Celebrating 25 years of local Landcare
A Landcare group with a rich history is celebrating an open day on Saturday.
Springsure Hill Landcare Group is celebrating 25 years of caring for the local environment with an open day at the former Buln Buln East Primary School, the first event at the school since it came under the management of a local association.
The group has planned many activities for the day including information on weed control and complementary habitat management, wildlife interactive displays and free plants. Organisations including Habitat Creations, West Gippsland Seed Group and Beefcheque will have displays.
Students from Buln Bun and Nilma Primay School will have artwork on show celebrating the environment.
The Warragul Municipal Band will be playing and there also will be a display by the Nilma North CFA.
Landcare member Gill Oscar said people in the Buln Buln, Crossover and Shady Creek areas were particularly welcome to attend.
She said the area did not have any key facilities such as shops or pubs so the day would provide a good opportunity to mingle and meet new people.
Ms Oscar said a key component of the celebrations was a 25+25+ , a program which hopes to attract 25 landowners to plant 25 trees on their properties.
With 38 landholders involved it is one of the biggest Landcare groups in the Latrobe catchment.
The Landcare group was formed 25 years ago by a group of landowners passionate about enhancing the environment through community action.
Founding member Carolyn Ferguson said the group grew from like minded people keen to bring weeds under control on their land and the road reserve.
Ms Ferguson and her partner farm the original Springsure Hill property at the top of Mizpah Settlement Rd in Buln Buln East. The Landcare group developed its name from the historic property.
Ms Ferguson recently retired from her role as the natural environment co-ordinator at Baw Baw Shire. Her role developed from her involvement with Landcare. Over the past 25 years the organisation has run many field days and working bees and has been extensively involved in the eradication of pittosporum and ivy.
In recent times the group has attracted younger members keen to care for the environment.
The Sharman family from Shady Creek are all keen members with 14-year-old Tandia and her 11-year-old brother Saxon recent members.
Tandia, a student at Chairo Christian School, said she was keen to see the land looked after as people worked to a sustainable future.
She said her involvement with Landcare worked well with environmental studies at her school and she was learning a great deal from other group members and the implementation of various practices on the family dairy farm.
Gill runs a beef farm and has learned a great deal from Landcare, particularly in relation to caring for remnant bush. and at Tanjil South on Thursday, December 8.
Mayor Michael Leaney said councillors and officers looked forward to the sessions and learned a lot from direct conversations with residents.