General News
23 August, 2023
Alicia raises support for Yarrilinks
Yarrilinks Landcare Network’s new facilitator Alicia Merriam has been out and about in the southern Yarriambiack communities, talking to local people and giving away native plants in the hopes of getting to know the area a little better. Ms...
Yarrilinks Landcare Network’s new facilitator Alicia Merriam has been out and about in the southern Yarriambiack communities, talking to local people and giving away native plants in the hopes of getting to know the area a little better.
Ms Merriam recently moved to the Wimmera, transferring from a Landcare role in Lismore.
She has a bachelor’s degree in plant ecology and a PhD in agricultural weed science.
“Ecology and agriculture often operate as separate disciplines in academia, and I always felt like I had a foot in two worlds,” Ms Merriam said.
“Landcare was founded around a collaborative balance between agriculture and the environment, and it feels like a natural fit for me.”
Ms Merriam estimated she spoke to about 50 people in Murtoa, and 30 each in Rupanyup and Minyip, during Landcare Week (August 7-13).
Over the weekend, she met about 50 more locals in Warracknabeal at the Community Garden.
Alicia’s position is hosted at the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority (CMA) in Horsham, and is funded by the state government’s Landcare Facilitator Program.
Ms Marriam said her tour of the area, which included giving away native plants from chocolate lilies to gold dust wattles, is part of an effort to reinvigorate Landcare in the region.
“Yarrilinks has this incredible history of large-scale community tree plantings, but through the disruption of Covid and a long vacancy in the facilitator position, things have been a bit quiet lately,” she said.
“We’re looking to change that.”
As part of reinvigoration efforts, Yarrilinks is consulting with the community to guide future directions and reviewing their strategic plan.
At the plant giveaways, they solicited community feedback through their Landcare Priorities Survey, and recruited newsletter subscribers.
Yarrilinks Landcare Network encourages all interested residents in the southern Yarriambiack region to complete the survey and subscribe to the newsletter to stay up-to-date with information and events.
You can take part in the survey at https://bit.ly/YLNSurvey and subscribe to the newsletter at https://bit.ly/YLNnews, and can contact Ms Marriam at landcare@yarrilinks.org.au, or follow along at the Yarrilinks Facebook page.