Grow West is one of Australia’s most ambitious programs of landscape restoration. The vision of healthy waterways, healthy soils and resilient ecosystems is underway. It was launched in 2003 as one of Victoria’s largest restoration projects in the west.
Its vision is to rejuvenate 10,000 hectares of land in the Upper Werribee Catchment, west of Melbourne, by transforming the landscape through the implementation of sustainable land management practices such as revegetation, farm forestry and remnant enhancement and protection works.
These projects will increase biodiversity, create biolinks to connect native vegetation, improve waterway health and provide long-term control in the fight against weeds, rabbits and erosion.
If you are a local landholder or a potential investor, we would love you to come aboard Grow West and be part of this exciting project to create a better, greener future for Melbourne’s western landscapes. Feel free to contact us for more information.
Environmental benefits
Grow West is working to improve both the visible and working landscapes in the project area and bring the following environmental benefits:
- Improved stability of land through the reduction in noxious weeds, rabbits, water contaminants, salinity, erosion and sedimentation
- Increased habitat for native flora and fauna
- Enhancement and protection of existing biodiversity
- Increased linkages between areas of native vegetation
- Improved condition of the waterways
- Advice on best practice management
The Grow West Team has been running events, field days and training packages in conjunction with partners such as councils and Melbourne Water to help inform landowners of the beenfits of being involved in our programs.
Social benefits
The local community, including landowners, volunteers, community groups, councils and businesses, are all central to the success of Grow West and its programs.
Without question, the opportunity for landholders to work together, to share resources and experiences, to dovetail their treatment plans for animal and weed control and to get together to share their successes is important to the success of Grow West’s goals.
Grow West runs field days and events throughout the year to facilitate these conversation. These events include involvement in the annual Grow West Community Planting Day, held in partnership with Victorian National Parks Association.
The social and community benefits that Grow West creates include:
- Recognition, awareness and understanding within the community of local natural resources issues
- Sense of pride in working to resolve local land management issues
- Increased cooperation between sectors of the community
- Increased attractiveness of landscape
- Increased social cohesion
Economic benefits
Grow West’s goal is to repair and restore the landscape in the project area through programs that improve the productivity and viability of the local landscape.
Additionally, Grow West is working with a range of partners who are invested in the health and viability of the land in this area and have pledged their support into the future.
The Grow West Team works with both landholders and corporate supporters to undertake programs that protect existing native vegetation, help restore and replant new vegetation and treat weeds and pest animals, to ensure the health of the land and waterways within the area.
Grow West brings significant economic benefit to the project area, including:
- Increased land productivity
- Access to funding to enable land improvement activities
- Access to resourcing and expertise to enable land improvement activities
- Access to advice and information
- Reclamation of eroded, saline and weed infested areas
- Attraction of funding/business to the area
- Employment in the environmental industry
- Attraction of tourists to the area
- Increased markets for locally produced and sold products