Applying for funding? Sounds like an Enviroplan!
24 August 2023
Are you a wildlife carer or part of an environmental not-for-profit group, school or childcare centre passionate about conserving and protecting Ipswich’s iconic natural values?
Ipswich City Council is encouraging local environmental champions to apply for up to $3,000 each when the first round of the 2023-2024 Enviroplan Levy Community Funding Program opens on 1 September.
Environment and Sustainability Committee Chairperson Deputy Mayor Russell Milligan said council is proud to support community initiatives and partnerships that contribute to a vibrant, healthy and sustainable city.
“There is a role for everyone in protecting and maintaining Ipswich’s vast and diverse natural landscape, and we can be proud of the work that our grass-roots community groups do every day to make an impact,” Deputy Mayor Milligan said.
“I’m pleased to invite not-for-profit community groups, schools, childcare centres and wildlife carers to apply for council’s support in continuing their invaluable contribution to our environment.
“The Enviroplan Levy Community Funding Program supports projects that increase community understanding and participation while conserving bushland and native flora and fauna on private or public land within our local government boundary.
“This complements council’s own conservation work with our city boasting more than 6,500 hectares of reserves and conservation estates.
“Around $960,000 in this year’s budget has been committed from the Enviroplan Levy to support the management and maintenance of these critical natural habitats, including Flinders Goolman and White Rock Spring Mountain Conservation Estates.
“Working together, council and community groups can make a real difference to our natural environment so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come.”
The Enviroplan Levy Community Funding Program has recently changed from three annual rounds to two, providing applicants with a more streamlined application process and more funding available each round.
Funding has increased from $2,000 to $3,000 for not-for-profit community groups and organisations, and from $1,000 to $1,500 for wildlife carers each round.
Deputy Mayor Milligan said projects by past recipients, such as Somerset and Wivenhoe Fish Stocking Association and the Orphan Native Animal Rear and Release Association Incorporated, serve as fantastic examples of the exponential impact that can be achieved when investing in community action.
Somerset and Wivenhoe Fish Stocking Association President Garry Fitzgerald said the volunteer-run association has been re-stocking native fish in local waterways since it launched in 1988 to improve conservation and recreational fishing outcomes across the region.
“We applied for funding to help address a missing link in the biodiversity of Ipswich’s waterways, resulting from the extinction of the Brisbane River Cod in the 1930s,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“Enviroplan funding enabled us to source 1,000 juvenile Mary River Cod from one of only two hatcheries currently permitted to produce these fish, then under our stocking permit, release them into local waters to revive the local cod population lost almost a century ago.
“With additional funding from Somerset Regional Council, Scenic Rim Regional Council, Department of Environment and Science, and CleanCo Queensland, more than 28,000 juvenile cods have been released.
“As a top order predator growing to a metre in length, cod can help to control pest fish populations such as tilapia, carp and mosquitofish that are widespread in our region, damaging the natural environment and native fish communities.
“Our goal is to create a self-sustaining cod population in our waterways, without the need for ongoing intervention.”
Orphan Native Animal Rear and Release Association Incorporation Secretary Beverley Clarke said the funding they received went straight into supplying food and medication for the wildlife in their care.
“Our volunteers work tirelessly around the clock caring for injured and orphaned native wildlife so they can be safely released back into the wild,” Mrs Clarke said.
“We cater for everything from birds to bandicoots and kangaroos to flying foxes.
“Some babies need several months to a year of care, while others can be raised in just several weeks.
“All the costs associated with caring for this native wildlife is borne by our volunteer members.
“Funding from council means we can reduce this burden so they can ultimately take on more wildlife to release back into the environment.”
Applications open 1 September and close 30 September 2023. A second round will open in March 2024.
For more information about community funding available, and to apply for Enviroplan Levy Community Funding, visit: Ipswich.qld.gov.au/services/funding-and-support