2020 ANNUAL REPORT ALL AUSTRALIANS ACTIVELY CARING FOR THE LAND AND WATER THAT SUSTAINS US. It is estimated that 80% of Namadgi National Park in the ACT was burnt in the 2019/2020 Black Summer Bushfires. A volunteering event was coordinated by Landcare ACT with funding from the Landcare Australia Bushfire Recovery Grant and led by Southern ACT Catchment Group. The volunteering event was booked out within minutes of being advertised. Volunteers spent the day weeding, removing wire and star pickets as well as dividing and planting Dianella. Photo courtesy of Landcare ACT. 2020 LANDCARE AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 3 Junior Landcare Ambassador Costa Georgiadis with young Junior Landcarer’s Methnie K. and Rayhan J. Contents 6 About Landcare Australia 8 About the Landcare Movement 10 Message from the Chair 12 Message from the CEO 16 2019/2020 Highlights 30 Landcare Australia Impact 32 Landcare Australia and the UN SDGs 34 Revegetation for Threatened Species Impact 36 Landcare Farming Program Impact 38 Biodiversity Impact 40 Coastcare Impact 42 Junior Landcare Impact 44 Corporate Environmental Volunteering Impact 47 Government Partners COVER: Jill Redwood stands on her property in Goongerah, 48 Corporate Partners East Gippsland surrounded by the fire-recovering riparian zone and Manna gums along 63 In-Kind Supporters the Brodribb River. During the Black Summer bushfires, 63 Corporate Environmental Volunteering Jill was in the thick of the bushfire zone and managed to save her home, however the 64 Board and Committees surrounding forest habitat and wildlife was not so lucky. As 66 Financial Summary President and volunteer of the Goongerah Landcare Group, Jill has been working with other 70 2019 State & Territory Landcare Awards Winners landcare volunteers and the local community on projects to restore the natural habitat. BACK COVER: During Landcare Week in August 2019, Landcare ambassador Sophie Taylor- Price honoured her grandfather the late former Prime Minister the Hon. Bob Hawke AC by unveiling a Landcare interpretive sign at Wentworth in NSW, the location where he announced national expansion of the Landcare movement. 2020 LANDCARE AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 5 About Landcare Australia Landcare Australia is a national not- sustainable land management for-profit organisation established practices and environmental VISION more than 30 years ago that conservation. supports the landcare community From the coast to the country, and with funding, capacity-building, All Australians actively from urban cities to the outback, on-ground projects, information, caring for the land and landcare’s greatest asset is its networking and promotion of people. The Landcare movement is water that sustains us. landcare achievements. diverse and encompasses farmers Together with the landcare and farming systems groups, PURPOSE community, our efforts improve landowners, landcare groups and biodiversity, build resilience in networks, Traditional Owners, • Empowering Australia’s food and farming Bushcare and ‘Friends of’ groups, individuals and systems, and create stronger Coastcare, Dunecare and Rivercare groups, landcare facilitators and communities communities. As a leader in the environmental sector, coordinators, youth groups and • Sustainable Landcare Australia has strong other community groups involved expertise in designing, managing in protecting, enhancing or management and completing challenging restoring their local environment. of natural and and complex major ecological The Junior Landcare program productive restoration projects involving large provides a pathway for children to scale revegetation and carbon landscapes become lifelong landcarers starting abatement. with early learning childhood • Building resilient Established in 1989 by the late centres through to primary and ecosystems and former Prime Minister, the Hon. secondary schools. Bob Hawke AC, Landcare Australia communities. Since 1989, Landcare Australia has supports over 6,000 groups and worked collaboratively with federal, 140,000+ volunteers with landcare state and local governments projects that are focused on and their agencies, the National 6 2020 LANDCARE AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT Landcare Network and the • support the adoption of of positive environmental and Landcare peak bodies, corporate sustainable agriculture community outcomes, these include: and philanthropic partners, practices that will deliver a • a sustainable approach to sponsors, community groups and more productive and profitable integrated land management individuals to support the landcare agriculture industry. • environmental protection, community. This long-standing For over 30 years, Landcare enhancement and conservation of engagement with local community- Australia has worked at the land, water, waterways and coasts led environmental initiatives forefront of community and • natural habitat restoration to has led to the organisation’s corporate engagement in natural enhance biodiversity renowned reputation and trust by resource management and • building resilience in Australia’s Australians. environmental project delivery. food and farming systems Landcare Australia develops Custodian of the ‘caring hands’ • creating social cohesion and campaigns in partnership with logo, Landcare Australia manages wellbeing in communities. stakeholders to: the Landcare, Coastcare, Junior With the impact of a changing • support the sharing of Landcare and Landcare Farming climate, and natural disasters knowledge and promote the brands on behalf of the landcare like drought, bushfires and flood, development of community movement. The Landcare brand landcare has never been so leadership and resilience; is recognised and trusted, with important. • recognise and celebrate the consistently positive attitudes in achievements of the landcare local communities towards landcare What makes Landcare Australia community; projects, and 78% awareness unique to any other national • encourage participation in among Australians of the landcare environmental organisation is landcare activities and the ‘caring hands’ logo. effective partnerships and people. recruitment and retention of The funding and in-kind Across Australia, our partnerships volunteers; contributions raised from support thousands of people • attract government, corporate partnerships and sponsors involved in Landcare who are and philanthropic funding and supports Landcare Australia volunteering to protect local in-kind support for good quality, to develop programs that ecosystems that contribute to the hands on projects and programs are practical, deliverable and sustainability and productivity of our that will improve environmental community focused. land and water assets for the benefit outcomes; and of all Australians. Through this support, Landcare Australia achieves a diverse range 2020 LANDCARE AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT 7 About the Landcare Movement “The degradation of our Landcare evolved in Victoria with Rick Farley of the National environment is not simply through an initiative of Joan Kirner, Farmers Federation (NFF), and (then Minister for Conservation, Phillip Toyne of the Australian a local problem, nor a Forests and Lands) and Heather Conservation Foundation (ACF), problem for one state Mitchell, (then President of the successfully encouraging the or another, nor for the Victorian Farmers Federation). Hawke Government to commit to supporting the emerging With the generous support of Commonwealth alone. movement. community members, farmers and Rather, the damage being Victorian departmental officers, Landcare became a national done to our environment is Heather Mitchell and Joan Kirner programme on 20 July, 1989 a problem for us all – and were able to launch ‘Landcare’ in in Wentworth NSW, when the a small town in central Victoria in Australian Government with not just government- but November 1986. bipartisan support, announced for of us individually and its “Decade of Landcare Plan” and Many Australian communities had committed $320 million to fund the together.” already begun practising ‘Landcare’ National Landcare Programme. decades earlier; accounts from The former Australian some of our most enduring 1989 was also the year that the Prime Minister the Landcare groups show grass roots national not-for-profit organisation Hon. Bob Hawke AC environmental issues being tackled Landcare Australia was established. as early as the 1950s. The national formation of the In January 1988, Australia’s first Landcare movement brought official Dunecare groups formed farmers and conservationists on the New South Wales Mid North together to resolve environmental Coast at Hat Head, Diamond Beach, issues. In his speech to launch Scotts Head and Diggers Beach. Landcare, former Prime Minister Bob Hawke AC spoke about the In 1989, the national Landcare importance of co-operation to care movement was officially recognised for the land. 8 2020 LANDCARE AUSTRALIA ANNUAL REPORT Over the last 30+ years, Landcare and community. These partnerships has evolved to become one of the build local community ownership largest volunteer movements in of issues, unlock volunteer Landcare is about Australia. There are thousands knowledge, capability and capacity of people and countless to create better outcomes for the working together caring communities working together environment and those that seek to for the land to preserve towards sustainable land use and protect and enhance it. our natural resources undertaking on-ground action to In the last three decades landcare protect, enhance or