The Bugle - 06 June 2008
In news this week
Regional NRM group stories- Spreading the good word in the Gulf
- Taking steps towards carbon neutrality – SEQ Catchments supports major carbon event
- Talent scouts for model river reaches
- International grazing management expert speaking in Roma
- Cottoning on to chemical control in Burdekin catchment
- Mackay Whitsunday welcomes new executive officer
- Meetings in the big smoke
- BDTNRM releases regional investment strategy
- Budget provides certainty for NRM groups
- Places still available for the MBI training in Brisbane
- National rural award winner a shining example
- Queenslanders get help to go climate smart
- Australia's coasts to win in $100 million package
- Carbon credits, environmental offsets and Designer Carrots
- Bligh budget in brief
- Landcare Conference early bird registrations close 30 June
- Coca-Cola Regional Scholarships pops open
- AgForward workshop update
- Get a job in NRM!
Regional NRM group stories
Spreading the good word in the Gulf
The Northern Gulf Resource Management Group (NGRMG) recently held a Community Awareness Day hosted by the Northern Gulf Indigenous Savannah Group (NGISG) in Dimbulah.
Entitled 'Biodiversity – Our Youth, Our Future' and funded by a Department of Natural Resources and Water (NRW) Community Awareness Grant, the day enabled NGRMG to publicly display the work it is doing in the region.
The NGISG display included information on biodiversity, native foods, traditional knowledge and Indigenous cultural mapping. It showed Aboriginal youth involvement in catching 'critters' and preparing and eating native foods.
The large attendance of people from all around the region demonstrated the interest there is in the NGRMG and the work they are performing on behalf of their stakeholders.
'What Natural Resources Means to Me' was the title of an art competition for the local school kids. An extraordinary 176 high quality entries were received from four age groups that made the judging particularly difficult.
The day culminated in a celebration of natural resources with entertainment provided by up and coming country artist Shannae Sclippa and international performer David Hudson.
Local community groups chipped in to help with the day to make it a success.
For more information about NGRMG visit their NGRMG website.
Taking steps towards carbon neutrality – SEQ Catchments supports major carbon event
SEQ Catchments is supporting a business sustainability breakfast forum which will focus on helping medium to large corporations take steps towards carbon neutrality.
The event, which is being coordinated by Queensland Conservation Council features three high profile speakers, Minister for Sustainability, Climate and Innovation Andrew McNamara, a world leading carbon lawyer Martijn Wilder, and Petrea Bradford, Manager Carbon Markets at Origin Energy.
The breakfast forum is expected to attract between 150 to 200 of Queensland's business leaders and tables are filling fast.
CEO SEQ Catchments Simon Warner said, "We recognise that corporations play a significant role in developing sustainable communities, which is why we have supported Queensland Conservation Council to host this event.
"We expect that the high calibre speakers will ensure a high profile audience and we are looking forward to interacting with representatives from some of Australia’s largest companies at the Forum," he said.
The Queensland Conservation Council event takes place on 25 June from 7.00 am to 10.00 am in Brisbane. Discounted registration applies for payments for tables of ten.
Further information is available by emailing Samantha Morris at Wombat Creative or calling her on 3012 7617.
More information about Queensland Conservation Council is available on their website.
Talent scouts for model river reaches
A team of four eminent scientists have inspected six priority reaches in the Condamine catchment to determine their suitability as sections of a creek or river system that can be rehabilitated.
The team consists of scientific expertise in fish and aquatic ecology, fluvial geomorphology, soils and land use, and riparian vegetation.
A number of local landholders in the reach areas have also been involved in the inspections to impart their local knowledge and assist the scientists with data collection.
Condamine Alliance project manager Fran Holt said a key outcome of the inspections would be a report to identify the suitable options for rehabilitation, customised to address the most important issues in each reach.
"Implementation will be heavily reliant on interest and assistance from local community groups and individual landholders," Mrs Holt said.
The report is due to be completed by the end of May and will be made available to the public once finalised.
For more information contact Francine Holt at the Alliance 4620 0117 or for the full story visit the Condamine Alliance website.
International grazing management expert speaking in Roma
Landholders in the Maranoa-Balonne will have the opportunity to hear and speak with Dick Richardson, a world expert on the use of grazing planning for success.
Dick has spoken at conferences, workshops and farming days all over the world and his sense of humour and light, logical way of sharing his knowledge makes him well liked and highly sought after.
The presentation will cover the basics and some deeper insights to the process of grazing planning. Further emphasis will be placed on the use of grazing planning to improve the ecological resource base, making rainfall more effective, while also making a positive contribution to the global warming situation through carbon sequestration.
The day is being organised by the Maranoa-Balonne Catchment Management Association (MBCMA), into partnership with the Maranoa Regional Landcare Association (MRLA) on 27 June (the time and venue will be advised in the near future).
Dick's presentation will be part of a joint MBCMA and MRLA community forum and is supported by the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee (QMDC).
For further information, please contact Angela Betts, project support officer for QMDC, on 4622 8446, or Alexis Wegener, coordinator for MRLA, on 4622 6010.
Cottoning on to chemical control in Burdekin catchment
It all started back in December last year when Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM (BDTNRM) announced results of its intensive five-year water quality project in the Burdekin catchment.
The project involved a legion of landholders who volunteered to collect water from 54 sites for sampling before and after heavy rains and floods.
The results showed traces of the controversial chemicals diuron and tebethurion and herbicides atrazine and amatryn. The Barattas had the highest levels of nitrogen and the runoff with high sediment loads from the Bowen, Clarke and Bogie was considered a threat to the health of Great Barrier Reef lagoon.
So the landholders have united again. But this time not to collect water but to learn ways and methods of keeping the water pure during the spraying of their crops against weed, disease and pests.
They have turned out in large numbers to workshops funded by BDTNRM and staged by Burdekin Productivity Services, featuring renowned Toowoomba based spray application specialist Graham Betts.
Landholders have been learning about the mode of action of the chemicals, the benefits of adjuvants, understanding spray application, the importance of choosing the right nozzle and the influence of weather, wind direction and temperature when spraying.
Apart from soil and groundwater contamination to the Reef, over application is uneconomical for the grower. Mr Betts also addresses the concern with drift, as other crops including cotton and horticulture are forming boundaries to cane farms in the region.
It was originally planned to conduct just two workshops last week, but they have been so successful and well attended, three extra workshops were conducted this week. And there is talk of more!
Mackay Whitsunday welcomes new executive officer
Rob Cocco has been announced as the new Executive Officer of Mackay Whitsunday NRM (MWNRM) Group.
The appointment was announced after the former Executive Officer Colin Creighton's term ended on 1 May.
Mr Creighton brought Rob on board as operations manager for the Land, Water and Waterways section of MWNRM's business last year.
Rob came from the sugarcane industry where he was central manager for BSES in Queensland and prior to that as the manager for Canegrowers Burdekin.
Rob said, "Our region has to tackle some important issues and challenges in the near future, about water quality, fire management and good environmental outcomes against the backdrop of climate change targets."
"We will continue to raise the bar in terms of water quality improvement for the sustainability of our future resources and our future productivity for our regional industries," he said.
To learn more about MWNRM visit their website.
Meetings in the big smoke
Desert Channels Queensland's information systems officer Sue Gardiner has been clocking up a few points these past two weeks with flights to Brisbane to attend gatherings of like minded people.
Last week Sue attended the SEQ Catchments Ecosystems Services Project think tank.
She joined government representatives from local, state and federal levels as well as others from Queensland and interstate.
"It was a really interesting day learning more about using geographic information systems to help plan natural resource management in the future," Sue said.
This week Sue attends the 12th enQuire user reference group meeting where the project team will discuss various issues and developments with users of the system. enQuire is a project management and reporting system used by all regional NRM bodies across Queensland.
For more information on the work of Desert Channels Queensland, call 4658 0600.
BDTNRM releases regional investment strategy
Burdekin Dry Tropics NRM (BDTNRM) recently completed its first regional investment strategy (RIS) under the new Caring for our Country initiative.
According to BDTNRM operations manager Dr Scott Crawford, this RIS is very different to the previous one.
"Firstly, with Caring for our Country still in transition, this is a one year (2008-09) RIS only. Secondly, there is a strong focus on linking regional to the six national Caring for our Country priorities. And finally, the investments are structured around 16 sub programs," Dr Crawford said.
"These sub programs provide a better link between activities and the regional and national priorities, and provide a clearer picture of what we do," he said.
"The success of our activities, and ultimately the long term sustainability of our region depend on successful, productive and creative relationships with industry, government and the community.
"This is a great opportunity for us to address the important environmental issues facing our region. Not only can we put our heads together and come up with creative ways of addressing the future of our region’s resources, but we can also actively work together to put those ideas into practice," Dr Crawford said.
Visit BDTNRM's website for more information about its programs.
Government updates
Budget provides certainty for NRM groups
The Bligh Government's first State Budget has provided $17.2 million in 2008-09 to continue regional natural resource management programs across Queensland after federal funding arrangements changed in March.
Acting Natural Resources and Water Minister Warren Pitt said regional NRM bodies had gained certainty for the future of their programs under the new funding.
"The federal Caring for our Country initiative replaced the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality and the Natural Heritage Trust programs, which cease on 30 June 2008," Mr Pitt said.
"Some regional groups were concerned for their future after these new arrangements were announced. However, the Queensland Government will commit $17.2 million to an interim arrangement for continuing a regional NRM program in 2008–09," he said.
"The interim arrangements will provide certainty for staff and for ongoing management of contracts and projects in the regions," Mr Pitt said.
Mr Pitt said the Queensland Government was committed to continuing in partnership with the Federal Government to deliver regional NRM programs.
The federal and state governments will negotiate a bilateral agreement for co-operatively delivering the new program in Queensland, together with a complementary program of state investment, until the end of June 2013.
To read the full media release, visit the Queensland Government State Budget 2008-09 website.
Places still available for MBI training in Brisbane
Learn more about market-based instruments (MBIs) by attending one of 18 two-day workshops which will be conducted throughout Australia.
After the highly successful first workshop held in Townsville (29-30 May) which was very popular, interest in MBIs from regional groups is very high, so if you missed this workshop you still have two opportunities in Queensland to learn more about MBIs.
Two workshops will be held in Brisbane; the first has a general MBI focus and will be held on the 5-6 June. The second will focus on peri-urban issues with designing MBIs and will be held on the 4-5 August.
Regional NRM groups and government staff with an interest in MBIs are invited to attend these free two-day workshops which aim to increase the capacity of government policymakers and regional NRM groups to use MBIs such as offsets, conservation tenders and cap-and-trade mechanisms as tools to assist in the management of natural resources.
The training will provide information on what MBI policy options are available and how to use them.
There will also be practical examples and hands-on activities that explore the design of MBIs. A number of products such as fact sheets, case studies, an online documents library, and support tools such as a decision support tool and a metric essentials tool will be shown, in addition to demonstrating the online MBI community developed for MBIs.
The workshop facilitators will help participants gain an understanding of how to use MBIs in their work and develop an online peer support group, using the Designer Carrots website, to enable participants to continue to gain support as they apply their learnings into their workplace.
The Designer Carrots website will host additional online training electives which participants will be able to access.
Up to 30 places are available at each workshop, so registering for the workshops is essential. To register use the online application in the Designer Carrots website events section.
National rural award winner a shining example
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation's Rural Women's Award national winner Ros Smerdon continued an outstanding Queensland tradition of passionate, rural achievers.
Ms Smerdon was recently presented with the award at a black-tie dinner at Parliament House in Canberra.
Ms Smerdon and her husband, Kerry, are part of a third generation farming business which grows avocados, custard apples and macadamias. They also run an orchard pruning contract business.
Ms Smerdon has been working with fellow growers to develop new value-added avocado products and is the chair of Nature's Fruit Company - a grower owned co-operative, and is vice president of the Australian Custard Apple Growers Association.
Member for Glasshouse Carolyn Male said the Sunshine Coast producer was an outstanding choice for the prestigious award.
Ms Smerdon plans to undertake a study tour to South Africa to benchmark the Westfalia avocado operations and value-adding processing plant against the Australian industry.
The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries sponsors and co-ordinates the annual Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation's Rural Women's Award in Queensland.
For the full media release visit the Queensland media statements website.
Queenslanders get help to go climate smart
The Queensland Government has announced a new $60 million home-based service to help Queenslanders reduce their household greenhouse gas emissions.
Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change and Innovation, Andrew McNamara, said the new ClimateSmart Home Service is a response to the community's desire to play their part in responding to climate change.
Mr McNamara said the new service is modelled on the successful Home WaterWise Service, and will help Queenslanders make a difference.
From the beginning of next year, the new ClimateSmart Home Service will help Queenslanders across the State reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by assisting them to improve energy efficiency.
The service will involve the installation of energy-saving devices and detailed advice on ways to further reduce their carbon footprint.
For $50, a tradesperson will visit homes to provide advice and energy saving tools, including a smart energy monitor, compact fluorescent light globes and water efficient showerheads.
Queenslanders who are keen to register interest now to receive the ClimateSmart Home Service can do so at the ClimateSmart website or by phoning 1800 199 794.
Australia's coasts to win in $100 million package
Australia's coasts and beaches will benefit from a $100 million Community Coastcare package which will help local communities undertake vital beach and coastal protection and restoration projects right around the country.
Community Coastcare will draw upon the wealth of community skills and knowledge of our coast and beaches, providing grants to community groups for projects to protect and improve the environmental values of the nation’s coastline.
Community Coastcare will offer communities grants up to $50 000. Grants of up to $250 000 will also be available for larger-scale works that are targeted in high priority coastal areas.
Up to $20 million in 2008-09 will be provided for a range of activities varying from protecting nesting sites for endangered species to restoring sand dunes and preventing coastal erosion to educating people about the effects of global warming and climate change.
Eligible groups including farmers, landcare groups, surf clubs, Indigenous groups, schools, local councils and regional natural resource management bodies.
For more information including application forms visit the Australian Government's NRM website.
Carbon credits, environmental offsets and Designer Carrots
The new online Designer Carrots metric essentials tool and decision support tool are helping to build the capacity of regional natural resource management (NRM) groups to get them involved in carbon credits, environmental offset and other market-based instrument (MBIs) programs.
MBIs are incentive tools used by regional NRM groups and government agencies to encourage land managers to adopt more sustainable practices for managing our rivers, forests, soils and wetlands. They are policy instruments that use price signals or other economic variables to encourage communities to change the way they go about their business, in this case improving natural resource management.
The decision support tool guides the process of selecting MBIs for natural resource management. The purpose of the decision support tool is to firstly, help managers assess whether an MBI is a suitable policy instrument to be used to address a particular NRM issue and secondly, to ascertain which type of MBI may be most appropriate.
The metric essentials online tool is a framework which aims to communicate current knowledge and recent experience in metric design and implementation, and recommends approaches to assist MBI practitioners access and use the knowledge of scientists and MBI design experts.
The metric framework defines metrics and their use in supporting MBIs, describes the essential elements of good metric design for MBIs, and indicates the types of metrics appropriate for different MBIs and natural resource management issues.
Other products being developed by the Designer Carrots program include a fact sheets, case studies and training modules which will be delivered through a series of 18 workshops.
A series of 18 two-day training workshops are being held nationally which will provide training in MBIs and how to use these two tools. Further details of the program and workshops are available on the Designer Carrots website.
Bligh budget in brief
The Queensland Government has unveiled a $36 billion Budget with an emphasis on infrastructure and a raft of tax changes to tackle housing affordability.
The Budget is the first under the Bligh Government and the first for Treasurer Andrew Fraser.
The Treasurer has revealed the state's finances are predicted to recover from this year's deficit to record an $809 million surplus for 2009.
The 2008-09 State Budget includes:
- An extra $32.1 million for the popular Home and Garden Waterwise Rebate Scheme.
- $2.3 million over five years ($700 000 in 2008-09) to improve the administrative capacity and land management skills of Indigenous councils and land trusts and to implement tenure reforms on Cape York Peninsula.
- $5.5 million for fire control and $4.5 million for pest and feral animal eradication programs to continue to protect the national estate from these threats to the state’s biodiversity
- $411 million for the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2008-09 budget to bolster its capacity to manage climate change and protect the environment.
- Funding support for the 170 key initiatives being delivered through the Blueprint for the Bush including $4.9 million provided through the Blueprint’s Strengthening Rural Communities funding program.
For more on the State Budget 2008-09 visit the Queensland Government State Budge 2008-09 website.
Natural resources news
Landcare Conference early bird registrations close 30 June
Early bird registrations for the 2008 Queensland Landcare Conference, being held in Monto from 21-24 September close 30 June. Significant discounts apply for registrations received by this date.
The event promises a huge range of speakers, workshops, field trips and social events, with topics including:
- soil carbon
- rural mental health
- vegetation carbon offsets
- adapting to climate change
- peak oil and gas
- sustainable agriculture
- e-learning and NRM
- the future of landcare
- succession planning
- off farm investments.
Keynote speakers are Fay Jackson, Dr Christine Jones, Jerry Coleby-Williams, Donald Coventry, and Stephen Davies. More information about the program and registration costs is available on the Landcare Queensland website or the Queensland Landcare Conference website.
Transport is available from Brisbane return for only $40 in the Pioneer Shuttle Bus; and accommodation options start at just $28 a night.
For more information contact event manager, Samantha Morris from Wombat Creative on 3012 7617.
Information about sponsorship and trade exhibition is available from Emma Trigg, manager Landcare Queensland on 3211 4413.
Coca-Cola Regional Scholarships pops open
The Coca-Cola Regional Scholarships program is offering 34 scholarships worth $2000 each for students studying Agriculture related subjects and who are members of Agriculture Show Societies.
This program has been developed by the Australian Council of Agricultural Show Society's representing the Capital City Royal Shows and Coca-Cola Amatil.
It is designed to support rural youth in Australia to complete their tertiary studies in courses that will benefit regional Australia.
Scholarships are awarded on a state basis. Preference in awarding scholarships will be based on the commitment to regional Australia and involvement in your local show society.
Applications for the Coca-Cola Regional scholarships close 30 June. For further information or application information email Geoff Fader or visit the Australian Council of Agricultural Show Society website.
AgForward workshop update
The AgForward team present a range of workshops to landholders, including GPS essentials, computer mapping, vegetation management, and AgForest's native forest field days.
Between March and June this year AgForward will conduct around 107 workshops throughout Queensland. Upcoming workshops include:
- 17 June: Camooweal - GPS essentials
- 17 June: Winton - Vegetation management workshop
- 18 June: Julia Creek - GPS essentials
- 18 June: Longreach - Vegetation management workshop
- 19 June: Hughenden - GPS essentials
- 24 June: Goondiwindi - AgForests field day
- 24 June: Normanton - Computer mapping workshop
- 25 June: Burketown - Computer mapping workshop
- 26 June: Bollon - AgForests field day
- 26 June: Cloncurry - Computer mapping workshop
To register for the workshops contact Bree Robertson on 3238 6039. To register for the AgForests Field Day contact Rohan Allen on 0408 769 918.
More information on these workshops can be found on the AgForward website (under 'Workshops').
AgForward will be taking a break from workshop delivery in July to finalise its schedule for the period August – December, so if you’d like to arrange workshops in your region please contact Bree in Brisbane on 3238 6039 or download an expression of interest form and fax it to Brisbane on 3236 3077.
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 or NRMjobs 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 body: Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA)
Title: Senior Natural Resource Officer (Land Management)
Salary range: $59 024 - $67 801 pa
Location: Thursday Island
Closing date: 13 June
The Senior Natural Resource Management Officer (Land Management) is responsible for engaging the Torres Strait community and natural resource users in sustainable land management activities, including landcare activities, and assisting in the delivery of community-based environmental projects.
The successful candidate will also work with and provide training to build the capacity of natural resource managers including the TSRA, local government, prescribed bodies corporate, land trusts, other community groups, industry groups, science and research organisations, and other relevant organisations to integrate sustainable land management activities and implement best management practices.
For further information relating to this position please call Damian Miley on 4069 2957. To obtain the selection criteria visit TSRA's website.
Thought for the week
The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.
Joseph Priestley
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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