The Bugle - 10 March 06
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories
- Community invited to new NRM group's official launch
- Sustainability workshops hailed a success
- Saving Stanthorpe's plants
- Teaching the teachers
- New executive officer joins Mackay Whitsunday...
- And a new communications officer joins Burnett Mary
- Community farm tackles dam acidity
- Picture this
Government updates
- Responses needed on Landcare projects
- Contractors to undertake improvement reviews
- Symposium spreads social science
- Workshop to showcase agriculture collaboration
Natural resources news
Reef news
Community invited to new NRM group's official launch
SEQ Catchments, the new natural resource management group for South East Queensland, has invited people to attend its official launch at Bundamba Wetlands on Thursday, 16 March.
SEQ Catchments was formed through the amalgamation of two groups, NRM SEQ and Western Catchments.
The gala event will include displays from two dozen organisations and activites including a water testing demonstration, bird identification workshop and training in how to identify grasses.
Natural Resources, Mines and Water Minister Henry Palaszczuk and federal Member for Blair Cameron Thompson will attend the launch.
For more information, email Natasha Wright or phone her on 3211 4404.
Sustainability workshops hailed a success
Landholders in the mulga lands of south west Queensland are working together with South West NRM and the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries to improve land management practices through the series of Grazing Land Management/PLANSCAPES workshops.
The latest workshop was held in the Lower Nebine catchment, with nine people from five local properties participating.
South West NRM's Matt Wolnicki said participants thought the workshops were great.
"It shows that the property is not isolated, there are people all around who have skills in working this country, and they are willing to share that information and are not afraid to keep learning," he said.
Further workshops are proposed for the south west region. For more information, email Matt Wolnicki or phone him on 4655 2999 or 0427 492 855.
Saving Stanthorpe's plants
Public meetings will be held in the Granite Belt to develop a management plan for 10 threatened plants on the Stanthorpe Plateau.
The meetings will be part of a joint Queensland Murray-Darling Committee-Rare Wildflower Consortium project to work with local communities to develop a management plan to protect endangered, vulnerable and rare flora in the region.
The 10 threatened plants this project will focus on include varieties of the Boronia, Bottlebrush, Grevillea and Eucalypt families.
Public workshops will be held on 23 March at 7pm in Stanthorpe's QCWA Rooms and on 25 March at 10am in the Amiens State School's Discovery Centre.
For further information, or for copies of the Draft Stanthorpe Plateau Threatened Flora Recovery Plan, email Paul Donatiu or phone him on 3358 1974 or 0400 1964 92.
Teaching the teachers
"Position, position, position" is not just a real estate catch cry, as teachers attending an urban sustainability workshop at Toowoomba's award-winning EnviroShack discovered.
The Queensland Murray Darling Committee organised the workshop to show how simple measures such as orientating your house carefully on your block can dramatically reduce your impact on the environment.
"Although it's easy to feel overwhelmed by global issues such as climate change, this workshop aimed to demonstrate the many simple things we can all do to ensure our homes and lifestyles are sustainable," workshop organiser Laura Weedon said.
"The EnviroShack showcases the latest innovations and materials and so was the prefect venue for the workshop."
Teachers who attended come away with plenty of ideas for introducing urban sustainability into the classroom.
More workshops will be planned on a range of environmental themes including GIS, water quality monitoring, biodiversity and native plant propagation and growing. The sessions will give teachers the knowledge and skills to run environmental projects with students and to broaden their awareness of sustainable resource management practices.
For more info, contact Laura Weedon or Annette Gray at the Landcare Discovery Centre on 4637 6201.
New executive officer joints Mackay Whitsunday
The Mackay Whitsunday NRM Group has a new executive officer - Col Creighton.
Col will start work in early in April. Welcome aboard Col!
New communications officer joins Burnett Mary
Bianca McCracken is the Burnett Mary Regional Group's new communications officer.
Bianca takes over from Tunja Cottier, who has embarked on a radical career change - she's now the publican of the Mount Perry Grand Hotel!
We welcome Bianca to the job and wish Tunja all the best.
You can contact Bianca by emailing her or phoning 4123 8333.
Community farm tackles dam acidity
When Scrub Hill Community Farm's dams filled, the water was so acidic children who swam in it developed serious skin conditions.
Scrub Hill is an ex-quarry rehabilitation project in the Burnett Mary region run by the Dhugamin Community Economic Development and Employment Program and the Korrawinga Aboriginal Corporation. It includes an organic farm, bush tucker, revegetation and a community and cultural centre.
To fix the acid problem, excess farm produce, slashed wattle regrowth and vermicast from the worm farm were thrown in the dams. Until late 2004, the dams still had the deep blue green colour of a mine tailings dam.
In May 2005, water analysis established that copper, aluminium and other harmful elements were not present in the dams and over Christmas one of the main dams began to change colour. In January, workers were proud to announce that their sustained efforts, with the help of Mother Nature, had been successful. One of their dams had finally changed to the colour of tea and supported a lush growth of water lilies.
Dhugamin CDEP is gathering soil and water analysis information collected by over the last ten years of the organic farm's development.
The dam restoration project is a community initiative jointly resourced by BMRG and Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries.
For more information, email Bianca McCracken or phone her on 4123 8333.
Picture this
The Mackay Whitsunday Natural Resource Management Group has announced a Healthy Waterways photographic competition.
The competition is open to the public and has three categories: Responsible Water Use, Diversity of Aquatic Life and Restoring Our Waterways.
Entry is free, with prizes of up to $100 in cash and vouchers on offer for winners. Mackay Whitsunday NRM Group will host a ceremony at the Mackay Botanic Gardens function room on Friday 26 May at 5:30pm to announce the successful photographers.
For an entry form and conditions or more information, email Vivienne Dwyer or phone her on 4953 5298. The competition closes Friday 12 May.
Responses needed on Landcare projects
The Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water's Community Partnerships section has contacted all regional NRM groups that secured funding for new or ongoing National Landcare Program projects for the 2005-06 financial year.
Anne Goeths from Community Partnerships said successful groups needed to forward their project schedules so that contracts could be prepared.
"I'd like to thank the groups that have already supplied their schedules and encourage the others to send theirs as soon as possible so that we can finalise contracts and release the funds for the projects."
For more information, email Anne Goeths or phone her on 3224 2152.
Contractors to undertake improvement reviews
The Joint Queensland and Australian Government NRM Steering Committee (JSC) has agreed that independent contractors will undertake future business improvement reviews of regional NRM groups.
Previously, these reviews were undertaken by the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water's Community Partnerships section and the Australian Government.
The JSC will write to regional NRM groups to outline the new arrangements and start discussions on timeframes and processes.
For more information, email Sherrie McLean or phone her on 3224 2389.
Symposium spreads social science
To manage natural resources successfully, you have to understand the social factors that affect the way these resources are managed.
This year's Social Science Symposium on 20-21 April aims to share what has been learnt about these social factors through 10 research partnerships funded under the National Action Plan on Salinity and Water Quality's social research, development and extension program (SEO3).
The organisers invite all regional NRM groups, as well as industry and other NRM partners, to attend the symposium.
Topics include partnerships and collaborations, community and regional group capacity, grassroots practice change and peri-urban engagement.
The symposium is this year's one-stop shop for regional NRM-related social science. It follows the successful social research symposium in May 2005.
For more information, email Lynda Pollock or phone her on 4938 4382.
Workshop to showcase agriculture collaboration
An upcoming workshop will showcase great examples of researchers, industry and regional NRM groups working together in the field.
The AgSIP Coordination workshop is in Bundaberg on 15—16 March.
If you are interested in discussing:
- what accelerates practice change on farms
- the use of industry and regional incentives
- how to help farmers meet their land and water legal obligations
- the advantages, costs and weaknesses of different on farm monitoring systems
- how to improve science uptake and science-landowner dialogue
- cross-industry collaborations and landscape approaches and
- innovative partnerships for all of the above
then email Valerie Sapin or phone her on 4160 0739. But you'll have to be quick - RSVPs are due midday today.
Peak Landcare groups sign agreement
Queensland Water and Land Carers and the Queensland Landcare Foundation have signed a "Collaborative Relationship Agreement".
This Agreement is a positive step to develop and formalise a working relationship between QWaLC and QLF. Both organisations recognise their primary roles lie in providing resources and support to the natural resource management volunteer sector.
Water quality grants unveiled
FNQ NRM offers community groups and individuals grants of up to $20,000 to undertake on-ground activities that improve water quality. The incentives program is specifically funding projects in the Tully and Murray River catchments that reduce sediment washing into local rivers and ending up at the Reef.
"Good land management practices such as improved on-farm drain management, off-stream watering points, and protection and restoration of riparian and wetland areas improve water quality," FNQ NRM's Allan Dale said.
The initiative is part of a water quality improvement plan being developed for the Tully and Murray River catchments. This plan will contribute to the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan to help reverse the decline in water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef.
Applications for funding close on Friday 31 March. For more information or an application kit, email Damon Sydes or phone him on 4068 0055 or 0428 727 958.
We welcome your input and feedback on this newsletter. If you have any contributions, comments or suggestions please contact Shona Strachan or Paul Rees.
To view past issues of The Bugle visit the regional NRM web site.
Last updated 05 April 2006