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Specialising in natural resource and social planning; community consultation and facilitation; values mapping and consensus building, mediation and conflict resolution; policy development; program and organisational diagnosis and development.
Grassy White Box Woodlands |
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project outline |
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Project Update: Autumn 2000Bringing them all togetherJudy Lambert and Jane Elix have recently written a discussion paper on partnerships in rural natural resource management - looking at the practicalities of setting up partnerships between different stakeholder groups, and the challenges of overcoming cultural barriers that might exist between groups We would welcome your comments on the paper, which can be obtained by contacting Heather Pearce on (02) 9818 2684 (reverse charge if necessary) or on the Community Solutions Web Page www.communitysolutions.com.au. Call for innovative landscape-based proposalsAn important part of the Taking Action Now! project is the distribution of incentive funds. In 2000-2001, the total amount available for grants is approximately $40,000. Of this, the project team is keen to provide approximately $20,000 as (preferably) small grants to assist groups in undertaking innovative projects designed to better protect and manage Grassy White Box Woodlands (GWB) across an area of the landscape beyond a single farm. The remainder will be allocated as small grants to assist individual landholders and managers with activities to protect and enhance their remnants. These latter grants will be advertised in July/August. The innovative project funds can be used to support a diversity of activities, with emphasis on
Some of the activities that might receive support include
Closing date for applications is 14 April 2000. Timeline for Grants application processFeb/March 2000 "Innovative Grants" Ads circulated, and advertised in Update Our community by Toni McLeish, RLO in the North
GRASSY WHITE BOX WOODLANDS once covered several million hectares of the wheat-sheep belt of the slopes of NSW. 0.01% of GRASSY WHITE BOX WOODLANDS remain in a relatively intact condition. Box woodlands are one of the most poorly conserved ecosystems in Australia. They are more threatened than rainforest! Grassy White Box Woodland communities occur where rainfall is between 500mm-800mm. Soils are mostly deep and relatively fertile. Early explorers described these areas as park-like covered with thick grass and gay flowers. Home to a biologically diverse range of over 100 plant species, 150 birds, 16 bats, 17 native mammals including humans, 8 introduced mammals, 49 reptiles and 15 frog species, all members of the White Box Woodland community, living together and interacting with one another, enjoying the same environmental conditions - an ecosystem. Like our communities, each member has a role to play, all very different, but all important. In rural Australia we’ve been worried about many species that are threatened for a number of years now, including the rare country GP and the more common but some would say, threatened, primary producer. What would happen to the rural community if the GP became extinct? Or on a larger scale what would happen to the nation if primary producers became rare? You may not realise it but the loss of all woodlands birds may be as crucial to our survival as the loss of the GP. It is clear that we have the potential to influence the health of the woodland communities that we are a part of. What is not so clear is how the health of these woodland communities will ultimately determine our longevity and prosperity.
If you would like the health of your Grassy White Box Woodland assessed contact Toni McLeish (tmcleish@tpg.com.au).
Salinity - together we can lick it!by Gavin Wall - member of the Project Management GroupHistory was forged in Wagga recently when NSW Farmers Association, NSW Aboriginal Land Council, Nature Conservation Council and Council of Social Services of NSW combined resources to present a Community Salinity Summit. Approximately 200 attended - representing farmers, urban communities, environmentalists, scientists and indigenous people. During the workshops a positive, futuristic and cohesive attitude was demonstrated. By combining talents, a strategic framework to address salinity on local, state and national levels was formulated. Many issues and thoughts were articulated during the workshops, all of which will be presented to the State Salinity Summit to be held in Dubbo on 16 and 17 March 2000. On the first day of the Summit, amidst shimmering heat, three busloads of delegates inspected salinity reclamation work carried out by the Downside Landcare Group. One of the features of this group is the good neighbour spirit that forms a common thread through their activities. Individuals like Max Chamberlain have been an inspiration in leading the group through the initial stages when it may have been a little out of the ordinary to plant trees, tall wheat grass and strawberry clover. The freestanding water level in a piezometer installed on Max Chamberlain’s property was approximately 2.5 metres above ground level, with the water reading 3 dS/m, (moderately saline). When the tap was turned on the head of water lowered, immediately returning to the original level when the tap was turned off. All factors indicated the water table was pressurised from a recharge area further upstream on a neighbouring property - clearly demonstrating the need for a community approach in addressing salinity in each sub-catchment. Trees upwards of 6 metres high, green tall wheat grass and strawberry clover provided a stark contrast to an adjacent paddock where substantial areas were denuded of vegetation. The comparison highlighted the urgency to implement appropriate procedures to return degraded saline discharge areas to excellent pasture production equal to yields achieved on unaffected areas. The resilience and intuitive nature of Australian farmers emerges consistently, especially when confronted with salinity. It is becoming increasingly common to witness a farmer or groups of farmers prepared to step outside the comfort zone and implement futuristic management practices. Their passion in addressing conservation issues is commendable and vital for the years ahead.
For further information, please contact:
Is a fence enough? A workshop on managing your grassy woodlands24th March 2000, CumnockHave your questions answered at this gathering of the experts. Managers of grassy woodlands and interested members of the community are invited to this innovative workshop. Find out what makes a grassy woodland a grassy woodland; why they are under threat and how you can play a part in their survival. It all starts at 10am at the Cumnock Bowling Club but get there a bit earlier and have a cuppa and a chat to such renowned experts as Dr Kevin Thiele, Dr Donna Windsor, Professor David Goldney and many more too numerous to be mentioned. There is ample time put aside to have your burning questions answered by these gurus. They are also very interested in what you have to say - what success (or failure) you have had managing your patch of grassy woodland.
For further information, contact your central west RLOs, Mollie Whitehorn and Geoff Tonkin. Phone; (02) 6367 7226.
Grassy white box woodlands in a
productive farming system ? The Farming for the Future program (FFF) conducts a course of workshops for farming families that helps them to be better able to manage change and develop their skills in planning, with the aim to enhance their management of their natural, financial and human resources. The workshop course includes information and advice on how biodiversity conservation measures (including remnant vegetation assessment and management) can be incorporated into property management to enhance the farm’s natural environment and habitat value, while making the farm more robust against impacts such as climatic variation and insect attack. These measures in turn contribute to the reduction in the farm’s production costs.
Families interested in further developing their property management planning skills and looking at how they can manage and retain their remnant grassy white box woodland areas on their farm and in their area can contact Stuart McMahon. Stuart is a Senior Facilitator with the FFF program and is a member of the Grassy White Box Woodlands Project Management Group. He can be reached on (ph) 6298 0327 or at PO Box 1189 Queanbeyan NSW 2620.
Getting info on the Taking Action Now! ProjectRural Liaison Officers (RLOs)Toni McLeish“Kurrajong Hills” Upper Manilla NSW 2346 Ph/fax 02-6785 6504 email: tmcleish@tpg.com.au
Geoff Tonkin & Mollie Whitehorn
Ray Dowling
Project Leaders
and
Please make contact with one of the above people if you would like to be placed on the mailing list for this regular Update.
Ray has been active in a campaign to save the endangered Superb Parrot, with National Parks and Wildlife Service and Greening Australia, having an involvement with some 50 km of direct seeded and 6000 tube stock trees being planted. Secetary of the local Landcare group, Ray has managed a Work For The Dole project to do weed removal, tree planting and fencing of remnant vegetation and he also propagates local tree species for use in local Landcare projects. His other interests include travel, bushwalking and cross-country skiing. Welcome Ray!
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CONTENTS:Call for innovative landscape-based proposals Timeline for Grants application process in 2000 Salinity - together we can lick it! Is a fence enough? A workshop on managing your grassy woodlands |
Gavin Wall is representing the NSW Farmers’ Association on the management group and Reference Group for the GWB project
(If you read this after the workshop date - contact Mollie and Geoff for any post-meeting follow-up)
