Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards
Individual Caring for Private Land category – Janet Truscott and Grant Murray
The leading lights of our local environment were recognised today when the winners of 2010 Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards were announced at a celebration held at Zinc, Federation Square, Melbourne.
The 2010 Port Phillip and Western Port Landcare Awards celebrate the environmental contribution that individuals, community groups, schools and councils make to the environment undertaking activities that improve the quality of land but also influence, educate and inspire others to make a difference.
The winners were presented by former Victorian Premier and founder of Landcare Joan Kirner AM and special guest Dr Rhonda Galbally AO former CEO of Our Community.
Janet Truscott and Grant Murray, from the Main Creek Catchment Landcare Group were recognized on the weekend for their contribution within the Individual Caring for Private Land category.
Janet and Grant have been an influential couple on the Mornington Peninsula, not only improving their property ‘Boonoorong’ near the Mornington Peninsula National Park, but also inspiring their neighbours to undertake their own activities to improve the landscapes nearby.
The pair purchased the property in 1997 and for the last 13 years have worked to build their dream of a ‘refuge for wildlife’-turning a personal dream into a community movement.
Their desire to create this natural wonderland, saw them transform a grazing property into a wildlife-friendly environment, undertake weed control and through well-planned action – return the land to more like the way it was before European settlement.
To date, they have planted over 4,000 indigenous plants, removed 90 Pinus radiata trees and collected and propagated local seed. Additionally, they have been influential in developing wildlife corridors from their property to Green’s Bush in consultation with their neighbours and have also developed a seedbank which can be used by landowners in the area.
They have been involved in the Mornington Peninsula Shire Fauna Survey, received a Weedbusters award for weed eradication and control and their property has been used as a demonstration farm, location for field days and venue for the local bird watching club. They continue to encourage other landholders to rehabilitate their own properties and reap the benefits of the natural environment and visits from local flora and fauna
The premise of the landcare movement is that action makes a difference. The Landcare movement has grown from a group of farmers that came together to address erosion in the 1980s to become both a known brand (Landcare Australia) and a way to care for the land through community action.
These days, landcare activity also encompasses the work of ‘friends’ groups and ‘committees of management’ who often form because of a shared desire, or need, such as controlling weeds next to a walking track, or helping protect an endangered species.
All winners will now be nominated for the Victorian landcare Awards in 2011.
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