Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your enquiry regarding the 2017Hunter Regional Landcare Scholarship.

Enclosed please find the following information:-

  • Application form
  • Information package including the selection criteria

If you choose to apply for this scholarship, please ensure all details are provided with your application form, in particular outline how you meet the selection criteria. Abstracts of your work and your resume are encouraged.

If you have further questions regarding the scholarship, or after some professional guidance on your research direction, please don’t hesitate to contact the Regional Landcare Facilitator at Hunter Local Land Services on (02) 4930 1030 or the Director of The Tom Farrell Institute on (02) 4921 5700.

Thank you very much for your interest and we wish you all the best with your application.

Nev Reis
Hunter Regional Landcare Facilitator / Professor Tim Roberts
Director, The Tom Farrell Institute

2017Hunter Regional Landcare Scholarship

Information Pack

The Hunter Regional Landcare Scholarship is awarded annually to apostgraduate student who displays strong personal, community and educational commitment to natural resource management and agriculture, with particular reference to the Hunter region of NSW.

The Hunter Regional Landcare Scholarship is being delivered as part of the Regional Landcare Facilitator Program which is an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture.

The scholarship is awarded to assist the student to support them throughtheir research so that they can contribute to future natural resource management and agriculture outcomes and build upon the expertise within the community of the Hunter Local Land Services (LLS) region.

Scholarship Terms and eligibility

  1. Each scholarship is for $3,000
  2. A maximum of one scholarship will be available in 2017.
  3. Applicants must be an Australian Citizen or permanent resident.
  4. Applicants must be an enrolled student undertaking post graduate studies at an Australian University.
  5. Scholarship payments will be made in two (2) instalments of $1,500.00 each. Proof of enrolment will be required to enable the first instalment payment to successful applicants. The second instalment payment will be paid, once the final research is delivered (timing will be part of the ‘successful applicants MoU’) to a professional standard as agreed upon by the Regional Landcare Facilitator (RLF) and The Tom Farrell Institute.
  6. Successful applicants must present research findings to Hunter Local Land Services & The Tom Farrell Institute, before the second instalment is paid.
  7. There is no restriction on the scholarship recipient receiving other scholarships.
  8. The Regional Landcare Facilitator reserves the right to vary these terms without notice or consider applications outside these guidelines, in consultation with the Tom Farrell Institute.

Application and Selection Process

  1. Applications must be submitted by Friday 27 January 2017,
  2. Applications should consist of a completed application form and a statement addressing the selection criteria (2 x A4 pages maximum).
  3. Applications are assessed by a selection committee that comprises at least; the General Manager of the Hunter Local Land Services (LLS) (or delegate); the Regional Landcare Facilitator (or delegate); and the Director of The Tom Farrell Institute (or delegate).
  4. The committee may contact your nominated referees for further information.
  5. If there are no suitable candidates the scholarship may not be awarded and held in trust by The Tom Farrell Institute for future Hunter Regional Landcare Scholarships or to be spent on a Landcare events &/or activities agreed to by the Regional Landcare Facilitator.
  6. Completed applications can be posted to:

The Tom Farrell Institute for the Environment

The University of Newcastle (UoN)
IDC220, Industry Development Centre
University Drive
Callaghan NSW 2308,Australia

or fax to +61 2 4921 5033

or email to with the emailsubject: Hunter Regional Landcare Scholarship application

(Applications that are e-mailed should either be in Word, PDF or Word compatible email format).

Successful applicants

Successful applicants will be required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding about the delivery of work i.e. timing and quality, with The Tom Farrell Institute that is consistent with these terms.Records and photos of successful scholarship winners will be maintained and may be used for promotional purposes (e.g. media releases, personal profiles etc).

Selection Criteria (maximum of two pages)

Applicants will be competitively assessed on the following Selection Criteria:

  1. Alignment of research withNLP Strategic Objective/sbelow (20%)
  • Strategic Objective 1: Communities are managing landscapes to sustain long-termeconomic and social benefitsfrom their environment.
  • Strategic Objective 2: Farmers and fishers are increasing their long term returns through better management of the natural resource base.
  • Strategic Objective 3: Communities are involved incaring for their environment.
  • Strategic Objective 4: Communities are protectingspecies and natural assets.

For more information visit

  1. Hunter Regional (LLS Region) Landcare focus and engagement with LLS staff (55%).

2016 – 17 Research Topics suggested by Local Land Services for Landcare Scholars

Research topics / Local Land Services Contact
Water availability with strategic grazing when head heights are over 100 metres. Research into cost effective methods of delivering water to high grazing areas, for crash grazing periods or longer, using innovative approaches in delivery and or sourcing of water at these altitudes. / Albert Mullen,
Senior Land Services Officer NRM,
Ph: 65518994 ext 235
Grazing management in riparian zones. Researching when and how to graze riparian zones so they are managed sustainably, once they are fenced off from stock. Seeking answers to: Stocking rates? For what length of time? How do we manage to prevent stock deaths from toxic weeds? How do we protect ground cover and regrowth? And more. / Fiona Marshall
Major Projects Officer

Ph: 65402417
Grazing management for weed suppression. Researching the comparison of weed suppression, from crash grazing in fencedoff areas against intermittently grazed areas. Identifying grazing indicators to achieve the best weed suppression.
PLUS
Water quality from floodgates drains across lower hunter. Examining the water quality when there is a mixture of water types and the changes and adaption of aquatic habitat. / Jenny Weingott
Senior Land Services Officer Lower Hunter

Ph: 4964 9308
Establishing Australia measurement system of carbon emission for Farm to Fridge food production. Examine existing research in this area, develop and practice a measurement methodology, and identify the willingness of produce suppliers to label food accordingly. / Nev Reis
Regional Landcare Facilitator

Ph: 4938 4959
Research into the change or benefit to soil health and pasture growth, when comparing the application of dairy effluent with anaerobic bacteria only, in comparison to the application of dairy effluents with added aerobic composts. / Col Freeman
Project Officer (Williams River Dairy)

Ph: 4930 1030
LLS Strategic Planning topics:
  • Best practice for riparian zone widths
  • Flood hydrology across whole catchment.
  • How to forecast and measure the return on investment from LLS programs across social, environmental, and economic outcomes
  • Impacts of crash grazing practices on environmental and economic outcomes
  • Economic value of natural assets in the Hunter region
/ Claire Parkes
Senior Strategic Land Services Officer

Ph: 4938 4924
You choose. Contact Hunter Local Land Services staff to discuss. / Ph: 1300 795 299
Email:
Visit:
Head Office: 816 Tocal Road Paterson, NSW, 2421
  1. Transferable to other Landcare regions across Australia (10%)
  2. Previous study and experience (15%)

If you have any further enquiries please contact the Regional Landcare Facilitator on (02) 4930 1030 or the Director of The Tom Farrell Institute on (02) 4921 5700 or email

2017 Hunter Regional Landcare Scholarship -Application Form

Personal Details

Name:
Date of Birth:
Home Address:
Term Address:
Phone: / Fax: / Mobile:
Email:

Study Details

Educational Institution:
Faculty:
Level of postgrad study i.e. Honours, Grad. Dip., Masters, Phd:
Research topic:

1st Referee Contact Details2nd Referee Contact Details

Name: / Name:
Address: / Address:
Phone: / Phone:
Mobile: / Mobile:
Email: / Email:
How do you know this person? / How do you know this person?

Please attach details of how you meet the Selection Criteria (2x A4 pp max), as seen in the Information Pack; an abstract of your research; and a resume to this application form.