Future By Design – Strengthening Landcare Today
Regional Community of Practice
Capacity building - LEP_23_033_NCRLN_12
The issue
Local Landcare Networks and their communities including volunteers increasing environmental challenges under severe weather events. Maintaining strong partnerships, sharing knowledge, and building capacity across networks can be difficult without dedicated opportunities for collaboration. Local Landcare Coordinators play a critical role in supporting communities recovering from severe weather events by strengthening local coordination, rebuilding resilience, and fostering social cohesion. This support helps sustain community participation and enables the ongoing delivery of environmental outcomes. Meaningful engagement with partners and Aboriginal groups is also essential to strengthen regional collaboration and alignment with NSW Landcare Enabling Program objectives.
The solution
The North Coast Regional Landcare Network delivered the 2025 Regional Community of Practice, a two-day gathering attended by more than 60 participants including Landcare coordinators, volunteers, partners, and stakeholders. The event focused on strengthening partnerships, sharing knowledge, and building capacity across the region. A key session featured an interactive panel where Local Coordinators shared lessons and approaches used to support community recovery, rebuild social cohesion, and restore environmental projects following Cyclone Alfred in March 2025. Participants also explored outcomes from cultural knowledge workshops led by the NCRLN Aboriginal Landcare Officer and celebrated the launch of a Cultural Toolkit designed to support meaningful engagement with Aboriginal communities. The program provided valuable opportunities for collaboration, peer learning, and practical skills development across Landcare networks.
The impact
The Community of Practice strengthened relationships between Landcare networks, government agencies, and community partners while improving knowledge sharing across the region. Participants reported stronger connections, greater awareness of local and regional achievements, and new ideas to support volunteer management. The event also elevated First Nations engagement through cultural knowledge sharing and new resources for Landcare groups. Overall, the COP helped build capacity, foster collaboration, and support Landcare networks to work more effectively together to address environmental challenges across the North Coast.