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A Landcare Year and the Decade of Landcare

The Minister of Agriculture, Lyn Arnold, at the launch of the Year of Landcare, at Cobblers Creek in 1989.

In July 1989 Prime Minister Bob Hawke released a much publicized and promoted statement ‘Our Country, Our Future’. There was a general recognition that over the preceding 200 years since European settlement began in Australia the environment had been degraded severely.

The Year of Landcare launch in South Australia in 1989 by the State Minister of Agriculture, Lynn Arnold, at a badly degraded site at Cobblers Creek in northern Adelaide raised awareness of the great challenges ahead. Subsequently, with intense lobbying by concerned groups, funding for the year stretched into the Decade of Landcare and beyond. The National Farmers Federation and the Australian Conservation Foundation suggested the Year of Landcare (1990) might evolve into a Decade of Landcare (2000).

Those attending the launch in 1989 included Members of Parliament; representatives of local councils, Soil Boards, Agricultural Bureaus, Women’s Agricultural Bureaus, Trees for Life, Greening Australia, the Conservation Council of SA, the Nature Foundation of SA, the Farmers’ Federation, The Education Department, the National Parks & Wildlife Department; officers of the Department of Agriculture, and members of the SA Landcare Committee.

In 1991 a Decade of Landcare Plan was launched in South Australia as a component of the National Decade of Landcare Plan. The Landcare program has expanded beyond its initial focus on tree planting. Many field days have been held with Landcare as their theme by Agricultural Bureau branches, Soil Boards and Landcare groups. Within a few years more than 300 community Landcare groups had been formed around the State. Trees for Life and Bushcare groups also had a significant impact.

Of major importance to raising an awareness of the environment has been the involvement of schools at all levels. This awareness should have a lasting effect on the attitude of future generations of Australians. Students have been involved in tree planting projects in particular, so that a current target of 3 000 000 trees being planted in the urban area is anticipated.

In the rural areas of the State the growing recognition of the value of property planning, contour banking, direct seeding, water management and the rehabilitation of watercourses, revegetation and biodiversity have all been the subject of local field days. These topics will continue to be important in changing people’s attitudes towards improving the environment.

South Australia’s record of success in a range of annual national Landcare awards has acknowledged the dedication to Landcare by groups and individuals. The national Landcare Award night in the Great Hall of Parliament House in Canberra is a significant occasion for those who are honoured.