Fourteen projects receive Grassroots Grants funding
Tackling weeds at Iron Knob, monitoring Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby populations with the Yappala Indigenous rangers and development of two different native plant guides were among projects funded by the SA Arid Lands Landscape Board in its latest Grassroots Grants round.
Posted 02 August 2021.
Funds were also provided to Nature Foundation Limited to extend thermal technology trials on its Hiltaba and Witchelina nature reserves, which could change the way monitoring surveys are undertaken in the future.
Fourteen projects from around the SA Arid Lands region, including Port Augusta and Flinders Ranges Council areas, received almost $100,000 in funding in a competitive grants round that attracted a diverse range of applications from every corner of the region.
Successful applications focused on the Landscape SA pillars of community capacity building, pest and weed control, biodiversity protection and monitoring, along with land and water management.
SA Arid Lands Landscape Board Presiding Member Ross Sawers said having a fully subscribed Grassroots Grants round was proof that Grassroots Grants were both welcome and needed in the region.
“I was impressed with the applications received, including a high number from the Port Augusta-Quorn region, which joined the SA Arid Lands region on July 1 last year.
“I look forward to seeing the difference the funding will make to support local landholders and communities deliver outcomes across the diversity of successful projects from within the many districts of the SA Arid Lands region.”
Grassroots Grants replaced the Board’s previous Community Grants program in 2020, and are now offered annually in each of the State’s Landscape regions, as part of the Landscape SA 2019 Act.
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.”
The next round of applications will open in mid-2022.
For more information about the successful projects visit www.landscape.sa.gov.au/saal
