Media Releases

Fire safety training assists traditional owners with cultural burning

Twelve Traditional Owners from the Duduroa Dhargal and Bangerang Aboriginal Corporations completed an extensive fire training course in June, aimed at giving them enhanced skills in wildfire suppression and controlled fuel reduction burns.

The training, held over several weekends, helps Traditional Owners meet insurance and administrative requirements for undertaking cultural burning.

What is ESG? Find out more at Wodonga conference

The impact of the global environment, social and governance (ESG) movement is a hot topic with customers, processors, bankers, insurers and investors. Australian agriculture is not immune, so what does that mean for those in the sector?

A conference at La Trobe University in Wodonga on 28 July will offer the opportunity to learn more about what ESG is and what it means now and in the future for all producers, processors and retailers.

2022 Victorian Landcare Grants now open

Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio has opened the latest round of the Victorian Landcare Grants, with $3.35 million funding available to Landcare and environmental volunteering groups and networks for on-ground works, education, and capacity building projects that protect, enhance, and restore our land and natural environment. 

Grants of up to $20,000 are available for on-ground projects and support grants of up to $500 are available to help with group administration and running costs.

Helping our threatened birds one grant at a time

Sixteen north east Victorian landholders have received grants under the third and final round of the Bush for Birds project.

The grants will support the landholders to create and improve habitat for the critically endangered Regent honeyeater and Swift Parrot. 

Among the round 3 grant recipients is Gianni D’Ortenzio from Everton Upper.

Mr D’Ortenzio has a strong interest in both the environment and landscaping and has previously worked to create some award-winning cottage-style gardens.

He is now turning his botanical interests towards what he can do for the environment and threatened woodland bird species.

HVP proves its climate credentials and expects to hit net zero

HVP Plantations released its Climate Commitment Statement in November 2021 (link). The company says the good story it tells is about HVP Plantation’s climate mitigation credentials and how it expects its Victorian operations to have met, and continue to maintain net zero (that is, the annual increase in carbon captured by its plantation estate more than offsets emissions associated with growing and selling logs).

The Climate Commitment Statement will be followed by a detailed Climate Disclosure Report later in 2022. HVP Plantations General Manager Forest Resources, Dr Tony O’Hara, is drafting the report. There is a strong commitment from HVP Plantations’ staff to net zero, that is reinforced by the strong stance on climate change issues held by its main shareholders (US majority shareholder Manulife Investment Management and Australia’s UniSuper), as well as the influence of other shareholders and related companies in Queensland and New Zealand.