Landscape Rehydration Workshop

On the 18th November, we held a Landscape Rehydration Workshop with David Hardwick from Soil Land Food and Erin Healy from the Mulloon Institute.

Participants learned basic principles of hydrology, how water moves in the landscape, and some techniques to slow the movement of water down.

If you missed the workshop or want to find out more about the benefits of nature-based solutions for flood risk management click here for a review completed by Dr Mitchell Kirby at Southern Cross University or check out the Mulloon Institute for more on catchment scale landscape rehydration.

Cultural arts day Dederang Primary School with Aunty Valda Murray

On the 2nd December children at Dederang Primary School were fortunate to participate in a cultural arts afternoon with Aunta Valda Murray and her grand daughter Charlotte. Children learnt skills such as weaving, rock and leaf art and had lots of fun!

KCLG will be hosting more events with Aunty Valda in the new year so keep an eye out in our newsletter for more details.

Yackandandah Landcare — Rowdy Flat Project

Yackandandah Landcare launched its Rowdy Flat project on the 11th of December. Working bees will start in late January on a new section of the Rowdy Flat trail to remove weeds and improve biodiversity. Yackandandah Landcare is encouraging everyone who is interested to come along and participate in this exciting new project.

For more information contact Gabrielle Bridge on 0421 925 154.

Soil Acidity Workshop, Friday 27th January 2023, 10am - 2 pm

KCLG and Aroecologist David Hardwick of Soil Land Food invite you to our hands-on workshop as we explore all things soil acidity & pH. Please bring along a cube of soil from your place so we can analyse this during the session. This is a free and catered event welcome to all. It will take place at the Kergunyah Hall, with morning tea and lunch provided.

We will cover: Soil acidity - what it is and why it is important; measuring soil pH and managing soil pH - exploring your options.

We will also analyse the pH soil test results of 15 property owners across the Kiewa Valley.

For further information, contact KCLG Project Officer Charles Daaboul at projects@kclg.org.au or on 0493268085

To register for soil acidity workshop click here

Reboot your Soil - 3-day course

KCLG is excited to invite you to join us for a 3-part face-to-face course with David Hardwick from Soil Land Food on how to "Reboot Your Soil Health". The course will run over three days ( February 24th, March 24th, and April 28th, 2023, each day from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm.

Venues are to be confirmed in the new year, but they will be situated within the Kiewa Valley.

All 15 participants will also receive a free agronomic soil test at their property.

This course will deepen your understanding of how soils work and build your confidence to manage your soils well. It is suitable for anyone on the land including graziers, dairying, cropping, horticulture, and small landholders.

This is a free course but limited to 15 spots for KCLG members only. If you are not currently a member but wish to sign up click here.

To sign up for the course or find out more click here.

Farming Carbon Conference, Tuesday 28th February 9.30 - 4.30 pm Beechworth

‘Exploring Soils, Trees, Productivity, Contracts and Farm Accounting’

Hosted by the North East CMA the Farming Carbon conference aims to support land managers, agriculture industry groups, Landcare participants, and industry staff in northeast Victoria in building their knowledge and understanding of carbon farming systems.

In a nutshell, carbon can be confusing, and there are many options to engage in carbon markets some of which are still evolving. There is, therefore, a need to promote awareness among land managers of what carbon farming is about, the opportunities available and processes required, the issues and pitfalls, and generally the keys to a successful carbon farming program.

To register click here

Registering flood damage in the North-East

NECMA is collating information on flood related issues following recent flooding across the region. This information is being logged in their system and will assist NECMA to develop a flood recovery bid to the State Government. NECMA do not currently have a flood recovery program in place but after the floods recede they will be able to undertake site inspections of identified sites for this bid. To register any flood issues (on private or public land) please follow the following link:

Report waterway issues on Snap Send Solve (necma.vic.gov.au)

If people do not have internet access call 1300 216 513 and let CMA staff know you wish to log a case.

Upper Kiewa Landcare Working Bees

Upper Kiewa Landcare in Mount Beauty holds working bees most Saturday mornings to undertake various activities such as weed control, planting, track clearing and maintenance of a number of Landcare sites around the town. If you are interested in joining these bees please contact John Gibbons on 0407 520 542 or email warrawongnatives@bigpond.com to obtain information on weekly site locations, times and activities being undertaken.

Yackandandah Landcare Working Bees

Yackandandah Landcare holds working bees the first Sunday of each month to undertake various activities such as weed control, planting, track clearing and maintenance of a number of Landcare sites around Yackandandah Creek and nearby wetlands. If interested in joining these bees please follow Yackandandah Landcare on Facebook or contact Michelle Croker on 0477 417 449 or Jo Millar on jmillar@csu.edu.au.

‘Maximising Ecosystem Opportunities to fit your business: Carbon' Webinar Recording

If you missed this webinar hosted by Landcare Australia its well worth a viewing:

Go here to watch

Agriculture Victoria - The Fast Break Newsletter

Agriculture Victoria have released their latest edition of The Fast Break providing seasonal climate information for Victoria. The newsletter includes oceanic and atmospheric climate driver activity over the last month and summarises three month model predictions for the Pacific and Indian Oceans, rainfall and temperature for Victoria.

To find out more about upcoming climate predictions for the region and to suscribe to The Fast Break newsletter click here or watch the latest seasonal climate information click here.

"What is Regeneration?" - a short film from Damon Gameau, Nick Maher and the "2040" team

Earlier this month Damon and regenerators team launched our new short film ‘What is Regeneration?’ with a livestream event across YouTube and Facebook. The film features a global assortment of regenerators including Jeff Bridges, Christiana Figueres, Kristy Drutman, and Paul Hawken all introducing the idea of regeneration. If you missed it, follow the link here.

KCLG Soil Carbon Series Videos - available for viewing now!

As part of our wrap up to the KCLG Soil Carbon Project, we have produced four soil carbon series videos and a case study video highlighting the results and learnings from our four demonstration farms trials.

To access all these videos and find out more information on our soil carbon project you can go to the KCLG Soil Carbon website page here.

Expression of Interest for Incentives for weed control and revegetation on the Lower Kiewa River

KCLG have partnered with NECMA on the Lower Kiewa River Murray-Darling Basin Healthy Rivers Program to help deliver non-mechanical woody weed control, revegetation and fencing activities for the reach of the river from Kiewa River to the High Country Rail Trail crossing on the river near Baranduda.

We are now calling for all interested landholders who wish to access funding for revegetation and woody weed control along this stretch of river. To fill in an expression of interest form http://bit.ly/3UZFZZQ

Financial support for farmers affected by the 2022 Floods

The Victorian Government has a range of financial support packages for flood-affected farmers and primary producers, which includes:

• Primary Producer Recovery Grants: Up to $75,000 grants to cover the cost of recovery and get businesses up and running again

• Rural Landholder Grants: Up to $25,000 grants to cover the costs of disaster impacts for small-scale producers

• Primary Producer Concessional Loans: Up to $250,000 to restore or replace damaged equipment and infrastructure, or to cover the short-term business expenses

• Primary Producer Transport Subsidies: Up to $15,000 to support the transport of emergency fodder or stock drinking water, and the movement of livestock

For more information, visit the Victorian Primary Producer Flood Recovery Package.

Agriculture Victoria - On Farm Action Plan Pilot

This program aims to build the emissions literacy and capability of participating farmers, growers, and the broader agriculture sector including the advisory sector. It forms part of the Victorian Government's commitment under the Agriculture Sector Emissions Reduction Pledge to provide practical information, tools, and services to support farmers to understand and reduce emissions.

A key objective of the pilot is to develop a variety of farm emissions case studies to maximise insights across commodities, farm sizes and geographic regions.

The pilot will work with up to 250 farm businesses across the State to measure their on-farm emissions profile and identify potential actions to manage and reduce emissions while maintaining productivity and profitability. Participants in the pilot will be provided with a report that estimates their farm’s emissions profile and an On-Farm Action Plan with suggested options on how to measure, manage and reduce their farm’s emissions profile.

The package is now currently open for sheep graziers and expressions of interest close on the 31st of January 2023.

For more information or to submit an expression of interest click here