Premier's Sustainability Awards – 2021 winners and finalists
The Premier’s Sustainability Awards categories were revamped for 2021 to reflect the current focus of sustainability activity in Victoria and align with global best practice. There are 6 categories, with 2 award types per category.
These are the 2021 Premier's Sustainability Awards category winners and finalists.
Clean, affordable and secure energy
Community Champion Winner: Black Stump Technologies
Project: Renewable Energy UPS – Major Projects Victoria
Black Stump Technologies developed a complete solution for a large-scale clean energy challenge, associated with using diesel generators on construction sites. As the main provider of power on construction and infrastructure sites, Black Stump works closely with its partners to address carbon emissions and educate staff on the damaging impacts of toxic diesel fumes on the environment and people.
The Black Stump Renewable Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) system addresses climate change as per the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13. By replacing the use of diesel generators in construction sites, it will significantly reduce CO2 emissions through less reliance on fossil fuels, saving 40,000 kg of CO2 compared to diesel.
Black Stump’s technologies include renewable energy and cold-chain solutions, which help to reduce on-site noise and diesel emissions, significantly reducing costs when compared with the “business as usual” diesel.
Since installation, the Black Stump Renewable Energy UPS system has saved over 30,000 litres of diesel fuel burn and will save 80,000 kgs of CO2 emissions annually, raising awareness of clean energy solutions across the construction sector.
Industry Leader Winner: Allume Energy
Project: SolShare: Unlocking Solar for Apartments
Allume didn’t think it was fair for apartment residents to be locked out of the renewable energy transition and, as a result, created the SolShare, an exciting renewable energy game-changer, targeted at meeting market, social, and sustainability needs.
The SolShare is the world’s only hardware for connecting multiple apartments to a single rooftop solar system. This allows apartment residents across the world to enjoy the same benefits of rooftop solar that individual homes have for years: reduced electricity bills and lower carbon footprints.
As well as saving thousands of tonnes of CO2 from polluting the atmosphere, the SolShare system will save each household between $300-$400 per year on their energy bills. Allume currently has contracted sales that will stop 10,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year.
The SolShare system was officially launched in 2020 and has been approved for installation in Australia, the US, and the UK. Its systems are already supplying solar energy to over 1,000 apartments and saving over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each year.
Finalists
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Make Clean Energy Easy
The BOOM! software platform was designed to make clean energy easy, supporting property teams managing complex portfolios and delivery partners running large-scale energy retrofit programs.
BOOM! has already saved 98,077 tonnes of CO2 in solar energy production, resulting in $27.2 million in power bill savings.
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Moving towards an environmentally sustainable future
Latrobe City Council applied a range of clean energy technologies to create energy and prevent emissions, including the installation of a Biogas Generator at the Hyland Highway Landfill. This is an example of applying a circular economy design to an otherwise wasted resource.
The Biogas Generator initiative has the potential to save substantial CO2 emissions over its 20-year lifespan, and will generate clean, low emission energy through utilising captured landfill gas.
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Cleo, a Portable Lithium Solar Generator
Sunpower Renewables designed an all-in-one, lithium solar energy generation and storage device, fully integrating the different components of the solar plant. Their portable device allows users to generate and store solar energy, and intelligently release it to appliances based on user-programmed preferences.
This product offers energy storage in a way that has never been done before, allowing users to generate 24x7 electricity anywhere, anytime.
Climate action
Community Champion Winner: Brentwood Secondary College
Project: Towards Zero Bremissions
In 2020, Brentwood Secondary College launched their 'Towards Zero Bremissions' initiative aimed at reducing their greenhouse gas emissions from 540 tonnes to zero.
The four-star, ResourceSmart school aimed to have a positive, long-lasting impact on the wider community and align with the Victorian Government's Climate Change Strategy of zero emissions.
Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, the school managed to offset emissions by installing a 68kW solar PV system and planting more than 600 trees in the Mornington Peninsula.
Staff and students participated in a daily quiz on 'Fight for Planet A', an ABC TV series that encourages the community to learn about the solution to climate change. They began diverting food from wastage into compost as part of the Monash City FOGO campaign, whilst initiating a 'Meat Free' Mondays cookbook to promote environmental benefits of meat-free alternatives.
Brentwood also released a video to support the Victorian Government's 'circular economy policy'
Brentwood saw a 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 and aims to reach its zero emissions target by 2030.
Industry Leader Winner: The Cape
Project: The Cape – Climate Action
The Cape set out to demonstrate that sustainable, resilient housing can be beautiful, affordable, and economically viable. They applied best practice sustainable urban design to transform a previously cleared cattle farm into a thriving biodiversity site.
The Cape was inspired by the realisation that the Australian housing sector is building homes and communities that have a significant negative impact on Australia’s carbon footprint.
The Cape models sustainable food and transport, with a community farm accommodating several hundred members, and kilometres of cycling and walking trails to encourage active lifestyles. The Cape mandates homes are built with energy and water-efficient design, rainwater harvesting, solar energy, energy monitoring, and household electric vehicle charging as standard.
The Cape has built an estate where homes are in energy surplus, have year-round comfort, and are healthy and resilient in heatwaves. In a national first, all homes across the estate are currently averaging over 8-star NatHERS energy efficiency.
Their free net-zero house designs have been downloaded over 40,000 times by the public from The Cape’s website.
Finalists
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Creating a Bridge to Greener Building
Austeng's procurement for innovation process sought to stimulate market demand and supply of innovative clean technology. In April 2021, the project saw two timber bridges over Cowes Creek in North Geelong replaced with new innovative 'age-defying' bridges. It demonstrated the benefits of combining climate change and innovation with long-term sustainability outcomes, creating a clean technology product.
The combination of materials resulted in an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions in production and helped prevent 'concrete cancer' whilst offering high levels of strength and durability.
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The People's Climate Strategy for Victoria
In response to COVID-19 delaying the Victorian Government's preparation of the state's first Climate Change Strategy, Friends of the Earth Melbourne's Act on Climate collective launched a project to create a People's Climate Strategy in Victoria,
More than 1,000 community members and leaders gathered online to discuss the impact that climate change is having in the areas they live in and creative ways to tackle issues around climate change. By framing the issue as here and now, and including the personal stories of the community, the project engaged the support of multiple MPs.
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Addressing climate change through regenerative agriculture
The Heytesbury District Landcare Network (HDLN) created an integrated land management approach to build resilience in Australia's food and farming systems. The project worked closely with 20 farmers aimed at promoting sustainable ways that farmers can address climate change issues and how they can best monitor outcomes.
In 2020, the initiative allowed HDLN to build a project team so it can continue its research. It also secured funding to continue trials and expand the group of farmers to 30.
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Snapshot Climate Tool
Ironbark Sustainability and Beyond Zero Emissions teamed up to launch Snapshot Climate Tool – the first national tool providing free municipal greenhouse gas emissions profiles. Launched in 2020, Snapshot uses a collaborative approach to collecting data and insights and is working to integrate additional modules and reporting systems to better its current offering.
The internationally accredited tool allows anyone to have access to an emissions profile and a breakdown of major greenhouse gas sources of around 537 Local Government Areas Australia-wide.
Healthy environment
Community Champion Winner: First Friends of Dandenong Creek
Project: Short film – The Eels of Dandenong Creek
First Friends of Dandenong Creek's short film, ‘The Eels of Dandenong Creek’, aimed to create awareness of how pollution has eliminated a large portion of the short-finned eel.
By highlighting insights about the eel, and its importance to Australia's indigenous nations, the film sought to raise the profile of this species and educate the wider community around the consequences of pollution.
First Friends was supported by the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation and Living Links, engaging several experts who were able to advise on key messages associated with the story of the eels and their life cycle.
With education at the forefront of their thinking, First Friends was able to bring together a story that discusses how the actions of urban society have impacted the eels – a species many were unaware of. Since production, the film has been viewed over 29,000 times and is used as an educational tool for local schools.
The film is but a starting point for discussions around the inappropriate use of insecticides around homes and how they will find their way into our waterways.
Industry Leader Winner: The Nature Conservancy Australia
Project: Bringing Back Victoria's Lost Oyster Reefs
The Bringing Back Victoria's Lost Oyster Reefs project was designed to improve one of Victoria's most prized assets – Port Phillip Bay.
The project, with the help of community members, sought to restore one hectare of native oyster reef in Corio Bay and test a new reef restoration methodology to determine the most effective methods for degraded reef ecosystems.
To date, there have been 6 hectares of reefs restored at Port Phillip Bay. Even at this scale, the reefs provide important water filtration benefits as each oyster can filter 100L of water per day. The project aims to turn rubbish into reefs through their 'Shuck Don’t Chuck' program, with over 415 tonnes of shells recycled by wholesalers, restaurants, markets, and craft bars.
Despite the COVID-associated hurdles, 44 volunteers from 16 different groups were involved in the project, participating in multiple online Restore the Bay sessions, aimed at educating the community about the benefits of shellfish reef restoration.
The group looks to combine efforts of government, community, and the private sector to restore reefs for the benefit of all Victorians.
Finalists
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Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program
The Deakin-led Victorian Coastal Wetland Restoration Program brings together a range of stakeholders to oversee the restoration of 600 hectares of critical wetland habitat. It is a nature based solution to sequester carbon, mitigating the risks of climate change and helping recover Victoria's native biodiversity.
Through collaboration with project partners, the program achieved multiple key outcomes that included:
- developing a restoration action plan to transform industrial land into natural wetland
- completion of on ground coastal wetland protection works
- working with traditional owners and community members to monitor and protect heritage sites and coastal wetlands.
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CDC Oakleigh introduction of Volvo Zone Management technology
In 2020, CDC Victoria became the first public transport provider in Australia to implement the use of automatic geofencing technology to deliver enhanced environmental performance, by reducing emissions and limiting engine noise in identified zones.
CDC Victoria used Volvo's Zone Management system to trial, then roll out, the technology in its hybrid fleet at Oakleigh depot. The fleet commenced operation on the streets of Melbourne, with e-zones identified using telemetric data. The system makes Victoria’s public transport network greener, more sustainable, and less disruptive.
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Healthy Landscapes for Healthy Livestock
The Healthy Landscapes for Healthy Livestock project was initiated in response to poor land management outcomes observed across the Macedon Ranges.
The aim was to build the capacity of local livestock farmers to implement regenerative agriculture techniques that
- improved soil health
- enhanced biodiversity
- enhanced on-farm resilience to a changing climate.
The project also aimed to connect farmers through peer-to-peer learning, leading the establishment of a local regenerative agriculture community of practice.
Delivered online, the project used a combination of expert advice, webinars, and short courses to engage with both farmers and landowners. The webinar recordings were viewed 450 times by a range of relevant stakeholders.
An evaluation from 110 participants indicated that 100% of respondents had positively changed their land management practices.
With the help of stakeholders and local farmer partners, the program was able to achieve behavioural change and increase knowledge amongst landowners about sustainable land management and building a regenerative agricultural community of practice.
Its success has allowed for a 12-month extension and expansion into other council areas.
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Wetlands Revegetation
A student-led revegetation initiative at St Monica's College, Epping sought to increase biodiversity within the schools' wetlands and educate students on the importance of biodiverse ecosystems.
Students met once a day to undertake various activities at the wetlands. This included removing weeds which, when safe, were fed to school chickens or composted, controlling pest mosquito fish populations,and planting indigenous plants.
Students were educated on the effects of certain plants and developed action plans to empower them to take ownership of areas of wetlands that interested them.
Social and economic justice
Community Champion Winner: Yarra Valley ECOSS
Project: Yarra Valley ECOSS
First implemented 15 years ago, Yarra Valley ECOSS has created a vibrant community hub that demonstrates sustainable living. The hub supports ethical businesses and not-for-profit groups through an inclusive environment and has extraordinary expansion plans and potential.
The initiative involves partnerships on several levels, from councils and businesses to community and not-for-profit organisations. Through these, Yarra Valley ECOSS aims to showcase alternative living options via creative onsite projects including:
- Crops for Community
- The Valley Market
- Work for the Dole Program.
These are undertaken by volunteers, most of whom are living with a disability and visiting schools.
Yarra Valley ECOSS harnesses opportunities to promote waste reduction, healthy eating, organic and bio-dynamic food, and exercise. There are multiple small businesses onsite, all supported by these sustainably focused projects.
In their efforts to promote food security at the beginning of the first COVID lockdown, Yarra Valley ECOSS started ‘The Valley Market’. The weekly market provided local producers an outlet to sell their produce whilst supporting the community to shop outside of a supermarket, and still feel connected to the community.
Industry Leader Winner: Melbourne Water, Aqua Metro Services & Wara Paring Civil Construction
Project: Wara Paring
Wara Paring Indigenous Civil Construction Project aimed to co-create a 100 per cent Indigenous-owned civil construction business, with the capacity to deliver services to the water sector.
Melbourne Water identified a gap in the market, with no Aboriginal businesses providing any of the services used in delivering capital work.
Melbourne Water and Aqua Metro Services were committed to supporting a sustainable pipeline of young Aboriginal workers. Rather than determining that no existing Aboriginal-owned businesses could supply these services, Melbourne Water and Aqua Metro Services held workshops with leaders and subject matter experts, to develop a Diversity and Inclusion Management Plan and create a pathway and training scaffold.
The 18-month full-time training initiative included a range of training and development opportunities, in a work environment that was culturally safe and supportive.
This initiative allows Aboriginal people to stay in Country and work with due care for Country, which is of significant responsibility and cultural importance. In April 2021, ‘Wara Paring’ transitioned from a co-designed project to ‘Wara Paring Civil Construction Pty Ltd’, an independent 100 per cent fully owned and operated Aboriginal business.
Finalists
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Emergency 'Food Relief Packages' distribution project 2020
In the COVID-19 pandemic, the Albury Wodonga Multicultural Community Events (AWMCE) team provided emergency 'Food Relief Packages'. These basic food packages were culturally appropriate and distributed to members of multicultural communities that were negatively impacted by the pandemic.
With the help of more than 25 volunteers, AWMCE successfully distributed 'Food Relief Packages’ to more than 300 individuals and families. AWMCE also hosted online and in-person meetings to support the mental health and well-being of these communities.
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COVID-19 Renters' Rights
Anika Legal is a youth-led, not-for-profit social enterprise reducing barriers to entry for legal help. The team helps Victorian renters stay in safe homes, providing free, online legal assistance.
Vulnerable renters are paired with law students, who help them secure rent reductions by preparing letters to their landlords seeking compassion based on their circumstances.
To date, the initiative has helped 85 people experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 negotiate a rent reduction, with an average reduction of 18-30%.
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COVID-19 Community Ecological Resilience and Meal Drop Program
During the COVID-19 crisis, the Jesuit Social Services Ecological Justice Hub recognised the potential of its existing assets and programs by quickly scaling up its meal drop program to meet the greater community need.
Through the COVID-19 meal drop program, the Hub provided cooked garden to plate meals, fresh produce packages and essential grocery items to those in need. This initiative was designed to address issues of isolation and create new opportunities for communication and collaboration.
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Mentoring Interpreters of New and Emerging Languages
RMIT University and Language Loop created a simple but impactful initiative designed to mentor interpreters of new and emerging languages within the Victorian court and tribunal system.
The project aimed to promote the fair administration of justice for all Victorians and included a free 12 hour training module for interpreters of new and emerging languages.
This mentorship program has helped countless Victorians attain their basic right to a fair legal system. This is achieved through access to better-informed interpreters within the state’s justice system.
Sustainable places
Community Champion Winner: Yarra Valley ECOSS
Project: Yarra Valley ECOSS
First implemented 15 years ago, Yarra Valley ECOSS has created a vibrant community hub that demonstrates sustainable living. The hub supports ethical businesses and not-for-profit groups through an inclusive environment and has extraordinary expansion plans and potential.
The initiative involves partnerships on several levels, from councils and businesses to community and not-for-profit organisations. Through these, Yarra Valley ECOSS aims to showcase alternative living options via creative onsite projects including:
- Crops for Community
- The Valley Market
- Work for the Dole Program.
These are undertaken by volunteers, most of whom are living with a disability and visiting schools.
Yarra Valley ECOSS harnesses opportunities to promote waste reduction, healthy eating, organic and bio-dynamic food, and exercise. There are multiple small businesses onsite, all supported by these sustainably focused projects.
In their efforts to promote food security at the beginning of the first COVID lockdown, Yarra Valley ECOSS started ‘The Valley Market’. The weekly market provided local producers an outlet to sell their produce whilst supporting the community to shop outside of a supermarket, and still feel connected to the community.
Industry Leader Winner: Cardinia Shire Council
Project: Deep Creek Reserve
Cardinia Shire Council, together with the Cardinia Environment Coalition (CEC) and Deep Creek Golf Club, have converted 48 hectares of former farmland into a community park, transforming the space into a regional environmental precinct.
The primary destination for environmental stewardship in the region, Deep Creek Reserve has become a leading voice for environmental sustainability, recently developing a long-term Deep Creek Interpretation and Experience Plan.
Partnerships with industry groups and associations have allowed the Council to establish the first specialist STEM-based centre in the east of Victoria, successfully running high quality, curriculum-based environmental education excursions for primary school students at Deep Creek.
Facilities include:
- the Deep Creek low waste café
- an all-abilities nature-based playground
- a wholesale and retail indigenous plant nursery.
Established in 2020, the nursery provides hundreds of thousands of plants which are sold to residents, land care groups, farmers, new parklands, and developers.
With a strong community focus, Deep Creek Reserve has a goal to connect Cardinia Shire residents with nature and their local indigenous plants and animals.
Finalists
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Epoch Institute
The Epoch office was launched in 2020 with a mission to inspire and educate businesses and communities to adopt environmentally conscious values so that both people and nature can thrive into the future. With construction waste contributing to 46% of landfill in Australia, Epoch was motivated to eliminate waste across all lines of the construction chain.
By upcycling and recycling materials, in combination with sustainable on-site behaviours and tree planting, this project completely offset its carbon footprint.
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Reimagining Box Hill
The Our Future Cities program brought together over 170 young and aspiring sustainability practitioners from diverse backgrounds, universities, and disciplines to participate in an interdisciplinary design sprint.
Created by Reimagining Box Hill, the program encouraged participants to explore new insights and develop new skills in city-shaping. Supported by 70 different industry mentors, teams were required to harness the UNSDG framework, drawing on relevant targets in considering how to achieve localised sustainable development outcomes for Box Hill.
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The Ballarat Line Upgrade
Rail Projects Victoria took a sustainable approach to complete the Ballarat Line Upgrade, reducing greenhouse gas emissions during construction while creating resilient and liveable infrastructure.
As the first to be completed as part of the $4 billion Regional Rail Revival program, the line upgrade saw greenhouse gass emissions reduced by 38%, well above the 25% target. Through partnership with Aboriginal artists, cultural heritage values were integrated into the design.
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The Cape - Sustainable places
The Cape set out to demonstrate that sustainable, resilient housing can be beautiful, affordable, and economically viable. They applied best practice sustainable urban design to transform a previously cleared cattle farm into a thriving biodiversity site.
The Cape models sustainable food and transport, with a community farm accommodating several hundred members, and kilometres of cycling and walking trails to encourage active lifestyles. The Cape mandates homes are built with energy and water-efficient design, rainwater harvesting, solar energy, energy monitoring, and household electric vehicle charging as standard.
Waste reduction and the circular economy
Community Champion Winner: Jo Algie of Ambulance Victoria
Project: Uniform Recycling Program
The Uniform Recycling Program recycles Ambulance Victoria (AV) uniforms, donating thousands of clothing items, as well as work boots and dress shoes, to people in need.
Eighteen months ago, Advanced Life Support (ALS) Paramedic and Team Manager, Jo Algie, noticed many old uniforms were left lying around. This motivated her to develop a program, not just about taking less from the planet, but sharing more with the people who inhabit it.
Partnering with AV’s Supply team, they secured a series of drop-off points and storerooms to accommodate the returned uniforms for processing. The team found several opportunities to upcycle and donate old uniforms, partnering with local Gippsland Lions and Rotary groups to hold working bees to help de-badge uniforms.
In 2020, the Uniform Recycling Program donated, recycled, or rehomed more than 12,300 items. Some key recipients include ambulance services in Vanuatu, PNG, Fiji, and Thailand, Indigenous communities near Alice Springs, and Scout Association First Aid trainers.
The program has also introduced uniform recycling engagement channels, to update paramedics on the program and encourage participation in the initiative.
Industry Leader Winner: OzHarvest
Project: Food Rescue and Redistribution
OzHarvest is a not-for-profit, for-impact organisation, rescuing surplus food that would otherwise go to waste from restaurants, retailers, food outlets, and corporate kitchens, delivering quality food to charitable agencies to feed vulnerable Australians in need.
This program combines an industry waste problem, and waste reduction approach while achieving social and health benefits for the vulnerable. Each month, the Food Rescue Program provides vital nourishment to over 50,000 food-insecure Victorians, significantly contributing to increased community health. In 2020, OzHarvest rescued over 1.31 million kilograms of excess food from going to landfill.
Working with more than 150 charities in Victoria, OzHarvest rescue surplus food from 457 food businesses, and deliver close to 4 million meals to local charities across Melbourne in 2020.
As Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, OzHarvest strives to create culture change for sustainable consumption and increased community adaptability. Their goal is to advocate, inspire and influence others to halve food waste by 2030.
OzHarvest recognises that Education is crucial to enable positive change and aims to increase its efficiency and education surrounding food waste with agencies and donors alike.
Finalists
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Recyclable and Reusable Nursery Trays
Australian Ecosystems are a vertically integrated landscaping company approaching the problem of waste through a combined reuse and recycling program.
Australian Ecosystems have created a circular-economy solution to the horticultural plastic waste problem, replacing almost all single-use plastic pots at their nursery with unique durable, reusable multi-plant trays. Australian Ecosystems estimate that in 2020, over 2 million single-use individual plastic pots were diverted from landfill as a result.
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REBORN by HoMie
REBORN by HoMie produce unique upcycled garments made from clothing and materials otherwise destined for landfill, to address the fashion industry’s contribution towards climate change.
100 per cent of the initiative's profits go to supporting young people (aged 16-25) affected by homelessness or hardship. Over the past year, REBORN has upcycled almost 1,200 garments, otherwise destined for landfill, producing 775 upcycled pieces.
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Recycling Glass into a Useable Resource at Mount Hotham Alpine Resort
Mount Hotham Alpine Resort Management Board is the first to implement a waste sorting station and glass pulveriser. With approximately 60 to 70 tonnes of glass product collected annually from the Mt Hotham Village, they aim to “close the loop” and achieve zero waste to landfill in the near future.
The Resort Management Board identified opportunities to improve the safety and efficiency of waste material processing, diverting 66% of total waste generated by the Mt Hotham Village from landfill.
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Tourism Operators innovative approach to achieve sub-zero waste
Wild Adventures Melbourne (WAM) is a social enterprise and tour operator, looking to set a new best-practice benchmark through regenerative practices within the tourism industry.
WAM created a strategy to operate at sub-zero waste, this included causing no waste while delivering their tours, and leaving each location cleaner than they found it. WAM supports local businesses, has a positive environmental impact, and promotes responsible tourism to customers. They are a progressive regenerative tourism operator, looking to lead by example.
Premier's Recognition Award
Winner: The Nature Conservancy Australia
Project: Bringing Back Victoria's Lost Oyster Reefs
The Bringing Back Victoria's Lost Oyster Reefs project was designed to improve one of Victoria's most prized assets – Port Phillip Bay.
The project, with the help of community members, sought to restore one hectare of native oyster reef in Corio Bay and test a new reef restoration methodology to determine the most effective methods for degraded reef ecosystems.
To date, there have been 6 hectares of reefs restored at Port Phillip Bay. Even at this scale, the reefs provide important water filtration benefits as each oyster can filter 100L of water per day. The project aims to turn rubbish into reefs through their 'Shuck Don’t Chuck' program, with over 415 tonnes of shells recycled by wholesalers, restaurants, markets, and craft bars.
Despite the COVID-associated hurdles, 44 volunteers from 16 different groups were involved in the project, participating in multiple online Restore the Bay sessions, aimed at educating the community about the benefits of shellfish reef restoration.
The group looks to combine efforts of government, community, and the private sector to restore reefs for the benefit of all Victorians.
Premier's Regional Recognition Award
Winner: Macedon Ranges Shire Council
Project: Healthy Landscapes for Healthy Livestock
The Healthy Landscapes for Healthy Livestock project was initiated in response to poor land management outcomes observed across the Macedon Ranges.
The aim was to build the capacity of local livestock farmers to implement regenerative agriculture techniques that
- improved soil health
- enhanced biodiversity
- enhanced on-farm resilience to a changing climate.
The project also aimed to connect farmers through peer-to-peer learning, leading the establishment of a local regenerative agriculture community of practice.
Delivered online, the project used a combination of expert advice, webinars, and short courses to engage with both farmers and landowners. The webinar recordings were viewed 450 times by a range of relevant stakeholders.
An evaluation from 110 participants indicated that 100% of respondents had positively changed their land management practices.
With the help of stakeholders and local farmer partners, the program was able to achieve behavioural change and increase knowledge amongst landowners about sustainable land management and building a regenerative agricultural community of practice.
Its success has allowed for a 12-month extension and expansion into other council areas.
