Environmental Groups

There are a lot of environmental and sustainability projects happening around our Shire and lots of groups to get involved with.

Bellinger Landcare
This is a not-for-profit umbrella organisation which supports the Landcare community across the Bellingen Shire. Projects focus on river restoration, bush regeneration, regenerative farming, habitat restoration, coastal vegetation restoration and creating wildlife corridors. Community members are encouraged to get involved by rolling up their sleeves and joining their local Landcare group.

Bellingen Riverwatch
Bellingen Riverwatch is the largest water quality monitoring citizen science program in NSW and the largest macroinvertebrate monitoring citizen science program in Australia. Community members can get involved by helping with water quality monitoring or participating in one of the biannual Macro Muster events.

Dorrigo Community Nursery and Garden
The Dorrigo community gardeners grow a range of fruit, vegetables, flowers and herbs for volunteers to harvest and consume. They also operate a community nursery selling a wide range of native trees, shrubs and groundcovers which will help to create habitat and restore biodiversity. They have many knowledgeable members who are keen to share their skills in bush regeneration, propagation, seed saving and food growing. Community members are encouraged to get involved by becoming a member, volunteering their time, purchasing plants from the nursery or stopping by for a look around and a friendly chat.

Northbank Community Garden
This is a 5-acre permaculture garden containing established fruit trees, vegetables, medicinal and culinary herbs, native bees, a communal gathering space, outdoor kitchen, composting toilet and garden plots for rent. Community members are encouraged to get involved by becoming a member, participating in a workshop or working bee or simply taking a stroll through to get some inspiration and see what’s in season.

Bellingen Seed Savers
Bellingen Seed Savers is a group of edible gardening enthusiasts. They organise garden visits and seed saving working bees, swap seeds and share information about seed saving and how and what to grow locally.

Bellingen Shire Learning Alliance
This is a Shire-wide alliance working collectively and independently to create a culture of lifelong learning for sustainability and ecological balance. The Alliance consists of a range of different groups such as the Bellingen Shire Electricity Alliance, the Housing Matters Action Group and OzGreen. Representatives from the Alliance member groups meet quarterly at the Bellingen Sustainability Centre where they share updates and discuss events and collaboration opportunities. The Bellingen Sustainability Centre is also a place where member groups meet and have working spaces. Community Members can get involved by joining one (or more!) of the member groups.

Coffee for Climate
This amazing local initiative aims to make Bellingen Shire the first council area in Australia to be disposable coffee cup free. To help achieve this goal Coffee for Climate has organised mug libraries enabling coffee drinkers to borrow a reusuable mug from participating stores and then drop it back in to one of the mug collection points so it can be washed and then keep circulating. If you would like to get involved in the initiative (as a coffee shop or to help with the initiative) reach out to: action@coffeeforclimate.earth

WIRES Mid North Coast
WIRES volunteers rescue and care for sick, injured and orphaned wildlife. The Mid North Coast branch operates from Halfway Creek north of Corindi Beach to Stuart's Point south of Macksville, out to Ebor in the west, including Coffs Harbour, Bellingen, Dorrigo, Nambucca Heads and Woolgoolga. The branch is always looking for more volunteer rescuers and carers. They also need people to help with fundraising.

Community Climate Action Plan projects
In 2022 Council worked with the community to develop a Community Climate Action Plan. The plan outlines 17 projects that were put forward by community members and groups to help the community reduce emissions and respond to the impacts of climate change. To get involved read the plan(PDF, 2MB)  and reach out to one of the project groups.

Tips for developing your own project

If you have an idea and would like to develop your own environmental or sustainability project, read the tips below to ensure project success.

1. Do the research

You might think you have the most amazing idea in the world (and you might!) but it is important to check whether there is a need for the project you are proposing and that it is supported by relevant research and data. For example, if it is a climate change project does the project target the Shire's main sources of emissions? If it is a transport project, do you know what the key barriers are in the Shire to getting people to use more sustainable transport?

For Shire-specific information check out:

• Bellingen Shire emissions profile
• Solar installations in the LGA
• Bellingen Water Portal
• Biodiversity Strategy
• Food Resilience Vision

2. Formulate clear outcomes

Think about what you want to achieve from your project and make the outcomes clear and specific.

For example, for a waste reduction project an outcome of “diverting 5 tonnes of textile waste from landfill per year by setting up a textile recycling box at 3 locations in Dorrigo and partnering with a recycling company” is a much clearer and more specific outcome than “reduce textile waste”.

3. Establish a core project group

A core project group is essential for a successful project. Already a lot of people in our community volunteer and dedicate their time to various community projects so asking people for their time can be tricky.

Think about who is likely to benefit from the project or be interested in it. If it is locality specific, such as a bush regeneration project, then you might think about approaching residents living adjacent to that bit of bushland. If it benefits a particular group, such as implementing a network of bike paths, then it would make sense to approach local cyclists and cycling groups.

4. Find a source of funds

You will need to have a good understanding of how much your project is going to cost. Depending on the type of project you might need funding for approvals or permits, consultants, equipment, on-ground works, materials, advertising and promotion.

Some sources of funding include:

• In-kind contributions: this would include volunteer time or experts or consultants donating their time for free. Don’t be afraid to ask people to donate some time as you never know what people will say until you ask.
• Donations: Businesses or individuals may be willing to donate materials, equipment or services.
• Grant funding: Council has community grants and environmental grants available in April each year. Other grants are also available through the state and federal government. It is worth checking out grant websites to see what is available.
• Fundraising: You could consider doing some of your own fundraising such as a fundraising event or stall.

Whatever method you choose they all take time, and this time needs to be factored into your project plan.

5. Develop a project plan

A project plan is a key document which should list key things, such as:

• the actions you are going to undertake
• who is responsible for each action
• the budget for each action, and
• the timeframe for implementing each action.

An example for a waste project at a local school might be:

You would then go through and list out the next action and the next all the way through to project completion.

If you would like further help reach out to Council's Sustainability Officer on 6655 7300 or council@bellingen.nsw.gov.au