18th Birthday celebrations for Landcare SJ

Jarrahdale Primary School planting day

Landcare SJ is celebrating its 18th year since its incorporation in November 2002. The group works in partnership with the SJ Land Conservation District Committee to address landcare and natural resource management issues, through collaboration with the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, community, Government Agencies, NGO’s, business and other stakeholders.

Landcare SJ’s focus is on empowering the community to help realise its vision, “to provide the means for the community to care for the land today, in a way that will leave it better for tomorrow.”
As such, Landcare SJ supports and coordinates the activities of local community environmental groups, landholders and schools in projects on public and private land to achieve:

• A reversal in land degradation;
• Promotion of best practice land management;
• Conservation and restoration of habitat for native flora and fauna; and
• Improvement of water quality in river systems, drains and wetlands.

Landcare SJ is managed by a volunteer Board consisting of local environmentalists, farmers, business people, academics and landholders, and operates as a registered charity through the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission. Employing less than three full time staff equivalents, largely funded by the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale, operations and on-ground projects are funded through grants, enterprise income, contract work, partner contributions and donations.

Much of Landcare SJ’s work assists and delivers on the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale’s environmental goals and objectives through projects such as the free verge plant program, Healthy Habitats Biodiversity Stewardship Program, and the enhancement and protection of Shire bushland reserves.

Over the years, Landcare SJ has delivered a broad range of projects, workshops, presentations and field days on issues including sustainable agriculture, biosecurity and equine landcare. Each year, Landcare SJ supports local revegetation projects with schools and community planting days in the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale and North Murray, including National Tree Day events, and an increasingly popular R U OK? planting day and morning tea in Jarrahdale.

The groups design for an artificial breeding hollow for Black Cockatoos, the Cockatube, has been adopted across Australia to reverse the decline of all Australian species of Black Cockatoo. It has been particularly successful in addressing the loss of breeding habitat for the Carnaby’s Cockatoo in Western Australia.

Looking forward, Landcare SJ aims to maintain its momentum through strategic partnerships and community, to build environmental capacity and deliver sustainable natural resource management in the region.