Support for landholders who want to conserve their habitat

Rural Landholders encouraged to apply now for extra funding which will allow more projects to be undertaken.

Ken Williams and Adrian George on their 40-hectare property at Georgica, which they have turned from degraded paddocks into a native habitat sanctuary over the last 25 years. The pair were named winners of the Individual Rural Landholder Award at the inaugural Lismore Biodiversity Awards last Friday night. Picture: Terra Sword

RURAL landholders are being encouraged to submit an expression of interest for Lismore's Rural Landholders Initiative after council received extra funding from the state government.

The $100,000 NSW Environmental Trust Grant will go towards expanding on-ground activities in its Rural Landholder Initiative for 2018 and 2019.

The initiative is a key project in council's Biodiversity Management Strategy and includes on-ground environment restoration, landholder field days and the development of key educational materials.

The grant funding will provide labour and materials to regenerate more than 50 hectares of high conservation value native vegetation, including endangered ecological communities, threatened species habitat and riparian land.

Ten of the properties will then be showcased in future landholder field day events to demonstrate the rehabilitation techniques to more than 300 other rural landholders.

Council's Environmental Strategies Officer Kate Steel said the Rural Landholder Initiative was already over-subscribed with interested landholders and the $100,000 is a very welcome addition.

"This will allow us to undertake works on many more properties and ensure those landholders who wish to conserve high conservation value habitat on their land have the support to do so,” she said.

"Right from the word go, we have been overwhelmed by the response from landholders to the Rural Landholder Initiative. Our local farmers and landholders are proud stewards of their land and want to see enhanced biodiversity and productivity.

"They see the value in improving their own property, and in turn helping to create corridors and habitat networks across the Local Government Area.

"This grant allows us to increase the areas we are covering and the landholders we are working with. All the Environmental Trust money will go into on-ground works with private rural landholders. It's really very exciting.”

Successful projects will receive up to $10,000 in labour and materials to be matched in-kind by landholders.

The Rural Landholder Initiative Expression of Interest is open until 25 January 2018. For more information and to apply, visit www.lismore.nsw.gov.au.