Blog Articles

What! Plant a tree in the middle of the MCG!

By Stephen Murphy posted 10 days ago
A deep dive into the history of the MCG. The year is 2016 and I’m looking through the window of the expansive lounge above the hallowed grounds of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG or G). I’m feeling a bit awe-struck because like many Australians I associate the MCG with big events: the 1956 Olympics, the VFL/AFL grand final and extravaganza concerts like Guns N’ Roses, Ed Sheeran and recently Taylor Swift. The crusader Billy Graham attracted the biggest crowd of 130,000 in 1959. Graham’s sermon to his many devotees segues to my view that the MCG is considered a ‘spiritual place,’ indeed a ‘sacred place’ by many Australians. This is the product of human ...

Natural Capital Accounting Workshops - WA

By Maryam Mahini posted 10 days ago
Landcare Australia through its Landcare Ag program is proud to support these important events about natural capital accounting🌿 This workshop will help industry stakeholders and landholders better understand how environmental accounting practices can help improve monitoring of the condition of their natural capital and how Certified Environmental Accounts can be utilised to enhance the credibility of sustainability reporting. 📍Check out the event dates and registration links below: 📅Monday 22nd July: Geraldton: https://www.regenwa.com/events/natural-capital-accounting-workshop-geraldton/ 🗓️Weds ...

Got a new idea to increase drought-resilience? Apply for the Drought Venture Studio!

By Strategic Partnerships Team posted 29 days ago
Are you an innovator with research, IP or have a revolutionary new idea to increase drought-resilience in Australian agriculture? Then apply now to be part of the Drought Venture Studio. Successful innovators will receive hands-on commercialisation support and the opportunity to be one of 8 startups matched with an experienced Co-Founder for commercialisation and launch of a drought resilience product or service. Providing an opportunity to test ideas, partner with experts and meet future customers and investors, this initiative is delivered by Beanstalk Agtech and supported by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund ...

TLC - Tasmanian Camera Traps Competition

By Rowan Ewing posted 21-06-2024
Are you in Tasmania, and have a good camera trap image to show off? The Tasmanian Land Conservancy, as part of their WildTracker citizen science camera trapping program are showcasing the funniest, most intriguing, and beautiful images collected by WildTracker citizen scientists. Submit your favourite photos to one of the four themes: - T hreatened species - Comedy - Behaviour - Firsts. The best of the bunch will be displayed at our WildTracker Exhibition in Launceston and Hobart (details below), as part of National Science Week 2024 . Prizes will go to the winner of each theme and the People's Choice ...

Lamb Survival Research project

By Claudia Macleay posted 14-06-2024
🌾 Be Part of the Science! 🐑 Join an exciting new research project led by Dr. Gordon Refshauge from NSW DPI, Cowra. We're exploring how forage crops can be used for lambing paddocks and their impact on lamb survival rates. Previous research shows that shelter can significantly improve twin lamb survival, but adoption of shelter belts is low. Our solution? Creating shelter using multispecies, dual-purpose, or forage crops that offer high-quality nutrition and reduce wind speed. We need your help! To understand how lambing on forage crops can improve twin lamb survival, we need to compare results with the ...

Results in from the Great Australian Wildlife Search!

By Claudia Macleay posted 14-06-2024
I am thrilled to share the incredible journey we've embarked on with the Great Australian Wildlife Search! In a vibrant fusion of community spirit and cutting-edge science, our Central Tablelands Regional Landcare Network, in partnership with the Odonata Foundation, has taken on this exhilarating expedition. Thanks to the generous support of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, our teams are exploring the waterways of 18 diverse sites using environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring. Every creature, from the majestic Murray cod to the humble eastern mosquitofish, leaving behind tiny bits of themselves like a biological breadcrumb trail. These traces, found in things ...

Hay War Memorial High School students become conservation champions on Gayini

By NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust posted 14-06-2024
Students from Hay War Memorial High School marked Reconciliation Week on Country this year, visiting Riverina property Gayini Nimmie-Caira to learn about cultural land management and conservation. Environmental educators from the Petaurus Education Group worked alongside land managers Sam and Jamie Woods to teach the students about the conservation and cultural value of the landscape at Gayini. As the largest privately owned area permanently protected under a conservation agreement with the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust, Gayini is often referred to as the Kakadu of the South, in reference to the millions of water birds it supports. ...

Saving the endangered Greater Glider in the Burnett

By Misty Neilson posted 10-06-2024
Enhancing Habitats in Grazing Lands to Save the Endangered Greater Glider Project Highlights - November 2023 Saving the Greater Glider: Boosting Conservation in Grazing Lands In November 2023, we wrapped up habitat enhancement activities for the "Saving the Greater Glider" project, a community-driven effort focused on habitat protection and restoration to support the recovery of the endangered Greater Glider, especially in the Upper Burnett region. This project highlights how sustainable food production and environmental conservation can go hand in hand. Enhancing Habitat and Educating Landholders Our main goal was to improve the presence, ...

Bermagui landholder protects ancient survivors for the future

By NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust posted 07-06-2024
With bushfires and floods continuing to threaten the land and our communities, Ludo McFerran’s story is testimony to her hard work and dedication to conservation. Nestled at the end of Benny Gowings Road, where the Murrah River winds through the south of Bermagui lies a true 100-acre wood, or rather a 40-hectare sanctuary of natural beauty. The river surrounds the block on both sides and is lined with huge river oak, river peppermint and bangalay trees and the occasional maiden’s gum. The gullies are full of ferns and cabbage trees and the hills are blanketed with monkey gum, iron bark, coast grey box and stringy bark. It’s a block Ludo bought back ...

Finding Pride In Birding - Stories at Birdlife Australia from the LGBTQ+ Community

By Rowan Ewing posted 07-06-2024
Birdlife Australia - Finding Pride in Birding June is Pride Month: a month to celebrate and uphold the LGBTQ+ community. It’s also a time to reflect on both how far we’ve come, and how far we’ve yet to go in addressing discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. To celebrate Pride Month, Alex Croft at Birdlife Australia spoke with fellow LGBTQ+ birders to hear about their experience in the birding community – and how we can all help make birdwatching more inclusive and welcoming for everyone: https://birdlife.org.au/news/pride-in-birding/ Image: Francisco Martins (via Birdlife Australia)

Restoring Rivers

By annacharltonshick posted 31-05-2024
Recently my colleagues and I planted 400 plants along Coxs Creek to help restore an area heavily impacted by erosion following the floods. Hopefully these plants will help to stabilise the bank in this area and promote biodiversity too. #ClimateChangeImpacts #CoastWaterways #NativeFloraFauna #nativeplants #Erosion #Biodiversity #HabitatRestorationRevegetation #SoilConservation

The Science & Art of Trading Cattle

By Ag360.com.au posted 27-05-2024
A wise person said that the average rainfall of north-west NSW is a flood plus a drought, divided by two. How do you manage your stocking rates under these conditions? AHN Consulting’s Dr Jillian Kelly plans to help the region’s graziers with their planning and business decisions, at the Science & Art of Trading Cattle forum in Coonamble on June 4-5. Ag360 will have a stand at the physical event, and you will be able to hear more about Ag360.com.au from Professor Lewis Kahn, either in person or via the virtual screening. “We’ve had strong interest from all over eastern Australia, are we’re very excited to be bringing this event to producers this year ...

Gather ‘round for a koala talk! Wildseek Update

By Dianna Crisp posted 14-05-2024
The Southwest Sydney Koala Project, a partnership between Greater Sydney Landcare and the NSW Koala Strategy, recently hosted its third meeting with community koala stakeholders from across Greater Sydney on Wild Koala Day, Friday, May 3rd. Head of Landscape Restoration and Chief Remote Pilot, Katie Selhorst from Landcare Australia delivered a presentation on the latest drone technology and reporting from koala surveys conducted across Sydney as part of the WildSeek project, a partnership between Landcare Australia, WIRES, and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She explained the methodology used, highlighting the unique approach compared to other drone ...

Help WeedScan use even more AI smarts to tackle Australia’s weed burden

By Centre for Invasive Species Solutions posted 09-05-2024
WeedScan – Australia’s first computer-vision weed identification app is five months old and it’s growing! Find out how you can support its vital effort. First developed by CSIRO , the Atlas of Living Australia , the NSW , Queensland , South Australian and Victorian governments through the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions , with funding from the Australian Government’s Landcare Program , this first-generation product includes 450 priority and other weed species linked to State weed management information. In these early months, WeedScan 1.0 has had over 16,000 downloads and more than 5,000 weed records submitted. Importantly, ...

Mycology May 2024

By Claudia Macleay posted 07-05-2024
🍄 Mycology May is here, and it's all about the fantastic fungi! 🍄 We're discovering how these unseen contributors play a crucial role in our ecosystems while also finding their way into our agricultural systems—not just as food, but to improve our crops and pasture health. Plus, scientists are using fungal mycelium to create eco-friendly containers as a replacement for plastic! This year, we're excited to welcome back the fabulous Alison Pouliot! Alison is an esteemed ecologist and environmental photographer with a passion for the fascinating world of fungi. She's at the forefront of fungal conservation efforts in Australia and internationally, and her ...

Agroforestry in Action

By Claudia Macleay posted 03-04-2024
Our first NSW Tree Conference, held in partnership with Greening Bathurst, Central Tablelands Local Land Services, and the Central Tablelands Regional Landcare Network, marked a significant milestone in bringing back discussion on forestry with agricultural systems in the Central Tablelands of NSW. This event rooted itself in the concept of "Natural Capital: Trees as an Alternative Crop," showcasing how trees can diversify farms, bolster biodiversity, and boost income through sustainable timber. Agroforestry veterans, including Rowan Reid and Dr. Fabiano Ximenes, shared their knowledge on the benefits of marrying forestry with farming. They discussed how ...

WeedScan: A new weapon in the war against weeds

By Centre for Invasive Species Solutions posted 03-04-2024
Weeds are one of the biggest threats to Australia’s biodiversity, agriculture and economy, costing us about $5 billion a year in lost productivity, control and environmental damage. They represent a serious risk to our native flora, fauna and water quality and contribute to bushfire risk with additional fuel loads. Recent floods across the country have the potential to trigger the next surge of weeds in Australia. Floods can spread seeds and plant parts to new areas that may have been weed-free. These conditions can also be favourable for weed germination, growth and reduced competition from other plants and animals. Major weeds at risk of further spread ...

Landcare Farming Carbon Benchmarking Project

By Gabrielle Stacey posted 02-04-2024
Landcare Farming Carbon Benchmarking Project The Landcare Farming Carbon Benchmarking project is a joint project between Integrity Ag & Environment and Landcare Farming to support producers to develop their skills and understanding of the importance of carbon balance on-farm. Carbon benchmarking assists farmers and graziers to quantify and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet industry goals, consumer and community expectations and ensure market access in the future. With both the Australian Sheep and Beef Sustainability Frameworks prioritising greenhouse gas emissions reduction from livestock, as well as Meat and Livestock Australia’s CN30 initiative ...

Innovations In Agriculture Series: Landcare VIC

By Gabrielle Stacey posted 28-03-2024
Innovations In Ag: Natural Resource Management Plan leads to biodiversity and profitability gains - Landcare VIC By fencing off waterways, reducing soil erosion, improving groundcover and creating wildlife corridors (biolinks), Victorian sheep and cattle producers Leanne and Peter Jackman have improved biodiversity on their Dadswell Bridge property, which has supported their Responsible Wool Standard certification. The property has been in the family since 1950, and as second-generation farmers, Leanne and Peter moved to a biodynamic farming system around 20 years ago with the aim of creating a self-sustaining farm through minimal external ...

Riverina landholders sign up to plains-wanderer land conservation

By NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust posted 01-03-2024
The small light-brown plains-wanderer might look unremarkable, but it is so unique it is placed in an entire family of its own. It has earned the nickname, the 'Goldilocks bird' because conditions need to be just right for it to survive. Those conditions are of course a very specific type of grazing habitat found in remote areas of south-western NSW and across land also prized for its agricultural use. The good news is, it might not be one of Australia’s rarest bird species for long if landholders in the state’s Riverina have anything to do with it. Graziers with productive land in the region have set aside areas of their properties ...