Former mining land at the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, is set to be revitalised with the establishment of a seed bank, with Traditional Owner groups and a local nursery to play a key role in collecting, storing and propagating native seeds.
Establishing the seed bank is being coordinated by the Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority (MLRA) in partnership with the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) and the local Gippsland native nursery contractor Habitat Creations.
The initiative is crucial to ensuring the future demand for seeds to be planted on former mining land can be met using locally sourced and native flora to protect Gunaikurnai cultural land values.
Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio, visited the Habitat Creations nursery at Moe to see the native flora that will become the foundations of the Gippsland Seed Bank, and will eventually be planted on rehabilitated coal mine land.
The State Government is also investing $1.1 million in grants to Traditional Owners across Victoria to tackle climate change. The Traditional Owner Climate Action grants are for eleven Traditional Owner Corporations to build capacity to care for Country and meet a variety of on-ground needs to support climate action.
Supporting Traditional Owners Corporations to draw on their knowledge of Country is a vital part of Victoria’s path to Aboriginal self-determination.
To help improve planning and delivery of mine rehabilitation in the Latrobe Valley, the MLRA will also partner with the Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC-TiME). This research partnership will explore solutions to the social and economic challenges as the region transitions away from coal energy generation.
“These important initiatives show how the MLRA is actively involved in the rehabilitation of the Latrobe Valley’s mines and ensuring the best future outcomes for the region,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
“The Gippsland native flora seed collection project will ensure the future demand for trees to be planted across former mining land can be met and Gunaikurnai cultural land values protected.”
Member for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing, said, “The long-term work to rehabilitate mine sites provides us with an important opportunity to partner with Gunaikurnai communities and businesses to ensure that as transition continues, future landscapes are delivered through best practice, with and for the community.”
