NEWS: Funding to improve roadside vegetation

More than 30 councils from across NSW will share in nearly $1.3 million to restore, revegetate and protect roadside vegetation as part of the Roadside Vegetation Implementation Program.

The program is an initiative of the NSW Environmental Trust to help councils implement practical actions to manage their roadside vegetation. It is administered on behalf of the trust by the Local Government and Shires Associations. Forty-six grant applications were submitted and 11 of the projects that attracted funding were in council areas with populations of less than 20,000 people.

President of the Shires Association, Ray Donald, said the grants would provide a boost for smaller rural and regional councils, allowing them to carry out vital roadside conservation works and help regenerate ecological corridors.

President of the Local Government Association of NSW, Keith Rhoades, said councils that submitted applications for joint-initiatives were also eligible for a maximum grant of $100,000, enabling a greater scope of conservation works to be carried out. Cr Rhoades said other projects to receive funding included removing environmental weeds, bush regeneration, improving signage of environmentally sensitive areas and staff training to ensure roadside vegetation areas were protected.

Source: EnviroInfo Premium.