Grassroots Grants
2022 Grassroots Grants applications have now closed.
About the Grassroots Grants program
The Grassroots Grants program aims to support individual landholders, volunteers, schools, community organisations, First Nations and not-for-profit groups working locally for environmental and sustainable agriculture benefits.
This year will be the third round of the program and will amount to a total of $220,000 being distributed across the community. There are two tiers of grants available - small grants up to $3,000, and larger grants for projects up to $20,000. Both tiers are open to all eligible applicants.
Projects must be within the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board's footprint. This includes the whole of the Adelaide Hills, Alexandrina, Mount Barker, Victor Harbor and Yankalilla council districts and some of the Onkaparinga council district. See a map here.
Media Release - The Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board is pleased to announce the 2022-23 round of Grassroots Grants.
For an idea on the types of projects likely to be eligible in 2022-23, please see our “Successful 2021-2022 grant recipients” below.
Successful 2021-2022 grant recipients
Here are the 37 successful projects and how they will improve or protect the local environment.
Applicant | Project name | Project focus | Location |
Paul Mathews | Replants for infill in 6ha of insectary planting biodiversity project | To plant native plants noted for their insect attracting attributes to continue the maintenance of the 10,000 plants already planted on the 6ha insectary and biodiversity area. This revegetates and restores the native vegetation in a 400 meter section of Willunga Creek increasing the biodiversity of the area and region. | Whites Valley |
Sarah Carlson/Geoff Hayter, McLaren Vale Biodiversity | Continuing Community Led Landscape-Scale Replanting and Restoration by Biodiversity | Build on the biodiversity improvement gains made possible by a Grassroots Grant received in 2020 to deliver landscape-scale, habitat restoration projects in currently degraded creeklines in the McLaren Vale wine region (the Willunga Basin). | Whites Valley |
Ben Simon, Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association (GWLAP) | Replacing rusty nursery benches at Alexandrina Community Nursery | Replace benches at the Alexandrina community nursery which is managed by GWLAP with 15 volunteers and supports the growing of more than 40,000 local native seedlings annually. | Goolwa |
Lyn Wells, Echunga Community Association Incorporated | Echunga “love your creek”Stage 2 | To continue the cleaning up efforts and removal of invasive non-native species, and planting sedges and native grasses along the creek bank. | Echunga |
Joshua Droogan | Little Gorge Creek and Shelly Beach Dune Revegetation Project. | 1900 plants (grown by project leader) will be planted by a range of volunteers. Local contractors will remove the difficult woody weed in the creek line and along the coast. including wilting succulents and prickly pear. The project will improve the biodiversity in the area and improve coastal dune habitat for the hooded plovers that nest in the area. | Wirrina Cove |
Ben Simon, Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association (GWLAP) | Enabling the Strathalbyn Natural Resource Centre Nursery | To purchase 2 heavy duty nursery benches to enable the use of small space at the rear of the Strathalbyn Natural Resources Centre to grow up to 8000 native plants for use in local revegetation projects. | Strathalbyn |
Alan King | Woody weed control at 'The Clifftop Reserve' , Point Sturt, Nr Clayton Bay, SA. | To continue the revegetation and removal of woody weeds, mainly sodom apple,and calthrop. It will provide another walking trail to the Lake edge which will, along with appropriate signage, enable visitors to access the Lake and appreciate the natural beauty, history and ecological importance of the area. | Clayton Bay |
Michael Cornish | Revegetation of Sunnyspring Glen Reserve | Revegetation to expand and build resilience of a threatened remnant candlebark gum woodland biome in Sunnyspring Glen Reserve. Candlebark / manna gum woodlands are only found in a small number of high rainfall valleys in the Mount Lofty Ranges. | Aldgate |
Karen and Chris Lane | Tloperi revegetation project. | To continue understorey restoration by purchasing locally indigenous plants from nearby Community Landcare nurseries for the continuing recovery of Anisynta cynone,Theclinesthes albocincta, Hesperilla flavescens, Neophyma elegans, Neophyma chrysostoma, Phaps elegans and other rare species now recorded on the property. | Hindmarsh Island |
Jennifer Warner, Unitarian Church | Get help to significantly reduce an infestation of Holcus and prevent its further spread. | To employ contractors to help remove the Holcus before seeding this year on the Shady Grove site. | Littlehampton |
Simon Lewis, Friends of Nurragi | Nurragi Conservation Reserve: Enhancing Community Awareness | The Nurragi brochure (Nurragi Conservation Reserve: Following the old Sandergrove to Milang railway line: a Walker's Guide) is a vital tool for enhancing community awareness about the Reserve but is almost out of print. This project entails the reprinting of 3,000 copies of the brochure, to be installed in on-site brochure dispensers and at information centres at Strathalbyn, Milang and Goolwa. The project also includes voluntary work by the Friends of Nurragi to maintain the walking trail. | Milang |
Huppatz Family Trust - Tony Huppatz | Further re-vegetation of dam and creek | The planting of 240 understorey (ie small trees, shrubs, sedges and rushes) with corflute guards (for 200 plants) in the 2 Hectare dam and creek area. We intend to provide an understorey to the existing and planted Eucalypts and provide more variety to the riparian zone together with further stabilisation of the spillway, its batter banks and the creek. | Macclesfield |
Gavin Malone | Lot50-Kanyanyapilla - Ecological and Cultural Signage | Design, fabrication and installation of signage outlining the geological, ecological and cultural history of Lot50-Kanyanyapiila (L50K) and the aims/facets of long term ecological regeneration. | McLaren Vale |
McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Association | Sustainable Vineyards in the McLaren Vale Wine Region (2) | This project will build the capacity and capability of wine grape growers in The McLaren Vale Wine Region to adopt and continuously improve sustainable land management practices. Ten vineyards representing 150 ha will achieve certification under the National Wine Industry Sustainability Program – Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA). | McLaren Vale |
Adelaide Hills Wine Region | Improving Water and Soil Management Through Monitoring in the Adelaide Hills Wine Region | To promote education and behavioural change among grape growers in the Adelaide Hills to improve water and soil management through the broader adoption of soil-moisture and -temperature monitoring technology. | Balhannah |
Biodiversity McLaren Vale | Maximising Habitat Restoration Success in the Willunga Basin into the Future in Partnership with Biodiversity McLaren Vale | To further support the landscape-scale habitat restoration objectives of the Tree Hugger program. To permit the application of best-practice pre-planting site preparation and post-planting weed management by contracted bush care experts to maximise the opportunity for successful establishment of each individual Tree Hugger-sponsored plant. | Whites Valley |
Sixth Creek Catchment Group | Re-establishing Biodiversity in Sustainable Riparian Habitats of the Sixth Creek | Weed eradication and rehabilitation at three riparian worksites from the top reaches of Sixth creek and down to the confluence of Sixth creek with the River Torrens. To continue the rehabilitation of the only permanently flowing water course in the central Adelaide Hills and support diversity in this biodiversity hotspot. | Basket Range |
Macclesfield Bushcare Group | Strengthening community connections with the cultural and conservation values of Macclesfield’s reserves and waterways. | To engage with the Peramangk people to build wider community connections with their cultural understanding of caring for country, and our local waterways. To develop interpretive information and signage in Macclesfield’s most well used reserves and hold a community event. To empower landholders to restore riparian habitats on their properties. | Macclesfield |
Angas River Catchment Group | Protecting and restoring high value habitat through weed control and revegetation. | To continue with important woody weed control and revegetation work on two Council reserves - the Forrest Road Reserve Complex containing 12 hectares of EPBC listed Peppermint Box Woodland and also the revegetated wetland area on North Parade, Strathalbyn. | Strathalbyn |
The Forktree Project | The Forktree Project | Restoring an extensively cleared 53ha former pastoral property by planting c.15- 20,000 native trees and shrubs, and sequestering tens of thousands of tonnes of CO2 to help combat climate change. To set up a native seed nursery and rare seed orchard to grow native plants. To trial improved methods of calculating carbon for small/medium sized rural landowners. To educate community re environmental stewardship; provide curriculum-specific educational content to schools and model proactive sustainable practices. | Carrickalinga |
Friends of Woorabinda Bushland Reserves Inc | Riparian Biodiversity and Habitat enhancement of the Woorabinda Bushland Reserves. | The removal of willow Salix species within the tributaries of the Reserves. Revegetation of the watercourse to improve the natural biodiversity so as to facilitate native habitat. | Stirling |
Trees For Life | Community Bushcare in the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula | Supervise volunteers to tackle high priority weeds in quality remnant bushland sites. Engage the community in meaningful onground action, contribute to biodiversity outcomes and address priority weed issues. An Introduction to Bushcare Workshop will also be held to train landholders and volunteers. | Crafers |
Finniss Catchment Group | Finniss River Riparian Improvement | To remove woody weeds in the riparian zone of the Finniss River between Alexandrina Road and the confluence of Bull Creek with the Finniss, allowing native species to regenerate and infilling where necessary. | Finniss |
Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association | Community Planting to reconstruct threatened habitat at JAKEM Farm | The continuation of large-scale habitat reconstruction at JAKEM Farm will be supported with a further 2,000 local native seedlings planted by community groups and volunteers at a planting event to be held in 2022. | St Ives |
Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association | Growing Young Environmental Experts in the Coasts and Ranges | To connect young people with nature and for them to then share knowledge with fellow students and teachers via nature-based forums to develop stronger connections with the natural environment and deepen their understanding of environmental issues. | Strathalbyn |
Fleurieu Farming Systems Inc (FFS) | Provision of a network of weather stations across the Fleurieu Peninsula with the data linked and available on the Fleurieu Farming Systems website | To establish a network with existing weather stations plus another 3 new weather stations across the Fleurieu Peninsula. The information from stations will be linked to our website so farmers will have access to real-time data from across the area. | Myponga |
National Trust of South Australia | Removal of priority weeds at National Trust SA reserves | This project will involve equipping and upskilling volunteers using professional bushcare contractors to identify and remove priority weed species from high-quality native vegetation including wetlands on National Trust SA reserves. | Bridgewater |
Hills Biodiversity Incorporated | Springs to Summit Habitat Regeneration Project -Extending the biodiversity value of the Mount Barker Summit area | To revegetate approximately 10 hectares, plus add paddock trees to 80 hectares of degraded land spread over four private properties in Mount Barker Summit. | Nairne |
Prospect Hill Bushland Group | Seeds to Seedlings – Propagating and Planting Threatened Plants of the Bull Creek Range | Training landholders in best-practice propagation and translocation protocols of seeds to augment or establish new subpopulations of species that are of conservation concern in the Bull Creek Range. This will help to increase species’ resilience against threatening processes such as fire and climate change. | McHarg Creek |
Cape Jervis Coastal Community Group | Expand and protect high-biodiversity coastal heathland through weed control and revegetation | This project will: - reduce the olive threat through weeding - fund contractors to supplement volunteer weeding efforts freeing up more volunteer time for growing, planting and protecting rare and endangered plants | Cape Jervis |
Girl Guides South Australia | Douglas Scrub weed removal, revegetation and community resources. | This project will undertake weed eradication of the Pedlar Creek and adjacent area. | Blewitt Springs |
Friends of Mark Oliphant Conservation Park | Bandicoot Habitat Restoration in Mark Oliphant CP | Rehabilitating native vegetation through the reduction of invasive weeds in the former Loftia Park area of Mark Oliphant Conservation Park, thus restoring native vegetation and improving the quality and health of the habitat utilised by the endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) and other fauna. | Heathfield |
Friends of Black Hill & Morialta Inc | Black Hill Watercourse restoration | This project will undertake weed control works by hosting working bees with volunteers and engaging weed contractors to perform control works in high quality intact bushland. The outcome is to safeguard known threatened species habitat sites in the long term. | Montacute |
Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association | Hills and Coasts Community Group Alliance | This project will support the formation and administration of an alliance of environmentally focussed community groups working in the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges and surrounding areas. | Strathalbyn |
Trees Please! Landcare | Protection and regeneration of remnant native bush at The Cedars | To remove woody weeds from remnant native bush. | Hahndorf |
Patricia Les | Sheoak Hill Weed Management & Revegetation | To assist with reinstatement of a fence line lost in the fires and assist with targeted weed eradication focussing on five key areas of variegated & soft thistle and/or blackberry & broom. | Basket Range |
Hindmarsh Island Landcare Group Inc. | Ferryman's Reserve: A developing biodiversity and educational resource for Hindmarsh Island's rehabilitation. | This project will engage a weed control contractor to continue weed eradication at Ferryman’s Reserve. | Hindmarsh Island |
2020-21 Grassroots Grant recipients
Some great projects have been developed by the 2020-2021 grant recipients!
2020-2021 Grassroots Grants recipients
Applicant | Project name | Project focus | Council area |
Sixth Creek Catchment Group Incorporated | Re-establishing biodiversity in sustainable riparian habitats of the Sixth Creek | Sixth Creek Catchment Group (SCCG) will work with Friends of Merchants Road and and Friends of Lower Sixth Creek to continue long term rehabilitation of Sixth Creek with weed control and revegetation work | Adelaide Hills |
Echunga Community Association Incorporated | Echunga #LoveYourCreek | Rehabilitate 2.8 hectares at the headwaters of the degraded Echunga Creek catchment and adjacent riparian land by undertaking weed control and re-planting with native tubestock | District Council of Mount Barker |
McLaren Vale Grape Wine and Tourism Industry Association Incorporated | Sustainable vineyards in the McLaren Vale wine region | The project will support grape growers through events and online and hard copy resources through the nationally accredited Sustainable Winegrowing Australia Program | City of Onkaparinga |
Prospect Hill Bushland Group | Banking seeds for the Bull Creek Range | Seed collection from regionally rare or less-common species in the Bull Creek Range, for banking and propagation as an insurance against fire events and climate change | District Council of Mount Barker & Alexandrina Council |
Mark Andrew Koolmatrie (Tribal Expertise Facility) | Aboriginal knowledge/values for Fleurieu Swamp species | The grant will produce a published and internet-accessible PDF and hard copy format Guide to Aboriginal Knowledge and Values in Fleurieu Swamps, for use by visitors and landholders | Alexandrina Council |
McLaren Vale Biodiversity Project Incorporated | Community-led landscape-scale habitat restoration | A pool of 500 volunteers working at community field days to plant 6000 native tubestock over 6ha,undertake weed control and maintenance of creeklines | City of Onkaparinga |
Encounter Lutheran College Incorporated | Block 69 revegetation: butterflies, birds and bugs | Installation of fencing to create a 10 acre sanctuary of Sedge Grass wetland - which is home to the highly threatened Sedge Skipper Butterfly.Will include protection and revegetation of Gahnia Filum tubestock, through planting and weed control with signage | City of Victor Harbor |
Willunga Basin Trail Incorporated | Building capacity for ongoing trail maintenance | This project will deliver a training and development program for work team leaders. It will provide a dedicated trailer for storing and carrying all tools and equipment | City of Onkaparinga |
Willunga Environment Centre Incorporated | McLaren Vale cellar door tree trail | Volunteers and staff will work with cellar door staff to place information tags on native trees at participating wineries in the McLaren Vale wine region. The tags will show the importance of the tree in relation to climate evidence and biodiversity | City of Onkaparinga |
Emily McAllan | Berry Road swamp restoration | Collect baseline data and work with industry professionals to undertake fish, plant, fauna and aquatic survey. A video, management plan and event will occur to deliver the information to the local community | Alexandrina Council |
Friends of Black Hill & Morialta Incorporated | Morialta threatened species habitat protection | Approximately 100Ha of high quality intact bushland in known threatened species habitat safe guarded from new woody weeds in 2020. Update weed maps of these sites to direct any required follow-up works | Adelaide Hills Council |
Climbing Club of South Australia Inc | Morialta Crag Care | Deliver in Morialta Conservation Park the ongoing protection of approximately 3Ha of bushland cleared of woody weeds, 250 seedlings planted for critical habitat for the threatened Cunningham skink with follow up works to maintain and expand the area. | Adelaide Hills Council |
Normanville Natural Resource Centre Incorporated | Heritage Fleurieu coast tree trail interpretive signage | The project will deliver interpretive signs to engage visitors with the natural heritage of the district, communicating the tree's contribution to the environment including size, shade and oxygen provided and amount of carbon dioxide removed | Yankalilla Council |
Neale Dyster and Angela Neville | Controlling Montpellier Broom outbreak following a prescribed burn | Controlling a mass outbreak of the introduced weed Montpellier Broom in a 17 acre target area that underwent a prescribed burn to protect and enhance the native understorey | District Council of Mount Barker |
Clayton Bay Nursery and Environment Group | Terry Way Reserve woody weed control | Community education on how manage / remove invasive environmental wattle Acacia saligna.'Friends of Terry Way Reserve' group has formed and will be supported to control Acacia saligna | Alexandrina Council |
St Michael's Lutheran School, Hahndorf, Incorporated | Hahndorf Creek Restoration Project Stage 2 | This project is Stage 2 and will enable the school to complete the restoration of their entire section of the Hahndorf creek. This will include fencing, weed control, spraying of weeds, along the creek line, planting of 150 native tubestock and monitoring | Adelaide Hills Council/District Council of Mount Barker |
Eastern Fleurieu R-12 School - Ashbourne Campus | EFS Ashbourne Bush School biodiversity project | The project will develop a masterplan to develop the Ashbourne Campus bushland. Biodiversity improvement will include the creation of a wetland habitatand through the building and installation of bat, bird and possum boxes.Students will be involved in the project and be engaged as citizen scientists | Alexandrina Council |
Jane McKenzie | Weed control from Mount Robinson Reserves and roadsides | The project will control all mature and juvenile weeds in the 2.5 hectare Mayfield Road Conservation Reserve. Social media will be used to engage with the community to increase participation at field days | Yankalilla Council |
Wine Grape Council of South Australia Incorporated | Extending EcoVineyards in the Hills and Fleurieu. | Six new demonstration sites will be established to showcase the use of native insectary plants in and around vineyards. One hectare of native grasses will be planted at each site with each EcoGrower receiving a photo point, microbat box and predator perch. A field day will be held in Spring 2020 and Autumn 2021 to share the planned activities and results with the broader community | Adelaide Hills Council |
Gavin Malone | Reed Swamp Regeneration Lot50 Kanyanyapilla | L50K is a reed swamp demonstration site where weed control and native tubestock plantings will continue. This ecological asset is made available to the public through ongoing open days, field days and other cultural events. Four informal mentorships have been undertaken at L50K with young people entering into, or undertaking, land regeneration formal training or projects | City of Onkaparinga |
New Springs Landcare Group Incorporated | New Springs bushfire habitat recovery | Purchase of 2000 paddock tree and shelter belt native seedlings for distribution to our New Springs Landcare Membership base. A minimum 20 properties in the upper Onkaparinga catchment | Adelaide Hills Council |
Angas River Catchment Group Incorporated | Peppermint Box Woodland rescue and restore | This project will engage a contractor to control Aleppo Pines, Bridal creeper, Scabiosa over a 12ha reserve and following up with revegetation of native tubestock to prevent weed reinfestation | District Council of Mount Barker and Alexandrina Council |
Trees For Life Incorporated | Weed control at Bushland Park | A contractor will be engaged to assist the volunteers of Friends of Lobethal Bushland Park to reduce the bulk of the dense populations of the noxious weeds Montpellier Broom, Tree Lucerne and Blackberry and to reduce fuel loads and improve biodiversity | Adelaide Hills Council |
Goolwa Coastcare Group | Goolwa Coastcare actively managing priority coastal remnants | 30 hectares of priority coastal vegetation will be improved via targeted weed control works. | Alexandrina Council |
Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association Incorporated | Strathalbyn Natural Resource Centre supporting the community | The project will deliver a resource for the community to access environmental information and support. Citizen Science projects will be undertaken and support will be given to local schools around biodiversity and sustainability projects. Four workshops and a forum will be held for local environmental community groups | Alexandrina Council |
Rotary Club of Victor Harbor | Biodiversity Enhancement of Hindmarsh River surrounds | The project will undertake the removal of pest plant and animals from the Hindmarsh River and follow up with replanting of medium and lower layer to support the remnant large River Red Gums | Alexandrina Council |
Nicholas Dommenz | Griffin Gully watercourse and swamp restoration | The project will undertake revegetation of the Griffin Gully watercourse by planting tubestock sourced from Trees For Life and with the assistance from volunteer growers | Yankalilla Council |
Finniss Catchment Group Incorporated | Finniss River Riparian Improvement | Weed control along 670m of the Finniss River followed by regular working bees with follow up weed control and strategic revegetation | Alexandrina Council |