PEOPLE have a chance to add sparkle to their local landscape, and there is help available.
The Victorian Government is helping businesses and organisations grow more native plants to restore the precious landscapes and protect habitat through BushBank.
Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos has announced a $3 million investment to help meet demand for native woody shrub and tree seeds and seedlings. The funding is part of the $77 million BushBank program. It is the largest restoration program aimed at restoring important habitat for native wildlife across the state and reduce carbon emissions.
This investment will ensure Victoria has the seeds and plants needed to restore ecosystems, protect biodiversity, and create healthier environments for future generations.
Mr Dimopoulos said: “BushBank is our most ambitious habitat restoration program that is planting millions of native trees and plants across more than 20,000 hectares of land across Victoria.
“Today’s seeds will be tomorrow’s habitat, a vital source of shelter and protection for wildlife and an important tool in our fight against climate change.”
The BushBank Seed Sector Support Grants will help expand and upgrade seed orchards and provide a more reliable seed supply in areas across the state, including in the Wimmera, Goulburn Broken, North Central, Mallee, West Gippsland, Glenelg Hopkins and Port Phillip.
The funding will help seed sector businesses, organisations and Traditional Owner groups create new regional jobs, purchase machinery to improve harvesting, expand and upgrade nurseries and propagate hundreds of thousands of seedlings per year – supporting their work to restore habitat across Victoria.
It will also support First Peoples’ participation in the sector, provide workforce training and capability uplift and help establish a strategically located seed centre to build regional capability.
Most native seed used in the BushBank program is at present collected from existing native vegetation.
BushBank’s program partner, Cassinia Environmental, continues to work with landowners for planting on private properties, working towards a target of revegetating 20,000 hectares of land by 2035.
The Victorian Government has made a record $800 million investment to protect the state’s natural environment and reverse native species decline.