Southern New England Landcare’s renewal phase ramps up with several new initiatives that have taken place over recent months.
Chairman of the organisation, Mr Steve Harvey said, “Since gaining our new Local Landcare Coordinator in March this year, several exciting changes have taken place for Southern New England Landcare that mean we can better assist community members who are keen to develop or support sustainable production enterprises and ecological systems.”
The first of those initiatives is the merger of the management and activities of the original organisation, Southern New England Landcare Coordinating Committee (SNELCC) Inc, with those of Southern New England Landcare Ltd.
“Anyone who has attended our quarterly SNELCC Inc meetings over the last 12 months will have already been a part of the decision-making process about the merger,” said Mr Harvey.
“Having one organisation instead of two will bring efficiencies to our accounting and administrative procedures, so that we can spend more time helping our members achieve their goals,” he said.
Secondly, the organisation is ramping up its online capabilities, with memberships and newsletter communications going digital.
“Having our membership subscriptions and newsletters occur through our new website will also save significant time for our staff, and expense for the organisation.
“For the most part, it will also save time for our members,” said Mr Harvey.
“Although these changes were already in the pipeline, they have come about much more effectively with the engagement of our new Local Landcare coordinator in March this year,” said Mr Harvey.
Membership subscription fees support the administrative and operational costs of running the community-based, not-for-profit organisation, and in return, Southern New England Landcare supports its members with access to information and technical advice, assistance with funding and resources, opportunities to share and learn from others, training, newsletters and connections to relevant experts.
Mr Harvey said, “Members have access to a range of services such as subsidised entry to events, group support and coordination, and hire of landcare equipment such as the mounder, spray unit and planting tools at cheap member rates.”
Local Landcare Coordinator, Mr Charlie Carruthers, who has been in the job since March said, “Many hands make light work, so Southern New England Landcare encourages like-minded individuals to form new groups or join existing groups to share knowledge, identify worthwhile initiatives, and strengthen social ties and community resilience”.
“We can help groups determine what activities they want to undertake and then help them make it happen,” he said.
“Southern New England Landcare was established in 1993, and currently supports, coordinates and promotes Landcare interests and activities for 28 groups and more than 300 members,” he said.
Recent activities facilitated by Southern New England Landcare include riparian revegetation, weed control, pest animal control, improving soil health and production, paddock plantings for wildlife, windbreaks, agroforestry and ‘Ag N Chat’ forums.
Mr Carruthers’ position was made possible by the NSW Government’s Local Landcare Coordinators Initiative, supported through the partnership of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW.
