The landcare movement started in 1985, although as early as the 1940s community groups were getting together to tackle some of the local environmental issues. Gympie & District Landcare Group was started 3 years after the movement began, in 1988, by some of our local graziers making it one of the oldest Landcare groups in Queensland. The group was established to promote responsible land management in the region covering Gympie City, Widgee Shire, Kilkivan Shire, Tiaro Shire and other small outlying communities in the region.
During the following decade Gympie & District Landcare assisted with the formation of independent Landcare groups and when Gympie City and Widgee Shire amalgamated into Cooloola Shire the group focused its activities within the new Cooloola Shire.
Gympie District Landcare Group won the Community Group category at the 1999 Queensland Landcare Awards and was a finalist at the 2000 National Landcare Awards and winner of the 2001 Queensland NHT Rivercare Award.
In March 2000 we became the first Landcare group in Australia to be inscribed onto the federal government’s Register of Environmental Organisations. We are a not-for-profit member-based organisation that became an incorporated association in 1991. We have a rich 30-year history of strong community support that enables us to fulfill our vision of leaving a legacy of sustainable land care management in the Gympie region.
Our purpose is to inspire environmental regeneration through community engagement. We do that by providing:
- Educating the community.
- Carrying out environmental conservation works.
- Providing native plants to our local and farming communities.
- Providing bio-security options and resources to our local community.
(For more on our services click here)
We build opportunities for community engagement and relationships with the public and our other partners and lobby for more sustainable land care management systems.
We are keenly focused on engaging wider participation in caring for the natural resources (Click here to become a member or make a donation), being respected by our community and partners and ensuring we have a sustainable well-governed organisation that can flourish for the next generation.
We are guided by a management committee (click here for more on the MC) that sets strategic direction, manages our risks, fine tunes our policies and ensures that we are operating effectively staying true to our vision and purpose.
We welcome like-minded people who are passionate about land care and are blessed with competent and passionate staff and volunteers who have a can-do attitude. All our projects are strategically aligned, planned and measured for their effectiveness.
