The purpose of New Growth is to work with local delivery partners to inspire and enable more young Victorians to act for nature.

The project is being delivered through the five regions participating in the Regional Environmental Volunteer Coordination Trial: Hume, Barwon South West, Grampians, Loddon Mallee and Port Phillip.

A total of 23 projects shared in a total of $250,804.

For more information on the funded projects, please click on the region below to find out more.

Partner

Project

Overview

Location

Beechworth Urban Landcare and Sustainability

Landcare elective, Beechworth Secondary College

Volunteers will mentor high school students in practical landcare skills as an elective subject, restoring a degraded parcel of land near the school.

Beechworth, Indigo Shire, NECMA

Hughes Creek Catchment Collaborative (HCCC)

Glider Biolinks

HCCC will host a series of family friendly events to learn about Gliders and conservation strategies, including how to improve corridors in Seymour. Participants will be introduced to citizen science tools to contribute to ongoing monitoring.

Seymour, Mitchell Shire, GBCMA

Parklands Albury Wodonga

Seasonal Slow Walks

A series of “slow walks” will be targeted at building community awareness, appreciation and confidence to step up into a park stewardship role. Designed as family friendly walks and timed to cater for families. Subject matter experts will engage youth with tech savvy ways to get involved, such as using telescopes and various citizens science apps.

Wodonga, City of Wodonga, NECMA

Victorian National Parks Association

Nature Stewards

VNPA, in partnership with Strathbogie Shire, will deliver a 6-week Nature Stewards community environmental education program, including six classes and four field sessions. This program will support community wellbeing, nature connections, and empower participants to act for nature at home and through local environmental volunteering.

Euroa, Strathbogie Shire, GBCMA

Wodonga Urban Landcare Network

Youth Leading Wodonga

WULN and Wodonga Council will engage with Wodonga's Youth Committee and schools to co-design and deliver an event or project which will raise awareness of, and enable action on, environmental issue(s) that young people in Wodonga care about.

Wodonga, City of Wodonga, NECMA

Partner

Project

Overview

Location

Brophy Warrnambool

Stoked for the Planet

Project will connect young people over the winter months through delivering a three day ‘Stoked for the Planet’ Winter Camp. It will bring 24 young people (aged 12-25 years) and community monitors together to connect, learn, try environmental volunteering and have fun.

Warrnambool region

People and Parks Foundation (in partnership with Headspace Colac)

Nature Scripts

PPF has formed a partnership with Headspace Colac to co-design and deliver NatureScripts locally. NatureScripts is a nature-based social prescription that involves participants creating their own Nature Dose. A Nature Dose is described as the evidence-based wellbeing benefits of regularly connecting with and caring for nature. This NatureScripts program will engage young people experiencing low (but not serious) mental health in co-designing and implementing community-based environmental volunteering activities.

Colac region

Cultura

Young Multicultural Environmental Leader’s Project

Cultura Young Multicultural Environmental Leader’s Project aims to create pathways for newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers to get involved in environmental volunteering initiatives in the Geelong region. The Young Multicultural Environmental Leaders Project will be an opportunity for the Cultura community to improve their understanding of the local environment and make tangible connections with local environmental groups.

Geelong and Otway regions

Nature Glenelg Trust (NGT)

Walking with young people in Western Victoria

The project will provide opportunities for young people to engage in a range of activities at NGTs restoration reserves in Western Victoria – Walker Swamp and Mt Vandyke. These two NGT properties lend themselves to engagement and volunteering as they are located within relatively accessible distance of large rural towns where youth based, environmental volunteering opportunities are restricted.

Western Victoria – including Portland, Warrnambool, Hamilton and Grampians

Partner

Project

Overview

Location

Victorian National Parks Association

Nature Stewards

Younger Australians are worried about their future in a changing climate, and it is often hard to know where to start. This program supports participants to connect with nature and each other, while providing knowledge and tools to take meaningful action. Over the program, participants build environmental literacy and confidence to support nature at home and locally through environmental volunteering. The program supports local environmental volunteering with new members and development of current volunteers.

Horsham region

Partner

Project

Overview

Location

Port Phillip Eco centre

Sense of Place

The “Sense of Place” project creates pathways for young people of migrant backgrounds to participate in environmental volunteering. The project and partnerships will enable introducing the environmental values of the Port Phillip region to multicultural urban communities that may not be reached through conventional volunteer models.

Melbourne foreshore

Banksia Gardens

Climate Action Youth Initiatives (CAYI) Small Grants

The initiative seeks to empower young individuals who are passionate about tackling climate change through small grants. The small grants will be offered through the Climate Adaptation Requires Youth Action (CARYA) for young adults program. Banksia Gardens will invite applications from young people, giving preference to partnerships with innovative ideas or ongoing projects related to climate action. The selected projects will receive financial support and mentorship.

Banksia Gardens

Cairnlea COM

Friends of Iramoo

This project aims to establish The Friends of Iramoo (Youth), a group of young people who are passionate about the conservation and management of Iramoo Wildflower Grassland Reserve, and other remnant native grasslands in Melbourne. The Friends of Iramoo (Youth) will plan, develop and implement at least two volunteering activities for young people, with the support of a program coordinator and a grassland ecologist.

Cairnlea

Urban Bushland Initiative

Community Planting Day Out, Cranwell Park

The project will run a planting ‘festival’ with live music, food trucks and local entertainment. This all adds to an inclusive and appealing community day out. In addition to the creating of comradery, the physical planting of the vegetation by locals instils a sense of stewardship for the land. Locals are connected to the space, a change that’s readily observed and measurable by post-planting day surveys.

Braybrook

Partner

Project

Overview

Location

Mirawara Outdoor Experiences

Youth for Future

We will provide a day of nature connection activities during the Spring school holidays at Mt Alexander (Leanganook) for people aged 12-25 years. The activities will include nature interpretation, ecology, bird language, bush-skills such as identifying and tasting wild weeds.

Mt Alexander (Leanganook)

Youth Climate Network

Loddon Mallee Youth Climate Network (LMYCN)

Youth led design and delivery of three workshops on climate and environmental related themes identified by LMYCN members.

TBC

Bendigo Sustainability Group

Stories to Action

Youth digital storytelling that will support participants to create compelling short videos about environmental volunteering or “taking action” and use them to inspire their peers and community to act themselves.

Bendigo

Central Goldfields Shire Council - Youth Council

Environment Road Trip

This project will deliver an Environment Road Trip Day, or series, for young people in Central Goldfields Shire, in which young people tour the Shire and take part in multiple activities aimed at promoting understanding of, and participation in, environmental volunteering.

Central Goldfields Shire

Victorian National Parks Association

Nature Stewards

6-week Nature Stewards community environmental education program, including six classes and four field sessions, focused on the under 30’s age group.  Delivered in partnership with Swan Hill Rural City Council and Sustainable Living in the Mallee.

Mildura TBC

Ouyen Neighbourhood House

Garden for Youth

Co-design and install a youth garden in Ouyen, which will provide an alternative to sport for young people and an ongoing opportunity to connect with nature.

Ouyen

North Central CMA

Youth Take Over

In partnership with Loddon Campaspe-based initiative, Youth Take Over, the NCCMA will co-design a project to support a group of young interns from the Campaspe and Cohuna regions to undertake research and peer review of our current volunteer program and make recommendations for how the program can better engage young people.

NCCMA

Northern District Community Health

Northern District Community Health & Nature

Organising community consultation with young people from Gannawarra Shire and workshop local priorities with feasible environmental volunteering opportunities.

Gannawarra Shire

Girl Guides Victoria

Camp out on Country

This project will deliver a youth campout event in the Mallee region – an overnight event including workshops / hands on activities for young people aged 12-17 years.

Lake Cullulleraine

Page last updated: 19/09/23