Did you know sports clubs are eligible for our Grassroots Grants? Their big contribution to the local community is about more than just games. Get to know several clubs going the extra mile to help their local environment.
We’ve awarded $1.2 million in grant funding for sports clubs, community groups, faith groups, not-for-profits, individuals and more to help improve Adelaide’s environment.
Five sporting clubs were part of the 46 groups which were successful in gaining grants in Round 5 of our Grassroots Grants program. Read about what they’ll be doing to cool and green our neighbourhoods.
1. Adelaide City Football Club
Adelaide City Football Club is a highly acclaimed part of the National Premier League for SA.
If their countless wins weren’t enough, they’ve got a great touch for building biodiversity.
They’re looking to revitalise their space with garden beds full of native plants. Their Grassroots Grant will help them engage a contractor to bring their expertise and prepare the garden beds with different layers of natives.
Adelaide City Football Club President Angelo Carrozza said its Grassroots Grant will help the club transform and revitalise the garden beds at its Oakden sporting complex.
‘This project aims to create a vibrant, ecologically rich landscape that will enhance the experience for our club members and visitors alike,’ he said.
Pro tip: plant in layers, whether for a bigger project or at home! This will help make your space cooler while helping different plants, animals and insects thrive. Get started with our Wildlife-friendly Gardens Guide.
2. The Grange Golf Club
The Grange Golf Club is gearing up to make habitat for birds while scoring birdies!
The home of LIV Golf in Adelaide successfully gained a grant to fund the protection and restoration of native vegetation throughout the club – including bushcare, weeding, strategic replanting of local species, and access control to make sure the plants don’t get stepped on.
Golf clubs aren’t just the green – the club is helping make their neighbourhood cooler, greener and wilder.
Pro tip: plan for access – make sure there’s fencing, signs or natural boundaries around your patch where needed.
3. Woodville Bowling Club
Can a space for bowls still contribute to biodiversity? Woodville Bowling Club saw no blockers!
The century-old club successfully gained a Grassroots Grant to green a bare area along their northern boundary with suitable natives.
On top of helping to cool the neighbourhood and making it more habitat-friendly, the area is behind sheltered seats for bowlers and spectators – making their space more aesthetically pleasing and cooler in the shade which gives natural screening from the car park.
The grant will fund the work to source the plants, along with the expertise that comes with it to identify them. Volunteers will put their hands up to help from there.
Pro tip: you don’t have to know it all! Talk to the experts.
4. Adelaide Sailing Club
Adelaide Sailing Club has been doing a colossal amount of work to revitalise Lot 101, some 660m of coastline next to their site at West Beach. They’ve successfully gained Grassroots Grants for multiple stages of their project.
Working in partnership with SA Water, City of West Torrens and yours truly, hundreds of volunteers have contributed to weed control and the reintroduction of native species. More than 7,000 plants have been planted this year alone, a lot of which was done with all hands on deck at a massive planting day in June.
The club and community are regularly volunteering to keep this momentum going, and this year’s Grassroots Grant will go toward stage 4 of the Lot 101 restoration.
Pro tip: It’s more manageable in stages. A Grassroots Grant could fund the first stage of your eligible project.
5. Eden Field Archers
Eden Field Archers have been running for more than 75 years in a patch of Shepherds Hill Recreation Park, helping to deal with the olive trees, dog rose shrubs and ash trees that have taken over the area.
The club is also a returning Grassroots Grants recipient. After hitting the mark with successful weed control in stage 1 of their project, native sedge (a grass-like plant) has made a quick recovery in the area, along with other native grasses like wallaby and kangaroo grass.
The Grassroots Grant will again allow them to get professionals in to do a larger scale of work than would be manageable by volunteers, allowing them to build on their exemplary work already completed.
Club Grants Officer Michael Blake said, ‘As a club we have a vision that we will leave this place better than when we found it.
‘Our first stage removed all the noxious weed infestation either side of the creek that runs through our lease.
Stage 2 is an even bigger task with a number of more complex components than what we have already completed.’
Eden Field Archers will work with contractors, Friends of Shepherds Hill and National Parks and Wildlife Service to plan for the area for the next 2 years. Contractors will control large scales of ash and olive trees in their lease area, including places in steep terrain that are hard to access.
They’re planning to revegetate their patch using local endemic species they’ve collected and grown themselves! And the community will still play a vital role with volunteer working bees every month to maintain it.
The club is looking ahead with a 10-year goal to return their entire lease area to the natural Grey Box Grassy Woodland it once was. And they’re definitely on target.
Pro tip: bring in the resources you need to get the job done.
Grassroots Grants Round 6 will open for applications in March 2025.
Find out more about our grants or get started on a greening project of your own through our gardening tips.