In the Beginning...

Regional Activities and Contacts

The Victorian government in the mid 1980s introduced a program where community groups were actively involved in planning and implementing natural resource management projects. The approach was to deal with several land degradation issues rather than single issues and the groups were neighborhood based rather than peer based. In 1986 this program was registered in Victoria under the name of LandCare.

It was in the late 1980s that the Dunecare program was developed in NSW with the formation of community groups along the coast. The success of Dunecare provided a model for developing independent and autonomous landcare groups in NSW.

Although there were some landcare type groups in NSW before 1989, it was during this year that landcare started to accelerate.

1989

54 Landcare Groups

The years 1990 to 2000 were declared the 'Decade of Landcare' by the Australian Soil Conservation Ministers. NSW along with the Commonwealth and all other states and territories develop Decade of Landcare Plans which aim to reverse and prevent land degradation and achieve sustainable land management.

Landcare Australia Ltd is established by the Commonwealth government. It aims to increase community awareness of Landcare and raises funds from the corporate sector.

The NSW Landcare Support Program commences.

1990

81 Landcare Groups

The first joint TCM/Landcare newsletter produced.

The NSW Landcare Working Group is established as the peak body for NSW Landcare. It originally consists of government agency representatives, but later expands to include community representation. It eventually has a majority of its members as landcarer representatives, as well as aboriginal and local government representatives.

The Landcare Logo is developed by graphic designer Cliff Burk working with Bill Fairbanks of Landcare Australia Ltd. The logo consists of two parts - the shape of two hands holding Australia, and the word landcare in the Australian colours of green and gold. It symbolises the landcare ethic - a caring attitude to Australia and action to repair and protect our land.

The NSW regional support structure at the time consists of nine regional specialists and a handful of landcare coordinators.

1991

181 Landcare Groups

Landcare Month launched in NSW

The first NSW Landcare Awards are held. Winners participated in the first National Awards held in this year.

1992

344 Landcare Groups

Australia Post launched a set of five Landcare stamps. The stamps featured five top landcare issues - salinity, tree planting, dunecare, farm planning and soil erosion. The launch was held at Martin Plaza at lunchtime on 11 June by Don Burke.

The Roundup National Treefest in Uralla was a field day organised by landcare groups where over 6,000 people attended from four states as well as local, state and national media.

The NSW Decade of Landcare Plan is released. Its goals include:

• Increasing community understanding of sustainable land use and its benefits
• Ensuring that government policies make sustainable land use possible
• Increasing research, education and financial support for sustainable land use
• Achieving sustainable land use by the adoption of appropriate practices
• Identifying and monitoring the condtion of the land as the plan is applied

The National Landcare Program is established by the Commonwealth Government. This provides funds for community projects and is later integrated with the Natural Heritage Trust.

1993

475 Landcare Groups

The Farming For The Future program began in November 1993 to encourage a whole farm, property, financial and social planning approach to natural resource management. The program has helped thousands of farm families, property managers, and landcare group members to work with bankers, accountants, agribusiness, agencies and the community to implement sustainable and viable agricultural and environmental practices. Participating organisations were NSW Agriculture, DLWC, NPWS and NSW Farmers’ Association.

A one dollar coin celebrating Landcare is minted. 18 million of these coins have been released into circulation.

1994

650 Landcare Groups

Landcare Australia Limited launches the Landcare Foundation to encourage businesses to fund 'grass roots' landcare group projects and promote group activities. The NSW foundation is established in 1995.

The Sydney Royal Easter Show features a Landcare Display each year until 2001

1995

799 Landcare Groups

The Angry Anderson Challenge aims to plant one million trees in the Murray River area within the space of a week. It involves many landcare groups, communities & schools planting thousands of trees. It focusses on urban involvement through media such as A Current Affair and is particularly successful in raising awareness and boosting participation in landcare in NSW. Some groups tackled large projects that were previously considered too daunting – because of the help and assistance offered from schools, community groups, sponsors and agencies. The plantings involved about 10,000 volunteers. According to ratings supplied by Channel Nine, an estimated 1.5 million viewers watched the 1 hour television special screen in prime time.

The first National Landcare Conference is held. Subsequent national conferences are held in 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2006.

1996

980 Landcare Groups

The Landcare Facilitator project starts. Twelve facilitators employed to encourage formation of networks of landcare groups. These networks are more coordinated and effective in tackling large problems

In October 1996 the total catchment management (TCM) and landcare communities combined to hold the first Statewide TCM/ Landcare Grassroots Forum at the University of Western Sydney, Richmond. Some 350 delegates participated in workshops addressing issues in four broad categories: communication, vision, structure and resourcing.

The Landcare Working Group facilitated the appointment of an Aboriginal representative to the Working Group to represent indigenous views and interests.

Tasmanian landcarers paint a dead tree sited on the highway between Hobart and Launceston red, to highlight the issue of tree decline. The image captures the imagination of many people and becomes the inspiration of the red tree campaign of 1997 and the gold tree campaign associated with Olympic Landcare in 1998-2000. The gold tree at Marulan on the Hume Highway (the main road between Sydney and Canberra and Melbourne) is one of these trees.

1997

1220 Landcare Groups

Launch of the Olympic Landcare project.

The Natural Heritage Trust programs commence, providing funds for natural resource management by community groups.

1998

1380 Landcare Groups

The second Statewide TCM/ Landcare Grassroots Forum, titled 'Changes, Challenges and Opportunities', was held in Orange in September 1998. About 450 people attended the forum, which aimed to progress the issues which came out of the first forum. It also provided the NSW landcare and TCM community with an opportunity to share information and ideas. Major items discussed at the forum included a new structure for NSW landcare and challenges for TCM and landcare in the next 10 years.

The Lithgow community hosts the 1998 Olympic Landcare project, assisted by a range of state and local stakeholders, national sponsors and SOCOG. The project involves planting approx. 30,000 trees, grasses and shrubs in degraded areas around the Cox’s River Catchment in September 1998. Seven hundred school children attend a special schools' day as part of the event. The Lithgow community receives the Australia Day Community of the Year Award in January 1999 and the Olympic Landcare Project plays a significant part in the achievement. 700 people from Sydney were brought to the site by the Olympic Landcare Express, the first of a number of special landcare trains that brought volunteers south to Goulburn and north to Newcastle.

The Landcare NSW website is established.

The first issue of the magazine Australian Landcare.

1999

1450 Landcare Groups

A Landcare exhibit was held at the Australian Museum

Olympic Landcare takes a daily trainload of city dwellers, urban landcare group members, national sponsors and SOCOG representatives to Goulburn for two days of tree planting and awareness raising.

2000

1550 Landcare Groups

Olympic Landcare has 70 sites throughout NSW with activities and plantings, with many occurring in the inaugural Landcare Week in August. Most official sites dedicated their plantings to a local or favorite Olympian or Paralympian. Many of these athletes personally took part at their local Olympic Landcare site.

2001

1584 Landcare Groups

The third Statewide Landcare/Catchment Management Forum for NSW, ‘Dollars for our Sense’, was held in Parkes on 31 August/1 September 2001. Over 500 participants attended the Forum which also included the NSW Landcare Awards Ceremony and Best Management Practice presentations by Awards finalists.

NSW releases its Evaluation Report on the Decade of Landcare.

The Community Landcare Information On-line (CLIO) website is established.

2002

1665 Landcare Groups

The completion of the first phase of the Natural Heritage Trust

NSW Landcare groups are featured on the covers of the 2002/2003 White Pages (Telephone Directories).

The Aboriginal Community Support Officer positions are developed. One of the purposes of these positions is to assist indigenous community groups to plan and implement landcare projects.

2003

1746 Landcare Groups

The fourth NSW Landcare and Catchment Management Forum "Stayin' Alive" was held at Batemans Bay on August 28-30.

There are over 130 regional and local community support staff supporting Landcare in NSW (as of June 2003).

2004

1784 Landcare Groups

The NSW Landcare Working Group is abolished on 23 January 2004.

2005

1809 Landcare Groups

The NSW Landcare Committee has its first meeting on 10 August 2005. The Committee is the new peak body for NSW Landcare. A majority of its members are community representatives, with a representative each from State and local government.

The fifth NSW Landcare/Catchment Management Forum "Leaving Smaller Footprints" was held at Wagga Wagga on August 18-20.

Landcare Australia Ltd launches Landcare Online - a National Online Database of Landcare Groups

2006

1828 Landcare Groups

2007

1874 Landcare Groups

Community Landcarers from all over NSW meet at the Landcare Muster at Tamworth. They agree to form Landcare NSW Incorporated, a body designed to allow grassroots Landcarers in all catchments to keep in touch with the NSW Landcare Committee.

The sixth NSW landcare forum, the Namoi State Landcare and Landscape Management Forum, was held at Tamworth on 25-27 October.

2008