Maisie Enders has dedicated much of her life to restoring the land. At 90 years old, she manages her 120 ha farm at Carboor by herself. Recently she received a hand from a Working for Victoria works crew to rebuild dilapidated fences.

Maisie and her husband Stan bought the property in 1953 and later practiced regenerative farming and holistic farm management. Maisie was also a wildlife carer, taking in hundreds of orphaned wombats, wallabies and possums. In 2004, the entire farm was placed under a conservation convenant, protecting this important habitat and sustainable farming system forever.

Lately though her cattle have been getting out through deteriorating fences. Thanks to the North East Catchment Management Authority (CMA), Trust for Nature has had access to Working for Victoria crews funded by the Victorian Government to support landholders with covenants throughout the catchment.

Working for Victoria (WFV) is a state government initiative responding to the COVID pandemic. It is designed to help jobseekers find work across Victoria and North East CMA has employed three teams working with organisations including Landcare, Trust for Nature and Parklands Albury Wodonga, as well as with private landholders.

A team of seven – Blake, Chris, Alex, Isaak, Bryce, Shannon and Fraser – have rebuilt fences on Maisie’s land to protect tree belts, re-hung a dozen gates to make them open smoothly, repaired old fencing and slashed under an electric fence so Maisie can turn it on safely.

Chris and Isaak, who have completed undergraduate degrees in environmental management and science, said the program helped them gain practical skills and certifications. Alex, who grew up on a local farm, said he enjoyed the opportunity to be out of the office.

The crew has been helping out other landholders in the region, including Diana Simpson, whose covenant is adjacent to Warby-Ovens National Park. The crew removed old fencing, giving wildlife unrestricted access to the park.