Case Study: Master Tree Growers Course - Bellarine Landcare Group

“They say best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the second-best time is now,
and I think it’s important to actually get people started. If you look at our place we started with six fruit trees, and they survived so we planted another six fruit trees, and now we have over 80 trees. And people ask how you decided to do that? Well, we kind of didn’t, we just got started, we replanted what was successful and chopped what didn’t work. What’s important is getting started - and doing The Master Tree Growers Course is a great way to get started” Kate Lockhart (participant)

The Master Tree Growers Course is delivered by the Otway Agroforestry Network. The Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CMA) supports and provides funding for the course to be run in the Corangamite Region. The Corangamite CMA has supported four courses over the last five years, with 99 participants having graduated.

The Otway Agroforestry Network delivered the Australian Master Tree Growers course alongside Bellarine Landcare Network in Autumn 2021. The eight-day course is designed for landholders wishing to integrate trees into farming systems for conservation, agriculture and profit. The course encourages farmers to aspire to be ‘master tree growers’ and provides participants with the skills and confidence to both act on their property and support others in their community.

Click here to read the full case study.

Whilst the current funding for the program through the National Landcare Program finishes in June 2023, the Otway Agroforestry Network will continue to educate landholders through their newsletter, podcasts and field days.