Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
Key
site specific
region wide
Holbrook ecotourism project stops traffic
The little town of Holbrook on the busy Sydney to Melbourne route wanted travellers to develop a taste for more than its baking.
It was decided to showcase the progressive work of the district's Landcare Group and landholders, with a self-guided tour.
"The aim was to educate the public about the benefits of landcare and about changes to the way farmers manage the land," Secretary of Holbrook Landcare Joy Wearn said. "We also wanted to make landholders proud of their achievements.
"Holbrook is very well situated on the Hume Highway, so the objective was to get travellers to break their trip, pick up a brochure, maybe get a picnic together and drive a loop to look at some of the projects.
"As well as helping people appreciate landcare projects, this would also have flow-on effects for local businesses and hopefully bring people back once they know there's a friendly little town with interesting places to see."
Funding
With the support of $14,500 from the Australian Government and contributions from the State Government, the region now has an extensive self-drive ecotour - Landcare Alive!
Activities
Made up of three separate loops ranging from 34 to 80 kilometres, the ecotour features 28 projects and sites of interest. It presents projects which tackle land and water management, nature conservation, wetland conservation and gully erosion.
"You can do the tour without leaving your car if you want to," Joy said. "You pick up a brochure from our Landcare Office in town, or from the tourist centre. It has maps of the three loops and descriptions of the projects. All the locations can be seen from the road and they're all sign-posted."
Projects featured along the drive include a rehabilitation effort by landholders to stop erosion and improve water quality by constructing wetlands, fencing and earthworks. At another property on the tour a farmer has successfully begun tackling a rising groundwater problem by planting trees on a hilltop to soak up water from lower down.
Other projects include 'rebirding' sites where a variety of native vegetation species have been planted to attract birds, fencing to protect vulnerable areas and species, farm forestry efforts and protection of remnant vegetation.
"In Holbrook we've been really successful in getting people involved in landcare," Joy said. "We estimate around 80 per cent of the district farmers are involved and we always have a dynamic group of people ready to join our committee."
More information
- Joy Wearn, Secretary of Holbrook Landcare: wearn@farm.net.au
See also
Key
Links to another web site
Opens a pop-up window