Maitland Landcare reborn
Landcare kicks off in Maitland through collaboration
Capacity to Deliver - LP037-009
The issue
Some residents in the Maitland LGA had been in contact with Hunter Region Landcare Network (HRLN) over the past 4 years with an interest in adopting Landcare sites in their local patch of bushland/ reserve. The challenge was in getting permission from Maitland City Council (MCC) as they didn’t have a Landcare volunteer program or policy in place to support this. The timing had to be right; With new Council staff and Councillors ready to make Landcaer a priority in 2021, HRLN and MCC signed an MOU to collaborate on Landcare initiatives. In 2022, MCC was able to nominate reserves that would be suitable and protected into the future for Landcare sites.
The solution
The first was nominated to be at John Wilkinson Sports Complex at Bolwarra, primarily because this site had been of great interest to residents in the past. HRLN and MCC began holding monthly working bees early in 2022 to remove balloon vine and invasive ground covers from the patch of Casuarina forest. Then HRLN received a grant through the Queen’s Jubilee Tree planting program to revegetate native forest over 4000m2 on the sports complex over 12 months with help from the local community. There has been good local support and continuing interest in maintaining and looking after the plantings.
Late 2022, MCC sent out an expression of interest for community members to nominate Landcare sites. The two with the most votes- Durban Crescent bushland in East Maitland and Tannant Avenue in Rutherford were ratified by Council at the Jan 2023 meeting.
This was exciting news, but there was still no structure in place to support each of these new groups. This is where HRLN came in to encourage a Maitland Landcare umbrella organisation with members of the three groups. Bringing everyone together for a meeting, some wonderful individuals put their hands up to form the committee and become an incorporated association that will benefit everyone.
The impact
The incorporated association has been registered and the group is on their way to running their own committee. HRLN and MCC will be working to provide insurance, training and support for each of these groups. The next steps are going through the Work Health and Safety processes and identifying priority actions for each reserve.
Maitland Landcare Inc now has a platform in which they can collectively reach their goals in improving the local environment and garner more interest in the coming months. Improving the Green space in Maitland is a high priority and these individuals are making the difference.
We look forward to the future of Landcare in Maitland.
Key facts
- Three Landcare sites have been established.
- Dozens of community members are getting involved.
- HRLN and MCC have formed a strong collaboration.