Enhancing Shade and Shelter Project
Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network are working with Energy Australia to enhance farming properties in our catchment region.
Funding is available to support projects on private land that provide shade and shelter for your stock. Shelter belts, paddock trees and native vegetation provide enormous benefits in extreme hot and cold weather events to livestock productivity, as well as being valuable assets for biodiversity and carbon sequestration. Minimum property size 5 acres (2 Ha). Available funding 2023-2025 - $75,000.
The goal of this project is to engage landholders within the Latrobe Catchment Landcare Network area to fence off remnant vegetation and/or to create native shelterbelts across their property. LCLN staff will conduct site visits and assessments would be conducted using the standard LCLN assessment in which a project ranking system has been developed. These assessment sheets assist to prioritise projects based on 3 basic criteria:
Economic Value (Cost/Ha)
Ecological Value (environmental outcomes)
Landholder motivation/reputation
The objectives of this project are:
Protect our valuable soils from erosion by providing shelter in open areas
Improve water quality and reduce nutrient runoff across the catchment area
Educate landholders and community on the importance of shade and shelter
Application Process
Apply – Complete the accompanying application form, including a map (google map ok) and include any extra information to explain what you would like to achieve on your property.
Ranking of projects – Depending on the number of applications we receive, we may not be able to fund all projects in the first year. Proposed sites will be assessed and we will do what we can to assist as many members as possible, as fairly as possible. We will advise you if we can/can’t fund your site.
Site inspections – A LCLN Project Officer will be out to assess your site pre-Christmas to finalise the site plan, allowing us to order plants with the nurseries and issuing contracts so that you can prepare sites over summer and autumn.
Round 1 applications have now closed
If you would like to be a part of future funding rounds please fill out the application from and send it to our Project’s Officer.
Interested in how shelterbelts can improve your property? Have a read of this article on the economic benefits of native shelterbelts (2015) published by Basalt to Bay Landcare Network.
