Lead Environmental Community Groups grants awarded and project summaries

In 2015–16 the Environmental Trust approved 15 two-year grants, totalling $1,224,900.

Australian Association for Environmental Education (NSW)

The Nature Connect project develops the skills, knowledge and practice of environmental educators in NSW to enable them to better connect their communities to their local place. In turn, connected communities are more able and likely to actively participate in the protection and enhancement of the local environment.

The project enables regional groups of educators from across sectors to share current practice about how they engage adults in nature, to undertake further skills development and to implement a local collaborative community project. After the project, educators can continue to share skills locally through AAEE NSW regional networks and to incorporate nature education into their own practice.

Australian Network for Plant Conservation Inc. (ANPC)

ANPC will undertake educational and capacity building activities to enhance the knowledge and skills of community members working in plant conservation, as well as increase the support for plant conservation measures and activities. This will be achieved through:

• the further development of the new Australian Network for Plant Conservation website (to encourage the community to appreciate, identify and conserve native plants, showcasing some of Australia’s threatened native plants, the stories behind them and the conservation efforts being undertaken to save them); enhanced social media activities
• delivery of regional vegetation management workshops and national plant conservation conferences; printing of 12 editions of Australasian Plant Conservation
• updating the Australian Plant Identification – A Resource Bibliography to assist the community in identifying plants in their local area and when they travel.

Australian Seabird Rescue Inc.

Previous project delivery of workshops and rescue telephone calls received from all over NSW, has highlighted the vulnerability of pelicans and other marine fauna. This project addresses the lack of incident response training available for potential wildlife rescuers in the capture and first aid response of marine wildlife, namely pelicans, seabirds, and shorebirds.

This project will enhance the capacity of community groups and organisations and individuals to respond to, support and assist management agencies in the search, capture, rehabilitation and release of marine incident affected fauna. The program will provide volunteers with up-to-date information on capture and care techniques for sick, entangled or oiled seabirds, shorebirds and pelicans. It will also deliver trained wildlife rescuers and first aiders to a wider area along the coastline of NSW through a series of six training workshops.

BirdLife Australia

From an education and community engagement point of view, there is still a lack of understanding about powerful owls (Ninox strenua) and their habitat requirements in urban areas. Education and community involvement is critical to ensure their long-term conservation. Effective communication with land managers and councils is vital for the coordinated management of powerful owls and other urban species that are living across broad areas that cross council boundaries. This project will be building on the success of 5 years of monitoring powerful owls in Greater Sydney by addressing gaps in:

• knowledge about their ecology (such as territory size and dietary analysis)
• threats they face (such as car strike, inappropriate fire regimes and disease)
• expanding the project to other nocturnal birds.

Bushwalking NSW Inc.

This project aims to:

• introduce NSW ‘Outdoors and Adventure’ meet-up group members (and visitors to online bushwalking mediums) to the principles of caring for nature. This includes Leave No Trace, adventure conservation, volunteering in national parks, and bush regeneration. A professional electronic communication campaign to enrol them in a monthly newsletter, Leave No Trace training, and/or a bushwalking club to equip them to enjoy safe, Minimal Impact Bushwalking
• build the capacity of our existing 69 member clubs and existing 12,000-plus members and subscribers to follow the Leave No Trace principles
• actively engage with all these individuals through our website, a professional monthly newsletter and face-to-face training which interests them in the environment, environmental conservation, deepens their sense of ownership of our environment and empowers them to work together to protect and enhance the natural environment.

Conservation Volunteers Australia

This project will support Conservation Volunteers Wild Futures and/or Nature’s Classroom programs. Community education and capacity building is a major driver of the behavioural change that leads to long-term successes in conservation. These programs aim to increase community resilience through the protection, maintenance and restoration of the environment – landscapes, habitats, species and heritage. The works and activities will engage all levels of the community in delivering practical projects, workshops, school programs, indigenous training opportunities and awareness/fundraising campaigns across NSW.

EDO NSW

EDO’s project will support the continuation of the NSW Environmental Law Line. This service provides free initial legal advice on planning and environmental law matters to members of the NSW community. The service is available to everyone and access to the service is not means tested. There is no comparable service provided in NSW. The Law Line currently operates five days per week to meet demand. Each day it is staffed by a duty solicitor who is responsible for taking calls and providing oral or written advice to the client.

Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife

This project will further:

• understanding the value of Private Land Conservation (PLC) through conducting interviews and surveys to measure the benefits of voluntary PLC, as well as developing a matrix to calculate social return on investment
• promoting PLC by producing a promotional video showcasing work of volunteer landholders. Growing PLC by encouraging councils to covenant land by informing them of the benefits, assessment, information and grants available etc
• nurturing PLC by running grant writing workshops to increase the capacity of landholders to apply for funding through bodies including FNPW, Landcare, Local Land Services etc.

Keep Australia Beautiful Council (NSW)

Development of a ‘LitterLess’ resource for NSW schools, communities and business to educate and encourage individuals to reduce litter in their communities. The basis for the project is designed for school years 4 to 7 and provides students with authentic learning contexts in which to respond to litter and littering issues. This resource will be broadened and introduce adult learning concepts and information: creating a kit that is fully adaptable to litter learning for schools, corporate information/volunteering days, and community and volunteer education.

Landcare NSW Inc.

This project builds upon the local focus of the Local Landcare Coordinator Initiative. It will provide opportunities at a regional level for the community to develop and support the delivery of targeted regional workshops, and for regional representatives to actively participate in and provide input to decision making at a higher level through quarterly state-wide forums. The topics chosen for the workshops will be driven by the needs identified by the community, and could include biodiversity, invasive species, water, biosecurity etc. The workshops, which are designed to share experiences and outcomes from local projects, as well as engaging with a range of partner organisations, will develop new skills and contribute to policy development and program implementation.

National Parks Association of NSW Inc.

Expand our ‘Bush Mates’ and ‘Dragons of Sydney’ programs into new areas to reach more people focusing efforts on urban communities that are close to national parks or remnant bushland in growth centres. It will also support our citizen science initiatives and education programs through the development of new/updated education resources (e.g. websites, information booklets). We will continue our community engagement activities such as interactive workshops, family friendly field days, dragon surveys and anti-bush littering campaigns. Project plans will be developed (in consultation with teaching staff) to align projects to the NSW school curriculum.

Nature Conservation Council of NSW

Our policy, education and community outreach work will engage community organisations in voluntary action to conserve native landscapes, wildlife habitat and our marine environment. We will educate our members and the public about the values of our natural environment and the importance of their participation in decisions that will affect nature in NSW. Our expertise and standing will allow us to effectively support members and individuals to engage in regional and state-wide policy decisions by providing accessible information in plain English and avenues to participate in the government reviews of our conservation laws and regional planning policies.

Total Environment Centre Inc.

This project will continue to support the activities of the Ocean Action Pod, which presents the problems and solutions surrounding plastic pollution in our oceans. This solar powered trailer will tour Wollongong, Bondi and Newcastle over coming months and is associated with community education outreach via schools, councils, social media hub and local community groups. Total Environment Centre wish to extend its life into 2017 as initial evidence indicates there will be a strong demand for a wider tour.

WetlandCare Australia Pty Ltd

WetlandCare Australia (WCA) will continue to host the Secretariat of the Australian Wetland Network (AWN). The two organisations will jointly host a capacity building program that includes wetland workshops and seminars to build knowledge, understanding, and skills for wetland management and conservation. Topics may include plant, bird and weed identification, Ramsar policy and practice, wetland issues and threats, and wetland management best practice. There will be opportunities for structured dialogue to build relationships and shared understanding between NGOs, wetland managers and government representatives, informing policy development and decision-making. We will also coordinate and promote World Wetland Day events in regional centres and support AWN members to do the same.

WIRES

WIRES is committed to:

• helping more sick, injured and orphaned wildlife faster
• the long-term protection of wildlife
• actively engaging the community in wildlife preservation.

To achieve this, WIRES will need to educate more people on how to protect native animals and native habitat. This will be done by:

• increasing ease of access to emergency rescue advice, particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse communities
• improving resources available for volunteers
• providing new ways for community members to get involved and access information, that will outline sustainable actions they can take to protect biodiversity, conserve native animals and their habitat.