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In 2020, I had June 26 circled on the calendar and started counting down the days.
It was the day Tasmanians were allowed to travel more than 30 kilometres from home, and the very first thing I did after almost three months in lockdown, including a stint in hotel quarantine, was head for the bush.
The truth is in Tassie, the bush isn't really very far away, no matter where you live, but I wanted to escape, to reconnect with wilderness within and without, to get back in touch with the spirit of this extraordinary place.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, right across the country, people have been rediscovering the joys of nature whether it was creating a backyard veggie patch or exploring previously overlooked local parks.
For some this passion for the land is not a new thing, but a love that has been nurtured across the decades, and last Thursday night that dedication was celebrated in the Landcare Awards.
The beauty of Landcare is that it isn't confined to a particular ecosystem or geographic location, but recognises that every habitat in our patchwork landscapes has a critical role to play, including, or should I say especially our agricultural land, some of the most abused and neglected spaces in the nation.
Justin and Lorroi Kirkby from Amarula Dorpers in Gravesend NSW, while missing out on the major gong, received the Australian Government Landcare Farming Award for their years of dedication to natural resource management and sustainable agriculture.
Similarly, Tasmania's Redbank Farm, winner of the Australian Government Innovation in Agriculture Award, is using cutting edge technology to improve the land literally at a grass roots level starting with the soil.
But it isn't just terrestrial landscapes that need our attention. The diversity of the Landcare philosophy is best exemplified by the Coastcare Award, won by Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation from the Northern Territory, who for two decades has preserved land and sea country in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the Australian Government Partnerships for Landcare Award presented to Floating Landcare.
Of course, none of this work happens in isolation, it is a collective effort and this was celebrated through the ACM Landcare Community Group Award which went to Red Hill Bush Regenerators from the ACT.
Despite many Landcare activities focussing on remediation, ultimately, the goal is creating a healthy, productive, sustainable and beautiful environment not just for aesthetic or spiritual reasons, but for our very survival.
So while the present is important, the future is absolutely critical and you're never too young to start improving your world, which is why Landcare acknowledges the next generation through its Woolworths Junior Landcare Team Award won by Newham Public School in Victoria and the Austcover Young Landcare Leadership Award presented to Dhani Gilbert from the ACT.
These are just some of the 100,000-plus stories told in more than 6000 Landcare groups across Australia, in every state and territory with the model so successful, it has now been adopted by more than 20 countries.
But it's a vast nation and there's so much to do.
The iconic Landcare logo features two hands, so if you want to get your two hands dirty and grow a better future, visit the Landcare website to find your nearest group.
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