Landcare is a community-based approach to fixing environmental problems and protecting the future of our natural resources.
Introduction to Landcare
Landcare is a community-based approach to fixing environmental problems and protecting the future of our natural resources.
There are now more than 4250 landcare groups across Australia. About one in every three farmers is a member of a landcare group.
There are approximately 120 Landcare groups in the Goulburn Broken Catchment and many of these are also members of a collective group.
Landcare is about caring for our land. Air, water and soil are essential to human life. By caring for the land we are caring for ourselves and the other animals, birds and plants we share this planet with.
Clean air, clean water and healthy soil - sometimes we take them for granted.
Landcare groups
Landcare began in Victoria in 1986 with a group of farmers near St Arnaud in central Victoria forming the first Landcare Group. Since then, hundreds of Landcare groups have formed across Victoria. Landcare groups in rural areas invariable start in response to a common problem - salinity, erosion gullies, rabbits or weeds - which spans a number of properties.
Working together to tackle such land degradation problems is sensible, especially when the cause may not necessarily be confined to one property. For example, a salinity problem on a farm may be caused by clearing hills many kilometers away.
The advantages of working in groups are:
- better results from a joint approach, compared with those of individuals working alone
- better understanding of the problems through group discussion and support
- improved long-term productivity and amenity value of the area
- access to a wider range of technical, financial and other help
- community pride in and ownership of the project
- a sense of achievement
- public recognition of the group's efforts which may encourage others to take part.
Thus, Landcare is about caring for the land by groups of people who share a common problem and live in the same catchment. A catchment is an area that collects and directs water to a common point. Catchment sizes can vary enormously. The Murray-Darling Basin covers one seventh of Australia and is an enormous catchment which includes many hundreds of smaller catchments. By working together in a catchment, solutions to land degradation can be implemented successfully.
However, it is not good enough just to protect the land. Farmers are in the business of farming. They make their income from their land and need to ensure that production is maintained.
Landcare, therefore, is a partnership between production and conservation.
Landcare is more than just farmers though. Landcare is about whole communities caring for their land - local councils, conservation groups, schools and interested individuals.
