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Rural Support program

An Eprapah wattle in full flower.

Rural Support program guidelines

Program objectives

The Rural Support program is a free, non-binding, voluntary program for landholders on Redlands Coast that provides advice and support for habitat restoration and catchment management on private land. The program aims to assist landholders with the rehabilitation of habitat and catchment values in the rural zone of the city through education and partnering with landholders to achieve natural resource management outcomes.

Registered landholders in the Rural Support program can apply for financial assistance each financial year to undertake natural resource management works on their property. Financial assistance is limited and ranges from a minimum of $250 to a maximum of $750 per property per financial year. Applications for financial assistance are submitted through Council’s online SmartyGrants platform and assessed for eligibility against criteria in this guideline to ensure conservation outcomes.

Who can apply

To qualify for the Rural Support program, your property must:

  • be at least 6000m2 in size and located within the rural zone footprint of Redland City Council (see the city plan layer on Council’s Red-e-Map to check the rural zones)
  • include remnant bushland and/or a waterway e.g. dam or natural watercourse the owner is willing to rehabilitate and enhance to improve environmental values on their property
  • be the title holder of the property.

Projects eligible for financial assistance

Projects eligible for funding must be undertaken within the plan boundaries of the property registered to the Rural Support program. Projects can include:

  • revegetation that focus on restoring/enhancing remnant bushland areas and waterways e.g. dams and natural watercourses with local native plant species. Note that only plant species listed in the regional ecosystem and vegetation association guide relevant to your property will be approved for revegetation projects.
  • environmental weed control/management in remnant bushland areas and waterways to support habitat enhancement/improved fauna movement
  • small scale sediment and erosion control projects to reduce impacts on surrounding waterways and enhance water quality. These projects may include a mixture of revegetation, jute mat, coir logs, sediment fencing or rocks if deemed necessary based on assessment by the Environmental Partnerships (EP) Officer.
  • supply of materials for landholders to construct a floating wetland to assist with improved water quality
  • supply of habitat nest boxes – maximum of 1 box per financial year. Nest boxes must be installed in bushland areas and remain on the property registered to the Rural Support program.
  • removal of barbed wire fencing
  • supply of wildlife friendly fencing to exclude stock from waterways.

Projects ineligible for financial assistance

Projects ineligible for financial assistance include:

  • works outside of the registered property boundaries
  • works outside of or don’t adjoin/expand upon existing remnant bushland areas or a waterway
  • works that do not provide clear environmental benefit
  • landscaping works for visual/scenic amenity e.g. garden beds, lawn maintenance
  • planting of non-endemic species e.g. species not included in regional ecosystem and vegetation association guide relevant to your property
  • tree maintenance e.g. trimming/pruning or removal of live or dead trees
  • activities that fall within normal landholder responsibilities e.g. maintenance of mown areas and buildings
  • costs associated with any permit required for funded works
  • sediment and erosion control projects that are considered out of scope based on assessments undertaken by the EP Officer e.g. erosion is too significant and/or requires engineering work
  • supply of rocks which are greater than 400mm in size.

What are landholders expected to contribute to the partnership of the Rural Support Program?

It is expected landholders match the programs funding 1:1. Contributions can be made in several ways, including monetary contributions or in-kind contributions i.e. use of own labour, equipment, resources or materials. In-kind contributions are costed at $43.30/hr, e.g. $750 equates to approximately 17.5 hours of labour.

What are the project monitoring and maintenance requirements?

The landholder is required to undertake a minimum of 12 months on-going monitoring and maintenance of Council funded works completed through the Rural Support program. Monitoring and maintenance may include, but is not limited to, the following:

  • follow up watering of newly revegetated areas to ensure plants have the best chance of survival
  • follow up environmental weed control e.g. hand weeding and/or treatment to ensure environmental weeds continue to be managed appropriately following works undertaken by Council
  • on-going maintenance of sediment and erosion control works undertake by Council.

Non-compliance

At Council’s discretion, the following activities may result in deregistration from the program or be ineligible for future financial support:

  • not contributing to projects being funded by Council i.e. via in-kind contributions or monetary contributions
  • not actively managing known threats on the property e.g. environmental weeds
  • clearing native vegetation (excluding approved fire access tracks) on the property and/or clearing works previously funded by Council.

Loan items

Participants of EP programs also have access to loan equipment for weed control, planting and cane toad management on their properties. All loaned items must be returned within 2 weeks of the loan date unless otherwise approved by your EP Officer. Items also must be returned in the same condition they were given out.

Items that can be loaned through the EP programs include:

  • lantana popper
  • flower planter
  • fauna camera
  • toadinator cane toad trap
  • tadpole bucket trap (lures for this trap must be purchased by the participant as they are a poison and cannot be supplied through the program)
  • weed boom.

Contact information

For more informtion regarding the Rural Support program, please contact the Environmental Partnerships Team on (07) 3824 8611 or email  environmentalpartnerships@redland.qld.gov.au