Linda Vernon – Young Landcare Leader Award

Project Profile

Issues

Throughout the WA Wheatbelt, Linda Vernon has worked with a wide range of community and government groups, as well as landholders, to develop a range of natural resource management programs to provide long term, environmentally sustainable solutions.

Project Detail

Twenty eight year old Trayning local, Linda Vernon has been nominated for a National Landcare Award for her outstanding natural resource management work within the Central Wheatbelt of Western Australia.

Linda has been involved with many projects and activities spanning 13 Shires throughout the Wheatbelt collaborating with the North Eastern Wheatbelt Organisation of Councils (NEWROC) and the Wheatbelt East Regional Organisation of Councils (WEROC).

The ‘Corridors Across NEWROC’ program involved revegetation corridors being planted through six shires with over 40 landholders. 550,000 seedlings were planted and 79km of fencing to protect the bush pockets from livestock.

In addition to the corridors, the ‘Fox Free NEWROC’ program ran for two years through seven shires and provided 50 Landholders with over 9,000 fox baits to eliminate foxes. The program was adopted into the “Red Card for the Red Fox” project, which promoted fox control throughout the entire south west region.

A further planting program with NEWROC saw 23,000 seedlings distributed to more than 20 farmers throughout the North Eastern Wheatbelt in the ‘Our Patch’ project. Another success of the project was $20,000 in funding to implement revegetation and recreational management activities in the Billycatting Reserve in Trayning.

Linda worked closely with the NEWROC and WEROC NRM groups to apply for funding through the Federal Government’s Caring for Country program. The groups received $273,000 for encouraging perennial farming systems within the Eastern Wheatbelt and this provided nearly 700,000 seedlings of various perennial tree and shrub fodder species to landholders throughout the Wheatbelt of WA.

The current area of focus for Linda is with Saltland Pastures Association (SPA), which works with farmers throughout the south west of Western Australia to improve saline properties by encouraging perennial fodder crops to be planted. The SPA assists farmers revegetate saline land on their properties to increase groundwater uptake, reduce wind erosion and provide fodder for livestock.

Another important part of Linda’s work is to mentor new NRM Officers and offer project management advice. The sharing of knowledge and experience provides a great resource for the NRM Officers and gives Linda the opportunity to continue to be involved with the local NRM.

Through years of dedicated service to natural resource management, Linda has assisted hundreds of landholders in improving the quality of their properties both economically and environmentally

Linda Vernon is one of 88 finalists in the National Landcare Awards to be announced in Canberra on 24 June 2010. Commencing in 1991, the Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals and groups that make a valuable contribution to the land and coast where they live and work.

Photography

Linda Vernon