Gin Gin Landcare will continue to provide affordable native plants and education to the community from its location at Tablelands Road, with Bundaberg Regional Council renewing its lease for another 10 years.
The organisation is part of an extensive national network of locally based community groups that care for the environment, supporting the diversity of local ecosystems.
In last month's ordinary meeting, Council voted to extend the lease of Gin Gin Landcare, which was due to expire on 31 January 2024.
President Ray Johnson said another decade meant more valuable time to continue important projects and vital environmental work.
“The renewal of our 10-year lease gives us assurance that what we have spent years establishing can now be continued with confidence,” he said.
“We are committed to our nursery and our place in the community, so to get another 10 years is great.”
Ray said Gin Gin Landcare primarily existed for the propagation of native plants and to educate people on their importance.
“However, in a secondary sense it serves to provide voluntary employment and friendship among those who work there, and a place for locals to purchase plants at a fair price,” he said.
“Over the years our nursery has been host to many groups such as schools, garden clubs, age care, and special interest groups.
“We have had a very good association with the Indigenous group, Gidarjil.
“Their trainees have been a big help to us while we in turn were able to assist them in horticulture.”
Gin Gin Landcare was established more than 20 years ago.
“The exact details of those beginnings have become lost in time due to none of the original members being present now and the disastrous flood of 2013 when much of the original records were lost,” Ray said.
“Two families stand out from memory when I joined some 15 years ago; Colin and Sandra Griffith, and Len and Jan Ussher.
“To my knowledge it was their efforts that got it all started.”
Ray said Gin Gin Landcare continued to move forward, with many projects in the pipeline including the establishment of a dry rainforest garden.
“This garden will feature trees that were once common to the vine scrubs around Gin Gin, but are now almost non-existent,” he said.
“These trees are tough, long lived, drought tolerant and ornamental.
“They are something worth saving for future generations.”
With another decade of environmental work on the horizon, Ray said there would be many more good things to come from Gin Gin Landcare.
“It’s with gratitude we have learned of the renewal of our lease, and we now look forward to many more years caring for the environment and serving our local community,” he said.
Gin Gin Landcare is situated at 10 Tableland Road, Tirroan.
Find out more about the association here.
