The wetlands leading to the Kiewa and Murray Rivers will soon be healthier, thanks to Parklands Albury Wodonga’s ‘Restoring Bonegilla’s blue carbon sink wetlands and waterways’ project.

The restoration of wetland plants in floodplain channels and wetlands on these floodplains will capture carbon, slow water runoff and clean the water before it enters major waterways. This will improve water quality, while the restoration of these wetlands will close gaps in current native vegetation corridors, enabling native animals to travel and thereby adapt to the changing climate. The vegetation will also take up atmospheric carbon dioxide, storing it in biomass and sediments.

The project is aligned to decarbonisation and climate adaptation, with strong evidence of community-led development and strong engagement with local Indigenous Elders, disability services and volunteers at the Native Garden Nursery that the group operates.

Since 1997, with the support of more than 3,000 people each year, PAW has been restoring lands degraded by grazing and, more recently a housing development, improving and maintaining the network of bush parks connecting urban and rural communities in the border regions.

A volunteer Committee of Management works closely with the ranger staff to plan and implement rehabilitation, restoration and enhancement of bushlands and parkways for environmental management and recreation.

Volunteers at the nursery have been propagating suitable wetland species from hotter, drier places, which will mean biodiversity resilience as they are planting for a future hotter, drier climate. This well-planned adaptation and restoration project, which received a $16,060 a Community Led Climate Solutions grant, will deliver decarbonisation outcomes and engage the community in planting and developing skills and knowledge for climate solutions activity.

Nearly $280,000 supports 16 initiatives across Australia

FRRR has awarded $278,693 in grants for projects that will help remote, rural and regional communities decarbonise, adapt to a changing climate, and mitigate the risks of global warming.

The 16 community-driven projects are the first through FRRR’s Community Led Climate Solutions program, thanks to support from Boundless Earth and Hand Heart Pocket.

Grants include $14,957 to support regenerative farming practice for soil health and emissions reductions in Macleay, NSW; $20,000 to build energy efficiency for social housing in Gympie, QLD; $20,000 to provide information and links to employment pathways through pop-up events in Gippsland, VIC; and $20,000 to enable a local Indigenous community in NT to build their capacity in order to establish their own solar microgrid and reduce reliance on diesel-powered electricity.

Sarah Matthee, FRRR’s General Manager – Partnerships & Services, said that the applications reflected the diversity of community organisations in Australia, the variety of climate solutions underway across rural communities, and the breadth of opportunities available to enable local groups to take action.

“The requests we received reinforce the fact that these communities are being impacted socially, economically and environmentally by increasing temperatures and extreme weather events. These communities are aware and concerned about the impacts of a changing climate, and these projects demonstrate their ambition to engage locals in conversations about their region’s future, and lead their community in taking action to reduce emissions.

“People living in remote, rural and regional communities have the knowledge and ideas to implement solutions that can help to decarbonise, mitigate climate risks, and adapt in a changed climate environment. But they need a hand to take action.

“With the support of Boundless Earth and Hand Heart Pocket, we’ve been able to fund 16 place-based, community-led climate solutions projects, which we hope will influence and deliver change for social, environmental and economic community benefit across remote, rural and regional Australia,” Ms Matthee said.

Organisations awarded Community Led Climate Solutions grants, and their funded projects, include:

• Original Power Ltd with Ngardara Cooperative Ltd – Borroloola, NT – Support a local, Indigenous community to establish their own solar microgrid, providing them with a sustainable energy source and reducing their reliance on diesel-powered electricity – $20,000
• Surfers for Climate – Byron Bay, NSW – Engage and educate tradespeople who surf in sustainable and circular building practices through local workshops in coastal NSW – $20,000
• Environmental Advocacy in Central Queensland Inc – Yeppoon, QLD – Drive education and engagement on climate change and the transition to renewable energy sources in Central Queensland by screening a documentary and presenting an experienced panel including local and national representation – $3,905
• Cire Services Incorporated – Yarra Junction, VIC – Promote circularity practice with reuse and repurpose workshops that will reduce landfill and develop skills that enable sustainable practices – $20,000

FRRR and its donor partners are committed to funding community-led solutions that reduce emissions and address the impacts of climate change. Community-led solutions help drive positive and sustainable environmental, social and economic outcomes for remote, rural and regional Australia. FRRR welcomes further contributions to this collaborative pool of funds to grow the impact that can be generated across remote, rural and regional Australia. For more information, please visit https://frrr.org.au/giving/.

The full list of grant recipients and their projects are below.

It’s no secret that risks presented by our changing climate loom large. The communities FRRR serves are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters and climate extremes. These impacts threaten to exacerbate existing social and economic inequalities, and negatively affect the liveability – and therefore the sustainability – of these communities.

As the Australian Government’s 2022 climate change statement noted:

“Our weather is becoming increasingly variable. More frequent extreme and cascading weather events are impacting our communities and economy, disrupting lives, and threatening our environment. At the same time, summers are becoming steadily hotter and drier, leading to adverse health impacts, increased bushfire risks and ecological damage, and threatening agricultural production. We must anticipate, prepare for and adapt to the impacts from our warming climate. Second, we must mitigate further catastrophic climate change by reducing our own emissions and playing a leadership role in supporting other nations to reduce theirs. Both will require an economic transformation on a scale beyond anything we have experienced in our lifetimes.“

While FRRR has seen an increase in applications we receive that are focused on disaster preparedness efforts, there has been markedly less focus on embracing practices and solutions that reduce the impact of the changing climate or capitalise on opportunities. Often this isn’t for want of great ideas, but rather limited access to funding and capacity to investigate options, particularly for not-for-profit (NFP) groups who want to be proactive and undertake community-led projects.

That’s why, with the support of generous seed funders, we are launching a Community-led Climate Solutions program. We’ve seen time and again that when we can offer dedicated funding around a particular issue – such as In a Good Place (targeting mental health) and Telstra Connected Communities (targeting the digital divide), amazing things happen. All too often it only takes relatively modest funding, backed by volunteers, to bring these projects to life.

So, we intend to offer funding to NFP groups twice a year to help them leverage the incredible knowledge, innovation and commitment in rural areas to implement locally-led climate solutions. The grants will aim to support three key areas:

1. Drive engagement, education, and leadership in remote, rural, and regional climate solutions;
2. Activate locally-led opportunities to advance energy transition, climate adaptation, decarbonisation and circular economies; and
3. Support just transitions to new clean economies for thriving communities.

These different objectives will allow community groups to take action that reflects the most pressing issues in their community, but also recognises that the conversation is unfolding in different ways, and at a different pace in different regions. Some will be ready to take bold action to capitalise on the opportunities from the transformation of our industrial sector, while others will need support to build understanding and drive engagement towards the prospect of a different future. We need initiatives that are designed by each community, that will work for their context.

The grants could potentially fund projects like these, which FRRR has previously supported:

More than money

In addition to the funding, grantees will have access to FRRR’s capacity building expertise and guidance, to help them shape their projects and, in time, we will also seek to connect these groups to leverage learnings across communities. We’re also keen to connect these organisations with businesses who may be able to provide one-off or ongoing pro-bono support. This program will also focus attention and promote conversations to catalyse additional community-led solutions.

Further, by analysing application data and by tracking impacts, FRRR will be able to generate insights into how communities are activating climate solutions and identify what additional support may be required, or what barriers NFP groups are facing.

Join us?

Thanks to generous seed funders, FRRR is set to launch the program’s first round at the end of October 2023, but we know this program will be in high demand, so we’re looking for additional partners to walk alongside us and enable rural communities to access climate solutions focused funding well into the future.

If this is something you are interested in learning more about, please contact either Sarah Matthee or Jillian Kirwan-Lee via partnerships@frrr.org.au.