Nominations are open for this year’s Steadfast Young Landcare Leadership Awards.

The initiative, which Steadfast now sponsors, acknowledges an individual or a youth group in each state and territory of Australia aged 15-35 for promoting excellence in landcare through on-ground projects or awareness-raising activities.

Individuals or groups able to demonstrate their capacity to lead participating in managing the environment and natural resources in their local area are eligible. State and territory winners will go on to compete in the 2022 National Landcare Awards, to be held next year.

MD and CEO Robert Kelly says Steadfast has partnered with Landcare Australia to support their efforts to improve biodiversity and build greater resilience in Australia’s food and farming systems.

“Our youth is our future,” Mr Kelly said. “We want to embrace those who are passionate about food and farming research and development and educate people to help them make better choices to shape a better world.”

Landcare Australia is a national not-for-profit organisation established more than 30 years ago that supports the landcare community with funding, capacity-building, on-ground projects, information, networking and promotion of landcare achievements.

The four key areas of Junior Landcare are biodiversity, food production, indigenous perspectives and waste management.

The National Young Landcare Leadership Award was this year won by Wiradjuri woman from Ngunnawal country and Australian National University student Dhani Gilbert. She grew up involved practices including of seed harvesting, cultural burning, weed eradication work and native vegetation restoration.