Aspiring future leaders are being encouraged to apply for grants to help develop their skills and make an impact in catchment management.
Applications for the 2025 Our Catchments, Our Communities Leadership Development Grants are now open, with grants up to $10,000 available for individuals to build skills and expertise in the field.
Grants are available in 3 categories – Aboriginal leadership, women in leadership and innovation – and can be used for study, research, travel or other project-related activities.
Previous grants have supported women to mentor other women to advance their careers in catchment management, helped Aboriginal Victorians to access opportunities to build on their existing skills and knowledge, and funded innovative approaches to addressing catchment management issues and influencing behaviour change.
Tati Tati Aboriginal Water Officer and Melbourne University researcher Melissa Kennedy is using her 2024 grant to undertake field research on Indigenous water management and land stewardship through engagement with Aboriginal leaders and professionals.
Her aim is to integrate Traditional Owner knowledge and cultural water practices into waterway management and share her learnings to raise awareness.
In 2023, Tom Sheehan from Nature Glenelg Trust received a $7,000 grant to complete training and receive necessary certification to use drones for mapping and monitoring pest plants and animals, native vegetation and wetlands, as well spraying herbicide in inaccessible landscapes.
The Our Catchments, Our Communities Leadership Development Grants aim to support emerging leaders in integrated catchment management in Victoria to develop their leadership skills and expertise.
They are an important part of the Our Catchments, Our Communities stewardship program which supports our commitment to managing Victoria’s catchments to benefit our environment, our community and our economy.
Integrated catchment management recognises that our natural resources – water, land and biodiversity – are parts of connected systems that need to be considered and managed holistically through collaboration.
Our Catchments, Our Communities is community based, regionally focused and collaborative, bringing together agency, local government, Traditional Owners, environment groups, education, and industry, as partners to work together towards shared goals.
By striving for healthy, sustainable, and productive land and water resources, together communities can protect and maintain these values now and into the future.
The Our Catchments, Our Communities Leadership Development Grants are open until Thursday 14 August 2025. For more information and to apply, visit Our Catchments, Our Communities.
Page last updated: 17/07/25