Weddin Landcare has increased its capacity to bring relevant and impactful events and projects to local landholders and community members with secured funding through the NSW Landcare Enabling Program for the next four years.
The Landcare Enabling program is a collaboration between Local Land Services and Landcare NSW supported by the NSW Government. Phase one establishes the regional and local coordinator roles with a focus on on-ground projects, knowledge and skill building, collaboration and partnerships and funding opportunities to better care for our local natural environment and agricultural systems.
The Local Landcare Coordinator role has increased to a full-time position with regional support and will be split into two coordinator roles. Melanie Cooper will be continuing her role and Claire Diprose was successful in securing the other coordinator position after supporting Weddin Landcare with communications for the last 12 months.
“We have already seen the impact of having a team of two and the output Melanie and Claire have achieved over the last year is impressive. We are excited to see where we can keep developing in natural resource management under the new program” Clemence Matchett, Chair of Weddin Landcare said.
“This funding means we can continue to build on the work Weddin Landcare has achieved in the last program. We hope to continue collaborating with local farmers, schools, council, Local Land Services, other Landcare groups and broader community members to bring a whole new range of projects to Weddin” Melanie Cooper, Local Landcare Coordinator said.
“We have a couple of events coming up in May including our Fungi Foray, with Alison Pouliot on May 16 where participants will learn all about the incredible kingdom of fungi. Later in the month, we look forward to catching up with our Grazing Group through an on-farm field day. There is a series of working bees scheduled at Vaughn’s Dam over the coming months too with the first one on May 26. We will start removing weeds, mowing some paths and begin planning for future works to make it more accessible for the community” she continues.
“We also love to hear feedback and ideas, so if anyone in Weddin feels like there is something we are missing in the natural environment or agricultural space or would like to join our steering committee and help direct our programs, please get in touch” she adds.
Please contact Melanie Cooper with any ideas or questions at weddinlandcare@outlook.com or 0417 963 475.