The Victorian Landcare Grants support environmental volunteer groups and networks to protect and restore land and the environment.
The grants are funded by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), and delivered through Victoria’s ten catchment management authorities (CMAs). Melbourne Water now administers the program for the Port Phillip and Westernport region, following the integration of the CMA in 2022.
Victorian Government Landcare Grants are now open
The Victorian Government Landcare Grants are now open, with $3.55 million available in 2026 to support Landcare and environmental volunteer groups and networks to protect and restore Victoria’s landscapes and biodiversity.
Project grants
Project Grants of up to $20,000 are available for on-ground works, community education and engagement, and group/network development activities that protect or improve natural assets such as native vegetation, native fauna, waterways, wetlands and soils.
Support grants
Support Grants of up to $500 are available for assistance with costs such as insurance, incorporation and operational needs.
Eligibility
The grants are open to environmental volunteer groups, including Landcare groups and networks, Friends groups, Conservation Management Networks, Committees of Management, Coastcare groups and Aboriginal groups to support their important work in helping protect the health of our land, waterways and biodiversity.
Victorian Landcare or environmental volunteer group/network that is community-led and has a focus on on-ground land and natural environment improvement work. This includes:
- Landcare groups/networks
- Friends of groups
- Conservation Management Networks
- Coastcare Victoria groups
- Committees of management
- Aboriginal groups/organisations working on Country
For further details on eligibility and how to apply, download the guidelines on this page.
How to apply
Timeline
- Applications open: Wednesday 4 March 2026
- Applications close: 5pm Thursday 23 April 2026
- Recipients notified: August 2026
- Projects completed: 30 November 2027
Guidelines
Previous grant recipients
- 2025 recipients
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- Friends of Mallee Conservation’s project to develop a non-technical A4 identification guide and plain English key for Mallee Eucalypts. Assisting with the identification of both common and rare species and building awareness of the vegetation communities of north-west Victoria.
- Kiewa Catchment Landcare Group’s Sowing the Seeds: Educating the Next Generation project, enabling growth of the involvement of young people in Landcare and creating the next generation of Landcare leaders.
- Friends of Mallacoota to assist with the on-going effort to eradicate weeds from Gabo Island, a 154-hectare island off eastern Victoria
- 2024 recipients
-
The 2024 grants program funded 30 projects in the Melbourne Water region.
Recipients included:
- Whittlesea Community Connections, who continued to support the Nugal Biik Junior and Mini ranger program showing aboriginal and non-aboriginal children the wonders of Country.
- Deep Creek Landcare Group, who built and placed a network of nest boxes to provide habitat for animals as the Mt William biolink project takes shape.
- Moorabool Landcare Network, who studied the potential benefits of eastern barred bandicoot faeces and its effect on its nursery stock of sheoaks, having observed the health and vitality of Sheoaks at Mt Rothwell where bandicoots are abundant.
- 2023 recipients
-
The 2023 grants program funded 32 projects in the Melbourne Water region.
Recipients included:
- Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation recruitment campaign, which invited private property owners to help preserve koala habitat.
- The Wurundjeri woi Wurrung Aboriginal Heritage Corporation, who engaged in the environmental restoration of the Sunbury Rings heritage site.
- Friends of Leadbeaters Possum Inc., who supported one of Victoria’s faunal emblems.
More information
Learn more about strategies supporting the Victorian Landcare Grants in the Melbourne Water Region:
Contact us
For more information or to discuss a potential application, please contact Barry Kennedy, Regional Landcare Coordinator:
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