NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust & Landcare NSW - Private Land Conservation Matters Project
Landcare networks across Greater Sydney bring community members together and support the protection, restoration and improvement of the natural environment. Improving biodiversity outcomes through networking and knowledge and capacity building are strengths of Landcare across Greater Sydney. The six proposed workshops leverage these strengths and provide Landcare with an opportunity to engage further with landholders on the Central Coast, in the Hawkesbury and in the Macarthur. The workshops will complement existing Landcare activities by extending reach as well as extending knowledge of conservation management on privately managed land.
| The overall project will be managed by Greater Sydney Landcare (GSL) in close collaboration with Hawkesbury-Nepean Landcare Network (HNLN) and Central Coast Community Environment Network (CEN). The workshops will be coordinated by three key Landcare networks in Greater Sydney - GSL, HNLN and CEN. Each of these networks work closely with local Landcare groups to deliver workshops at the proposed locations. These include Green Teams on the Central Coast, Wild Seed Landcare Network (and their 5 member groups) in Macarthur, SWS landcarers- Macarthur wide, Hawkesbury Environment Network, Cattai Hills Environment Network and Macdonald Valley Association in NW Sydney. Local council networks will be leveraged through the relationships between Landcare and local government. Networks and partners from the previous BCT program will be involved where practical. Workshop coordinators will be existing staff from these networks, either project officers or coordinators, and this project will slightly boost their work hours. Workshop coordinators will work with the BCT to ensure that the workshops reach existing agreement holders. The workshops will provide practical learning outcomes for land managers ranging from weed management to ecological burning for biodiversity outcomes. The focus on woody weeds that transform threatened ecological communities aims to improve biodiversity outcomes. Similarly, the ecological burns will focus on the use of fire for weed management and enhancement of biodiversity. The threatened species focus will raise local awareness and be combined with capacity building relating to habitat protection and enhancement and monitoring of species found. If additional funds become available, we would like to request further contributions to the two ecological burn workshops so that we can include guest speakers and, we propose to organise bus tours to multiple properties in the Macdonald Valley and on the Central Coast. The bus tours would showcase landholders that have undertaken private land conservation on their properties (current agreement holders, Land For Wildlife and other) to share best practice and experience. The bus tours would also provide networking opportunities amongst participants. |