DonorTec Impact - Little River Landcare Group

Formed in late 1997, The Little River Landcare Group was created to address the need for an integrated approach to natural resource management within the Catchment area.

Situated in the Little River catchment of the Macquarie River valley in Central Western New South Wales, the Little River drains 258,000ha from over 300 farms and centres.

The Little River Landcare Group Inc. is run by 2.6 staff and represents 17 Landcare groups within the catchment area. With 223 active members, the group now has 63 per cent engagement across the community.

"Establishing our group has resulted in an organised and focused plan for the health of our Catchment," explained Fergus Job, Catchment Manager for the Little River Landcare Group.

"It was important for the plan and its subsequent implementation to be managed and driven by the Catchment community," said Fergus.

"We're not a standard not-for-profit, like a charity or a hospital, because we are a natural resource management group. We provide information relevant to our catchment and natural resource management to landholders, industry and community residents. This includes information about the natural flora and fauna of the Little River area, information sheets on sustainable management practices, and news on seminars and happenings within the area."

Through the DonorTec program, the group has received software and licensing on Microsoft products including Microsoft Office Professional, Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Project.

"It's basically saved us a big chunk of money on software," said Fergus.

"Realistically, as a not-for-profit organisation, we don't have a lot of operating surplus, so unless you can build costs into projects, which can be quite hard, you need all the help you can get."

"The Microsoft equipment we received through DonorTec has really saved us a lot of money, and we’ve passed on DonorTec’s contact details to numerous other groups we know who could do with some assistance," said Fergus. "Every little bit helps."

Fergus hopes the concept of natural resource management becomes much more wide-spread.

"The environment is a universal problem," he said. "We need to stand and work together on it."