bankmecu

bankmecu and Landcare Australia have partnered in the inspiring “Conservation Landbank” project since 2008. This long term conservation project sees a range of groups come together to purchase, protect and enhance key properties in Western Victoria.

The Conservation Landbank grew from two properties: Minimay and Judith Eardley Reserve (Ozenkadnook) and now includes a third property, Minimay North, purchased in 2011. Landcare Australia works with local community groups, including the Kowree Farm Tree Group, to deliver a range of key actions that include;

• Delivery of land management plans
• On-ground delivery of land management and revegetation outcomes
• Project management including the provision of advice (including carbon assessment), engagement with stakeholders and on-site visits.
• Quarterly reporting on the progress of the project

The properties, which are equivalent in size to 90 MCG’s (football stadiums) are home to Victoria’s most iconic yet endangered bird. Only an estimated 1,000 South-eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoos remain, and these properties, with their Buloke and Desert Stringybark woodlands, provide an ideal habitat for this rare creature.

In addition, the Conservation Landbank is also home to the Golden Sun Moth, Growling Grass-frog and Striped Legless Lizard.

Today there is an urgent need to protect Australia’s natural heritage on private land. Private bush land contains threatened plants and animals, which are often not found in public parks and reserves. Private bush land also acts as a buffer zone to our much-loved national parks system. With nearly 70 per cent of Victoria cleared of bush it is crucial we act now to conserve and enhance the 1,000,000 hectares of unprotected bush left on Victorian private land.

bankmecu‘s Conservation Landbank is leading the way in private land conservation. It also sits within the broader framework of Habitat 141 which is an impressive landscape scale conservation project which is reconnecting habitat from the outback to the ocean. This is an important project in a changing climate and aims to enhance species mobility and survival.

Click here to visit the bankmecu website.