Who’s Who in the Landcare Zoo?

Landcare is celebrating it’s twenty-fifth birthday this year. But what is Landcare today?

For a background on the development of Landcare, this publication is great, it highlights the organic development of the Landcare movement, especially the individuals and groups involved.

If you want to engage in Landcare, who do you talk to?

Here is my mud-map of the Landcare movement, the various actors and their roles – from the ground-up:

Primarily Individuals and Volunteers

• Farmers: the essence of Landcare, caring for their land to improve production and the environment
• Landcare Group: a group of farmers coming together in a locality to plan, and share ideas and resources (usually incorporated as an association or not-for-profit company)
• Parkcare, Coastcare or other-Care Group: like Landcare Groups, but rallying around a cause other than the farm
• Landcare Network: a collection of groups that gets together to share ideas, develop programs and promote landcare regionally (sometimes incorporated, often a routine get-together)
• State-wide Landcare Groups: sort of like ‘peak bodies’ for Landcare in each State (usually incorporated as company or association)
• The National Landcare Network: a collection of individuals purportedly representing Landcare constituents in each State and Territory

Non-government Organisations (largely supporting the above, one way or another):

• Focussed-expertise and supporting capacity: for example, Greening Australia
• Landcare Australia: the national organisation established to administer the brand, and raise awareness and support for the Landcare movement
• Regional bodies: established to deliver baseline capacity for natural resource management and funded by the Australian Government – some are non-government organisations

Government Organisations and their Officers (largely supporting the above, one way or another):

• Regional bodies: as per above, but depending on where you are in the country, some of these are State Government entities
• Regional Landcare Facilitators: Australian Government funded positions out-posted around the country, to facilitate landcare
• National Landcare Program: the Australian other Government program to invest in developing sustainable Australian landscapes – employs officers and administers grants and kinds of support
• National Landcare Facilitator: an Australian Government supported role to support Landcare, nationally

So when you are seeking to engage Landcare it is worthwhile taking a second to think about who you are engaging with and what their role is…

If I have missed anyone or mis-represented anyone, please shout-out and I will update it…

JC