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April 2026 edition
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Resilient Ecosystems Ecologist Elly Pratt and Team Leader Janet Moore getting Pix Stix up and running on the Yorke Peninsula coast. This pilot project is just the beginning. The more photos collected over time, the clearer the picture of how our coastline is changing.
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Snap. Send. Citizen science.
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Four new Pix Stix have just popped up along Yorke Peninsula's coastline, and they're turning everyday beach visits into citizen science.
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You'll find them at Wauraltee Beach, Parsons Beach, Point Souttar and Daly Head. The idea is simple: pop your phone in the groove, snap a photo from the same spot as everyone else, and send it in. Your image becomes part of a long-term visual record that helps us track dune movement, erosion, vegetation shifts and early weed incursions.
Originally dreamed up on Eyre Peninsula, this is the first Pix Stix project for our region. "Every photo is a tiny data point with big potential," says Team Leader Janet Moore. "Whether you're walking the dog or chasing a sunset, your photo helps build a picture of what's changing along our coast."
>> Learn more about how to get involved
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Kelly Freebairn leading Riverton District High School students through their first Waterwatch session, collecting data that contributes to freshwater health monitoring across the region.
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Waterwatch is back, and the creek's already talking
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Flow season is here, and so are the students. Waterwatch is back for its third year across the Clare Valley and Barossa, and Riverton District High School wasted no time getting involved.
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Last month, Kelly Freebairn and cultural educators Mel and Bec Agius led the school's first session of the season, with our Regional Water Officer, Brooke Kerin and Caring for Country Officer, Josh Strangways there to support the session.
From May through to November, students head out to local waterways each month to collect and record real water quality data that feeds into the National Waterbug Database, building a clearer picture of freshwater health across the region and beyond.
Not connected to a school? There are still ways to get involved. Keep an eye out for our BioBlitz events coming to the Clare Valley on 25 September and the Barossa on 30 October.
>> Find out more
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Sign up to a free workshop to grow a smarter coastal garden - protect our beautiful coastline while creating gardens that look great and last. Reserve your spot today.
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Know your coast, grow your garden
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If you live or holiday on the Yorke Peninsula coastline, these free workshops are worth putting in the diary.
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Coastal Gardens: A Planting Guide is back in 2026, with our YP Landscape Officers running two sessions in late May and early June. Learn how to create a stylish, resilient garden using local native plants suited to the tough realities of coastal living, salty winds, sandy soils and all. You'll also find out which common garden plants are known to escape into surrounding coastal environments and what to choose instead.
Every attendee goes home with a free coastal gardens planting guide, some local native plants to get started, and afternoon tea included.
📅 Point Turton Community Centre | Sunday 31 May | 1–3pm
📅 Wallaroo Holiday Park | Wednesday 3 June | 11am–1pm
Free, but bookings are essential.
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See desalination in action
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Curious about desalination as an option for your property? We are teaming up with Rowater to host a series of short, hands-on workshops across the Clare Valley, Barossa Valley and Northern Adelaide Plains this May.
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You'll hear from leading experts on water quality, what it means for your crops and livestock, and what your options are when salinity is the problem. Each session includes a live demonstration of a desalination plant treating local saline bore water.
Details are being finalised, so get in touch with Sustainable Agriculture Officer, Brianna Guidera, to find out more or register your interest.
Don't forget to sign up to the Sustainable Ag Update to stay across events and opportunities in your area.
>> Subscribe here
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Got a project idea that's good for your corner of the region? Grassroots Grants are now open. EOIs close 10 April at 5pm
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Got a project idea? Now's the time
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The Grassroots Grants program is back, and Expressions of Interest close 10 April. Grants from $2,000 to $10,000 are on the table for community-led environmental projects across the Northern and Yorke region.
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Last year, almost $195,000 went to volunteers, schools, community groups, First Nations organisations, councils and landholder groups. For 2026–27, up to $200,000 is available again.
Projects must contribute to the region's priorities around land, water and nature. The EOI is a short, low-commitment first step, and it's a great opportunity to talk your idea through with our team before you commit to a full application.
Not sure if your idea qualifies? Head to the website and check, then get in touch.
EOIs close 10 April at 5pm. No extensions.
>> Learn more
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Grassroots Grants case studies
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Before and after tells the story, but the work happens here. Riesling Trail Management Committee members, Allan Mayfield and Trevor Mace, tackling invasive olives along the trail.
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Clearing the way: how the Riesling Trail took on olives (and is winning)
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This is the first in a series of case studies highlighting some of the great work happening across our region through the Grassroots Grants program.
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Read about how Grassroots Grants are supporting the Riesling Trail Management Committee to remove invasive olives and restore native vegetation along the Riesling Trail, improving biodiversity, protecting the landscape and making an already‑loved trail even better for visitors.
The project is delivering improved environmental values along the Riesling Trail, enhancing biodiversity and visitor understanding while caring for one of the Clare Valley’s most iconic shared assets. Read the case study and see great before and after photos.
>> Learn more
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Rugged country, dedicated people. World's End Conservation volunteers on the ground in the Upper Mid North.
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One property, one decade, real results: Conservation at World’s End
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Deep in the Upper Mid North, World's End Conservation volunteers are rolling up their sleeves and getting to work.
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Through Grassroots Grants funding, the team is steadily reducing weed and feral animal impacts in one of the region's most rugged and unique landscapes, restoring habitat and building long-term resilience for the country they care deeply about.
>> Read full case study
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Last chance for free water salinity testing across Clare and Barossa
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If you've got a licensed well in the Clare Valley or Barossa, April is your final chance to get free groundwater salinity testing this season.
Knowing your salinity levels helps you make better decisions about how you use your bore, whether that's for irrigation, stock or crops.
>> Free salinity testing Clare | Barossa
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Let's talk carbon farming
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Landscape boards across South Australia are running a free Carbon Farming Webinar Series to help farmers and land managers get across carbon farming and on-farm emissions reduction.
Running from 17 February to 8 May, the series features trusted industry experts breaking down complex topics into practical, easy-to-understand information.
>> Learn more and register
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Find the latest information and opportunities for people working in agriculture in the Northern and Yorke region, via our Sustainable Ag Update. Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator, Molly O'Dea keeps her finger on the pulse and updates this page regularly to help keep you informed.
>> Sign up to receive the Sustainable Ag Update to be the first in-the-know.
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Bite Size Grants
The Northern and Yorke Landscape Board's Bite-sized Grants offer between $200 and $2,000 to community groups and not-for-profit organisations for small, short-term projects. The aim is to deliver positive environmental and landscape management outcomes, such as weed control, revegetation projects and pest animal management. The 2025-2026 round of the Bite-sized Grants program is open until Monday 13 April 2026.
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Grassroots Grants
The Northern and Yorke Landscape Board's Grassroots Grants offer between $2000 and $10,000 to community groups and not-for-profit organisations for small, short-term projects. The 2026-2027 round of the Grassroots Grants program is open for Expressions of Interest until Friday 10 April 2026.
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Algal bloom support packages
As the state battles with algal bloom along its coastlines, the South Australian and Australian governments have announced algal bloom support packages, including financial relief payments for impacted commercial fisheries, licenced aquaculture businesses and eligible marine industry businesses. Counselling and other resources are also available.
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Flow season on the Wakefield River. Captured by Andrew Case.
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Do you have a landscape or nature photo to share? If you've taken a striking photo somewhere in the Northern and Yorke region, we'd love to share it in an upcoming edition of the Yakka.
>> Email Anna with your images
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Acknowledgement of Country
The Narungga, Nukunu, Kaurna, Ngadjuri and Peramangk
people are the traditional custodians of the Northern
and Yorke region. We acknowledge and respect elders past
and present, and value their connection to Country.
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