As we approach the final stages of Mulloon Institute’s Communities of Practice Project (CoPP), we’re celebrating the depth of connection, learning and action that’s taken place across the country over the past year.
The CoPP was designed to support capacity building and hands-on rehydration practices with landholders and regional groups – bringing practical skills and landscape literacy directly to the people who care deeply about their landscapes, and care for Country.
This autumn, three inspiring Boots on Ground events were held in South West WA, Batchelor NT, and Eugowra NSW, each tailored to local conditions and priorities.
These small-scale demonstration projects put natural infrastructure techniques into practice—such as earth plugs, earth contours, log sills, rock weirs, and brush mattressing—to slow, spread and sink water into the landscape. Participants got their boots dirty, asked questions, and walked away with tools and ideas to apply in their own regions.
We’ve also seen fantastic progress across our mentoring sites, with landholders finalising their Landscape Rehydration project plans – some already moving into the implementation phase. These projects are set to deliver real, on-ground outcomes that will continue well beyond the official conclusion of the CoPP.
One highlight of the program was our Boots on Ground day in Gippsland, delivered in collaboration with Bass Coast Landcare Network. A short film from the event captured the energy and optimism of communities coming together to share knowledge and support practice change, scroll down to view the film created by Drift Media. The photos on this page show the community at work in Gippsland.
As we wrap up this project, we extend a big thank you to all the landholders, partners, and regional champions who made this work possible. The enthusiasm and momentum generated by the CoPP will carry forward in the landscapes—and the communities—that are now more equipped than ever to lead rehydration from the ground up.
This CoPP project received funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.
