The Bugle - 05 October 2007
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories- Using social and economic assessment in NRM planning
- Have your say on the SEQ NRM Plan
- Weedbusters urged to 'Grow me Instead'
- The mother of all field days
- Prickle bush busters field day
- Express an interest in the 2009 Queensland Landcare Conference
- CCMA climate change workshops
- Have you seen a koala?
- Grants to encourage community to protect natural resources
- Queensland geothermal energy centre a 'nation-leader'
- ecoBiz 2007 Conference
- Emergency drought assistance for Toowoomba
Regional NRM group stories
Using social and economic assessment in NRM planning
Regional NRM planning relies on understanding people and how they connect with their environment. Thoughtful planning and adequate time and resources are crucial for practical and affordable evaluation.
The Social and Economic Team at Community Partnerships, Department of Natural Resources and Water, have developed a training package on the use of Social and Economic Impact Assessment to assist regional bodies in their NRM planning.
Over the next few months the Social and Economic Team will be presenting workshops using the training package with regional NRM bodies across the state. The workshops are not heavy in content, but rather use examples, case studies and practical exercises to demonstrate how the tools can be best applied in a regional NRM context and how they may assist the process of regional plan development and review.
Evaluating the social and economic impacts of NRM can be challenging due to the number and complexity of factors involved. It is however possible to create a regional social and economic profile that describes the circumstances in which your NRM activity operates. This will provide a baseline for comparing the effects of a NRM activity and allows the identification of the characteristics that are important in monitoring changes in the region.
The Social and Economic Impact Assessment workshops will also provide practical advice on the use of techniques such as stakeholder analysis, change mapping and decision support. If you are interested in hosting or attending a workshop in your region contact Danel Franks, Community Partnerships, on 07 3224 7741.
Have your say on the SEQ NRM Plan
SEQ Catchments in partnership with the South East Regional Coordination Group are coordinating the development of the SEQ NRM Plan to be included in the upcoming review of the SEQ Regional Plan.
Organisations are invited to a roundtable to: review recent actions to address natural resource management issues; comment on the draft targets which will form the basis of the SEQ NRM Plan; and work with SEQ Catchments staff and other stakeholders on new projects to support the achievement of these targets.
The roundtable will be held at the Big Pineapple on Tuesday 6 November from 9am – 1:30pm with morning tea provided. RSVPs must be received by Wednesday 24 October to Susie Chapman by email or telephone 07 5459 4788 or 0400 910 682.
For more information on the SEQ NRM plan, contact Andrew Davidson at SEQ Catchments on 07 3503 1413.
Weedbusters urged to 'Grow me Instead'
Community groups, local governments and individuals are encouraged to register their interest in organising key activities for Weedbuster Week running from 6-13 October.
The theme of Grow me Instead for the 2007 campaign aims to encourage gardeners in every city, town or house to remove invasive garden plants and grow non-weedy plants instead.
For more information visit the Weedbuster website.
The mother of all field days
As part of Weedbuster Week, land managers around the Miles district will have the opportunity to learn more about managing the invasive weed, Mother of Millions.
Lavinnia Fiedler is a weed and pest animal technical officer with local natural resource management group, the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee (QMDC). She said, "due to its succulent, cactus like nature, this plant adapts well in dry areas, establishing quickly and spreading in plague proportions."
Mother of millions is highly toxic to stock, even causing death, and out-competes native pastures and habitat, which is why it is such a problem to both production and the environment.
QMDC, in partnership with the Murilla Shire Council and Biosecurity Queensland, will be hosting a Mother of Millions field day at the Leichhardt Centre, in Miles on 10 October to help raise awareness about this weed invasion, and how to control it.
The day will feature speakers from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services, Dow Elanco, and current research programs.
The field day is free and will include lunch and a field trip to investigate the impacts of the recently discovered citrus thrip.
For more information, or to RSVP, please contact Lavinnia Fiedler on 07 4622 3397 or 0428 737 995.
Prickle bush busters field day
There was movement at Carrum Station, for the weeds had got around and over 70 people came together last week to work out how to keep them under control.
Biosecurity Queensland's national prickle bush coordinator, Rob Cobon, together with Southern Gulf Catchments, McKinlay Shire and Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) hosted a prickle bush buster field day at AACo's cattle property, Carrum Station, about 25 kilometres south of Julia Creek.
The field day proved a great forum to demonstrate case study examples of the different management tools in use for all of the prickle bushes - prickly acacia, parkinsonia, mesquite, mimosa bush. As well as the more widely used chemical and mechanical methods, current research in biological control was also covered.
Weed control is an issue high on the agenda at Carrum station with weeds considered the number one threat to the property. Prickly acacia is present in almost every paddock where areas are treated with a variety of methods including a herd of goats for follow-up treatments.
Prickly acacia (Acacia nilotica subsp. indica) management has been in effect for the past 50 years. This Queensland Class 2 weed was first imported as an ornamental, shade tree with the belief it held high fodder values. However, due to its impacts on primary production and the biodiversity and soil structure of the Mitchell Grass Downs, the woody shrub/tree was recognised as a Weed of National Significance in 1999.
For more information on the day contact Southern Gulf Catchments.
Express an Interest in the 2009 Queensland Landcare Conference
Queensland Water and Land Carers (QWaLC) are calling for expressions of interest to host the 2009 Queensland Landcare Conference. Hosts of the conference will receive approximately $40 000 from QWaLC as a conference start-up loan.
Each year the conference is hosted by volunteer natural resource management groups, in keeping with the Landcare ethos. This year QWaLC is also accepting interest from regional NRM bodies to co-host the conference with a local NRM group.
The host group will receive full support from QWaLC and a statewide steering committee, full promotion of the group as the conference host, access to local and statewide sponsors and the opportunity to train staff and volunteers.
Guidelines on creating an expression of interest can be downloaded from QWaLC website.
CCMA climate change workshops
AgForce and Condamine Catchment Management Association (CCMA) are hosting workshop onManaging the Changing Climate that aim to help property owners and mangers extend their knowledge of local and regional impacts of climate change, and what it means for their future and business.
Workshops will be held in Dalby, Pittsworth, Allora and Highfields and conducted by Dr Jeff Clewett (Director, Agroclim Australia) a principal scientist with 35 years RD&E experience on climate risk in agriculture.
For further details you can contact CCMA on telephone 07 4696 8096.
Have you seen a koala?
RSPCA Queensland and the Logan and Albert Conservation Association have joined forces in an effort to get an up to date picture of the distribution of koalas in South East Queensland.
A phone-in survey will be conducted on the weekend of 27-28 October for areas across the south-east including Beaudesert, Boonah, Brisbane, Esk, Gatton, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Logan and Toowoomba.
Sightings (dead and alive) can be called in over the whole weekend to 1300animal (1300 264 625). Coordinates are taken and later mapped and the data analysed.
For more information contact RSPCA Queensland.
Government updates
Grants to encourage community to protect natural resources
Community groups across Queensland can apply for grants of up to $10 000 to highlight the importance of natural resources and the need to protect them.
Based on the themeWorking together - protecting, repairing and restoring the environment, the 2008 Community Awareness Grants are offered to fund activities and projects which demonstrate the value of our precious natural resources and encourage more people to become involved in their protection.
Grants of up to $5000 are available to community groups such as Landcare, Coastcare and Waterwatch, and up to $10 000 will be considered for projects where there is a genuine collaboration between two or more organisations.
The aim of the grants program is to help groups to develop entertaining and educational projects which raise the community's awareness of Queensland's natural resources.
Application forms and guidelines are available to download from the NRW website or by calling 07 3238 3187. Applications close 30 October 2007.
Queensland geothermal energy centre a 'nation-leader’
A nation-leading Centre of Excellence will be established to ensure Queensland is best placed to take advantage of the emerging source of 'hot rocks' or geothermal energy.
Geothermal energy, produced from heat generated and captured from deep inside the earth, has the potential to generate one fifth of Australia's total electricity needs over the next 25 years without producing any carbon dioxide emissions.
The State Government will provide $15 million over the next five years to establish the Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence. The University of Queensland will contribute a further $3.3 million for the centre's establishment.
The centre will bring together a critical mass of scientific and engineering expertise specialising in geothermal power generation which will help make Queensland a hub for developing this exciting new technology.
Queensland has massive geothermal energy resources in the Cooper and Eromanga basins in the state's south west potentially capable of supplying the entire nation with electricity for the next 6000 years.
For the full media statement visit the Queensland Government's media statements.
ecoBiz 2007 Conference
A benchmark forum on sustainable industry, ecoBiz 2007, will see over 500 leading business and government professionals from across Australia and overseas come together in Brisbane on 29 and 30 October.
The ecoBiz 2007 Conference, hosted by the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, will provide a significant forum for industry and government presentations on eco-innovation in business, technology, and markets in a climate changing world.
The conference will showcase the leading edge sectors, companies, and professionals out in front showing the way to profitable investment and business by being climate smart, eco-efficient, and alert to the greening of the marketplace. In addition to industry-specific best practice examples and networking opportunities, delegates will have the opportunity to 'make it real' through the interactive sessions and action-based learning modules.
An optional one-day Industrial Ecology Forum 2007 will follow the conference to promote the benefits that can be realised through adopting industrial ecology principles.
For further information about ecoBiz 2007 or the Industrial Ecology Forum, please contact the conference managers on 07 3210 1646.
For further information about the ecoBiz program including membership, please visit the ecoBiz Queensland section of the Environmental Protection Agency website.
Emergency drought assistance for Toowoomba
Toowoomba City Council will begin work on two Great Artesian Basin bores within a week with the help of $11.8 million in emergency grant funding.
The additional emergency bores at West Toowoomba and Cooby Dam will access an additional 3000 megalitres, or 40% of the city's supply, and will ensure Toowoomba won't run out of water before the city is connected to South East Queensland Grid by 2012.
For the full media statement visit the Queensland Government's media statements.
Reef updates
Reeflink delivers good outcomes for Reef water quality
Grazing and intensive industry sector representatives met recently in Mackay with several highly committed regional NRM operational staff to review Reeflink, a cross-regional project linking the sustainable production processes being undertaken in Reef Catchments.
The Reeflink workshop, held on 12-13 September at Dolphin Heads near Mackay, was an opportunity for participants to review projects such as Mackay Whitsunday NRM's Sustainable Landscapes Program (SLP), AgForce's industry partnerships projects, and Fitzroy River Coastal Catchment's sustainable grazing activities.
The workshop included a bus tour of the SLP's achievements in the sugar industry to understand how the project operated. The bus trip highlighted innovative projects including the adoption of a shielded sprayer and variable rate fertiliser technology to improve the accuracy and efficiency of chemical and nutrient management on farms.
Sugarcane farmer Allan McLean showed off his new shielded sprayer, which had been developed and purchased with assistance from the SLP.
Mr McLean believes the unit will pay for itself within 12 months and will allow him to avoid using residual herbicides entirely, improve spray efficiency and significantly reduce the costs of spraying.
Reeflink workshop facilitator Mr Neil Cliffe, Project Coordinator with the DPI&F, believes that the strength of Reeflink lies in its diversity of projects, industries and regions, and project delivery methods.
"Over the course of its two and a half year history, Reeflink has involved five regional NRM bodies, three primary industry organisations and other delivery agencies to achieve its objectives," Mr Cliffe said.
"The collaborative approach of Reeflink is very productive, as project leaders learn from each other to improve their own project outcomes.
"The end result is that the delivery of projects improves, increasing uptake by primary producers, and this has good outcomes for water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon," Mr Cliffe said.
The Reeflink project addresses some of the key strategies of the Reef Water Quality Protection Plan. For more information visit the Reef Plan website.
Natural resources news
Tour teaches benefits of brigalow study
Studies on the effects of land clearing on brigalow country was on the agenda for a special tour near Moura, in Central Queensland this week.
The tour showed participants, including landholders, scientists and community groups, the Department of Natural Resources and Water's Brigalow Catchment Study at the Brigalow Research Station focussing on the 40-year study and how it can be applied to natural resource management and planning. The study identified impacts which occurred as a result of clearing brigalow lands and found that the clearing had many impacts including doubling the amount of runoff, increased deep drainage and salinity risk.
Delegates on the day trip toured the site before taking part in workshops designed to develop partnerships for the use of the study site and its data under the themes of land, water and climate.
This unique study has brought a wealth of information about the impacts of land clearing and it is important to promote the benefits of the study and also encourage others to use this resource to benefit the broader community.
Managed by NRW with support from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, the Brigalow Catchment Study began in 1965.
More information on the study can be found on the NRW website.
AgForward workshop update
Every month, AgForward runs a number of workshops across the state. Upcoming workshops include:
- 5 November : Boulia - Computer mapping
- 6 November : Winton - Computer mapping
- 7 November : Longreach - Computer mapping
- 7 November : Surat - GPS essentials
- 8 November : Meandarra - GPS essentials
- 9 November : Miles - GPS essentials
- 13 November : Augathella - Computer mapping
- 13 November : Mackay - GPS essentials
Get a job in NRM!
Are you interested in working with Queensland's regional natural resource management bodies? Then head to the Regional Groups' Collective website where current job opportunities are now available. Be sure to check back regularly to ensure you don't miss out on the job of a lifetime!
Here's a sample of what's on offer:
Regional group: Desert Channels Queensland Inc. (DCQ)
Title: Information systems officer (GIS)
Tenure: This position is to 30 June 2008 with a possible extension depending on funding.
Salary range: $40 000 to $50 000
Location: Longreach - occasional travel, including remote areas, will be required.
Closing date: Monday 29 October 2007.
The purpose of this position is to assist the Information Systems Coordinator with managing DCQ’s information system including GIS data, software and projects to maintain a well structured and documented system. Appropriate tertiary qualifications is desirable; knowledge of GIS, western Queensland land management and community are essential.
For a full position description and selection criteria contact Brittany Wakefield at DCQ on telephone 4658 0600.
Thought for the week
The difference between genius and stupidity is: genius has its limits.
Albert Einstein
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The Bugle is a weekly newsletter published by Community Partnerships, the Department of Natural Resources and Water, highlighting regional NRM activities around Queensland.
Last updated 22 January 2009