Future Landscapes:
Citizen Science & Indigenous Plants for Drought Resilience
Future Landscapes is an Up2Us Landcare Alliance initiative addressing gaps in landscape monitoring, social isolation during drought, and limited community capacity for practical climate adaptation in Mansfield Shire's agriculture-dependent community.
Through volunteer upskilling, hands-on citizen science field days, and the development of a volunteer network for an indigenous nursery, the project connects diverse groups across Mansfield Shire — building practical skills, strengthening social connections, and fostering a shared commitment to preparing our landscape for the challenges of a changing climate.
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Citizen Science Field Days
At the heart of this project is building community capacity to monitor and understand our local landscape. Six volunteer upskilling field days will cover bird, reptile and frog surveys, arboreal mammal monitoring, flora identification, and technology and recording skills. These social and accessible training days will give participants real, practical tools for gathering meaningful data about biodiversity across Mansfield Shire's agricultural and surrounding lands.
Using equipment such as wildlife cameras and acoustic monitoring devices, volunteers will learn survey methods that generate usable data — helping our community track how species are responding to a changing climate and where habitat connections are most needed. The data collected will contribute to a growing, locally-owned picture of our landscape over time.
Indigenous Nursery Volunteer Network
One of the most exciting elements of Future Landscapes is the establishment of a volunteer network to support the indigenous nursery operated by Mansfield Autism Statewide Services (MASS). Through nursery training workshops and volunteer recruitment, participants will develop practical plant propagation skills while building genuine social connections across diverse parts of our community.
Importantly, MASS participants will take a leadership role in training volunteers — a meaningful reversal of the usual dynamic, and a powerful demonstration of what inclusive community collaboration can look like in practice.
Indigenous plants grown at the nursery will be planted across agricultural and surrounding lands throughout the shire, enhancing drought resilience through improved landscape connectivity, stabilised soils, and habitat for local wildlife.
This project is proudly supported by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal through funding from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund
