From levy to landscapes: SA communities making Grassroots Grants work hard

The Grassroots Grants program, a six-year strong initiative by SA’s landscape boards, puts local people in the driving seat to make a difference where it matters to them.  

In paddocks, creeks, schoolyards and community spaces, committed locals from country towns and city suburbs are restoring native vegetation, improving soil health and protecting our wetlands. 

Practical ideas turned into action 

Grassroots Grants are designed to back practical ideas, helping community groups, farmers, schools, First Nations communities, councils and volunteer organisations turn their vision into action.

While each grant may be modest in size, together they form a statewide network of local projects that build resilience for the future.

Importantly, Grassroots Grants are funded through the landscape levy, meaning money collected from landowners is reinvested directly into the regions where it is raised. 

And decisions about funding priorities are guided by local boards who understand the challenges and opportunities unique to their landscapes, ensuring support goes where it can make the greatest difference. 

Throughout the 2025-26 round of Grassroots Grants, more than $2.6 million was invested in nearly 200 local projects across South Australia. 

Some of these projects have helped: 

• communities fence off sensitive waterways, 

• replace weeds with drought-tolerant native plantings, 

• trial innovative land management practices, and  

• involve students in hands‑on environmental learning. 

Appearing on council rates notices in July, the landscape levy is paid by property owners to help care for South Australia’s land, water and biodiversity. Grassroots Grants provide a clear example of how those funds are reinvested locally, empowering communities to lead practical landscape projects that directly impact their patch.

Taking swamp stewardship seriously 

For the school community at Mount Compass Area School, Grassroots Grants funding has empowered students to care for a rare and endangered local habitat. 

Located between McLaren Vale and Victor Harbor, the school is in the unique position to have a swamp on their school grounds. It’s part of the Fleurieu Swamps network, a nationally recognised and critically endangered ecological community found only in the Hills and Fleurieu region. 

The Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board’s Grassroots Grants program has helped the school purchase much-needed water testing kits and equipment and undertake swamp revegetation programs, providing grants in three separate rounds in 2023, 2024 and 2025. 

“We feel so privileged to be stewards of this special place,” said Principal Lucie Walker. “The swamp has significant First Nations cultural value, spanning thousands of years. As a community, we want to ensure that we do our best to look after it while it is in our care.” 

Growing community one native plant at a time 

Mid Murray Landcare SA has been a long‑term recipient of Grassroots Grants funding, using support from the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board to deliver benefits that ripple right across the community, from landholders and farmers to students and visitors. 

One standout project is the Mid Murray Landcare SA nursery, where local volunteers propagate native plant species to support shelter belts, bushtucker gardens, wildlife habitat and fodder plantings. The nursery has become a valuable local resource, supplying thousands of plants each year to projects both large and small. In a recent example, new local resident and Gardening Australia presenter Sophie Thomson sourced 3,000 locally grown native plants for her own rewilding project, demonstrating the reach and reputation of the nursery’s work. 

Revitalising the coastline through local leadership 

With Grassroots Grants support, members of the Adelaide Sailing Club have led a long‑term effort to restore and protect around 660 metres of coastline adjoining the club’s West Beach site. 

Local champion Alan Young and fellow club members have steadily transformed the area over several years, securing Grassroots Grants at key stages of the project to fund weed control, native revegetation and ongoing land management works. 

Working in partnership with SA Water and the City of West Torrens, the project has attracted hundreds of volunteers, highlighting the power of community involvement when local people are supported to act. To date, more than 12,000 native plants have been established along the site, helping stabilise the dunes, improve habitat for wildlife and restore the natural character of this well‑used coastal environment. 

Building resilient pastures 

Thanks to a Grassroots Grant boost, Kangaroo Island sheep producer Lachlan Florance has established 40 hectares of perennial pastures on his property near Parndana. 

The 2019-20 bushfires left the hilly property susceptible to erosion and water runoff, so with the help of funding from the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board, Lachlan focussed on introducing perennial grasses and herbs to improve groundcover and soil stability.  

From empty block to flourishing town welcome 

What started as a near‑empty block at the entrance to the outback town of Copley has grown into a much‑loved botanic garden, thanks to multiple Grassroots Grants from the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board and a lot of local heart. With funding for paths, plants, irrigation and signage, plus more than 1,000 volunteer hours, the Copley and Districts Progress Association has created a tranquil space that’s now home to more than 600 trees and shrubs, and plenty of native birds. Locals and travellers alike stop to admire it. 

In 2025–26, a $20,000 Grassroots Grant helped seal the deal, funding new fencing to protect the 6600-square metre garden from stock and kangaroos. Now, volunteers can keep planting rarer native species, confident their hard work will last.

Turning the landscape levy into local action across SA 

As councils prepare to issue rates notices in July, these projects provide a clear picture of how the landscape levy supports practical action and strengthens community resilience. 

Many landscape boards have now announced their 2026–27 Grassroots Grants recipients, with the next funding rounds expected to open in the new year. Community groups, landholders, schools, councils and volunteer organisations are encouraged to start shaping project ideas now, so they’re ready to apply when funding becomes available in 2027. 

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