Land Covenantors Victoria - March 2026 - Webinar 16/3, meet new member, succession planning, deer problems, bogong moths, free gloves...
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New Year - New Look
Congratulations - you are part of the important tight knit community protecting and supporting private land for the environment.
Next Webinar - Mon 16 March, 7pm
Dr Taylor Gundry
from Greenville Environmental, will share his insights on managing, with his dedicated team, over 1,000 hectares of native vegetation Offsets across Victoria. Weeds, seeding, spraying, monitoring, reporting, biodiversity....
Join us either at the RSV or by Zoom. Some of us are also meeting for a quick bite to eat before hand. Come and join us!
Bush fires hit Victorian properties
To our members facing the devastation of these bushfires:
- We see your heartbreak and the years of hard work you’ve invested in your land, disappearing. Read about LCV member, Fiona Murdoch's experiences.
- While the damage is difficult to witness, our country is resilient.
- Be aware our sister organisation, TFN, is ready to support your recovery through its Landholder Support Program to replace fences, keep weeds at bay, replanting.....
- Our members and friends can still help by contributing to TFN's program.
We also know our dedicated landholders are committed to restoring these landscapes to ensure that they continue to protect our unique biodiversity.
Help our Bogong Moths
Invertebrates Australia, in collaboration with Western Sydney University, are launching a major Bogong moth tagging project this autumn. Each summer, bogong moths gather in the Australian alps before migrating up to a thousand kilometres to breeding grounds scattered across Australia. This tagging project is the first comprehensive effort to track bogong moths during their migration, helping researchers better understand this remarkable journey to ensure it continues.
“We’re seeking keen and inquisitive community collaborators to host a bug lantern and try to spot tagged moths this Autumn. Even a single sighting of a tagged moth gives us a critical piece of the migration puzzle,” Biodiversity Council member and Invertebrates Australia Director Dr Kate Umbers.
The project especially needs hosts in towns surrounding the Australian Alps and no prior experience is needed. You can learn more here and sign up here.
Succession planning & your legacy
At some point in our lives, we have to work out what we plan to do with our little piece of paradise - our covenanted property.
Gippsland conservationists Heather and Jim Phillipson - long-time land covenantors and LCV supporters - have found a suitable pathway, donating 'North Paddock', a 105-hectare property on the southern edge of the Avon Wilderness in Maffra West Upper to BioDiversity Legacy for its permanent protection and stewardship.
BioDiversity Legacy works closely with landholders who already hold conservation covenants or are considering them. Its Local Landholding Entity (LLE) model offers an additional pathway to secure land permanently, transferring it into a dedicated, community-led not-for-profit structure.
North Paddock, currently managed by the family's stewardship group, EcoGipps, forms a biolink between the Gippsland Plains and Victorian Alps.
The property meets four objectives of the Trust for Nature Statewide Conservation Plan and is rated 'Very High' for conservation significance. Its diverse ecosystems include Lowland Forest, Lowland Herb-rich Forest, Swamp Scrub, White and Red Stringybark, Blue/Red Box/Peppermint eucalypts and a rare tea-tree soak. Rare flora such as Bushy Hedgehog Grass, Rough-grain Love-grass, Heath Platysace, and Muttonwood thrive here.
With North Paddock now permanently safeguarded, the Phillipsons have turned their attention to donating two further properties totalling 253 hectares to BioDiversity Legacy - setting a compelling example for other landholders seeking to protect the landscapes they love and leave a living legacy.
New river protection is in place
Does your property property border on any of the following rivers?
- Cherry Creek
- Deep Creek
- Darebin Creek
- Edgars Creek
- Emu Creek
- Gardiners Creek
- Jacksons Creek
- Koonung Creek
- Kororoit Creek
- Maribyrnong River
- Merri Creek
- Moonee Ponds Creek
- Plenty River
- Skeleton Creek
- Steele Creek
- Stony Creek
- Werribee River
As part of the Planning for Waterways Program, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has implemented new planning controls across 17 waterways. The new controls came into effect on 20 January 2026. Check here for more information.
Deer problems anyone?
One of our roles as covenantors is to manage threats to biodiversity values such as vegetation quality. This can involve managing threats that impact an increase in vegetation quality as well as vegetation recruitment and regeneration. Here is a solution from Board member, Penny Richards.
On our property of 50 acres in Noojee we found a copse of Native Cherry or Cherry Ballart (Exocarpos cupressiformis) trees that were being severely impacted by deer rubbing the bark effectively ringbarking the trees. Deer choose rough barked species such as Cherry Ballart to rub the velvet off their antlers.
To prevent further damage to the trees we decided to opt for a method of physical protection of these trees. We have placed double Possumguard® bands with batons (no screw penetration of bark) around all (9) living cherry ballart in March 2017. Possumguard® is a heavy-duty plastic guard with adjustable battens that protect the trunks from deer antler rubbing but allow the trunk to grow.
Shortly after placing the guards on the trees the area was monitored using wildlife cameras and although deer were recorded moving through the copse, no attempted rubbing was recorded and subsequently we have not observed any new deer damage to other trees.
The treeguards have now been in place for 8 years and appear to be working well.
We periodically monitor the guards and overall tree health and think that this protection has been successful. The beauty of the adjustable battens is that they can be adjusted to allow for tree growth.
Needing help on your property?
As managers of land we sometimes need outside help to do the on ground work. At LCV we hope to have a list of contractors who may be able to help our members. Let us introduce land management business Eco-Lane Solutions.
Based in Pakenham, they service Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs, Gippsland and regional Victoria providing on-ground support for revegetation, bush regeneration, spraying, and vegetation management projects.
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For our Southpaw MembersA member has numerous (10+) of slightly used left handed leather gardening gloves looking for a good home. If you are interested drop us an email. You may also be interested in exchanging your surplus right hand gloves.
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What has the LCV Board been up to?
Members of the Executive have been busy the last couple of months.
- Working on a Rate Reduction Policy including courses of action
- Applying for grants
- Applying for NFP relief on the use of programs
- Setting up a research project for uni students
More information on these topics will be available in the coming months.
Time to get involved???
LCV is putting in back up procedures to ensure its continuation and expansion. Many hands make light work. There are still many areas where we are needing help. They include:
- Executive positions - renewal - Treasurer position
- Secretariat which including the use of our CRM, ChilliDB, Zoom
- IT
- Website - Wordpress
- Images
- Newsletter - the use of Campaign Monitor, editing, Canva
- Social Media (Facebook, Instagram...)
- Webinars
- Finance - learn to use Xero, very straightforward
There is always something that has to be done, and something to learn in the process. You will find we are a friendly lot.
LCV is also looking for members who would like to highlight their property on its website or be interested in having a field day.
