FNPW Community Conservation Grants - 2019 Grantees

FNPW’s Community Conservation Grants program contributes to the protection of Australia’s native species, habitats, landscapes and cultural heritage by providing funding for field projects and education programs that have a direct nature conservation outcome.

In December & January we received 70 applications for our small grants round from across Australia. Projects were from a wide variety of organisations and individuals and covered all of our main priority areas of threatened species conservation, cultural heritage, parks for people and land and water conservation.

The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife’s Project Committee, made up of representatives from our Board and Life Members of FNPW judged each and every application on it’s merits against the grant criteria to select just 10 projects for funding.

The Projects Committee would like to thank all those who put together applications for this years grant round. We know that many of the organisations that submit projects for funding are run by small, but passionate groups of volunteers and that much time and effort goes into securing funds for their important projects.

The following ten projects were allocated funds in this years small grants round:

Project Name	Conservation Focus	Lead Organisation	State
Protecting the Red-tailed Phascogale in Katanning	Threatened species recovery	Katanning Landcare	WA
Busy Bees: educating and engaging local kids in native bee protection	Environmental education	Wagga Wagga Urban Landcare	NSW
Roydon Island African Boxthorn Control	Land and water conservation	Friends of Bass Strait Islands	TAS
Upgrading the Fagus Walking Track at Mount Field	Parks for people	Wildcare Friends of Mount Field	TAS
Yesterdays stories: Heritage drive from Wollongong to Bega	Cultural heritage	Yesterday Stories	NSW
Currie Wharf Bush Restoration	Cultural heritage	King Island NRMG	TAS
Weed management and restoration of native vegetation on Deal Island	Land and water conservation	Wildcare Friends of Deal Island	TAS
Eco-acoustic monitoring of Leadbeater’s Possum and Powerful Owls by citizen scientists	Threatened species recovery	Victoria National Parks Assoc.	VIC
Youth Wildlife Ambassadors	Parks for people	Phillip Island Nature Parks	VIC
North of the Tully – endangered fauna corridors	Threatened species recovery	Brettacorp	QLD

 

More information

Roydon Island African Boxthorn Control – On the Home Stretch:  African Boxthorn is a thorny scrub that grows up to 5 m high and 3 m across. Grown close together it forms a spiky wall that you cannot get through. It is an aggressive invader of pastures, roadsides, reserves, remnant bushland and waterways. Since 2011, the Friends of Bass Strait Islands have worked on eradicating the African Boxthorn located on the Roydon Island in an effort to protect the local species and habitats. With the help of volunteers, donations, and FNPW funding, the primary eradication has been completed, with 30,000 square meters of land being revegetated.

Busy Bees: Educating and Engaging Our Local Kids in Native Bee Protection: With the support of volunteers and FNPW grant, Wagga Wagga Urban Landcare ran two successful Kids Native Bee Hotel workshops. A total of 116 people from the local community participated in these workshops, learning about the importance of native bees and providing vital habitats for them through construction and installation of bee hotels and bee baths, and encouraging suitable plantings and retention of nesting sites.

North of the Tully, Endangered Fauna Corridors: Queensland based Brettacorp Inc. planted over 2000 native trees with the help of volunteers to help regenerate the local habitats and landscapes. They also assisted in the protection of our threatened species, such as the Southern Cassowary and Mahogany Glider, as they benefit from these native trees and food source species. Community event days were held to educate the locals about the environment to continue the recovery of threatened species, populations, and ecological communities.

Upgrade the Fagus Walk Track at Mount Field: The Wildcare Friends of Mount Field upgraded the popular Fagus site at Lake Fenton. Current boardwalks that were unstable were repaired, making it easier for visitors to walk along these 370 metres of track and better enjoy the beautiful vegetation. By moving large rocks off the track and by carting gravel to repair the damaged track, this upgrade allows for easier walking as well as preserving the local landscapes.

Youth Wildlife Ambassador Program: With the support of the FNPW grant, the Phillip Island Nature Parks successfully implemented the Youth Wildlife Ambassador program. Seven young ambassadors were selected to participate in the program, where they monitored the threatened species of Eastern-barred Bandicoot and Hooded plover populations, encouraged community members and visitors to be responsible pet owners, and raised awareness for the species on Phillip Island.