Deadline: 30-Jun-23
Do you have plans to improve biodiversity on your property? The City of Casey’s Biodiversity Incentive Scheme supports conservation projects within the community.
Funding Information
- Amount they provide: up to $2000
Grant Streams Available
- Revegetation stream: indigenous plants provided to support your revegetation work for public or private land.
- Mainstream: resident (private land manager) or volunteers (public land managers) receive financial support for projects
What they can fund?
- Revegetation Stream
- Plants for revegetation
- Council understands the widespread benefits of increasing canopy cover and native vegetation across Casey. To support this approach, 10,000 indigenous plants will be available, with a streamlined application and acquittal process.
- Conditions
- Plantings must happen in areas that have little to no native vegetation, or little biodiversity.
- Plants will be provided for the current upcoming planting season
- Council will coordinate the supply of plants.
- All plants must be Ecological Vegetation Class (EVC) specific and sourced from locally indigenous stock.
- The applicant is responsible for site preparation, planting and ongoing maintenance.
- All planting must be done following best practice.
- Planting of tube stock must take place within the planting season of the year the grant was approved.
- Recipients must provide photographs illustrating works undertaken.
- Council will consider staged planting projects over several years.
- Plants for revegetation
- Mainstream
- Fencing of indigenous vegetation
- Fencing is a valuable land management tool for protecting indigenous vegetation including both remnant and revegetated areas. This subsidy will be provided on a per metre basis and the total funding will depend on the fencing material required. This grant will cover both the cost of materials and installation.
- Conditions
- All material must be new.
- The landowner must maintain the fence.
- The landowner and Council will work together to determine the location of the fence.
- The fence must be stock proof.
- Areas fenced to protect remnant vegetation and environmentally sensitive areas must remain stock-free.
- Fencing rebates
- A standard post and wire fence is based on one post every 5-10 metres. These can be substituted with barbed wire if desired. Landowners are responsible for extra costs from barbed wire fencing. Wire mesh for rabbit exclusion is included.
- Weed control
- Funding is available to control noxious and environmental weeds on private property.
- Conditions
- All works must follow best practice and regulations.
- Follow up weed control must be completed over the following 3 years.
- Residents must be able to show they are already meeting their statutory requirements.
- Council will fund up to half the cost of a suitably qualified contractor or the cost of chemicals if the landholder is carrying out the weed control.
- Funding will not cover weed control equipment such as sprayers etc or personal protective equipment.
- Conservation Management Plan Actions
- Conservation Management Plans are plans that are prepared for your property by either yourself or a suitably qualified ecologist that map out the conservation works being proposed. These plans should cover your goals and actions and may include short- or long-term projects.
- Conditions
- Management or planting plans can be developed by the landholder and must clearly show goals and actions.
- All works must be undertaken by a suitably qualified contractor or inkind by the landholder.
- Equipment and materials can be applied for to undertake the work.
- All works must follow best practice.
- Permit conditions or any actions linked to a permit condition will not be funded.
- Pest animal control
- Landowners and Council fund the control of pest animals together. In some cases, neighbours on surrounding properties will also need to participate.
- Examples of pest animals include:
- the red fox
- European rabbit
- feral cats
- Conditions
- All works must follow best practice and regulations.
- Where appropriate, a landscape approach should be initiated. Projects that involve many neighbouring landholders will be highly regarded.
- Pest animal control works are to protect remnant vegetation and areas of high environmental significance.
- Fencing of indigenous vegetation
Funding priorities and how they decide on successful grants?
They will give preference to applicants and applications that:
- meet the required conditions
- protect large patches of remnant vegetation
- demonstrate a contribution to the biodiversity of the property and surrounding environment
- are within proximity of significant species found on or adjacent to the property
- are located near and form a connectivity with other areas of quality vegetation
- are requesting revegetation, with preference to using indigenous native plants
- provide a Conservation Management Plan and are well planned, including a maintenance program
- have undertaken training
- propose works that align with or support Council’s existing biodiversity improvement program
- have considered and plan for works that avoid or minimise their impact on any existing native vegetation and are environmentally acceptable
- demonstrate a level of in-kind contribution
Eligibility Criteria
- This grant is open to private landowners and volunteer public land managers who want to improve native vegetation in Casey.
- Applicants can choose between receiving monetary support or a donation of indigenous seedlings.
For more information, visit City of Casey.
