Our network representatives are fresh back from the NSW Landcare Enabling Program 2024 State Gathering. This event involved 3 days of talks, presentations and workshops held at North Head Quarantine Station near Manly, on Gayemagal Country.
The photo above was taken after a very moving and memorable Welcome to Country Ceremony. Landcare NSW Aboriginal Partnerships Manager, Den Barber led the 140 strong gathering to the Smoking Ceremony site. We were invited to walk silently, one-by-one, in the footsteps of The Rainbow Serpent, listening to Country. The Welcome was spoken by Aunty Leanne King who poignantly shared that she was the first to speak her language on Gayemagal Country in many, many years.
The 2023-2027 NSW Landcare Enabling Program funded by the NSW Government, is a collaborative initiative of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW empowering Landcarers to take action on local problems and deliver outcomes that address local and regional issues. The program funds Regional and Local Landcare Coordinators to support volunteer groups. The theme of the Gathering was Adaptation and Innovation. Participants gained a deeper understanding of the Landcare Enabling Program, made new connections, and picked up new ideas to drive innovation back in their regional communities.
Issues discussed included improving the visibility and voice of Landcare across NSW, volunteer recruitment, secure and sustainable governance and funding beyond the next four years, Aboriginal Partnerships, monitoring results and forming 1-100 year visions for Landcare and its impacts on biodiversity, natural landscapes, agriculture and community connectivity.
NSW Landcare CEO Turlough Guerin said of the event:
“The State Gathering is an opportunity for our Coordinators and Host Organisations consisting mainly of Landcare groups to input into the four-year Program which is funded until June 2027 and apply learnings to assist in delivering outcomes in their communities in the future.
“Landcare’s strength lies in the strength of its grassroots, community movement – it’s about local people doing work on the ground to provide local solutions to local problems.”