People living in the Wheatbelt are now being asked to help develop a plan and unlock millions of dollars for their local environment.
 
The region’s peak natural resource management group Wheatbelt NRM wants ideas from the community to pitch to the Australian government.
 
These ideas could help secure up to $12 million in funding for projects as diverse as feral animal control to sustainable farming practices.
 
Wheatbelt NRM helps to manage the natural resources across 12 million hectares of land from Northam east to Coolgardie and Pingelly north to Dalwallinu.
 
The group’s chief executive officer Natarsha Woods said people could now have their say on the region’s future management by submitting ideas online.
 
“We will soon be making a pitch to the Australian government on how funding should be spent on the waterways, bushland, farms and towns of this region,” Natarsha Woods said.
 
“We’re asking communities to give us ideas now, so we can take them to Canberra and strengthen our request for funding.”
 
Previous projects have included improving soil health on farming land, planting trees to improve connectivity for wildlife, salt bush trials and night time bat walks.
 
“I want people to go to our website and either suggest or vote on projects they think are important when it comes to managing our natural resources,” Natarsha Woods said.
 
“Wheatbelt NRM wants this to be the will of the community.
 
“We’ve worked with local groups and people for more than two decades to develop strategies in managing the region’s natural resources.
 
“We now need to hear what measures you think will best determine management over the next five years.”

You can visit the forum online and vote or submit an idea to help prioritise projects for the National Landcare Programme.
 
People can log on to https://oursay.org/wheatbelt with submissions closing Friday 1 December.