PACA is fortunate to have a number of members who are farmers and as South Gippsland has a large farming industry, Farmers for Climate Action are an important and inspiring group for us.
FCA’s end of year newsletter detailed some of their wins over the past year, included the launch of their low emissions ag report, bipartisan support for a net zero goal and being recognised as one of the top three climate advocacy orgs in Australia. Here are a few more details quoted from the report, but much more is available on their website if you are interested: https://farmersforclimateaction.org.au/
§ In September FCA launched our new EY-authored report How can Australia’s agriculture sector realise opportunity in a low emissions future?, which was produced with consultation from farmers, industry stakeholders and climate change experts. The report found that farming families can diversify their incomes, increase productivity and profit from strong climate policy, and that agriculture can increase productivity whilst it easily achieves net zero emissions by the year 2040.
The report was launched at a webinar with Peter Walsh (leader of the Vic Nats) and Fiona Simson (president of the National Farmers’ Federation), which attracted nearly 1,000 RSVPs. Peter shocked many of the attendees with his strong support for strong climate policy, a net zero by 2050 goal and his disappointment in his federal counterparts. The report achieved strong media attention (over 660 hits in fact!), particularly from rural and conservative media outlets including Sky News, The Australian, The Weekly Times and Seymour Telegraph.
§ On the eve of the UN climate talks in Glasgow, the Nationals’ party room supported a net zero by 2050 goal. This paved the way for a Federal Government commitment, which while not enough, was a real step forward. I’m really proud to say that Farmers for Climate Action played a role in making bipartisan support for this goal possible, thanks to our work with conservative MPs, the National Farmers’ Federation, which set a net zero by 2050 goal last year, and the general conversation shift that’s happened in rural and ag sectors as a result of our work.
§ In the coming days, FCA will reach the incredible milestone of 7000 farmers.
Friends of the Prom has been able to continue working on core projects despite being affected by Covid restrictions. These projects are:
§ Sea Spurge removal to restore Hooded Plover habitat at Picnic Bay and Squeaky Beach.
§ Koala Habitat Restoration on Yanakie Isthmus involves tree planting (Swamp Gums), very sturdy tree-guard building (capable of protecting young seedlings from being destroyed by grazing animals - deer, rabbits, kangaroos, wombats and wallabies) and maintenance of these trees. The original habitat, along with its population of koalas, was lost about 100 years ago when the early settlers cleared the area for farming.
§ Restoring vegetation at Tidal River to restore the tree canopy and bushland understorey through the camp ground. As the original tree canopy is diminishing through natural ageing and storm damage, the remaining trees find it harder to withstand high winds and too many of the larger trees are being lost. Natural regeneration of bushland is not happening because of browsing animals (deer and wallaby) and trampling by humans. The seedlings planted were raised from seeds and cuttings collected by FotP around Tidal River and grown by them in their nursery at Tidal River.
§ Grazer monitoring on the Yanakie Isthmus
FotP working bees coming up soon are a beach rubbish clean-up day on sat. 3rd Feb and 3-days of sea spurge removal Friday 25th to Sunday 27th March – see the website for more information: https://friendsoftheprom.org.au/
South Gippsland Landcare Network has a number of local branches, each working on their own projects to restore and protect the environment. Recent workshops and on-going projects include “Your Backyard, Our backyard: Weed ID & control workshops”, a citizen science fauna monitoring project including training workshops, a Soil Biology Project with training days, Regenerative Grazing field days, the Community Action Pest Animal & Weed Project and introduction of a new tool to control rabbits, gorse & serrated tussock. See the website for more information: https://www.sgln.net.au/
Coastcare Victoria (DELPW) has some Gippsland Projects, from the Lang Lang foreshore in Western Port Bay, around Phillip Island to Mallacoota in eastern Victoria. They offer a range of learning experiences and videos in their annual “Summer by the Sea” program: https://summerbythesea.vic.gov.au/whats-on/
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