and organisation delivered excellent programming across the district and strengthened our partnerships.
Key facts
- 69 attendees across 4 seminars
- 4 partnerships strengthened
- Topics sourced from community survey