Traditional Owner groups and a local nursery will play a key role in the Latrobe Valley’s mine rehabilitation with a plan to collect, store and propagate native seeds that will be used to revitalise former mining land.

Minister for Energy and Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio, visited the Habitat Creations nursey at Moe, to see first-hand the native flora that will become the foundations of the Gippsland Seed Bank and eventually be planted on rehabilitated coal mine land.

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 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.

The Labor Government is also investing $1.1 million in grants to Traditional Owners from across Victoria to tackle climate change. The Traditional Owner Climate Action grants are for 11 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.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio

“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.”

“TheGippsland 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.”

Quote attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing

“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.”