GMLN’s Dan Walker, president John Laing and Fiona Stuart.
It’s not just any occasion that will entice ’90s icon Ellie the Salinity Emu out of retirement, but the recent 30-year milestone of Goulburn Murray Landcare Network was quite the reason to celebrate.
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More than 70 past and present members, employees and agency partners — and the 3.2m mascot — gathered to reflect on the network’s history and pay tribute to its achievements throughout the years, as well as recognising those of individuals.
The Tuhan family was acknowledged for outstanding dedication to Landcare and environmental stewardship across the Girgarre-Stanhope region.
Lanie Pearce, who joined GMLN in 2002, was recognised for her part in the design and development of the network’s biodiversity, education and aquatic program, known as BEAD, which still runs to this day.
GMLN president John Laing was named as a true Landcare champion with more than 30 years of dedicated service.
Mr Laing, who has been GMLN president for 10 years and a volunteer for 30 years, said there were originally 68 groups in the dairy and fruit and vegetable region, which covers 3000 sq km in northern Victoria.
Rising water tables, salinity, erosion, weeds and rabbits in the 1980s and ’90s were some of the drivers for establishing Landcare and drainage groups in the Goulburn Broken and North Central catchment irrigation zones
“It was easy to mobilise local communities, because we were all faced with the same dilemma,” he said.
“We all had a common issue, so getting us all involved was certainly a lot easier, and there was a lot of support from government departments at the time.”
GMLN’s Dan Walker, Fiona Stuart and John Laing with RiverConnect’s Emily Lange and Alison Brett.
The volunteer executive committee says the network has spent 30 years empowering rural communities across the region to tackle environmental challenges, foster biodiversity and adapt to agricultural change through hands-on restoration, education and collaboration.
It has built strong multicultural agricultural engagement with farm advisers and ethnic liaison officers, encouraged retired farmers to take on mentoring roles within the network and promoted intergenerational knowledge sharing and community problem-solving.
GMLN’s education and discovery programs reach 2000 students a year, and attract more than 840 participants to its Floodplain Ecology Course, farm forums and soil health workshops.
With thousands of volunteer hours clocked up (5891 in 2023-24, equating to $245,949), two part-time staff and 22 active Landcare groups, it plans to continue to inspire new generations to protect land, share knowledge and build resilient, thriving communities.
The anniversary gave the network an opportunity to reflect, refocus and inspire renewed community action into the future.
▮ GMLN receives funding from Victorian Landcare Grants, the Australian Government and the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority.
