Written by Tiphanie Boyd
I’ve been volunteering with West-Hume Landcare since moving back to the area almost 10 years ago. As a committee member and secretary, I help organize meetings and projects ranging from tree planting to assisting university students with endangered species studies. I believe that if everyone gave a little of their time, together we could make a big difference.
Volunteering has brought me new skills, friendships, and a sense of purpose. It even inspired me to join WIRES, where I rescue and rehabilitate native animals. Releasing them back into the wild is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had — proof that every effort, no matter how small, is worth it.
We work mostly with landholders in the area to identify problems such as salinity, erosion, habitat loss and threatened species then use these findings to implement solutions and secure funding to remedy these issues. I think anybody could enjoy Landcare volunteering as there are aspects for everybody, it’s not all about planting trees.
One of my particular favourite events is the nature journaling held at our beautiful headquarters “Wirraminna – Environmental Education Centre’’. This is a personal inflection activity while journaling about what can be seen and reminds me of mindfulness meditation as it helps to slow down my mind while enjoying nature and getting some much needed fresh air.
One of my favourite projects I participated in was the Squirrel glider LAMP or (Local Area Management Plan). This project aimed at identifying populations of threatened squirrel gliders in our area and then creating wildlife ‘corridors’ to connect remaining habitat by revegetation and installation of nesting boxes to reduce the impact of loss nesting site by land clearing.
We then reviewed the impact of this initial effort after 10 years increased their numbers from 819 to 1294. This increase led gliders to be present at my property where there was none beforehand, this is such a great result and gives me hope for the future of biodiversity in Australia to exist alongside primary production.
Click here to learn more and get involved in Landcare!
Charlie blog is a SSAF funded initiative.
