Farmers in the South Burnett have proven that small amounts of money can make big improvements to the environment.

 

Under a joint project between South Burnett Councils and the Burnett Mary Regional Group, small grants were provided to farmers to utilise their skills and experience in restoring their land.

 

Program Coordinator, Erin Lawless said she accepted the job based on the fact that funds would reach the people on the ground who knew what work was required and had the experience and commitment to use it effectively.

 
“The program has provided a rare opportunity for landholders and local government to work in a proactive partnership,” she said.

 

Within the space of 8 months, $332,000 was distributed, resulting in the environmental improvement of over 5,500 hectares of land. Over 25km of riparian zone was enhanced either through revegetation, fencing, or removal of environmental weeds threatening important native ecosystems.  Several alternative watering points were installed to protect water quality and animal health, and an important wetland environment was also restored and revegetated.

 

Ms Lawless said that final reports proved that the grants to rural land holders presented an extremely good value investment.

 

“When the in-kind contributions of landholders were calculated, their value averaged 4 times as much as the funding providing under this program.  Some projects returned as much as 6:1 in total project value,” she said.

 

The devolved grants also gave landholders greater access to Local

 

Government Lands Protection officers, including at field days to share the best-practice techniques on the management of various declared weeds within the South Burnett area.