The Future Drought Fund is investing in five Nuffield scholarships that are specifically available to study drought resilience and support innovation. These scholarships will support applicants to build drought resilience expertise, adapt innovative technology and practices from overseas and share these learnings to advance Australian agriculture.

Applications close 16 May 2025.

The Foundation For Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) is offering grants to support communities to activate and strengthen local climate solutions with applications closing on the 24^th of June.

There are two streams of grant including ‘Small and Vital’ which offers small grants up to $10,000 and targeted larger leverage grants up to $50,000.

A Prepare and Recover stream is also offering grants up to $25,000.

On March 13th following the Talkin’ Soil Health Symposium the Western Australian Soil Health Champion’s were announced at Faversham House in York as part of the Wheatbelt NRM cocktail party.

If Polyphagous Shot-Hole Borer (PSHB) were to make its way to the Wheatbelt, it could have devastating impacts on threatened species habitat.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) have recently updated the native host list and several important forage and nesting species for black cockatoos feature on the list.

Australian native grasses can be beautiful and productive. As they are well adjusted to Australian soils and climate they make a hardy addition to both revegetation projects and forage systems.

Wheatbelt NRM are excited to announce an upcoming opportunity for mixed farmers. “Forage for Nature” is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program. See our website for details. Expressions of interest will be open in January 2025 so stay tuned for the cue to apply.

New saltbush carbon metrics could be a gamechanger for saline land restoration and carbon accounting in Australia.

The Polyphagous Shot-Hole Borer (PSHB) is a small yet highly invasive beetle native to Southeast Asia, posing a significant threat to a wide range of plant species.

The pilot ‘Wheatbelt land-use paradigms – navigating new industries in the low carbon and natural capital era’ is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Climate-Smart Agriculture program under the Natural Heritage Trust.

What qualities make a person a Soil Health Champion?  This edition revisits SHC of the past, Rob Hetherington (2022) and Kane Page (2020).

Wheatbelt NRM recently attended a webinar on the potential arrival of HPAI H5N1 in Australia. With Oceania being the last unaffected region, experts warn that this virus could reach us as soon as this spring, posing severe risks to wildlife and poultry.