The former frontman for the Australian rockers was among those who helped lobby for the formation of Landcare Australia in 1989, so it seems fitting he should circle back to chair the organisation after a lifetime lobbying for the environment.
, there's no shortage of environmental issues to be concerned about. But according to one of Australia's best-known environmentalists, there's also no better antidote to anxiety than rolling up your sleeves and plunging your hands into the earth.
"I'm fascinated to see that quite a lot of people are saying, 'I love coming down and rolling up my sleeves and being with other people, and being in the bush in the morning and doing that sort of work,'" said Peter Garrett AM,", 'I actually feel my mental health is better. '" Mr Garrett is in his second week as the new chair of Landcare Australia, a national not-for-profit organisation established in 1989 to drive sustainable land management and conservation.
Supplied: Julia HarrisMembers include farmers, landholders, conservationists, First Nations organisations and traditional owners — a network of volunteers with a shared interest in making the land more resilient through native habitat restoration and protection.
"I was actually there at the very beginning when the National Farmers' Federation and the Australian Conservation Foundation, which I was a president of, took a proposal to prime minister Bob Hawke that a brand-new pioneering program called Landcare be set up," he told"I think it's one of Australia's great bipartisan, community-based, on-the-ground initiatives, so when the opportunity came around to close the circle, I took it. " There are now more than 140,000 volunteers and more than 6,000 Landcare and community-led environmental groups across the country.
Landcare supports them by providing project promotion, funding and grant management, and by coordinating major ecological restoration projects. Supplied: Awais Butt"Landcare Australia is well placed for its exciting next chapter under new leadership with Peter Garrett. I couldn't be happier with his appointment," Mr Humann said recently. Mr Garrett has long been outspoken on political and environmental issues, including advocating for stronger laws to protect biodiversity, tackling climate change, and supporting land conservation.
"I think the great strength of Landcare and the thing that I've always respected about the organisation … is that it brings us together," Mr Garrett said. "It's the whole of community, it's right across the country, it's certainly got a strong farming community base, it's got volunteers that work in bushland areas.
""Because we've got increasing heat in the system, and it's going to stay there until we get our act together on climate, then the work that's done by Landcare groups is essentially not future-proofing the environment or land, but they're giving it a much better chance," he said. "They're building the resilience, and they're recognising that without healthy lands and waters and healthy landscapes, Australia is in a lot of trouble.
"Amid the challenges, however, Mr Garrett says he remains positive, "because I can see the way communities can transform both the environment and the settings we have in front of us". "I look at the sort of campaigns that conservation organisations ran through the 70s and 80s and into the 90s, and I can see the significant areas that are now protected around the country," he said.
"I look at the increasing levels of consciousness and understanding that young people have about the environment, and how important it is to protect it. "That's not to say it's easy, but doing something is basically how we get to the next place we want to be, and I see a lot of that happening around the country.
Mr Garrett also encouraged Australians to nominate hard-working volunteers for the 2026 State and Territory Landcare Awards, which are open until July 31. Get local news, stories, community events, recipes and more each fortnight.
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