Bee Friendly Farming has partnered with One Tree Planted and Flow Hive to provide grants of up to $10,000 to farmers and land managers to plant pollinator-friendly trees that are indigenous to their farms.
The program is administered by The Wheen Bee Foundation, and chief executive officer Fiona Chambers said the tree grants supported pollinators while also benefiting farmers.
“Habitat loss is one of the greatest threats to bees and other pollinators,” Ms Chambers said.
“Planting pollinator friendly trees increases food for bees, provides essential habitat for them to breed and creates habitat corridors, reducing the distance they need to travel to forage.
“This, in turn, helps farmers with healthier, more prolific pollinators and enhanced crop pollination outcomes.”
The Bee Friendly Farming program works with farmers to help protect, preserve and promote the health of all pollinators.
This month, Bee Friendly Farming celebrated its first anniversary in Australia.
In just 12 months, more than 30,000 hectares of farmland across Australia has been certified Bee Friendly Farming.
To receive a tree grant, farms must be certified with Bee Friendly Farming.
The tree grants, which start at $1000, more than cover certification costs.
This is the second year the tree grants have been offered.
Last year, 17 agriculture businesses in four states received grants totalling $48,600 to plant pollinator-friendly trees.
“This grant program was extremely successful last year, funding the establishment of 80ha of pollinator habitat across four states,” Ms Chambers said.
“We are pleased to continue our work with One Tree Planted and we are confident we can reach our new target of 100,000 trees, creating 100 additional hectares of pollinator-friendly habitat.”
One Tree Planted supports reforestation projects across the globe.
Last year, the non-profit planted 10 million trees, and this year, the organisation is on track to support the planting of more than 20 million trees.
Successful applicants will receive a contribution of $1 per tree planted, with grants between $1000 and $10,000 available.
Larger grant requests will be considered. Applications must be received on or before 5pm on Sunday, July 31.
To be eligible to apply for these tree grants, farms must either be a BFF CERTIFIED Farm or have a BFF CERTIFIED application submitted and pending approval by the tree grant closing date.
Apply for tree grants at: www.beefriendlyfarming.org.au/tree-grants-application
Apply to become BFF certified at: www.beefriendlyfarming.org.au/categories/bff-certified
For more information, contact: info@beefriendlyfarming.org.au
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