Community Engagement updates

GBSAN Biodiversity – Landscape Linkages Project

We have been putting most of our energy and time this last month into a proposal to relaunch the Land for Wildlife programme in our region and for the Southern Downs Regional Council to create a Land for Wildlife Officer position.

What is Land for Wildlife?

Land for Wildlife (LFW) is an Australia-wide conservation program in operation since 1981. It encourages and assists private landowners to protect, manage and rehabilitate their land for native flora and wildlife. It enables landowners to integrate nature conservation into other land use, such as grazing and farming. It offers advice from officers working in the program at a grassroots level, educational activities and events and opportunities to meet other LFW members. This is an identified need from the 45 Landholders who have expressed interest in our Landscape Linkages project to help conserve our unique 86 plants and 57 fauna at risk in a bioregion.

The Land for Wildlife Programme is totally voluntary and is free to the landholder.

This is a joint proposal with GBSAN, Granite Borders Landcare Group and Condamine Headwaters Landcare Group and has received strong support from our community as well as Quoll Society Australia and the Stanthorpe Rare Wildflower Consortium.

Landholders do not need to be concerned about this being an extra regulation on their land, affecting their tenure or anyone having access to their land uninvited. The LFW programme is voluntary to opt into and out of at any stage.

The LFW programme is non-political and 13 Local Government Councils in South East Qld employ a LFW officer to assist landholders.

Workshops and information sessions for landholders –

Please note the Stanthorpe Rare Wildflower Consortium's information session on the latest scientific evidence of the state of our threatened flora and fauna was postponed to 4 June 2025.

Dr Darren Fielder experienced ecologist and researcher familiar with the Granite Belt, delivered an excellent and informative presentation on 13 March about Riparian Zone linkages and our threatened and endangered species like the Bell's Turtle and platypus. 30 people attended

GBSAN Bushcare Group

We really are having a great time together while we assist landholders to tackle weeds and/or plantings. A group of us joined Andrew Pengelly at Amiens to do some major damage to African Lovegrass in an important area with endangered species such as Zieria Graniticola. Andrew really appreciated our efforts. There is evidence of native grasses and wildflowers re-emerging where the Lovegrass has been eradicated.
Contact us at community@gbsan.org.au if you have a project for the Bushcare group