What is the Coastcare Victoria Community Grants Program?
The Coastcare Victoria Community Grants program is an initiative to support community organisations to protect and enhance the coastal and near-shore marine environment.
Background
The 2021 grants program is funded by the Victorian Government’s Sustainability Fund and the Victorian Great Outdoors Initiative, which seek to build community capacity, support community adaptation and improve ecosystem resilience to climate change.
The 2021 Grants Program aims to support the three pillars in the Coastcare Victoria Strategy 2021-2026:
- Marine and Coastal Stewardship – conservation, rehabilitation, restoration and preventative actions for Victoria’s coastal and marine ecosystems.
- Thriving Marine and Coastal Community Groups and Networks – supporting community organisations to diversify, plan for the future and be responsive to change.
- Victorians Valuing the Coast – supporting community participation, engagement and education to enhance community knowledge and understanding of coastal and marine management.
Funding
The Victorian government is providing funding up to $647,000 for the 2021 Coastcare Victoria Community Grants program.
This 2021, there are two types of grants available:
- Small grants of up to $5,000.
- Large grants from $5,000 up to $30,000 for larger projects.
Projects will fit into one of three streams on offer including:
- Stewardship and Education.
- Strengthening our Volunteer Groups.
- Supporting Traditional Owner Self-Determination.
Eligible Projects
Three streams of grants are available in 2021
Stewardship and Education Grants:
- To build community capacity, support community adaptation and improve ecosystem resilience to climate change through actions which:
- Conserve, rehabilitate, restore and protect Victoria’s coastal and marine ecosystems
- Support community participation, engagement and education to enhance community knowledge and understanding of coastal and marine management.
Strengthening Our Volunteer Groups Grants:
- To build community capacity and support community adaptation to climate change through actions which:
- Expand, diversify and increase inclusivity of volunteer bases (e.g. encourage participation of volunteers from different backgrounds, cultures, nationalities, abilities and youth)
- Reimagine volunteering” to attract more/ different volunteers e.g. flexible, casual, event-based or short-term volunteering
- Improve volunteer recruitment and retention
- Succession planning for your group.
Supporting Traditional Owner Self-Determination Grants:
- To support Traditional Owner capacity and support community adaptation to climate change through actions which:
- Recognise Traditional Owners longstanding and deep knowledge and connection to Country
- Recognise and support Traditional Owners’ role in leading healing and ongoing care and use of Country
- Support Traditional Owners in restoring marine and coastal cultural knowledge and practice
- Support two-way capability and capacity building to improve the effectiveness of working relationships and build a shared understanding between Traditional Owners and other marine and coastal land managers.
The program will support the following categories of expenditure (note this list is not exhaustive – please discuss your project and items to be funded with your local Coastcare Victoria Facilitator):
- Advertising
- Environmental assessments
- Equipment hire or purchase directly related to project’s on-ground components
- Materials (e.g. chemicals, plants, etc)
- Printing / design
- Rubbish removal (if necessary, prior to site restoration)
- Site preparation
- Training and certification (if directly related to funded activity)
- Contractors
- Exclusion fencing
- Personal protective equipment (e.g. gloves, goggles and masks)
- Postage
Eligible Applicants
The following community groups and organisations with a focus on marine and coastal environs are eligible for funding:
- Coastcare Victoria groups
- Aboriginal groups and organisations, land councils, trusts and co-operatives working on-country
- Landcare groups
- ‘Friends of’ groups
- Field naturalist groups
- Coastal Committees of Management
- Non-government community organisations
- Community service organisations and clubs
- Educational institutions including schools and universities (recommended to partner with local coastal volunteer group).
To be eligible for funding applicants must be:
- an incorporated association registered through Consumer Affairs Victoria or be incorporated through an umbrella group such as Landcare Victoria Inc. or
- registered as a not-for-profit organisation with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) or
- coastal Committee of Management incorporated under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978
AND
- hold sufficient insurance to safeguard volunteers and participants involved in the funded activities, including public liability insurance of at least $10 million and personal accident insurance.
Groups and networks that do not meet the above requirements can still apply for funding but must operate under the auspices of a sponsor organisation. You will be required to supply written approval (such as supporting letter) from your auspice (sponsor) as part of your application.
Timing
Applications close 23 June 2021.
Coastcare Community Grants 2019 Recipients
- Beach Patrol 3280 – Stop the POP (Plastic Ocean Pollution)
- Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee of Management – Northern Bellarine Red-Capped Plover Community Education
- Bellarine Catchment Network – Creating our Future Coast-carers
- Bellarine Landcare Group – Coastal and Inland Plants: Booklets for the Bellarine Peninsula.
- Earthcare St Kilda Inc – St Kilda Penguin Visitor App
- East Gippsland Rainforest Conservation Management Network – Chinamans Creek Rainforest Recovery
- Friends of Beware Reef – Improved Macro Video Enabled
- Friends of Chinamans Creek Inc – Chinamans Swamp Skink Habitat Restoration Project
- Friends of Earimil Bluff (MEAFEC) – Protecting, Extending and Interpreting Biodiverse Botanical Reference Area Earimil Bluff
- Friends of Flinders Coastline Inc – Coastal Flinders Restoration Project
- Friends of Mallacoota Inc – Rehabilitate Gabo Island
- Friends of the Prom Inc – Sea Spurge Removal Stage 2: Restoring Hooded Plover Habitat at Squeaky Beach
- Friends of Williams Road Beach (Mt. Eliza Association for Environmental Care) – Furthering Resilience at Steep Locations and Enhancing Site Understanding of Scouts, Mt. Eliza Foreshore
- Gippsland Plains Conservation Management Network (CMN) – Eagle Point Enhancement and Education
- Harmers Haven Residents and Ratepayers Group – Friends of Harmers Haven – Eradicating Cape Honey Flower at Harmers Haven
- Harmers Haven Residents and Ratepayers Group – Friends of Harmers Haven – Continuation of Successful Sea Spurge Control on Primary Dunes at Harmers Haven
- Jan Juc Coast Action – Caring for Jan Juc’s Heathlands
- Johan De Bree – Wells Street to Beach Street Foreshore Rehabilitation Project
- Killarney Coastcare Group – Belfast Coastal Reserve Spring Planting 2019
- Making a Difference for the Merri (MAD) Landcare Group – Woollen Mill Riparian Restoration – Merri River
- McCrae Homestead Coastal Group Inc – Protecting Coastal Banksia Woodland and Revegetating Degraded Spaces – McCrae Foreshore
- Marine Education Science and Community Centre Inc (MESAC) – MESAC – Who Are We and Why Are We Important to Our Oceans and Community?
- North Geelong Secondary College (NGSC) Green Action Project – The Green Action Project/ North Geelong Secondary College
- Safety Beach Foreshore Landscape Committee Inc – Coast Care Safety Beach 2019/20
- South West Environmental Education Inc – Fawthrop Lagoon Restoration and Revegetation Project
- Torquay Landcare Group Inc – Spring Creek Our Hidden Jewel
- Victorian National Parks Association – Great Victorian Fish Count
- Victorian Wader Study Group Inc – Sustaining Long-term Studies of Waders and Terns in South East Australia
- Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare Network – Thunder Point Coastal Reserve Conservation Project 2019
