words by Kathleen Brack, Victorian Young Landcare Leader 2017
Here are some things I’ve learnt about Landcare over the years from working as a Landcare Project Officer, helping co-found Gippsland Intrepid Landcare, and from Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope.
1. Never say no to a cup of tea (AKA listen, listen, listen).
If someone offers you a cup of tea, always say yes. Sitting around a kitchen table, listening to stories and ideas is one of the best things you can do as a Landcare Project Officer. Sharing a cup of tea is an opportunity to focus for 5 minutes and listen to someone’s concerns, objectives and goals. As Leslie knows, listening is critical to helping understand the change that needs to occur.
2. If it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a village to create a Landcare group.
Gippsland Intrepid Landcare’s formation (and subsequent successes) is not because of one person, but due to a village of young people all chipping in a little, creating a lot. Having a village of people creates support, momentum, ideas, and reduces the load on a single volunteer (to the Gippsland Intrepid committee: Derek, Madeline, Jem, Kelsey, Brita, Harriett… you guys rock!). Leslie Knope understands this well. She has her own Pawnee tribe to support her through the highs and lows of life.
3. It’s all about the food.
It’s a universal truth that food brings people together and breaks down barriers. Landcare meetings, workshops or events are often just a thinly-veiled excuse to share really, really good food and a chat. Think freshly baked scones with homemade cream from the dairy, a BBQ with beef from the paddock or hot soup warmed over a campfire. For Leslie, her priorities in life are clear.
4. Not everybody gets everything at the same time.
People are different. They have different needs and concerns. They adopt new practices at different rates. Don’t stress if not everyone wants to adopt a practice straight away, as Leslie knows well, not everybody has the same vision as you and that’s ok. Keep working at it (and don’t forget rule number 1).
5. Landcare. Gets. Stuff. Done.
Oh Landcare, is there anything thou can’t do? Seriously. Every day Landcare groups or individuals are outside doing so much to improve the environment, often off their own back and out of their own purse. Thanks to Landcare there are more trees in the ground, cleaner rivers, better biodiversity and happier communities all because of Landcare. Leslie, queen of parks, community and the environment, would LOVE Landcare. As Chris Traeger would say:
Interested in Landcare >> Follow on social media, volunteer, join a group or start your own!
Comments 2
as one of those graybeard Landcare Elders, I say Yes, Yes, Yes, as what I have learnt is that Landcare is a Community, with a unique voice, a can-do approach and amazing diversity.
I share with yo a wonderful definition by American conservationist and writer Wendell Berry, also an ‘elder’ : “A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define and limit the possibilities of each other’s lives. It is the knowledge that people have of each other, their concern for each other, their trust in each other, the freedom with which they come and go among themselves.” ― Wendell Berry , from The Long-Legged House (1969), “The Loss of the Future”
The other thing I have learned is that Landcare represents “Collective Achievement”. A quote from Chris Kutarna and Ian Goldin reflects this: “humanity’s expanding powers of collective achievement: our new, disruptive capacity for sharing and collaboration that inflates the boundaries of the possible” —- Age of Discovery: Navigating the Risks and Rewards of Our New Renaissance By: Ian Goldin and Chris Kutarna.
CONGRATULAIONS, Lelsie on your award!!
CORRECTION to my earlier comment: Congratulations Kathleen Brack on your award.