Friends Groups

What is a Friends Group?

A Friends Group is a group of individuals with the shared interest in supporting the protection of a particular park, reserve, area or species. An environmental Friends Group consists of environmental volunteers with an interest in a particular natural area.

Examples of Friends Groups activities may include:

On-ground works

• Weed removal and management
• Revegetation / planting
• Watering
• Rubbish collection
• Fire prevention

Community education

• Information stalls
• Guided walks
• Signage and brochures
• Friends Group website and social media
• Friends Group newsletter
• Talks and presentations (schools and community)

Group facilitation

• Grant submissions
• Recruiting new members
• Secretarial duties
• Training new volunteers
• Representation at meetings
• Liaison with management authority
• Managing funded projects
• Safety management

Key Community Environmental Support Groups

The City encourages and supports community environmental volunteer activity. The City's long-standing key partner in community-based natural resource management is the Armadale Gosnells Landcare Group (AGLG). The City has worked in partnership with the AGLG and the City of Armadale since 1997. The two Cities provide funding for the AGLG's Community Landcare Coordinator, who works across both Cities. The Armadale Gosnells Landcare Group brochure provides more information. Volunteers wishing to get involved in local landcare activities, or groups seeking support in their landcare activities, are encouraged to contact the Community Landcare Coordinator.

The South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare (SERCUL) was formed in 2003 as an independent Natural Resource Management body to bring together the community, business and government in the south of Perth to develop and implement projects that improve the health of local waterways and ecosystems. SERCUL is one of five sub-regional bodies operating in the Swan-Canning catchment. The area that SERCUL covers takes in Djarlgarra (the Canning River), the Southern-Wungong River and their tributaries and parts of Derbarl Yaragan (the Swan River). SERCUL is a key supporter of local community action.