Grassroots Grants supporting local communities to make a difference

News article |

A total of 31 projects have been successful in this year’s Murraylands and Riverland region 2021-22 Grassroots Grants program.

Posted 19 October 2021.

Projects in the Murraylands and Riverland region are being supported through levies collected by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board, and is one way that the landscape board supports communities to take action for the benefit of the region.

Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board Chair Dianne Davidson AM said, grassroots grants are an important way the board is supporting the local community to make a difference to the management of the region’s landscape and natural assets.

A total of $330,000 has been invested in Grassroots Grants funding and will be shared between regional not-for profit groups to deliver projects that align with the five regional priorities of the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Plan, such as:

Sustainable agricultural and pastoral landscapes

  • removing barriers and supporting women in agriculture through professional development
  • soil health knowledge field days – connecting soil scientists and farmers
  • building soil knowledge for farmers and agriculture students.

Sustainable water use

  • educational resources promoting a healthy river and water literacy
  • strategic removal of introduced pest plants like spiny rush (Juncus acutus).

Healthy rivers, wetlands and floodplains

  • reed removal to improve environmental flows in the Riverland
  • supporting the community to collect scientific data about our wetlands
  • mitigating lakeshore erosion with the strategic planting of reeds.

Healthy natural landscapes

  • workshops for volunteers about restoring habitat and food plants for fauna
  • habitat restoration in the Mallee for threatened species like Malleefowl, western pygmy possum and regent parrot
  • landholder planting events putting threatened species back in the ground.

People at the heart of landscape management

  • nature walks and bushcare and propagation training for new arrivals to Australia
  • training volunteers in propagation and supporting community nurseries
  • connecting birdwatching to citizen science using BioCollect.
  • supporting volunteers with tools and materials to control weeds and restore habitat.

Ms Davidson said the Grassroots Grants program is all about supporting our local community based organisations, volunteer groups and individuals who work at a local level to help in the management of the Murraylands and Riverland region.

Minister for Environment and Water David Speirs said the Grassroots Grants program is aimed at local projects that contribute to improved management of the environment.

“The Marshall Liberal Government’s Landscape SA legislation is an historic reform of how we approach natural resources management in South Australia,” he said.

“It’s all about a back-to-basics approach and giving local communities a greater say in how we manage our natural environment.”

For a full list of the successful projects, head to the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board’s website.

The Grassroots Grants Program is supported by the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board through funding from the landscape levies.

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