A program is being launched this Thursday 4 September, to plant and protect 100 kilometres of trees across the farm landscapes of West Gippsland between Berwick and Drouin, connecting the Bunyip State Park to the coast of Western Port.
‘Spirit of the Bunyip’ is a collaborative effort by community and government agencies, Landcare and the corporate sector, and aims to attract more private investment from business and industry for local revegetation projects. It is backed by Landcare, Melbourne Water, Government Departments, local Councils and environmental agencies. The launch is part of Landcare Week which is celebrating “Our Landcare heroes”.
75% of this land north of Western Port Bay is privately owned and much was cleared for agriculture over the past 170 years. More still is being cleared to accommodate new Melbourne fringe-suburbs around Beaconsfield, Officer and Pakenham.
‘Spirit of the Bunyip’ will build on the past ten years of community-based effort of the Cardinia Environment Coalition (CEC). They have already established over 600 Landcare projects on more than 400 properties over that time to rebuild some of the native habitat that is vital to this area.
‘Spirit of the Bunyip’ aims to accelerate the CEC’s work in the coming years by recruiting more landholders to protect what native habitat is left on their land, particularly high quality remnants, and to connect existing native bush plots by planting new ‘biolinks’.
A continuing stream of money is needed for plant stock, tree guards and fencing, so the program will also be looking for new partners from business and industry.
iPrimus has contributed to recent plantings around Clyde North and has pledged to support future plantings in the program area next autumn.
President of the Cardinia Environment Coalition, Joan Szalman said there are three necessary components to achieve the Spirit of the Bunyip’s target of 100 kilometres of trees in 20 years.
‘Firstly we need landholders willing to give a portion of their land back to nature by planting and protecting native trees and shrubs. Fortunately through our network we are finding more and more farmers and landholders are realizing they can enhance their natural landscape and also improve agricultural productivity at the same time.
‘Secondly we need the energy, knowledge and expertise to collect local seed, propagate healthy plants, prepare sites and coordinate the planting and fencing work required so that the plantings are successful and flourish. The CEC has been doing this type of work for over ten years and we’ve become experts at it. We provide all the help and advice people need to get started.’
‘Thirdly, while much of the planting work is done by landholders and other volunteers we need money to pay for the plants, fences and equipment. That’s why ‘Spirit of the Bunyip’ is seeking investment from new sources to give the program a boost.”
Joan said landholders, community groups and government funding have laid a great foundation over the past decade. But these dedicated few can’t do it on their own.
iPrimus is one industry partner which has raised funds for the Spirit of the Bunyip.
iPrimus General Manager Marketing and Products, Andrew Sims said many of his company’s customers want to do more for the environment and choose to pay a premium on their monthly internet usage. This money goes into great environmental programs like Spirit of the Bunyip.
Mr Sims said that the Spirit of the Bunyip project provides the whole package to an industry partner.
“This project has identified landholders who want to plant trees on their land and they have the efficient and well-organised resources of the local Landcare networks as well as a great local public profile. This delivers the results we are looking for without any hassles.
“Spirit of the Bunyip is clearly achieving tangible on-ground improvements and we will get regular reports of the outcomes. This means our staff, our customers and our stakeholders can share a high degree of ownership in the achievements of the program in future years.”
“This is the type of Corporate Social Responsibility program that businesses are looking for because it has a tangible environmental outcome in an area with high environmental values.”
Andrew Peart and Cathy Briant, the local Landcare participants who will host the Spirit of the Bunyip launch event on Thursday, have planted more than 12,000 trees on their Clyde North farm over the past six years and another 2,500 are being planted this year. Cathy and Andrew said landholders greatly appreciate the support of Landcare organizations such as the CEC.
“For us, turning cold, windy, bare land into warm sheltered paddocks has been a high priority,” they said.
“We believe trees provide many benefits for the health of our cattle, our pastures, local bird life and our own enjoyment of the farm. This is our place of work and having an environment that is healthy, productive and beautiful also makes good business sense.”
“An important part in achieving these revegetation goals has been the support of the CEC Landcare network. Having access to farmer networks, information and experience through Landcare is very important.”
Supporting Landcare into the future is one way we can all continue to turn the Spirit of the Bunyip vision into reality.
SPIRIT OF THE BUNYIP LAUNCH DETAILS
The launch for Spirit of the Bunyip is on Thursday 4 September from 12.30 pm at the property of Andrew Peart and Cathy Briant at 1665 Pound Rd, Clyde Nth.
It will include a light lunch and an opportunity to participate in some tree planting on the property as part of Landcare Week, and to see the benefits and outcomes of the revegetation work on a typical Landcare property.
Please RSVP or direct media enquiries to Shane Scanlon, Spirit of the Bunyip Program Coordinator at shane.scanlon@ppwcma.vic.gov.au or phone 0437 199935.
Spirit of the Bunyip is brought to you by the Port Phillip and Westernport CMA |