Getting hot, sweaty and muddy in the Top End’s build up is all part of the job for the Rapid Creek Landcare Group. With their families, friends and the wider Darwin community they plant local natives in the lead up to the wet season to create wildlife habitat in the Rapid Creek catchment. Their crowning glory is at The Spit, on Parks and Wildlife land near Rapid Creek’s mouth, where they have turned a wasteland infested with weeds, covered with litter and dumped items, and used for illegal vehicle hooning, into a paradise of flowering and fruiting native plants providing homes for masses of birds and other wildlife. Most recently, during National Volunteer Week, the Group’s ongoing support, hard work and generosity of time towards conserving and enhancing natural and cultural values of Casuarina Coastal Reserve, was acknowledged by The NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security, Parks and Wildlife Division.

Formed in the 1990’s the Group has carried out projects throughout the catchment. The revegetation work has also happened in the monsoon forest lining Rapid Creek on City of Darwin land, at Yankee Pools where various land tenures collide, and along the Darwin International Airport’s Gurambai Trail.  The Rapid Creek Landcare Group acknowledges the Larrakia people as traditional owners and custodians of Gurambai. Tree planting events and big rubbish clean ups engage large numbers, and the core members work tirelessly throughout the year to maintain sites with weed management being the main focus.

The Group is the trusted voice of the community; they advocate for good management of Rapid Creek by working with stakeholders, and raising awareness more widely, to implement the Rapid Creek Management Plan. When necessary, they mount campaigns against actions threatening the Creek, this is when hundreds of supporters come out of the woodwork.

Achievements include creating 100-150 metre wide conservation zoned buffers along the Creek; restricting vehicle access to the Creek’s edge; stopping a sewer main being trenched through the heart of the monsoon forest where the rare Rufous Owl lives; and halting a proposal to remove mature trees along the Creek in the name of flood mitigation. The Group’s website is at www.rapidcreek.org.au.

Andrew Stewart, Victorian fourth generation farmer, Andrew Stewart, along with his wife, Jill, manages the family farm, Yan Yan Gurt West, which is a grazing and agroforestry property. Their three adult daughters are involved with the property, which produces prime lambs and wool with integrated agroforestry whilst running an educational farm tour business and native flower farming enterprise.

Over 55,000 trees and shrubs have been established, constituting 18% of the 573-acre property. This has formed a diverse biological infrastructure that addresses environmental issues and supports and enhances traditional agricultural production, whilst providing new opportunities emerging from the agroforestry system.

Andrew has been an active member of the East Otway Landcare group since its formation in 1988 and chaired the Victorian Farmers Federation Farm Tree and Landcare Association for three years.

Andrew is a co-founder of the Otway Agroforestry Network and a founding member of the Australian Agroforestry Foundation. He has been a member of a team delivering many Master TreeGrower Programs, including one in Uganda. Serving on The Australian Landcare Council, Andrew has been involved in landcare farming and agroforestry education for many years. He has participated in numerous field days, radio interviews, and television programs, and has written many articles. Alongside Rowan Reid, Andrew co-authored a book titled "Agroforestry: Productive Trees for Shelter and Land Protection in the Otways." In 2020, he won the National Bob Hawke Landcare Award.

In memory of Dr Jesse Blackadder who was an award-winning author of seven novels for adults and children. Many will recall the vibrant, inquisitive, and supportive Jesse who was enthusiastic about Landcare, whether in her role as journalist for Landcare Australia writing a stories about individuals or group or as a ‘hands on’ volunteer. 

Jesse was active with Landcare activities in her community near Bangalow and later on the land she and her partner Andi Davey bought in Myocum near Mullambimby, NSW.  Always thinking outside the square and with interesting ideas of design and species, Jesse applied for a local council grant to plant a strip of food trees for koalas as part of establishing a corridor between local bushland and the hinterland.  With the help of the local council, neighbours and friends the couple planted, watered and mulched 500 trees in a morning - then also helped others to plant a koala corridor next door. Such was Jesse’s power of action and encouraging others to do the same.

After her time at Landcare Australia, Jesse took her skills to writing books – one being “Dexter the Koala” as part of their saving Koalas program.

Jesse was twice awarded the Australian Antarctic Arts Fellowship.   She was a writer in residence in Alaska, outback Australia, Bryon Bay, Charles Sturt University Wagga, and Varuna The Writers’ House.

Landcare remained a strong passion for Jesse and to the end she continued her environmental work on their property - many of the plantings now being 10m tall.

In memory of Richard & Elizabeth Hall who spent the sixty one years of their marriage improving the agricultural environment in which they farmed. Neither stood above the other in their life's work. The years were spent in southeastern NSW where they owned & operated three properties.

Beginning in 1952, not long after a fire almost wiped out the property they set about planting eucalypt plantations as shelter belts. In the mid 1980's when they had bought a property in the Upper Murray they started a Landcare group, not long after Landcare began as an entity. In Dick's memoir, he stated "we started a Landcare group, I became Chairman. Bet & I collected many seeds along the roads and anywhere we could to grow trees". Many plantations flourished at Ournie for shelter belts and erosion control, while all the time beautifying the landscape with a variety of trees. There were always trays of seeds being germinated in the green house that Betty lovingly attended as well as creating and maintaining beautiful gardens. Many species of birds found a peaceful haven to live and breed. Betty's diaries included entries of trees listed in their Latin names.

In 1999 they semi retired closer to Albury Wodonga, where once again they embarked on another project of plantations, improving the property and involvement with the local Landcare group.

Their life's work truly fitted the ethos of Landcare, starting 30 plus years before Landcare Australia, to enhance and enrich the natural environment, providing shelter for livestock and wild flora and fauna, preserving the landscape with erosion control on hills and in valleys. 

Jen Quealy, a social geographer has been a landcare advocate, for over three decades, as it evolved from a few, into thousands of active local networks of Landcare influencers and practitioners, across Australia and globally.

Jen, one of the original 8-person national team of Australia’s Decade of Landcare Coordinators from 1990, roles created after direct advocacy by farmers and environmentalists, to help plan, promote, and attract co-funding for landcare.

Her efforts helped landcare evolve from an early ‘start-up’ model of rural-regional community-led projects, motivating and supporting local farmers and communities, and to appeal to government, industry, business, and media, for help to promote and co-fund landcare outcomes.

Through short-term roles and volunteering, Jen helped co-create many visionary, creative, and pragmatic projects, and to attract and deliver funding to landcare networks, organisations, and community enterprises.

If mapped, these projects would show a dense and deep landcare ‘impact map’ of partnerships and achievements, failures and ‘experiments’.

Jen is motivated by the welcoming, curious, and risk-taking leadership of grassroots landcare farmers and First Nations leaders, environment, research, and agency advocates, educators and students, and the renewing energy of bright, young, coordinators and facilitators, added to their smart guiding older ‘hands and minds’. Jen credits local innovators as the real legends, who entice collaboration and inquiry, within supportive communities – one paddock, one neighbour, one partner, one threatened species, one production challenge at a time: and in reality, often all together.

Highlights: Bringing Landcare into disaster recovery, Far North QLD cyclones, flood recovery and Blitz’s, co-creating RabbitScan and FeralScan, International Landcare Conference, ACIAR Journal, Olympic Landcare (Lithgow’s Community of the Year (2000) Award), personally Awarded a National Emergency Medal in 2023.

For over 20 years, Winsome Lambkin OAM has been passionate about working on sites and educating others on natural flora and fauna, including fungi and pioneer species.   

Winsome is the guardian for three major Landcare sites: Floraville Ridge and Rainforest Reserve, - an enormous site in a steep sided gully that she has been actively involved with for over 20 years;, Fossil Wing Creek and Cold Tea Creek Landcare; and is an active member of the Lake Macquarie Landcare Volunteer Network. She is very passionate about the work she does and educating and passing on her knowledge to the next generation of landcarers.  

Winsome Lambkin recently received an Order of Australia Medal for her service to conservation and the environment. 

Rob Youl OAM, a forester, worked from 1981-2009 in farm forestry, revegetation, urban ecology and community action with Victorian government departments, Greening Australia Limited and Conservation Volunteers Australia.

For 13 years, Rob was also Victorian projects officer for Landcare Australia Limited, helping develop networks and projects and source corporate and philanthropic funds, at home and interstate. He introduced several new ideas for projects that have since become part of the Landcare fabric and over the years he has written, edited or published numerous articles, pamphlets and books on Landcare and revegetation.

Whilst living in Melbourne, Rob has three properties in the St Arnaud district that he and his family manage for conservation and environmental rehabilitation gains and wildlife habitat, along with opportunities for community and cultural education.

Rob was founding chair of Australian Landcare International and is currently on the Board of Global Landcare. He has been a wonderful mentor to students across the globe and introduced many to farm forestry and Landcare, working alongside groups overseas with ventures in Africa, the Caribbean and more recently Japan.

With keen commitment, Rob has attended all of the 25 plus planting weekends associated with the Hindmarsh Biolinks program and organises monthly bird surveys around his home municipality of Port Phillip, in the city of Melbourne.

Rob was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2012 for service to Landcare and the environment.

Formed in 1976, the Hunter Bird Observers Club (HBOC) is the largest club in the Hunter Region that caters specifically for those with an interest in bird life in its natural habitat. The Club has two objectives: 

With over 350 members, the club encompasses people of all ages and levels of experience. It is a highly active club with a full calendar of events, a bimonthly newsletter, focus on research (field studies) and conservation.  

Many HBOC members are active Landcarers and likewise, HBOC conducts bird surveys at several Landcare sites in the Hunter region to help assess how those areas are responding as regenerated bird habitat.

For over 30 years, the Hunter Bird Observation club has been collecting avian data through observations and methodical monthly surveys of endangered Shorebirds/Waders. This group serves as the 'knowledge keepers' of birding in the Hunter Region, conducting On-ground conservation work and continuous community engagement. The data they collect is utilised by organisations across Australia, including National Parks & Wildlife Services and Local Landcare Services, to inform and guide threatened species management. 

Susan Campbell OAM - As a Landscape Architect with the Victorian Ministry of Housing in the 1960’s, and later with the Albury Wodonga Development Corporation 1972-1990, Susan managed the planting of 50,000 trees and shrubs, set up their nursery and worked closely with others to establish several Landcare Groups in the North East Victoria area, thus extending the reach of the Commission’s work.

She is particularly known for her keen involvement with the early establishment of the Springhurst Byawatha Hills Landcare Group, one amongst the firsts in Victoria.

As a Member of the Australian Trust for Conservation Volunteers, Susan was President for three of her 20 years on the Board.

Other leadership roles undertaken have been as a Member of the Landcare Victoria Board, on the North East Regional Catchment Land Protection Board, the Warby Range National Park Advisory Committee, Winton Wetlands Environmental Committee and as Chair of the VFF “Oral History” project relating to voices from those involved across Victoria who were in early Tree Groups and Landcare Groups.

Recognition of her extensive input, particularly with Landcare and Primary Production, has seen Susan receive Awards over several years; those including the North East Regional Landcare Service Award for 25 years’ service and acknowledgement in the Landcare Hero Honour Roll 2014. 

Susan was awarded an OAM, for Conservation and Environment in 2015

Pam Robinson AM, came from Ireland for a Gap Year in 1963. Growing up with ‘hands on’ in the Irish environment through family, school and Guiding activities she fell in love with the Australian countryside, later marrying an Aussie.

David, Pam and son Daniel ran a fine wool operation for 30 years at "The Elms" Warrenbayne West.

She and her neighbour Angus Howell became concerned about areas in their paddocks in the 1970s when they noticed patches of land, denuded of vegetation, began showing up. Sheep would roll on the bare ground and then lick at the fleece. They had uncovered an emerging problem with dryland salinity.

They set out on a mission to find out what was happening to the landscape and, through contacts with the Soil Conservation Authority and with the support of other concerned area farmers, in 1983 helped to develop a local land management plan for the Warrenbayne-Boho Land Protection Group.

The management plan morphed into Landcare in the days when the organisation was still emerging in Victoria. Pam was an inaugural Member of the Goulburn-Broken Salinity Pilot Program Advisory Council and appointed to the first State and National Landcare Advisory Committees.

As a Councillor and Shire President of the former Shire of Violet Town, her connections for Local Government with Landcare were strong. Pam was on the first Environment Committee of the Municipal Association of Victoria, and their representative on the Decade of Landcare Plan Steering Committee. In the mid 2000’s, as Manager Climate Change and Environment with the Cities of Darwin and Palmerston she worked closely with Landcare Groups and the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory. 

Pam was awarded an OAM in1990 for services to Conservation and Local Government and in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to conservation and to the environment, and to the community.