Get involved in the Autumn Moorabool Landcare Festival

THE Moorabool Landcare Festival is a year-long series of seasonal events designed to inspire, educate, and connect the local community around environmental stewardship and sustainable land management.

Delivered by the Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group (MCLG) and funded by the Moorabool Wind Farm Community Fund, the project will provide accessible and engaging opportunities for residents to learn about their local environment, gain practical skills, and develop a deeper connection with their landscape and community.

The first seasonal event to be delivered is the Autumn Moorabool Landcare Festival, which will be held Saturday 16 May at the Ballan Library and Community Hub from 10am.

With the autumn planting season ahead, the theme of this first festival event will focus on revegetation and property planning.

There will be a wide range of activities and speakers on the day and the festival will run in collaboration with the Moorabool Shire Council’s annual native plant giveaway, which will be all happening in the library courtyard.

 

Residents who have registered will be eligible to collect five free local indigenous plants to enhance biodiversity in their own backyard. More local plants in the ground means more food and habitat for our birds, insects, reptiles and frogs across our shire. You can register to grab your five free plants.

Our two keynote speakers on the day will be Helena Lindorff and Janine Duffy. Helena lives locally on the edge of the Brisbane Ranges National Park and has over 25 years of experience in revegetation industry, 15 years of which was as the Grow West coordinator.

Helena recently helped tailor the Healthy Hectares guide to the Moorabool region, which is a ‘how to’ of property management and which she will be presenting on.

Janine Duffy also lives locally on the edge of the Brisbane Ranges and is currently president of the Koala Clancy Foundation. Janine has a wealth of experience in hands-on revegetation with a focus on large-scale restoration and creating habitat for wildlife, in particular koalas. Janine will be presenting on her revegetation experiences locally, the koala planting guide she has developed with Melbourne Water, and new revegetation techniques they have been trialling.

 

There will also be a field trip to the Ballan Primary School where attendees can see a native planting that was delivered collaboratively between the school and MCLG three years ago. Attendees will be able to see what a successful revegetation site can look like, the benefits it has to wildlife, and hear from the school about the positive impacts it has had for students.

We will also be inspecting the many wildlife nestboxes that were also installed on the school grounds with a pole camera to see what wildlife has made their homes in them. A fantastic activity for children.

Joining us at the library are a host of community and conservation groups ranging from Gardens for Wildlife, Landcare, Community Pest Management, and Trust for Nature.

These groups will be in the library courtyard all day to speak with locals and pass on their knowledge about all things conservation and environment.

 

A fantastic opportunity for people to connect with local groups, learn about what is happening locally and how they can contribute.

Jackson Cass, Landcare coordinator, Moorabool Catchment Landcare Group, said it’s exciting to deliver a series of events that focus on the seasonality of the natural environment and shine a light on the work local groups do.

“We hope to connect residents with the many local environmental groups that operate in our area,” he said.

Duffy, meanwhile, said the festival is a great initiative.

“I think the community will love it. Whenever I am at public events or just walking in the bush, I get questions from locals about koalas, especially what trees to plant for them,” she said.

“I think our community is really interested in helping wildlife in our region.”

 

Roger MacRaild, Landcare facilitator, Moorabool Landcare Network, said there are many and varied challenges facing our landscape and environment.

“It’s great to have access to so many groups and projects in one place that present so much hope,” he said.

“Drop by to see opportunities that suit varied capacities to chip in and make the place that little bit better.”

Lindorff said revegetation doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

“Small steps on individual properties add up to something truly significant for our local landscape,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to sharing practical, achievable approaches that anyone living in the Moorabool region can take away and put into action.”

There is something for everyone and lots to learn at the Autumn Moorabool Landcare Festival. You can find more information at facebook.com/MooraboolCatchmentLandcare

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