Community Action Grants for 2011-12 have been allocated to 365 community groups across Australia. Around $190,000 is destined for 10 Wet Tropics projects that will help deliver natural resource management, sustainable farming and environmental protection from Bloomfield in the north, to the Atherton Tablelands and as far as Girringun country and Babinda in the Russell catchment on the coast.

Community Action Grants recognise the important contribution that community groups make in protecting our environment through locally important activities such as tree planting, revegetation, habitat restoration and improved land management practices.

In the far north of our region, three groups are targeting soil erosion and degradation in riparian areas and coastal zones. Burungu Aboriginal Corporation is undertaking a project to stem soil erosion and nutrient loss in the Meg and Bloomfield River areas and to provide natural habitat corridors for cassowary and northern quoll. The Whyanbeel Action Group's project involves rural residential landholders as they continue revegetation and bank stabilisation work that has already addressed around 90% of the Whyanbeel Creek. A culturally and environmentally significant site at the mouth of the Bloomfield River is the target of a restoration project by Dabu Jajikal Aboriginal Corporation on the degraded dune reserve that will also raise awareness of its cultural significance.

Three projects on the southern Atherton Tablelands will benefit the endangered southern cassowary and Lumhotz' tree kangaroo while another two will focus on the farm landscape.

TREAT (Trees for Evelyn and Atherton Tablelands), the Tree Kangaroo and Mammal Group (TKMG) and Yungaburra Landcare are all addressing landscape fragmentation and habitat degradation. TREAT's project in the headwaters of Peterson Creek will complete the restored rainforest riparian wildlife link between Crater Lake (Lake Eacham) National Park and the Curtain Fig National Park across a pasture landscape. TKMG is helping landholders to adopt environmentally sensitive grazing practices in areas highly vulnerable to climate change and that include breeding areas for cassowary and Lumholtz' tree kangaroo. Yungaburra Landcare will continue weed control in the Peterson Creek area and plant a further 3500 trees to prevent erosion, cattle and weed impacts and to increase habitat connectivity.

Malanda and Upper Johnstone Landcare is planning to eradicate cabomba, an aquatic WONS, from a dammed section of Cherry Creek (Kairi) and replant the banks and lake edges with appropriate water plants, toe and canopy species. North Johnstone and Lake Eacham Landcare is concerned about engaging rural residential landholders in Malanda to improve land management skills through a small farms field day planned for May 2012. Information will be provided on animal husbandry, weed recognition and control, stocking rates, pasture management, waterway protection and riparian management.

Strategic work to control invasive weeds and stabilise creek banks on Giddens Creek, a highly degraded tributary of Babinda Creek in the Russell catchment, will result in improved water quality and reduced erosion. This is also a key capacity building project for Russell Landcare and Catchment Group.

In the southern part of our region, Girringun Aboriginal Corporation's project will increase the extent, condition and resilience of the native habitat at the Jalum Conservation Park, with a focus on siam weed.

A complete list of successful Community Action Grant projects is now available on the Caring for our Country website. The 2012-13 Community Action Grants round is expected to open in early 2012.