22 Sep 2017 Wangaratta Chronicle, Wangaratta VIC (General News) State funding helps support local groups conservation projects TURTLES, woodland bats and threatened parrots and bush peas will benefit from State Government grants to local community groups to protect and further enhance local biodiversity. Jaclyn Symes (MLC, Northern Victoria) said hundreds of thousands of dollars has been granted to projects across the North East, as part of the governments $4 million Biodiversity Onground Action program. She said the funding will help local community groups protect, improve and expand habitats for Victorias native plants and animals . Many Northern Victoria communities are already hard at work protecting and restoring Victorias unique natural environment and these grants will further assist in the protection and enhancement of the local biodiversity, she said. In the last year many dedicated local community groups in Northern Victoria helped to reduce threats and improve the survival of threatened species. Local projects supported are: $49,150 to Friends of Winton Wetlands for their project around native turtle conservation; $48,000 to Springhurst and Byawatha Hills Landcare Group for its project focused on roadside reserves; $36,030 to Greta Valley Landcare Group to help protect scattered paddock trees for woodland bards and bats; S31,500 to Upper Ovens Valley Landcare Group for riparian conservation and connectivity, focused at the junction of the Ovens and Buckland rivers; $5600 to Yackandandah Cemetery Trust to protect and identify cemetery native grassland species; and $18, 585 to Myrtleford and District Landcare & Sustainability to help shore up the threatened Stony Bush-pea Pultenaea lapidosa on Myrtlefords Reform Hill. Caption Text: FRESH FRIENDS: Long necked turtles (pictured) and broad shelled turtles are the main species living in the Winton Wetlands, and the subject of a special conservation project. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.