Environmental Education grants awarded and project summaries

In 2025, the Environmental Trust approved 6 grants totalling $1,105,266.

Tier 1 approved grants (2 projects totalling $119,984)

Tier 2 approved grants (4 projects totalling $985,282)

Oz-GREEN Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (Australia) Incorporated 

Our Rivers. Our Future – $59,984 

The Bellinger, Kalang and Nambucca rivers are under growing pressure from tourism, land-use change and climate change. These threats are reducing water quality, riverbank vegetation health and biodiversity, threatening the endangered Bellinger River Snapping Turtle. 

In partnership with the Yurruungga Aboriginal Corporation, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and local councils, this project will build a connected, informed community network focused on caring for local rivers. It will train 270 community members to monitor water quality and macroinvertebrates at 21 sites, providing reliable data to guide river management. The findings will be shared through river health reports and online dashboards to support clear, evidence-based decisions. 

By combining scientific learning with targeted action-based education, the project will drive behaviour change to reduce pollution, prevent disease spread and protect riverbanks, helping to improve river health and biodiversity across the 3 catchments. 

University of Wollongong 

Two-Way Knowledge Exchange for Healthy Country: Smoke Science and Women’s Fire Knowledge – $60,000 

This project will support intergenerational transfer of traditional land management knowledge, preserving and revitalising at-risk women’s fire knowledge. Working with Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council and Yuin Elders, this project will strengthen cultural burning practices and build local capacity within the ranger team while also adding to modern smoke scientific knowledge. 

Cultural burns and hands-on training will be conducted, and smoke monitors will be used to show the ecological benefits of cultural fire. The project will help protect Country, build skills and preserve knowledge about women's fire business. 

The project will strengthen intergenerational knowledge transfer, build skills and leadership, and support culturally led land management for healthier Country. 

Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council 

Restoring River-Flat Eucalypt Forest Within the Lower Towamba River Catchment – $239,030 

Endangered River-Flat Eucalypt Forest along the Towamba River has been degraded by weeds, erosion and changes in land use, affecting biodiversity and river health. 

Landowners, volunteers and Aboriginal junior rangers, under the guidance of Eden LALC's senior ranger team, will learn practical restoration techniques, including weed control, erosion management, seed collection and revegetation using plants propagated from locally collected seed at Eden LALC’s nursery in Jigamy. The project will also expand the nursery’s seed collection and storage capacity to support future restoration. 

By reconnecting people to Country and achieving visible ecological improvements, the project will improve forest condition and connectivity, support healthier waterways, build local skills and strengthen cultural leadership in caring for Country.

ORRCA Incorporated

ORRCA Online Education and Training Platform – $249,570 

Marine mammals across New South Wales face increasing threats from disease, entanglement, vessel strikes and strandings. These increasing threats create strong demand for fast, skilled and coordinated rescue responses. 

This project will introduce a Learning Management System and structured training program for ORRCA’s licensed volunteer responders, catering for a range of skill levels. Volunteers will follow training pathways to strengthen incident response, animal welfare assessment, safe handling and accurate data collection. 

The program will improve consistency and data quality, allow rapid delivery of training during emerging threats, and expand trained responder coverage by 30%, leading to more effective rescues and improved conservation outcomes.

Positive Change for Marine Life 

Rewilding our Floodplains – Culture, Conservation and Community – $248,102 

The Brunswick River catchment is an ecologically rich and culturally important landscape, but it is under pressure from historical land clearing, invasive species threats and poor land management practices. 

This project will deliver cultural knowledge-sharing alongside hands-on restoration and riverbank stabilisation workshops. It will establish 6 demonstration sites and co-create ‘River Strong’, an interactive, illustrated online guide hosted on the Brunswick River Hub, an established community learning platform. This guide will make practical resources, training, and local stories widely accessible. 

By 2029, 3–4 hectares of riparian habitat will be restored and 2–3 kilometres of riverbank stabilised through Traditional Custodian-led, community-driven restoration. The project will improve habitat connectivity, strengthen community skills and participation, and increase recognition of Aboriginal values in land management. 

Singleton Council

Ecological Restoration of Hunter River Area in Singleton Local Government Area – $248,580 

The Hunter River corridor in the Singleton area is under pressure from weed invasion, habitat loss and flooding, reducing riparian condition and ecological resilience. 

This project will restore around 17 hectares of riparian habitat along 1.3 kilometres of riverbank through targeted on-ground works and community capacity building. Landholders, residents and volunteers will take part in bush regeneration, training and workshops focused on native species propagation, weed control, habitat monitoring and culturally informed land management practices. 

The project will reduce weed cover, increase native vegetation diversity and improve habitat for river red gums and flying-fox colonies, while strengthening long-term community stewardship of the river.

In 2023, the Environmental Trust approved 7 grants, totalling $980,538.

Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary

Eco Rangers Educational Program – $59,775

The Eco Rangers program is a comprehensive education initiative developed by the Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary. The program supports marine species and environments that are under threat, and tackles climate change issues. Young people will take part in the Eco Rangers program for a whole term. They will learn in a hands-on way, by caring for marine animals, cleaning up habitats, and rescuing and releasing animals. The program will also reach out to the wider community through social media and public Eco Ranger events. The Eco Rangers program is about getting people to take action for lasting changes in how they behave and think about environmental conservation.

Cumberland Council

Creating change one seed at a time – $60,000

To protect the future of Cumberland City Council's rare and threatened plant communities, we will collect seeds from local individual species from council reserves and private property. Through the collection and preservation of these seeds, the council will work to contribute to the protection of the unique genetic diversity of threatened species. In addition, we will support private property owners to become stewards of species through educating them on the role that individual plants can play in protecting our threatened ecological communities. We aim to protect our native endemic species for future generations by encouraging private landowners and residents to become stewards of threatened species and communities.

Murrumbidgee Landcare Incorporated

Linking generations for threatened species conservation – Murrumbidgee Landcare Inc – $60,000

This project will address habitat loss and fragmentation of endangered species, create connections between generations and build skills and knowledge by taking practical actions to enhance habitat. Young people will learn about species in their locality by developing educational resources about endangered species that reside in the Murrumbidgee Catchment. Students will connect with experts in the field and develop a meaningful understanding of the plight of these species. They will make a difference by planting trees, protecting trees with hollows, participate in citizen science, and make seed bombs. After building this knowledge, students will link with older community members, including Wiradjuri Elders, who will share their experiences to influence how young people value local habitat, and identify where they can make a difference locally.

Tweed Shire Council

Cultivating Tomorrow: Empowering Tweed Shire farmers through regenerative agribusiness mastery – $60,000

'Cultivating Tomorrow' will challenge the notion that 'it's hard to be green when you're in the red' by equipping farmers with advanced agribusiness skills so they can adopt regenerative agricultural practices. The project will build on Tweed Shire Council's existing collaboration with local farmers and include agribusiness educators and government agencies to overcome barriers to sustainable farming methods. Specialised short courses, workshops, coaching sessions, and support for farmer-led projects, backed by industry champions, will bring about behaviour change. These collaborative partnerships will be strengthened through formation of the community-led Tweed Regenerative Agriculture Information Network.

Hunter Region Landcare Network

Dry Rainforest revival Lower Hunter – $243,220

This important project will build skills in the Hunter community so that they can take action to protect the environment in the Maitland area. This is one of the most cleared areas in Australia, with low environmental awareness in the community and few opportunities to become involved in environmental action. The project will focus on the endangered Hunter Dry Rainforest to engage the community in tailored education programs that will teach different groups in ways that work for them. The project will show people how to take action in their own networks and work with government programs, and restore large parts of the Hunter Dry Rainforest across the region.

Mid Coast 2 Tops Landcare Connection

Eco Burn Education – Phase 2 – $247,583

Mid Coast 2 Tops Landcare is building on 2 years of community-based fire ecology education following the 2019 Black Summer bushfires. Based on feedback from community and industry partners to our Eco Burn Education phase 1 program, this project will deliver on-ground fire management education for private landholders through a series of tailored, interactive, skills-based workshops. By taking part in workshops, landholders will learn how to carry out ecologically responsible burning practices on their land and put their new skills into practice.

Western Sydney Parklands Trust

Guardians of the Park: Habitat restoration program for Western Sydney's adolescents – $249,960

Young people in Western Sydney will become 'Guardians of the Park' by taking part in a 10-week program run by the Western Sydney Parklands' education team. The project will focus on reconnecting parts of the Cumberland Plain Woodlands that have been cut off. Over 3 years, the project will protect threatened ecological communities and make streams healthier, so that the area will be more resilient to climate change. The project will restore and reconnect threatened habitats so that they create safe places for wildlife. The project will also help young people develop socially, and give them a sense of responsibility for the environment. They will learn practical skills and get their hands dirty by weeding over 1,800 square metres and planting 4,000 native plants. This will help the preservation and sustainable development of Cumberland Plain Woodlands in Western Sydney.

In 2022, the Environmental Trust approved 8 grants, totalling $1,126,846.

Muswellbrook Shire Council

Muswellbrook Sustainable Futures Network – $53,440

Muswellbrook Shire Council will develop a 'Muswellbrook Shire Sustainable Futures Network', a formal network of groups that will learn about, share knowledge and take positive action leading to behaviour change across the Muswellbrook Shire community. This project will provide existing community groups and their members with the resources needed to take action and lead the community towards changing their behaviour relating to mitigating, building resilience and adapting to climate change, while improving local biodiversity. The program will utilise local Aboriginal knowledge to connect the community to their local environment, as well as critical thinking, problem-solving and action to engage the wider community.

North Coast Regional Landcare Network (NSW)

Native Bee Project Stage 1 – $59,950

This project aims to rebuild communities, morale, and biodiversity after extreme flooding in northern New South Wales in February 2022 resulted in the devastation of the built and natural environment. North Coast Regional Landcare Network (NCRLN) will deliver an education module in flood-affected primary schools and preschools, focusing on nature's resilience and the native bee's role in a sustainable environment. Also included is the cultural significance of native bees to the local Indigenous community. The outcomes of this project will be an increase in the native bee population and awareness of their role as pollinators, as well as changed human behaviours at the community scale to increase biodiversity and positive environmental outcomes.

Positive Change for Marine Life

River Warriors: A community driven approach to the recovery and resilience of the Brunswick River – $57,096

This project will improve the long-term health, resilience, and stewardship of the estuarine section of the Brunswick River by establishing a community connection and a peer-to-peer capacity-building program. The project will bring key stakeholders together to strengthen the resilience of the Brunswick River, while building community custodianship for its future protection. The project will work with landholders, boat owners and anglers to decrease riverbank erosion, mitigate the impacts of human activity, increase the presence and health of native riparian vegetation, and connect endangered ecological communities. A suite of online communication tools will be created to allow project participants to map their restoration projects and connect them with other landowners in the area who will be undertaking restoration works.

Upper Murrumbidgee Landcare Committee

Landcare Tree Start: Growing the next generation of plants for the Monaro – $56,245

The Landcare Tree Start project will teach volunteers propagation techniques and bring together local growers, planters and people working on ecological restoration projects. These volunteers will be supported to grow plants in their own backyard, resulting in local plants grown by local people for revegetation projects across the Monaro. Working with Greening Australia, Aboriginal people and other Landcare groups in the area, the Tree Start project will allow landholders to connect with their landscape, engage with nature and contribute to conservation.

Australian Association of Bush Regenerators

Environmental Restoration Integrated Knowledge and Learning Platform – $250,000

Too often, ecological restoration projects do not achieve their full potential as they are compromised by a shortage of clear and consistent guidance for practitioners. Existing material is dispersed, sometimes hard to find, and often relies on existing knowledge to determine its utility. The Australian Association of Bush Regenerators (AABR) aims to bridge knowledge gaps by providing a single platform to provide access to best practice tools, information, guidance and education. Practitioners will contribute to creating the platform to help build knowledge and confidence in restoration programs. This will also allow project planners and implementers to apply appropriate methodologies to specific ecosystems and restoration needs. This will make restoration projects more resilient to climate change and extreme weather.

Australian Association for Environmental Education (NSW)

Empowering NSW Teachers Climate Action Journey through the Sustainability Connect Platform – $228,550

New South Wales needs to implement climate resilience/mitigation projects in schools. The broad challenge of addressing climate change leaves teachers feeling helpless, overwhelmed, and unsure of where to start.

This project uses social research, co-design principles, and market research to form an environmental education directory - Sustainability Connect. This project will empower teachers in the region to easily access tools and support to implement projects, make new connections, identify mentors, and establish a culture of recognition/celebration. Businesses/suppliers will gain the tools/knowledge to support climate mitigation projects and receive greater visibility. The project will occur in the Illawarra/South Coast of New South Wales, with future plans to rollout statewide based on the successful model established in the Illawarra.

Carbon 8 Fund Limited

Regenerative Agriculture & Biodiversity – Partners in Conservation – $250,000

The Nandewar Bioregion is a farming region of 2.7 million hectares, of which 96% is under landholder management, including broadacre and grazing properties. Clearing has left the region with small remnant pockets of 9 critically endangered and endangered threatened ecological communities containing 174 threatened species, and farming practices have degraded the land and its soils. Conservation on private land is now critical to conserve these ecosystems and species.

Working with farming landholders to co-design, identify and refine processes and practices will assist in regenerating threatened ecological communities and the species they support, while also addressing regenerative agricultural practices to build resilience to increasing pressures farmers face such as drought, flooding, and climate change.

OzFish Unlimited

OzFish Experience – $171,565

OzFish Unlimited (Ozfish) has established 22 chapters (groups of passionate locals dedicated to improving habitats) across New South Wales, facilitating 3,000 recreational fishers volunteering to undertake fish habitat restoration activities. As chapter numbers grow, OzFish seek to empower and upskill volunteers to increase their impact. OzFish Experience will provide volunteers with resources, and hands-on training in community leadership, water quality monitoring, habitat mapping, bush regeneration and small-scale erosion control to support threatened native fish species at 10 weekend events. The events will include a program of activities and discussions to increase the capacity of volunteers to restore habitat for threatened fish species. Training modules in community fish habitat restoration will be developed throughout the program to supplement the events. 

In 2021, the Environmental Trust approved 9 grants, totalling $978,103.

Byron Coastal and ICOLL Centre Inc

Byron Bay ICOLL (Intermittently Closed and Open Lake Lagoon) rehabilitation through citizen science – $56,930

Byron Coastal and ICOLL Centre Inc will engage citizen scientists in protecting and enhancing the Tallow Creek and Belongil Creek Intermittently Closed and Open Lake Lagoon (ICOLLS) in Byron Bay. Participants will learn about their function and significance for coastal management, particularly in the context of fisheries and climate change impacts; as buffers to coastal inundation and 'blue' carbon sinks. Participants will collect data and establish a knowledge repository of both formal and informal knowledge. This will inform strategies for restoring the health of ICOLLS. Informal and indigenous knowledge of the sites will be added to the formal data collected. Participants will develop plans of action to rehabilitate ICOLLS and advocate for ICOLL awareness and protection.

Griffith University

Promoting renewable energy adoption through e-waste upcycling – $60,000

This project promotes e-waste (electronic waste) recycling/upcycling for renewable energy adoption. We will establish PowerWells green energy charging stations at schools in Northern NSW to foster a sustainable living culture amongst youth. A PowerWell is a solar-charged energy storage device made from repurposed laptop e-waste batteries. School students will engage in onsite workshops to repurpose their e-waste to facilitate a renewable approach to powering personal IT devices. This initiative seeks to change students' attitudes towards their energy usage habits and get them proactively engaged in sustainable energy practices via e-waste upcycling. A research study will be conducted on the project outcomes to illustrate student uptake and charging trends.

Ku-ring-gai Council

Sustainable riding in nature – $28,500

Sustainable Riding in Nature will educate young people about the importance of the areas in which they ride, while they learn tips and tricks from experienced BMX and downhill mountain bike riders. The program will deliver 'Ride Lightly' educational events which aim to combine riding skills improvement with the delivery of information on the significance and sensitivity of threatened species, communities and areas of indigenous culture. It will also help council equip its 'Trail Care' volunteers with sound environmental knowledge to promote environmentally sensitive recreation in natural areas and align with the NSW Government Ride Lightly campaign of combining mountain biking and conservation.

MidCoast Council

Backyards for biodiversity in Smiths Lake – $59,740

Backyards for Biodiversity in Smiths Lake is a community education and engagement program designed to change understanding, attitudes and behaviour around the management of vegetation on private properties to minimise invasive weed spread into bushland and improve habitat connectivity for threatened species. Utilising behaviour change theory to assist in creating long term behaviour change, one-on-one education and citizen science projects will allow direct engagement with residents, while community event days and educational materials will be targeted to the specific community to address their barriers to change and facilitate long-lasting change for the local environment.

Murrumbidgee Landcare Association Inc

Connecting young people with nature: benefits for biodiversity, mental health and social connection – $60,000

Murrumbidgee Landcare will achieve positive environmental outcomes through an innovative collaboration between Landcare, local council, Headspace, and local school and community groups. This project is about connections: connecting young people to place, connecting adolescents with younger children to share learnings, connecting natural areas to improve biodiversity, and connecting with Wiradjuri Elders. We will move beyond learning about the environment in a classroom, to learning in and restoring our own environment by being engaged in hands-on work. We will provide self-direction within the learning, with opportunities to focus on art, literacy, numeracy and science. Underpinning the project will be the link between connection with nature and improved mental health and wellbeing.

University of Canberra

Environmental sustainability education program for the NSW construction industry – $60,000

The program will improve the awareness and skills of environmental sustainability for construction managers, engineers, and workers in New South Wales. An informative and visual guidebook will be developed by combining theory, practice, and assessment for mapping sustainable construction success. More than 10 free advisory, mentoring, workshops, presentation, and improvement processes will be implemented by cooperating and interacting with local associations, communities, and large and small construction companies. The environmental significance embodies itself in reducing energy and water consumption; decreasing emissions and pollution; improving waste recycling; using low-carbon, recyclable and renewable materials; and minimising construction activity impacts on ecosystems and wildlife. It can help support threatened species recovery and benefit climate change mitigation objectives.

Department of Planning and Environment

Creating community through communication: Using a systems-based framework to foster community engagement within the biodiversity and culturally rich Cessnock Forests – $250,000

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) Saving our Species (SoS) program is one of the biggest conservation commitments undertaken in New South Wales. The Saving our Species program is facing considerable challenges in effectively engaging the community to enact 'on ground' change. The Wonnarua Woodlands in the Cessnock local government area are a major site for threatened species and is culturally significant to the Wonnarua People. Currently some members of the broader community are so environmentally disengaged they take part in arson, rubbish dumping, illegal timber collection and four-wheel-driving. Leveraging a newly developed systems-based approach to communication, we will pursue a whole of system community engagement process to help drive systemic change.

Riverina Local Land Services

Box Gum Grassy Woodlands – transforming the value for landholders from bush to generational asset – $161,933

The project will transform the mindset of landholders on family farms, shifting value-driven decisions about endangered Box Gum Grassy Woodlands management and conservation. The Riverina region contains significant areas of Box Gum Grassy Woodlands vulnerable to key threatening processes with over 290,000 hectares on 8,000 landholdings, which are not bush paddocks with low productivity. The Box Gum Grassy Woodlands are a generational asset; a legacy for the next generation which requires active management and will contribute to generational wealth. This innovative project will motivate landholders with knowledge, skills, resources and support to actively manage and protect Box Gum Grassy Woodlands. Methodologies will engage and educate landholders and communities utilising research and resources, and provide mentors, training, support and assistance for implementing change.

Waminda South Coast Women's Health and Welfare Aboriginal Corporation

Grow harvest heal – saving our species through traditional food stories – $241,000

Australia's post-colonial food system has seriously degraded the environment – a result of the wilful and accidental neglect of the complex interconnections between food systems and the wider ecosystem. This has been compounded by the forced abandonment of the First Nations Australian practices of Caring for Country. Traditional agricultural practices worked in harmony with the land to provide for people, while also maintaining Country. The Grow, Harvest, Heal project re-establishes First Nations inextricable connection to caring for the gifts that Mother Earth provides. Drawing on knowledge from the world's oldest living culture, the project will demonstrate and share pathways to restoring endangered species by re-connecting to their original food story.

In 2020, the Environmental Trust approved 9 grants, totalling $1,041,656.

Bellinger Landcare Inc

Building the Bellingen Shire Regenerative Farming Network – $59,997

The kernel of the Bellingen Shire Regenerative Farming Network formed in 2020 after 2 farmer groups became active in the shire and responded to a marked increase in demand for local food during the public health emergency. Taking a true localisation approach, this project will engage landholders in on farm, peer to peer learning within an action research/action learning community development process to increase their capacity to grow and market food locally, delivering benefits for soil health, water quality, biodiversity, carbon capture and human health. External expertise will be sourced to address knowledge, and implementation gaps and findings will be shared throughout the shire and beyond. Twelve workshops and field days will provide participants with a sound understanding of regenerative agriculture practices within resilient mix farming systems. Landholders will be engaged in the practical application of tools on farms to achieve results specific to local conditions.

City of Canterbury Bankstown

Adopt a wetland – $60,000

Cooks River wetlands contain endangered species and communities and are vulnerable to sea level rise, changing rainfall patterns and impacts from urban growth. 'Adopt a Wetland' is a citizen science project where participants can learn together, gather data to understand their local wetland and then undertake conservation actions. The project will be codesigned with community members, technical experts and land managers and reported through an online portal. The project's capacity building program, online portal and other resources will be available for wetland groups across New South Wales to also monitor and act, contributing to the long-term resilience of wetlands. Adopt a wetland aims to increase the functionality and biodiversity and ultimately the resilience of wetlands within the Cooks River catchment and Botany area. Actions that restore and enhance biodiversity will be specific to each wetland and may include weed removal, habitat restoration, and cultural awareness raising and engagement opportunities for Aboriginal youth.

Macquarie University

Enabling Healthier Gomeroi/Kamilaroi Country through On-Country Classrooms – $59,908

Gomeroi/Kamilaroi Country on NSW's north-west slopes and plains, in the north-west of the Murray-Darling Basin, has experienced severe degradation over the last 100+ years due to intensive agriculture, grazing, and associated water management regimes. Current climate changes exacerbate these impacts as droughts become longer, floods and heat extremes more intense, and climatic zones shift, impacting species' viability and biodiversity. Through 2 successive On-Country Classrooms, this project will support transformative education programs that enable Gomeroi/Kamilaroi custodians and youth, environmental experts, management authorities and tertiary students (planning, geography, and science), to learn with and from each other and improve Indigenous/non-Indigenous collaboration for climate change mitigation and adaptation in New South Wales.

Petaurus Education Group Inc

Building biodiversity relationships within the Burrumbuttock and surrounds farming community – $56,733

The Walbundrie Small Schools Association will be part of a transformative, hands-on program where students will become experienced leaders in understanding the value of Burrumbuttock's threatened squirrel glider species and overall, ecological community. Learnings include how to identify, monitor and support species through implementing nest boxes and protecting remnant paddock trees. Passionate champion landholders will work alongside Wirraminna's officer, to provide engagements on farms about nest box monitoring and sustainable land use methods. Students will help raise community awareness about the importance of protecting key habitat features through creative artwork/sign development and leading community events as part of the ongoing program, to deconstruct social environmental norms and influence key values.

Sydney Olympic Park Authority

Neighbours Nurturing Nature – a Park Care Community Volunteer Program – $60,000

Neighbours Nurturing Nature (NNN) is part of a Park Care Community Volunteer Program that fosters custodianship of the parklands, wetlands and waterways of Sydney Olympic Park within a culturally diverse and rapidly growing local community. This program will be a targeted engagement of local schools and residents. With a focus on protecting and enhancing threatened species habitat and working to reduce the impacts of climate change, participants will learn and engage in volunteer activities that protect, restore and enhance natural areas while developing multigenerational custodianship to create long-term, sustainable impact. On-ground works will include local provenance planting of Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest, removal of waterborne litter from saltmarsh meadows, planting and maintenance of grassland habitat corridors for green and golden bell frogs, installation of habitat hollows for bats and other wildlife, and involvement in citizen science ecological monitoring programs. Educational and engagement programs will be conducted in tandem with on-ground activities, with the objective of establishing and growing a community that is actively involved in caring for and living in harmony with nature.

Waverley Council

Power to the Future: Harnessing Intergenerational Knowledge for Collective Climate Change Impact – $55,700

In a complex socio-ecological system, the social dimensions of climate change matter as much as the biophysical. Using an intergenerational exchange approach, and harnessing momentum with community groups, this project will empower youth, supported by dialogue with seniors, to normalise climate change and environmental protection behaviours. Through digital and cultural storytelling platforms, they will influence families, schools and local decision-makers with local climate solutions and participate in decisions that affect them (Child Safe Policy, Standard 2). Educational resources will foster descriptive and prescriptive norms to enact these actions through council or community-based volunteering and programs, building a committed, connected and resilient community that collectively protects their local environment.

Local Land Services

Environmental Markets Leadership Program – $249,957

The Environmental Markets Leadership Program will equip participating land managers with knowledge, skills and aspirations to transform their operations and adopt sustainable natural resource management practices, by leveraging value from environmental markets. It will create a leadership course and an enduring network for land managers and primary producers across rural New South Wales. The network will engage the broader agricultural community and collaborate with public and private sectors to catalyse a transition to a new era of innovative agriculture that produces environmental goods and services alongside traditional commodities and ultimately, mutually benefits and enhances ecological, economic, social and cultural outcomes.

Southern Cross University

Regenerative Agriculture Mentorship Program – $250,000

The mentoring program aims to facilitate and support farmers in transforming traditional to regenerative agricultural principles and practices. As founding members of the Regenerative Agriculture Alliance and the associated Industry Advisory Group, we will identify members to become mentors and match them with committed mentees. The stories of these 'knowledge hubs' will be documented and shared as case studies with our extensive, well-established networks to further promote regenerative agriculture adoption. Overall, the program aims to reduce the human-induced impacts of climate change through utilising environmental education in the agricultural industry as a critical enabler in transformative principle and practice change to significantly shift our future paradigm. The program will adopt the Seven Principles of Regenerative Agriculture model and utilise practice changes as baseline measures and indicators. The project will collect evidence of mentee farmers shifting their thinking from traditional principles and practices to regenerative agricultural principles and practices. Data will be collected before the start (baseline), at key points during and on completion of the 12-month program through focus group conversations with each knowledge-expert hub: the mentor with their mentees.

Western Murray Land Improvement Group Inc

Resilient Pasture Systems for a Changing Climate – $249,361

This project aims to demonstrate adaptive natural resource and farm management practices that can build resilience in the agricultural landscapes within the Western NSW Murray region and beyond. Demonstration sites will evaluate novel drought-tolerant pasture systems, including a biodiverse mix of regenerative pasture and forage species. The project will involve creating focus groups, holding workshops, providing tailored advice and producing communications material (e.g. case studies) that cover:

• preparation and recovery from drought
• the benefits of ecosystem services to a productive agricultural system
• productivity, soil health indicators and profitability of the demonstration sites.

The project aims to improve long term drought resilience and farm sustainability.

In the 2019 round, the Environmental Trust approved 12 grants totalling $1,332,610.

Bathurst Regional Council

River connections – knowing and caring for the Wambool/Macquarie River – $60,000

This program will be an experiential, engaging nature-based program to connect students at participating schools with the Wambool/Macquarie River and its catchments. Participating students will engage in a value-based learning program including Wiradjuri cultural perspectives, science, art and inquiry-based exploration. They will then be supported to develop action plans to look after the river and share their learnings with their school community. A teacher professional development program and series of educational resources, such as case studies and learning activity plans, will also be delivered, to share learnings, and allow teachers to integrate learning and approaches into their teaching in the long term.

Canada Bay Council

Building biodiversity – protecting Coastal Saltmarsh and Godwits in Canada Bay – $50,400

The City of Canada Bay is one of the few Council areas in Sydney where endangered species like the Coastal Saltmarsh and migratory shorebirds like the Bar tailed Godwits and Curlew Sandpiper still survive and in urgent need for protection. This project will create a series of education modules to engage the local community through targeted activities. These activities will include:

• educational and citizen science workshops
• engagement with dog owners and enforcement for dogs off-leash in hotspot locations
• installation of informative signs
• regeneration of saltmarsh communities.

Council will utilise links with local schools and community groups to empower community members to be advocates.

Central Tablelands Landcare Inc.

Dung beetle breeding gone wild – $30,952

Dung beetles have the ability to improve soil health by burying dung. Their deep tunnels improve aeration, water infiltration and overall pasture productivity. The bonus is that adult dung beetles feed on dung juices, which is in direct competition with the Australian bush fly. Through monitoring, we have identified 12 species of dung beetle actively working over the summer months in our region, and none in winter. We will work with experts, landholders and schools to manage and monitor the introduction of winter active Bubas bison into our landcare district and share our stories and experiences with landholders and school children, the farmers of the future.

Cowra Shire Council

From little things big things grow – $38,826

The project will address the problem of significant amounts of recyclable material going into landfill in Cowra Shire. It will raise public awareness of the problem and educate a wide cross-section of the Cowra community, teaching them how to reduce the amount of waste thrown away by teaching the principals of reduce, reuse and recycle. It will identify what can be reused and recycled and what options are available to ensure that these items don't end up in landfill. The project will emphasise that everyone can make a difference by showing how items recycled in Cowra can be transformed from potential waste into valuable raw materials for new products.

Eurobodalla Shire Council

We CARE about waste – $60,000

The We CARE program provides support to businesses in eliminating single-use plastics from their operations. It involves working alongside businesses to identify solutions to reduce plastic waste. It also works with customers to encourage them to CARE:

• carry their own reusable items
• avoid single-use plastics
• reuse
• encourage others to do the same.

The program builds on the success of the original, targeted We Care program, which successfully engaged one-third of all take-away food businesses in the Eurobodalla. This project will extend the program to other business sectors, including retail and accommodation.

Mid Lachlan Landcare Inc.

Soils for the future – $59,778

'Soils for the Future' will be working with our farmers to improve their knowledge and uptake of best practice soil management in dryland cropping systems in the Cowra region. It will provide 16 farmers with an individual plan on what they can do next to improve soil management outcomes. These participants and a further 40 farmers will form peer groups to work together on conservation farming to guide field days and the future of what is required to further progress environmental outcomes and profitable farming in our region.

Tweed Shire Council

Take your lead – $60,000

This project will deliver a behavioural change program to reduce the impacts of domestic dogs on threatened fauna, including beach-nesting birds, koalas, and green and loggerhead turtles. The project will target dog owners and utilise key principles for developing an effective behaviour change intervention using a systematic approach:

• focus on human behaviour
• know your audience
• matching interventions to the primary causes of behaviour
• applying science-based evaluation.

This targeted approach goes beyond just education and ensures a better understanding of the reasons that people do/do not adopt a behaviour. Once understood, those reasons will be woven into the strategies, interventions and communication for sustainable outcomes.

Western Local Land Services

Improving ground cover in the summer fallow period in the Balranald region – $38,505

Improving Ground Cover in the Summer Fallow Period in the Balranald region will target landholders in the Balranald cropping community, particularity those who are members of Mallee Sustainable Farming, or were traditionally members of the Balranald cropping group. Landholders will be engaged in capacity building activities to develop, broaden and transform their knowledge, skills and intrinsic motivation to improve the levels of ground cover on their property over the summer fallow period. Project delivery will occur through a range of on-farm demonstrations, workshops and peer to peer learning.

Clarence Landcare Inc.

Clarence cane toad community education project – $250,000

Clarence Landcare will raise awareness of the cane toad issue and increase community control measures by collaborating with Clarence Valley Conservation in Action Landcare Group (CVCIA), Yaegl Elders, community and local and state authorities. We aim to increase volunteer community collection with CVCIA by 50% and household collecting by 81 people hours/week by rolling out 2200 household cane toad collection kits and providing the training, incentives and support to ensure it is done in an ethical and effective manner. We will deliver education workshops in 7 schools to 1500 students and deliver 9 training and community events on the identification, reporting and control of cane toads to 270 community members, business and agency field staff.

OzFish Unlimited

Growing river stewardship – $195,825

The rate and extent of fish habitat degradation, and concomitant decline in fish populations, is alarming. The aim of OzFish Unlimited is to build capacity among recreational fishers to protect and restore fish habitat throughout Australia. Based on social research, international models and our initial success, we seek to build the knowledge, skills and intrinsic motivation of recreational fishers to engage in protection and restoration actions. We will connect and activate new groups of fishers (as OzFish Chapters) to restore habitat in 10 priority rivers across New South Wales.

Queensland University of Technology

Technologies for reducing waste at music festivals – $238,324

This project aims to reduce the huge amount of waste produced by music festival campsites, which local councils must contend with. By facilitating alternative practices for camping at these events, this project can both reduce landfill and educate young people, altering their behaviours regarding waste overall. It will achieve this by producing and promoting a festival camping planning tool, co-designed by attendees and festival staff, and by engaging the larger festival management systems to provide complementary services. It will partner with Green Music Australia, Falls Festival, and Splendour in the Grass – both hosted in Byron. It will also partner with Byron Shire Council, Positive Change for Marine Life and Mullum Cares to ensure the project is grounded in local knowledge. We expect that this project will produce a tool that may be used by other festivals, as well as produce the knowledge and relationships necessary for Green Music Australia to reproduce the learnings with other Australian festivals, and shift the way these festivals approach waste management.

The Mulloon Institute

Landscape rehydration capacity building: developing curriculum – $250,000

The project will build on the success of the Mulloon Community Landscape Rehydration Project (MCLRP), a community-led, multi-stakeholder, catchment scale regeneration project that is rebuilding the natural function and resilience of the landscape benefiting environment, agriculture and community. Two catchment communities will be case studied as we develop an advanced level training course and materials leading to long term landscape regeneration. The research phase will review over 500 feedback surveys from previous field days, forums and workshops held at Mulloon since 2014, as well as relevant social research studies undertaken in that time. In partnership with the case study communities, a framework for further inquiry amongst target stakeholder groups will be developed to understand perceptions, values, drivers and blockages. The framework will take a cyclic plan, do, review approach. The outcome will be 2 catchment communities with capacity to implement landscape scale change and a model that can be adapted to other catchments throughout New South Wales.

In the 2017 round, the Environmental Trust approved 13 grants, totalling $953,373.

Australian Association for Environmental Education NSW Chapter Inc.

Best practice sustainability education and engagement for NSW – $95,760

This project will increase the capacity of 240 environmental educators through 12 skills development workshops on best practice sustainability education and engagement (SEE). ‘Take Me Outside’ (TMO) initiatives will then provide an action learning platform for educators as they put best practice SEE methods into practice in 200 local projects with schools, preschools, community groups and businesses.

This project will provide the support, tools and resources that NSW educators need to deliver more effective projects and maximise on-ground environmental benefits. TMO projects will provide significant measurable environmental benefits and case studies, while reconnecting adults and children with nature and combating the growing trend towards sedentary lifestyles.

Barragal Landcare Group Inc.

Skilling up the community to reduce fox impacts in southwest Sydney – $88,000

Fox activity is increasing right across the Sydney region. Highly coordinated and innovative control campaigns are required to reduce the impact of foxes on wildlife, livestock and domestic animals in urban and peri-urban environments. This project builds on the success of the Menangle Fox Control Campaign, which has used a landscape-based approach to inform landholders about fox activity and the use of novel fox control methods in southwest Sydney.

Our initiative is to identify ‘cluster’ groups of landholders who are prepared to work with their neighbours to control foxes during Autumn and Spring each year and then engage a contractor to coordinate fox control measures across several clusters.

Educational initiatives such as community workshops and media reports will continue to encourage the community to support these activities and reduce resources available to foxes.

Corowa and District Landcare

Sounding the chorus for frogs in Corowa’s wetlands – $40,790

The threatened Sloane’s froglet will be used as a flagship species to engage schoolchildren and the broader community in caring for frogs, threatened species, and wetland habitats. We will support primary school teachers by providing locally relevant educational materials and school visits by scientists, and engage school children in hands-on creative activities to develop an understanding of the unique wetland habitats and frogs of the Corowa region.

The Landcare and broader community will be involved in wetland rehabilitation planting days which will protect key habitats as well as developing skills in wetland and threatened species habitat identification and management.

Greening Australia (NSW) Ltd.

Reveal and restore western Sydney dry rainforest – $86,876

Western Sydney Dry Rainforest (WSDR) is a living fossil, one of the last remaining examples of Sydney’s prehistoric environment. Only 26% of this highly significant ecosystem remains and it is slowly disappearing due to development, weed invasion and current land management practices.

The project will focus on revealing and restoring WSDR on private land. We will target private landholders and encourage alternative farming practices, showcase best practice, and incorporate Landcare ideas into land management to give landholders the knowledge and skills to restore WSDR on their land. These landholders will become WSDR custodians and inspire local community and school students.

Z-NET Uralla Inc.

The elephant in the woodlands – impact of firewood collection – $99,957

The collection and use of firewood for home heating is a common practice in the Uralla Community. ‘Elephant in the Woodlands’ will raise awareness and encourage sustainable practices amongst resource managers, firewood collectors and firewood users.

The project will establish a recognised sustainable supply of firewood through ecological assessments and training programs provided to landholders and firewood collectors. The project will also support and extend existing community-based programs for improving home thermal efficiency, reducing energy for demand for heating and effective firewood storage.

These objectives will be supported by an ongoing education campaign through media, at community events and in schools to raise awareness of the value and importance of standing and fallen timber (coarse woody debris: CWD) on public reserves and roadsides and promote the use of sustainable firewood.

Central Coast Council

Brisbane water estuary education project – $100,000

The Brisbane Water Estuary Education Project is a general awareness raising and capacity building project that will involve the development of an engagement program for the Brisbane Water Catchment on the NSW Central Coast, working with industry and small local neighbourhood pockets directly adjacent to the estuary, to increase the communities understanding of the importance of estuaries, wetlands, the catchment and our impact on the local environment.

The project will enhance the communities understanding of past connections and uses for the system, the value of these ecosystems and build best practice and positive behaviour change to move towards the longer-term outcomes of the Brisbane Water Estuary Management Plan of improving local biodiversity and water quality.

Cessnock City Council

Citizens, science and woodland birds of Cessnock – $92,014

The project aims to build awareness of Cessnock’s significance for biodiversity – it is the biodiversity hotspot of the Lower Hunter. We will use Regent Honeyeater as our ‘flagship’ species, essentially on the brink of extinction. The area is of vital importance to this bird. The region holds the most important coastal forests in New South Wales for declining woodland birds; this and the value of protecting biodiversity for the benefit of these bird species, other plants and animals, eco-tourism, and future generations will be the focus of the project.

The project will use targeted tools to engage and upskill/empower the different target audiences. We will consult with the business community to establish a collaborative approach to broadcasting the message that Cessnock’s woodlands, local birdlife and natural landscapes are unique. They have economic value due to this uniqueness and are worth protecting.

Clarence Valley Council

Coastal emus and koalas in the Clarence – $100,000

‘Coastal emus and koalas in the Clarence’ is an education project that builds capacity and equips landowners with methods to address identified threats to the endangered coastal emu and koala in the Clarence.

Consolidating partnerships formed between local and state government and the community, educational tools including film, on ground workshops and educational material will be developed and disseminated to landholders in emu and koala habitat areas to protect the last remaining coastal emu population and the disjunct flagging populations of koalas in the Clarence.

Eurobodalla Shire Council

Weed finder – a self-help system for weed control – $48,762

This project will develop an online tool called the Weeds Finder that residential and rural landholders and the community can readily access and use with ease. The application will include:

• simple to use interactive key for weed identification
• weed control advice, photos of weeds
• recommendations of alternative bush friendly species
• garden design plans and advice.

It will empower people to make positive decisions about plant choices and reduce invasive weeds across all land tenure. Research has shown that once landholders have the skills to identify and treat weeds effectively they are more motivated to carry out ongoing weed control on their land, to educate others and reduce their impacts on bushland and waterways.

A trial version of the Weeds Finder has proven popular with users.

Hilltops Council

Hollows habitats for Hilltops – $40,800

‘Hollow habitats for hilltops’ aims to develop the knowledge, capacity and commitment of urban and rural residents in the Hilltops local government area to identify and conserve the habitat, including foraging habitat, for vulnerable hollow dependent birds and small mammal species. To supplement the remnant habitat, artificial hollows will be created and their usage monitored.

Through a network involving Local Land Services, Landcare Groups, Schools, and Service Organisations, the knowledge to identify, preserve, protect and augment tree hollows and their surrounding native habitat will be disseminated across the Hilltops region, commencing at Boorowa.

Waverley Council

Living connections – $70,000

‘Living connections’ will connect and enhance identified fragmented habitat corridors in Waverley by working with up to 250 residents to increase native planting and habitat creation in their gardens and verges. Participants will be provided a tailored garden plan where appropriate, horticultural advice and suitable plants for their gardens and verges.

The project will also increase the community’s understanding of the importance of habitat for the conservation of biodiversity by engaging the wider community using the Habitat Stepping Stones web tool and through events and activities including a habitat creation workshop for landscape gardeners and architects.

Yass Valley Council

Hands on for less waste – $20,000

This project will consist of a series of hands-on workshops in the Yass Valley local government area which will encourage people to reduce the amount of waste their household produces. The workshops will focus on the most preferred options in the Waste Management Hierarchy of Avoid, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

The workshops will be targeted at all age groups, from schoolchildren to seniors, and will focus on being fun and hands-on, delivering real world skills to enable our community to reduce the amount of waste going to our landfill sites.

Local Government NSW

Statewide flying-fox community education and engagement program – $70,414

Conflict between flying foxes and the public is increasingly common, resulting in demands for various management activities that are often ineffective and expensive. Increasing public awareness on the importance of flying foxes and reducing unwarranted fear through education is proposed as a means to improve community resilience and tolerance, thereby reducing the need for intervention.

Councils have a key role in community education but must develop their own resources, which is costly and results in variable products. Hunter Councils is currently developing a flying-fox education kit that consolidates existing education material into a council specific fit-for-purpose tool for its member councils but there is a need for such a kit statewide.

This project will work with Hunter Councils to trial the kit in the Sydney region, refine and value-add to the material as required, and showcase the kit to councils statewide.