Lachlandcare Inc. 2011‐2012 Annual Report

Bland Creek Catchment Committee, Boorowa Community Landcare Group, Central Tablelands Landcare, Central West Lachlan Landcare, Condobolin & Districts Landcare, Mid Lachlan Landcare, Upper Lachlan Landcare,

Weddin Landcare, and Young District Landcare.

LachLandcare Inc. 2011‐2012 Annual Report

LachLandcare Inc is an advocate, communicator and mentor for Landcare ideas and action in the Lachlan.

It aims to create resilient landscapes and communities through collaborative partnerships that optimise the use of resources.

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

CONTENTS

LachLandcare Incorporated - Executive Summary

Chairs Report

Treasurers Report and Financial Statements

Regional Landcare Facilitators Report

Tribute to Gerald Carnie and Bill Archer – Two great Landcarers

Lachlan Landcare Support Officer Program

Summary of achievements for the 2011-2012 year

Case Studies LachLandcare 2011‐2012

LachLandcare Incorporated - Executive Summary

LachLandcare Inc. is a volunteer umbrella organisation for district Landcare groups in the Lachlan region. Currently there are nine district Landcare groups that come under the LachLandcare Inc umbrella. With assistance from the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority (LCMA) each district group employs a Landcare Support officer on a part time basis (1 – 3 days per week).

These include:

LachLandcare seeks to support these groups, and also the development of groups in other districts that as yet do not have representation. At a local and district level Landcare is still responsible for initiating “on ground” works. As a result, Landcare retains two very important assets. 1. Its ability to engage with the public as a non‐threatening organization, independent of government influences be it Local, State or National. 2. It’s ethos of looking after the environment for Natural Resource Management and Sustainability. Landcare has been using its ability to engage with the community by delivering education and support to schools, conducting workshops for Landcare members and other groups and providing networking and communication opportunities, either independently or in conjunction with other agencies including the Catchment Management Authorities. Such workshops have included soil health, plant identification, improved sustainable farming methods, fertilizer and cropping equipment trials to name a few.

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Since September 2009 LachLandcare has also employed Regional Landcare Facilitator’s (RLF’s) (2 x part time position @ 0.5 each until July 2011. The position is currently 1 x full time position). That position is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). The RLF role is not only to work with Landcare, but also all Sustainable Production groups and Natural Resource Management organizations and agencies. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE & VISION LachLandcare Inc is an advocate, communicator and mentor for Landcare ideas and actions in the Lachlan. It aims to support the creation of resilient landscapes and communities through the optimal use of resources. LachLandcare is a networker, facilitator, broker and catalyst for Sustainability (Production and Environmental) and Natural Resource Management. AIMS & OBJECTIVES LachLandcare, as a Regional representative for District groups, aims to:‐ . Provide leadership and to promote the Landcare ethos and sustainable land management within the Lachlan catchment by promoting Landcare activity, collaboration, cooperation & exchange of information between individuals/groups; . Support Landcare members, groups and interests within the catchment through representation to local, state and federal governments and their agencies, eg through LachLandcare and high profile, well connected representatives from the catchment; . Facilitate Landcare linkages at a national, state and city – country level, eg by encouraging Greening Australia, and other city based volunteers to undertake projects in the catchment; . Seek and manage larger catchment wide projects and corporate sponsorship of Landcare activity within the catchment that fit local priorities but also link to regional NRM plans, eg through corporate sponsorship of the LachLandcare website portal, tree/shrub purchases, Junior Landcare, Landcare education & training, etc; . Utilize the services of the Government’s “Caring For Our Country” Regional Landcare Facilitators, and the RLF Steering Committee of like‐minded stakeholders that has been formed in response to the positions; . Utilize the network of District Landcare Facilitators (Landcare Support Officers); and . Maintain a website portal and promotion of Landcare achievements within the catchment.

We have taken this opportunity to provide a brief overview that explains the role of LachLandcare as a Regional Landcare Umbrella group and the activities and actions that LachLandcare supports. Included at the end of this document are case studies as examples of some activities undertaken by landcare groups in the Lachlan over the past 12 months. It is our belief that as partners of the LCMA and other regional organisations, we have a significant role to play in assisting everyone meet their regional targets, whilst fulfilling LachLandcare purpose and vision. Yours Sincerely,

Charlie Arnott Chair

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Chair’s Report

It is with great pride and pleasure that I write this report, reflecting on the achievements of LachLandcare and its support of Landcare in the Lachlan catchment. Thank you to the board of the LCMA for the financial support to enable LachLandcare and the District Landcare groups to demonstrate the benefits to both organizations for maintaining and nurturing the relationship that has been forged over the last few years. This relationship has been possible for two reasons. Firstly, the caliber of the people within both organizations and their commitment to NRM in the Lachlan catchment. Communications has been much improved on previous years, a more coordinated approach regarding the LCMA themes and LachLandcare has been achieved, and I trust the objectives and outcomes we are both striving for are being realised. Again, I believe it is mostly due to the commitment of everyone involved, from the LCMA board right through to the Landcare Support Officers (LSO), that has resulted in both groups ‘getting through the work’. Secondly, the LSO funding, granted to us by the LCMA, has allowed each Landcare district to employ a LSO one day a week again for the last year. Without this assistance, many Landcare groups would simply not exist. Thank you for this support, we trust that the LCMA feels that this has been a sound investment and feels that the relationship is worth maintaining for many years to come. Having highlighted the contributions of the LCMA to the Lachlan Landcare groups, it must also be noted that a number of these districts are raising their own funds, whether it be with direct seeding of native trees, growing tubestock to sell, or other fund raising activities, to fund extra days work for their LSOs, which of course builds on the one day a week the LCMA kindly funds. The LSOs and Regional Landcare Facilitators firmly agree that the more days a week that they are able to do, the more effective they become, and of course the more they can achieve per dollar spent. The one day/week LCMA funding provides a very sound foundation for the Landcare districts to build on with any extra funding they can collect from other sources, internally or externally. Essentially the LCMAs investment in Landcare pays back a very high return given what the districts can then achieve with this seed funding! The benefits that LachLandcare is providing to the LCMA in helping it achieve its vision and goals has been extensively highlighted in this annual report. I feel we have achieved even more than in previous years, we have ironed out a number of administration issues, are more comfortable with our role in the catchment, value very much our relationship with the LCMA and other stake holder groups, and are working towards a more coordinated strategic approach with all our district groups. We are making a difference to the catchment in a very positive way, as demonstrated by the huge amount of work carried out by the Landcare districts with some examples provided in the attached case studies. LachLandcare significant events of 2011‐12: • Management of LCMA Landcare Support Office contract for 2011‐12. • Loss of Gerald Carnie (Regional Landcare Facilitator [P/T], and P&DL Landcare Support Officer) and Bill Archer (P&DL committee member and Public Relations Officer) – two great landcarers who are sadly missed.

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

• Leanne Leihn and Nerida Croker experienced serious illnesses during the year, and we are pleased to say have both recovered remarkably. • Parkes & District Landcare hosted the State Landcare Forum with great success and ran the first Kids Landcare Carnival with the LCMA. • Parkes & District Landcare changed their name to Central West Lachlan Landcare • New Landcare Support Officers: Heather McLeod (Boorowa Community Landcare Group), Mary Bonet (Upper Lachlan Landcare), and Christie Eleman (Central West Lachlan Landcare). • Mark Shortis represented LachLandcare at the Carbon Farming Initiative training in Sydney. • Heather Williams represented LachLandcare at the NSW Landcare Meetings in Sydney. • Keith Hyde (Hovell’s Creek Landcare Group), Heather Williams (Young and District Landcare) and Margot Jolly (Central West Lachlan Landcare) represented LachLandcare at the NSW Landcare Forum. • LachLandcare provided a range of training opportunities to the districts Landcare groups: Enabling change workshop, attendance at Communities in Control Conference (Melbourne), Social Media training, and Evaluating Design including Program Logic workshop. • LachLandcare provided additional funding opportunities to the district Landcare groups through the Regional Landcare Facilitator contract, such as land holder and peri urban workshops, and development of promotional material. The next six months will see LachLandcare undertake a planning phase with the district Landcare groups led by well known facilitator Jen Quealey to develop district based plans and a catchment wide strategy for the next five years. This project will have a significant impact on the catchment and again build on the confidence that the LCMA has that continued support of LachLandcare is valuable and essential to the LCMA. I would like to thank our RLF Leanne Leihn and the LachLandcare executive committee of Margaret Haddin, Marita Sydes, and Ruth Worthington. They have all contributed massively to the success of the organization and I am honoured to be working with such a dedicated group. This can also be said of the LSOs and the district chairs who contribute to the great outcomes of LachLandcare. I trust this annual report demonstrates LachLandcare’s ability to work with our partners to further our mutual objectives and plans to contribute to natural resource management in the Lachlan catchment. Regards

Charlie Arnott Chair‐LachLandcare Inc

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Treasurers Report as at 30th June 2012

CLOSING BALANCE Working Account 032‐834 178‐442

$41,947.28

CLOSING BALANCE Reserve Account 032‐834 178‐450

$114,030.28 consisting of $27,201.05 starting funds from Lachlan Central West Landcare and the balance $86,829.23.

Carbon Farming Initiative Communications Program funding is complete for the first year with a provision made for the completion of video.

Regional Landcare Facilitator funding requires next instalment of $60,000.00 to complete the payment of $150,000.00 for the year.

Margaret Haddin Treasurer

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Carbon Farming Initiative Communications Program

Statement of Expenditure

Contact details

Host Organisation LachLandcare Inc (Grantee)

Region Lachlan

Contact officer Margaret Haddin Phone 0418 660 236

Email [email protected] ABN 25 956 426 818

Statement of income and expenditure

Financial year: ___2011‐2012______

Income (GST excl) ($) Income (GST incl) ($)

CFI Communications Program Funding 15000.00 16500.00

Please list all expenditure items and their cost Cost (GST excl) ($) Cost (GST incl) ($)

Training 9701.08 10671.29

Advertising 1920.00 2112.00

Travel 381.50 419.65

Venue Hire 1084.50 1192.95

Total 13087.08 14395.79

Surplus (if any) Required to contribute toward post editing of video in 1912.87 2104.16 2012-13 year

I, …Margaret Haddin...... , being an authorised representative of the Grantee certify that to the best of my knowledge all expenditure detailed within this statement was spent in accordance with the purposes of funding and towards the achievement of the program’s objectives and targets.

… …………………………………… Dated 06 /09 / 2012

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Regional Landcare Facilitators Report 2011-2012

It has been an eventful past twelve months with the sad loss of two very dedicated Landcare members Gerald Carnie, my fellow Regional Landcare Facilitator and friend, and Bill Archer Parkes and Districts Landcare committee member and enthusiastic volunteer. Personally it has been the most challenging year for me, facing serious health issues and the sudden passing of Gerald in the first six months of the year. It was a blessing to have the wonderful support of the Landcare community to allow me the time to recover and return to work full time.

In particular I would like to thank the committee, especially Marita Sydes for being my back stop and often stepping in to fill the gaps during this period. I would also like to thank the contract providers the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for their kind patience and understanding during this traumatic time for LachLandcare.

Whilst we were behind with the RLF contract after the first six months of the financial year, we more than made up for it in the second half. LachLandcare was able to extend opportunities to the Landcare districts to undertake additional projects, which was enthusiastically received by the committees and Landcare Support Officers.

Additional projects undertaken by the districts include:

 Land Holder & Peri Urban Workshops: o Feral Animal Education Program o Introduction to Permaculture Course o Pasture management – native and weeds (2 x Peri Urban Workshop) o Low Stress Stock Handling School o Generative Grazing Workshops o Healthy Lifestyles Workshop (Soil & Human Health)  Community Native Wildplant Nursery Promotion and Training.  Development of promotional material: Banners, signage, and flyers.  Developing strategic planning project with Jen Quealey and Helen Russ to work with the district Landcare committees to develop plan for the next five years. This project will be completed within the first six months of 2012‐13 with the support of the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority.

Additional projects scheduled for the remainder of 2012 are:

 Land Holder & Peri Urban Workshops/Field days o Holistic & Sustainable Farm Management – Farm visits x 6 o Plant ID field days x 2 o Biodiversity workshops x 2

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

LachLandcare is conscious of the gaps in representation of Landcare groups at the lower end of the catchment, from Lake Cargelligo down to Booligal and Ivanhoe. With this in mind I made initial contact with members of the Lower Lachlan Landcare Group. This group are still in existence, with some members undertaking a range of representative roles, however collectively are not very active at the moment. I also have contact details for groups at Mount Hope and Lake Cargelligo, and will endeavour to build relationships and stay in contact with all groups.

I hosted two Carbon Farming Initiative workshops in the Lachlan for land owners with a range of speakers covering topics such as a general overview, environmental accounting, diversifying farm income, local research results and actual experiences from a farmer’s perspective. The workshops were well received with the highlight being the local farmer who discussed her experiences and reasons for modification and changes on farm, and her engagement with the CFI process. One of the workshops was taped with the DVD to be available in the next few months.

As a priority to re‐establish and develop LachLandcare’s partnerships and to discuss collaborative opportunities in the Catchment I met with a range of stakeholders and production groups, including Lachlan Catchment Management Authority theme leaders, NSW Partners in Grain, Central West Farming Systems, and hosted the RLF steering committee meetings. I also provided assistance to the district Landcare groups through support of field days and workshops, attended meetings, providing information and addressing any concerns.

As we begin the third year of the RLF contract I look forward to continuing the support to Landcare and production groups with the focus firmly on sustainable farm practices, and to develop relationships to build on the aims of LachLandcare: To create resilient landscapes and communities through collaborative partnerships that optimise the use of resources.

Regards

Leanne Leihn Regional Landcare Facilitator ‐ Lachlan

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Tribute to Gerald Carnie and Bill Archer – Two great Landcarers.

Both men were advocates for the local bloke and strong community supporters for the environment – both lead by example.

Gerald Carnie:

Gerald shared the Regional Landcare Facilitator role, and was the Landcare Support Officer for Parkes and District Landcare Steering Committee (now Central West Lachlan Landcare) until Bill and Gerald at the National Landcare his sudden passing in July 2011. Forum in Adelaide in 2010. Gerald was instrumental in negotiating with Parkes Council to rent the old Tourism Centre to become the new Landcare office shop front at Kelly Reserve.

Gerald was considered a great networker & strategist and was always looking for opportunities to benefit the Landcare group– always looking for linkages and a ‘win‐win’ outcome. He led the planning for Parkes hosting the NSW Landcare Forum, upgraded the Parkes and District Landcare (PDL) website, and moved PDL into the use of social media.

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Some words used to describe Gerald are: Passionate, enthusiastic and optimistic; Networking guru; Great impromptu poet, larrikin, and friend;

“We’ll miss him for his passion and enthusiasm for Landcare and working with the community – we had some great chats where we solved all of the worlds environmental problems”.

“Gerald also didn’t just work for Landcare – he believed in it and lived it – and if the truth be known gave just as much to Landcare in a volunteer capacity as he did as a paid employee.”

“He was great mates with all of the committee members of Parkes and Districts, LachLandcare and with Leanne Leihn as the Regional Landcare Facilitator and we will all miss him as a friend above all else.”

“Gerald lived well, laughed often and loved lots.”

Gerald and Bill often held ‘esky’ meetings as their preferred method for planning meetings. They both felt that beer fixed everything, and assists creativity. It was one of these meetings that the Parkes and District Landcare EnviroHUB was created ‐ over a few beers with Bill.

Bill Archer:

Bill was a Parkes and District Landcare Steering Committee members and a passionate volunteer who was always available to assist with events. Bill passed away in May 2012.

He was the public relations guru doing the weekly radio interviews to promote the Landcare group and activities.

Both men were willing to give 100% commitment to everything they put their minds to. Both the Parkes community and the Landcare movement are better for having their presence, dedication and commitment.

They are both sadly missed.

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Lachlan Landcare Support Officer Program

The 2011 – 2012 year was another year of growth for Landcare in the Lachlan Catchment. The summary of the activities presented in this report demonstrate the positive results that can be achieved through continuing support funding for the predominantly volunteer run Landcare organizations.

LachLandcare was contracted by the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority to coordinate the Lachlan Landcare Support Officer program in the LachLandcare Landcare Support Officers meeting 2011 – 2012 year. Under the program each of the in Young 2012. nine Landcare districts within the Lachlan catchment [Back L‐R: Tracey Robinson (Bland), Mark Shortis (Weddin), Chris Cuddy (Mid were given financial support to employ a Landcare Lachlan), Leanne Leihn (Regional Landcare Facilitator), Nerida Croker (Upper Lachlan). Support Officer for one day a week. Front L‐R: Heather McLeod (Boorowa), Heather Williams (Young), and Kate Kirk (Condobolin). Absent: Marita Sydes (Central Tablelands), and (Central West)] This support funding has been instrumental in reinvigorating Landcare in the Lachlan catchment. It

has allowed each of the nine Landcare districts to:

 build and strengthen their networks through regular meetings, newsletters and a presence on social media;

 deliver a range of training events such as field days and workshops that have engaged a large and varied audience;

 further support Landcare’s involvement in delivering natural resource management activities into our local schools; and

 leverage additional funding of projects in the Lachlan through a wide range of grants.

More details of the achievements of the nine Landcare districts supported through LachLandcare are given in the table of the next page and through a selection of stories from events held across the Lachlan over the 2011 – 2012 year.

LachLandcare continues to support Landcare in the Lachlan to create resilient landscapes and communities and is actively developing partnerships to optimise use of resources in the catchment.

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Summary of achievements for the 2011-2012 year

Events hosted 6 bus trips 98 participants Bus trips ranged from showcasing innovative local properties to women’s rural marketing tours.

38 field days 1,196 participants Field day topics have been very diverse, including:

 a Kid’s Landcare Forum;  wetland planting and information days;  soil health (soil pits, soil fertility management, etc);  grazing management;  mallee fowl surveys;  Tussock Tamers – serrated tussock identification and management; and  WOPR (Whole of Paddock Rehabilitation) demonstrations. 35 workshops 2,257 attendees A diverse range of workshops have been run including workshops on:

 developing native plant nursery skills;  weed identification and management;  the principles and design elements of Permaculture;  understanding soil carbon; and  building your own cob oven.

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

15 training events 98 participants Landcare support officers have attended a range of training including Chilean Needle grass identification and control, using social media and in developing evaluation and program logic.

17 school group activities 735 children involved School activities have ranged from tree planting days to exploring biodiversity through insect drawing workshops.

17 strategic planning Including planning for development of community nurseries, grant meetings held or attended funding applications and a range of collaborative activities and events.

7 seminars 147 attendees Seminars in topics ranging from soil health and you wellbeing to eco‐marketing and the Carbon Farming Initiative have been facilitated by the Lachlan Landcare Support Officers.

59 meetings 342 delegates involved Meetings supported range from local group meetings, to district Landcare meeting and meetings to develop collaborative approaches to natural resource management in the Lachlan.

Social Media Training workshops

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Communications 44 e‐newsletters distributed 7,913 recipients With the increased costs associated with hard copy mail outs many groups are now starting e‐newsletters as a cheaper alternative to regular hard copy mail outs.

11 hard copy newsletters 4,522 distributed

37 newspaper articles

5 districts using websites Central Tablelands Landcare, Upper Lachlan, Condobolin and and social media Districts, Central West Lachlan Landcare and Mid Lachlan Landcare all have a website and / FaceBook site to promote their activities. A couple of districts are also engaging followers through Twitter.

LachLandcare Website: www.lachlandcare.wordpress.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LachLandcare

Placestories: http://ps3beta.com/project/8346#!v=stories

Leverage of further funding for natural resource management

10 grant applications Landcare districts supported a range of grant applications ranging supported from Open Garden Grants to Community Action Grants.

13 grants applied for Leveraged over Successful projects include support for; $400,000 in successful grant applications  Development of soil and water demonstrations at the Young Community Garden,  National Tree Day activities in Trundle,  Identification and control of invasive species in the Upper Lachlan  Development of community seed banks and nurseries, and  Revegetation of corridors to link Endangered Ecological Communities in the Central Tablelands.

LachLandcare 2011‐2012

Case Studies

 Testing Fodder Shrub Species for Suitability in Cropping Belt of Southern NSW (Bland)  Jim Salmon Wetland Education Site (Bland)  Tzu Chi at Red Hill (Boorowa)  Serenity Waterwise Garden Project (Boorowa)  Grazing Management Farm Visits (Boorowa)  Pest Animal Education Program (Boorowa)  Ladies Marketing Tour (Condobolin)  Ladies Regional Marketing Tour (Condobolin)  Healthy Farm Dam – Planting Workshop (Central Tablelands)  Getting onto Social Media (Central Tablelands)  Soil Carbon and the CFI (Central Tablelands)  Back Yamma Landcare Group Davies Creek Rehabilitation Project (Central West Lachlan)  2012 Conservation Agriculture and No Till Farming Association Field Day (Central West Lachlan)  2011 NSW Landcare Catchment Management Forum (Central West Lachlan)  2011 Clean up a Lachlan Carp Day at Welcome Weir (Central West Lachlan)  Parkes & Peak Hill Weeds Identification and Management Workshops (Central West Lachlan)  Grazing Field Day (Mid Lachlan)  Community Garden (Mid Lachlan)  Revegetation on Farms Field Day (Upper Lachlan)  Tussock Tamer Dinners (Upper Lachlan)  Weddin Community Nursery finds a home (Weddin)  Weddin Community Wildplant Nursery preparations begin (Weddin)  Learning Through Living (Young)  Murrumbidgee CANFA Buss Trip (Young)  Birds in the Bush Tour (Young)  The Flora Seed Bank Project (Young)  Carbon Farming Initiative Workshops (RLF)

Tzu Chi at Red Hill

The Boorowa Community Landcare Group (BCLG) hosted the Buddhist Charity group Tzu Chi at Red Hill Reserve, located on the urban edge of Boorowa, during the last weekend of April. The focus was exotic weeds, and the weekend served as an opportunity to interact with this city based organisation that have a strong interest in environmental issues.

The Red Hill site is a Box Gum Woodland, containing White Box, Yellow Box and Blakely’s Red Gum. The site is recognised for its significant conservation value both due to its size, floristic diversity and habitat value. It was for these reasons that the BCLG saw the potential to interact, educate and achieve on ground works through partnership with Tzu Chi. The weekend also provided Tzu Chi with the opportunity to produce a valuable documentary to be show overseas and to see working farms in operation.

The Weekend! Tzu Chi members left Sydney and arrived in Boorowa just after midnight and set up their cook pots in the amenities kindly provided by Boorowa Central School and got down to the business of feeding everyone and organising sleeping places. By 6.30 am the next morning, they were having breakfast and by 9am everyone was onsite at Red Hill. BCLG members Pat Thompson and Steve Jarvis, and Melissa Henry of Boorowa CMA then briefed the group on the importance of Red Hill as a nature reserve and conservation site. By 9.30 they were out there in the paddock, attacking every known exotic and noxious weed, woody weeds included.

That night Tzu Chi not only cooked for the group, but invited Landcare members to join them in a meal. Between eating and playing environmental games, Landcare members who attended had an opportunity to explain about farming and how they saw their relationship to the environment.

Sunday morning saw Tzu Chi back at Red Hill, wrestling thistles and other noxious and unwanted weeds. By morning tea the action had moved to a Boorowa property with tree planting and walks around revegetation work. Tzu Chi had the opportunity to not only practice revegetation work but were explained the finer details by BCLG President, Steve Jarvis. Lunch was served, and then the group was off down the road to see dogs working and sheep shorn. 4 pm saw a very tired group climb onto their Sydney bound bus.

Tzu Chi‘s visit not only began the long process of cleaning up and rehabilitating the Red Hill Nature Reserve as a Superb Parrot habitat, but it also gave an opportunity for them to learn about rural life, and farming, in particular, livestock farming. BCLG would like to acknowledge the financial contribution made by the Boorowa CMA and the ongoing working partnership with Boorowa Shire Council in facilitating the use of the reserve. Michelle Jacobs-Walsh, on behalf of BCLG. Proudly Supported By

Working with Regenerating land and community

Serenity Waterwise Garden Project

On a bleak, misting, windy day on the 10th of June 2011, seven hardy members of the Boorowa Community Landcare group (BCLG) gathered to commence work on Stage 2 of the Serenity Waterwise Garden.

The Serenity Waterwise Garden is an extension of the Serenity Garden, which is located in the grounds of Boorowa Hospital at the rear of the Aged Care Facility. The new garden covers an area of approximately 22 metres x 13 metres and is intersected by a 1.2 metre path which meanders down a slope through the middle of the garden.

The Waterwise Garden will create a designated area in the town to demonstrate the effectiveness of using drought tolerant plants in an urban environment, in conjunction with the efficient use of water. It will also be a relaxing environment for the community, hospital patients and visitors to use and enjoy, and a habitat for native bird life.

Stage 1 had already seen the ground works completed and the cement path installed. Soil spreading and weed clearing had then been done by one of the Landcare committee members, with the assistance of machinery and staff members from ‘Kanga Hardware’.

This working bee was held to install the weed matting and to plant the trees, shrubs and groundcovers. By 8 am, members who were almost unrecognizable in their covering of jackets, scarves and beanies, were already rolling out the matting and pinning it into the ground. Soon the plants arrived and everyone began laying them out in accordance with the plan drawn by ‘Gumtree Nursery’ of Young. Holes were enthusiastically dug and plants installed and watered. By 4pm the job was done.

A week later some of the members returned for a day, to lay and spread mulch over the site. Safety rails were installed in early summer. Warm weather should see the garden, intended both as a restful place to enjoy and an education resource; spring into new growth.

Work will continue on the garden, with handrails to be painted and seating still to be installed. BCLG acknowledges the financial contribution made by the Bendigo Bank and the Australian Open Garden Scheme. Sharman Darnell, on behalf of BCLG.

Proudly Supported By:

Working with Regerating land and community

Grazing Management Farm Visits

Following the success of last year’s information session on ‘Farming in Nature’s Image’, Boorowa Community Landcare Group invited Dick Richardson back to host a day of local farm visits on June 7th 2012. Dick Richardson is a local property manager and also a registered Holistic Management Educator. The day was funded by LachLandcare, and we would like to acknowledge the support of the 3 host farmers, Landcare volunteers and local LCMA staff.

Around 30 farmers participated, filling a small bus and overflowing into several private vehicles. We visited ‘Glen Ryan’, ‘Hanaminno’ and ‘Heathfield’ to learn how holistic grazing principles are being applied to cattle and sheep enterprises. Participants were provided with a property map and printed information for each farm. We saw how each grazier is implementing aspects of holistic grazing management to varying degrees to suit their individual needs. Enterprises ranged from those with minimal infrastructure to highly intensive rotational grazing systems. Dick Richardson provided additional commentary at each property and spoke with landholders in a summary session at the end of the day.

There was a strong emphasis on using grazing strategies to build healthy soils, increase pasture biomass and species diversity, improve animal health and create resilient landscapes. Importantly, farmers pointed out that this could be achieved whilst also improving profits, lifestyle and the environment. In addition to our 3 host farmers presenting their experiences, information sharing between participants was most valuable. Many questions were raised, many were answered….others are yet to be answered!! Participants ranged from interested graziers to practicing Holistic Managers. A delicious lunch was brought out to ‘Hanaminno’ and we were grateful to be able to eat in the house…out of the cold!

Following on from this day, Boorowa Community Landcare Group would like to:

x Invite Dick back to speak at an information session later this year x Provide opportunities for members to learn more Soil Nutrient Cycling

x Promote Holistic Farm Management courses

Working with Regenerating land and community

Pest Animal Education Program

They came from as far away as Blayney to attend Boorowa Community Landcare Group’s (BCLG) Pest Animal Workshops in May 2012. The first workshop was hosted by the Blake and Darnell families at ‘Illyria’ and ‘Murloona’ on the Rye Park Road. The second was hosted by the Campbell family at ‘Sunny Ridge’, near Frogmore. Both proved very popular with approximately 35 farmers attending each day. The program has been funded by LachLandcare. We would also like to acknowledge Boorowa LCMA for their sponsorship and assistance, and Ron Duggan of the LHPA as the primary speaker at the workshops.

Speakers provided vital information on rabbit, fox and pig management. There was plenty to see with a large pig trap, the new ‘hog hopper’, a mechanical bait layer, ‘bunny bait station’, various traps and lures on display. A highlight of each day was the demonstration of the ‘R3 Rodenator’ which is used to destroy warrens and control rabbits.

A selection of game meats and a delicious BBQ lunch was provided by Landcare volunteers and LCMA staff.

The workshops were the first stage of the Pest Animal Education Program. The second stage has fully subsidised 30+ landholders in the Boorowa Local Government Area to obtain or update their 1080 accreditation through the LHPA, so that they can legally and responsibly use 1080 for pest animal control. The third stage will be a coordinated community fox baiting program in September this year sponsored by BCLG.

A fantastic spin off from the May workshops has been the formation of a Feral Pig Action Group at Frogmore. Over 50 landholders attended a community meeting in June. They are looking into purchasing Hog Hoppers and working with the LHPA to control feral pigs which have reached epidemic numbers in recent years.

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[Insert[Inssere t GrGGrouprouo p LogoLoogogo HereHerere - inin llineinine (l((landscape)anandsd caapepe) vveversion]errssioion]n] Ladies Regional Marketing Tour Condobolin & Districts Landcare ran a Ladies Regional Marketing Tour through the central-west of NSW in May of 2012. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Australian Government, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for their financial support in undertaking this tour. This tour followed on from a previous tour to Melbourne earlier in the year under the same project. 11 enthusiastic women farmers were engaged for this trip and an itinerary was created covering marketing opportunities across a range of farm products produced sustainably & locally including grains, wool and red meat. Our first stop was Fletcher International Exports in Dubbo where we had a full tour of the abattoir, followed by a presentation on the marketing aspects of the business including purchasing direct from graziers and through saleyards, lamb quality, preferred breeds and stress, packaging, and end-user requirements in both slaughter, handling and product. Wet weather precluded us from visiting the new $7 million rail containerisation plant. Back on the bus, we headed to Rob Lennon’s farm just out of Dunedoo where he manages Gundooee Organics— an organic wagyu beef business. Rob was extremely impressive—he prepared & cooked wagyu samples for us to taste, explaining the management principles behind the sweetness of the meat. He had also prepared wagyu burgers for lunch, after which we settled into his formal presentation of the business and marketing principles they employ. His strongest take-home message for us was relationships. The importance of making and maintaining good relationships is integral to the smooth marketing of his product. He personally sources butchers and restaurants in which to sell, and will not place his product in a business which does not understand the organic and sustainable nature of his business. Further rain while we were listening to Rob meant a very slow and slippery trek back to Dunedoo, but we arrived back in Dubbo having had lively, animated discussion over all we had learnt the first day. The second day saw us heading to Manildra where we first toured The Manildra Group Flour Mill, getting an overview of both their mill and packing plant. We then visited the MSM Canola Crushing Plant, also in Manildra. Both of these, as well as the abattoir, gave us a sense of the scale that is required to process our products once they leave the farm gate and how stringently hygiene and cleanliness policies are enforced in order to effectively market their product. Both the wheat and canola mills market to a wide variety of mostly Australian businesses, each of which has their own requirements in regards to protein and screening levels. Following this tour, all participants feel they will be able to contribute more effectively within their farm business, as well having a greater understanding of marketing processes and the role that environmentally sound management practices can play in this. Leading on from this trip, Condobolin & Districts Landcare would like to: 1. Continue to host networking opportunities for our all-women producer group, formed from our initial tour 2. Hold workshops on direct & online marketing 3. Investigate further market analysis opportunities.

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Healthy Farm Dam – Planting workshop

On Tuesday 19th June a group of keen Landcarers gathered in Molong for a Healthy Farm Dam – Planting Workshop.

We had guest speakers Anna and Franco Pistillo from SPPS Wetland Consultancy, Tony Cox from Department of Primary Industries and Marita Sydes from Central Tablelands Landcare Group instructing the group in how to effectively plant wetland species in and around a farm dam.

The aim of the day was:

x To reinvigorate the ‘Landcare ethic’ in the Central Tablelands by getting likeminded landholders working together

x To learn about aquatic plants and how to plant an artificial wetland for maximum biological function and aesthetic appeal

x To revegetate a farm dam with aquatic plants to actively filter and improve water quality

x To provide aquatic habitat connecting remnant patches of Grassy Whitebox Woodland to the Bell River

The day was a huge success, despite the freezing cold conditions. Everyone enjoyed the comradery, talking and helping each other with different tasks throughout the day. The instruction from Anna and Franco was very professional and everyone learnt proper techniques for planting wetland plants. We had a beautiful, well earnt barbecue lunch and stayed on until 4.30pm, a true sign of a successful day. We had 10 volunteers, and planted more than 2000 reeds and grasses, completely transforming the farm dam. It is now up to the landholder to make sure the fencing is secure around the dam, and to plant the remaining plants.

The healthy farm dam – planting workshop was the first of eight such days planned in the Central Tablelands in the next six months. Several landholders have nominated to host a workshop of this type, and we hope they are all as interesting and well attended as this one.

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Getting onto social media

Late in 2011 Central Tablelands started a Facebook page, soon after we started contributing to the Central West Permaculture Facebook page. Although numbers on our Landcare page have been slow to grow our Permaculture page is has a rapidly growing network of “likers”. We have been promoting upcoming events and news from the district through these pages and are reaching an audience that we previously have not been able to reach.

Through our local Facebook pages we are also involved in sharing posts / articles to our catchment level Landcare groups – both LachLandcare and “Landcare in the Central West”. Facebook pages are now being set up for many of the district Landcare groups in both the Lachlan and the Central West (and many other across Australia) – this will enable us all to reach more fellow Landcarers and more easily spread information on activities and events in our districts.

Through the Central West NRM Working group we participated in a Meat and Livestock Australia Social Media training day which taught the Landcare Support Officers in the Central West a lot about social media like Facebook.

Facebook is proving to be another useful media form for sharing ideas and spreading the word around our Landcare networks and we look forward to continuing to develop our presence in social media such as Facebook.

Written by Marita Sydes, Landcare Support Officer for Central Tablelands Landcare, March 2012. Proudly Supported By

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Late in November 2011, Central Tablelands Landcare with funding from the Central West CMA hosted a Soil Carbon and Carbon Farming Initiative information workshop. The questions raised in the forum included:

x What is our current knowledge on soil carbon?

x What are soil carbon levels in the soils in and around Orange?

x What will the Carbon Farming Initiative mean to me?

Guest presenters for the day were Dr Aaron Simmons from the NSW Department of Primary industries and Danielle Littlewood – Regional Landcare Facilitator for the Central West. The workshop was well attended with 25 landholders, agronomists (government and commercial) and representatives from local banks in attendance. All attendees were eager to learn how they could make use of the much-anticipated federal government program the Carbon Farming Initiative.

The take home message from the majority of those attending the day was that they would all like to do more research into soil carbon and how it may participate in the Carbon Farming Initiative. Many also said that they would need to undertake their own cost benefit analysis to see how they could benefit from the program. Another comment from the day was that the Carbon Farming Initiative is not the only reason to implement good soil carbon management – there were many other benefits to managing for increased soil carbon (e.g. fertility, water holding capacity etc). A PlaceStory has been created to document some of the comments from the day – visit http://ps3beta.com/story/19210.

Written by Marita Sydes, Landcare Support Officer for Central Tablelands Landcare, November 2011. Proudly Supported By

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Back Yamma Landcare Group Davies Creek Rehabilitation Project

Back Yamma Landcare Group has been working tirelessly for the past 13 months to increase the native vegetation along the Davies Creek banks thereby improving the quality of water. This project continues on from the group’s previous success with an area of the Davies Creek further East. The project required the construction of 2.6 kilometres of fencing to restrict access to stock in so doing providing the area with the best possible chance of regeneration and revegetation.

This project also created plenty opportunities for local school students who attended the site in the projects initial stages to establish the baseline data for the water quality that was currently in the creek. Forbes North Public School students assisted with planting trees at the site in September 2011, providing them with an in-valuable, hands-on learning experience.

The Central West Livestock Exchange was the venue for the Back Yamma Landcare Group’s Davies Creek Field Day. With the support of Central West Lachlan Landcare the group has undertaken further rehabilitation and revegetation of the Davies Creek are including tree plantings which will see a corridor formed between Davies Creek and the trees planted at the Central West Livestock Exchange.

The day was well attended by Back Yamma Landcare Group and local communities who enjoyed a tour of the site as part of the Field Day. Members who participated were available to inform attendees on the multiple stages of the program with those who attended impressed with the improvement to the area and the large amount of growth to the planted tree stock in just one year.

Back Yamma will now take some time to consider the next project that they will undertake in their local environment to continue on with their dedication of natural resource management co-existing with sustainable primary production.

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2012 Conservation Agriculture and No Till Farming Association Field Day

The 17th Conservation Agriculture and No Till Farming Association Field Day was organised by the Conservation Agriculture and No-Till Farming Association (CANFA) in association with Central West Farming Systems, FarmLink Research and Central West Lachlan Landcare.

This is the first year that CWLL has had involvement in organizing the CANFA Field Day. After the success of the Landcare Forum in 2011, CWLL were asked to be involved in organizing this annual event, which returned to Parkes for the first time in many years.

This year's event was held at Parkes Racecourse and along with the release of several new machines the weather was a feature of the day with the sun shining for the first time in a week. We were also fortunate to be spoilt by exceptional catering for the day from the Quota Club.

Parkes Mayor (and CWLL member), Mr Ken Keith opened the Field Day. More than 50 exhibitors and 300 farmers from across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria attended the Field Day in Parkes. The quality of exhibitors was very high with some brilliant machines on display.

Several machinery manufacturers and dealers released updates to their equipment or released new machines at this year’s field day. A number of machines were shown for the first time at the field day which is becoming well known as a launching pad for new designs.

Finishing off the field day was the judging and announcement of the 2011 The Land Farmer Modified Machine Award, this year jointly awarded to Edwin Nash, "Coradgery" Goonumbla for his mobile sprayer fill station and Scott Goodsell, "Kybah" Trundle for modifications made to a Case 385 Steiger used in his contract farming operations at Northparkes Mine.

It was fantastic to have the CANFA Field Day held in Parkes, not only giving locals the chance to see excellent machinery operating, but also bringing an influx of people to the town with accommodation and the other requirements that follow on from this being of benefit.

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2011 NSW Landcare Catchment Management Forum

The 2011 NSW Landcare Catchment Management Forum was held in Parkes from 5 - 7 September. Central West Lachlan Landcare (formerly known as Parkes and Districts Landcare) hosted the event which saw over

360 visitors descend on Parkes to join in on the biannual Forum.

Delegates were treated to a dynamic program of events including workshops, field trips, keynote presentations, panel discussions, Landcare NSW Muster, inaugural Kids Landcare Carnival and the 2011 NSW Landcare Awards. The guest speakers were impressive in their knowledge, experience and presentations. Master of Ceremonies, Sarina Locke & Rob Gell guided the delegates through a diverse range of keynote presentations and panel sessions pushing the idea of 'Thinking Differently' and trying to discover 'new solutions for the old issues'. Major Michael Jeffery, Richard Neville and Tracey Spicer were among the list of high calibre speakers throughout the Forum

The Forum saw a range of innovative events being born including the Kalari-Lachlan River Arts Festival which was the prelude to the Forum, and the 2011 Kids Landcare Carnival which was a new concept branching from the theme 'Thinking Differently'.

Central West Lachlan Landcare pushed the envelope by implementing new ideas and collaborating a range of other events w ith the Forum including the Regional Landcare Facilitators meeting, Landcare NSW Inc Muster and the 2011 NSW Landcare Awards.

The culmination of all of these events over the three days, encouraged visitors to stay longer in Parkes and explore our surrounds, providing a huge economic boost for the Shire.

Central West Lachlan Landcare received positive feedback both verbally and via feedback sheets, about the professional delivery of the event and the content of the Forum. The Awards Dinner on Tuesday evening proved a highlight with the high energy Elvis entertainment rounding out a fun-filled night.

Follow ing on from this event, Central West Lachlan Landcare would like to:  continue to increase their profile in the local and wider communities;  use the knowledge gained from hosting such a prestigious event to improve our local events; and  develop greater ties with our volunteer base who were such an important part of running a successful event.

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2011 Clean Up A Lachlan Carp Day

at Welcome Weir In November Parkes locals had the chance to show off their fishing prowess at the Clean Up A Lachlan Carp Day, held at Welcome Weir. As well as the fishing competition, the NSW Department of Fisheries had their fish van, with live fish on display. Keith Bell from K&R Fisheries also held carp cooking demonstrations so that everyone had the chance to taste carp cooked the way it should be.

It was fantastic to have children making up half of the 80 entrants spending the afternoon fishing in the peaceful, shady surrounds at Welcome Weir vying to be champion angler. When they weren’t fishing, children had the opportunity to get involved in craft activities and face painting.

The evening was finished off with a sausage sizzle and presentations. Myles Smith caught our first significant carp, weighing in at 1.43kg, but Justin Gibson was the champion angler for the day, catching two carp, including our largest carp, weighing in at 3.32kg. This prize was well earned after Justin had to leap in to the water to complete the catch. All children received prizes for their efforts.

Central West Lachlan Landcare and the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority were pleased to host the afternoon. Parkes Shire Council kindly cleared the area for the event and supplied toilets and bins. It was wonderful to have the support of Parkes Camping World who provided the majority of our prizes, Parkes Coles who provided afternoon tea and Parkes McDonalds who also provided prizes for the children. Without the support of local businesses, community events like this are not possible.

Deputy Chairperson of Parkes and Districts Landcare, Margot Jolly commented “With carp being such a significant pest in our waterways, we see this as an important community event to raise awareness of this environmental issue. It is a concern that no native fish were caught. Perhaps there is potential there for a future community project. We hope that the Clean Up A Lachlan Carp Day will become a regular event for experienced and amateur anglers. We look forward to hosting this event again in 2012.”

CWLL are looking forward to the opportunity of hosting this event again in 2012 as it was a wonderful opportunity to connect with the community and increase awareness of the health issues within our waterways.

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Parkes & Peak Hill Weeds Identification & Management Workshops

Central West Lachlan Landcare provided Parkes and Peak Hill residents with the opportunity to take part in FREE Weed Identification and Management Workshops. The workshops provided residents with practical skills in identification of weeds within their local environments and knowledge of effective management of these weeds by utilising the specialised knowledge of Parkes Shire Council Weeds Officer, Matthew Bailey.

The Parkes session was held on Friday, 22 June 2012 at the Coventry Room, next to the Parkes Library. During the workshop participants had the opportunity to raise specific issues that they may be having with weeds at their property and gain advice from Mr Bailey on how best to manage them. Participants also heard from Jenny Jewell from GreenParkes Nursery based in Parkes, regarding Native Grasses, Shrubs and Ground Covers that can be utilised as replacement plants following weed removal.

The Peak Hill session was held on Thursday, 28 June 2012 at the Peak Hill Ex-Services & Citizens Club and ran from 10am to 2pm. During this workshop community participants again had the opportunity to gain valuable information from Mr Bailey regarding weeds management on their own properties. The Peak Hill Aboriginal Landcare Group also provided information on their own current experiences with weed removal being undertaken as part of the Bulgandramine Project, funded by the NSW Government through the Environmental Trust program. All

Participants that pre-registered received free native shrub tube-stock with lunch also provided on the day.

Numbers in attendance were a little disappointing, but the enthusiasm of those attending made up for the lack of numbers.

CWLL hope to have the opportunity to host similar workshops in the future targeting landholders on small holdings around the Parkes area, with the possibility of these being held on the weekend to allow attendance of people who work during the week.

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Grazing Field Day

GRAZING FIELD DAY AT SMESTO AND MAROO NEAR COWRA

Mid Lachlan Landcare Grazing Group held their fourth major field day on 20th of February. It took place at John & Kylie Wood’s properties “Smesto” & “Maroo” Cowra. It was attended by more than 60 people from around the Mid Lachlan area as well as from Trundle, Yass and Orange.

John Wood gave a very interesting presentation on the operation of his business. He and Kylie have a strong goal of producing as many kilograms of beef as they can from the amount of grass they can grow. John also talked of the importance of growing the best grass he can and using good grazing management to meet his production goals. We saw some very good sown pastures and fat cattle on the paddock tour of “Smesto” & “Maroo”.

Well known Grazing Management teacher and facilitator Terry McCosker attended the field day and gave a presentation on Grazing Management and soil carbon.

Terry spoke of the importance of using Grazing Management Principles to grow and manage the best grass and livestock you can. He also spoke about using these principles to manage perennial grasses and the way in which carbon is sequenced into our soils . The benefits and importance of lifting carbon levels in our soils was also discussed.

Some time was also spent discussing the future of a carbon trading scheme and what benefits it could have for Australian farmers.

Following on from this event, Landcare would like to:

x Continue supporting graziers in their transition to more sustainable practices

x Hold more field days to increase learning opportunities

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Working with Regenerating land and community CommunityGarden CANOWINDRACOMMUNITYGARDENLAUNCH TheLaunchoftheCanowindraCommunityGardenwasapartnershipbetweenMidLachlanLandcareandTheCooperating parishesoftheCanowindraUnitingChurchandAllSaintsAnglicanChurch.TheGardenwaslaunchedonthe27thofOctober2011 byCostaGeorgadisofCosta'sGardenOdysseyandGardeningAustralia.TheDayinvolvedallthestudentsfromtheCanowindra Preschool,CanowindraPublicSchool,StEdwardsandsomestudentsfromCanowindraHigh.Eachstudenthadtheopportunityto meetCostaandplantsomeveggieseedsinthegarden.

Theofficiallaunchofthegardenwasheldat11amandattendedbyrepresentativesofCabonneCouncil,membersandpriests fromallthelocalchurches,representativesfromtheCanowindraFoodBasketandthelocalmedia.

Thelaunchofthecommunitygardenwasanoverwhelmingsuccess.Involvingeveryinfantsandprimaryschoolstudentaswellas someofthehighschoolstudentshavemeantthatthegardenisregularlyvisitedbystudentswiththeirfamilies.Therewasa goodamountoflocalmediacoverage,includingthefrontpageoftheCanowindraNews,theCentrocBlogandafacebookpage thathas51likes.

TheCommunityGardenisprovidingfoodforthepeopleofCanowindra,especially clientsoftheCanowindraFoodBasket,whosemissionistoprovidelowcostfoodto pensionersandhealthcarecardholders.Everyweekfreshseasonalvegetablesare distributedtothedisadvantagedthroughthefoodbasket.Classesfromalltheschools alsovisitthegardenatleasteverytermaswellasbiweeklyvisitsby2Agclassesfrom thehighschool.

Followingonfromthisevent,Landcarewillcontinueto:

x Supportschooleducationthroughthecommunitygarden.

x Engagelocalswithmessagesofsustainableproductionandhealthyeating

x promotetheworkthroughthemediaandsocialmedia

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Revegetation on

Farms Field Day On the 8th May 2012, Upper Lachlan Landcare teamed up with Greening Australia and the Lachlan Catchment Authority for a revegetation on farms field day at two local properties, Mr. Tom McCormack’s, “Red Hill” near Crookwell and Mr. Bill Dobbie’s, “Bolong”, near Laggan. We were fortunate to experience perfect weather conditions and ample 4 wheel drives to transport more than 50 participants around the properties.

First stop- “Red Hill”, a property which has been undertaking revegetation projects consistently for the past 15 years which provided:-

x A chance to observe different types of reveg projects and to be talked through the evolution of the McCormack’s revegetation techniques including the aerating machine that Tom has developed instead of ripping. x A great opportunity to witness the benefits of trees to soil and pasture health, livestock health and overall farm productivity. x Discussion between the participants about the benefits of getting trees back on farms and; x Accounts of the successes and failures that many have had with tree planting.

After a delicious lunch organized by Greening Australia at the well-equipped Red Hill woolshed we got back in our convoy of 4WD’s and headed for “Bolong” Laggan. Mr. Dobbie gave us a brief history of the ownership and grazing regime of the property and his future plans and then we set off on a rather treacherous adventure to the location of a recently sown Whole of Paddock (WOPR) Site. It was very interesting to see the impressive germination rates and to learn about the innovative program from Greening Australia.

The day was very well attended and feedback was very positive. Landholders were very grateful to have the opportunity to see different types of projects and discuss techniques and to discuss funding opportunities that are available. It was pleasing to see the renewed interest in revegetation.

Following on from this successful field trip Upper Lachlan Landcare would like to work with Greening Australia to demonstrate revegetation techniques to other reaches within the catchment and to assist landholders access suitable funding for these projects.

Tussock Tamer Dinners

Upper Lachlan Landcare recently held two dinners within the catchment to celebrate the end of the Tussock Tamers Program. The dinner involved a quiz organised by the Tussock Tamer workshop facilitator, Alison Elvin followed by a very inspiring talk by the Commissioner at Natural Resources Commission, Dr John Williams with over 80 people attending the two events and catered by the Young members of the Breadalbane Plains Landcare.

x The TT program; initiated by the Jerrawa Creek Landcare Group in partnership with the Upper Lachlan Shire Council, The Lachlan CMA and Upper Lachlan Landcare to enable community members and land managers to work together to effectively manage the challenges posed by serrated tussock. x Over 180 farming families have participated in the workshops and farm visits run by well-known rural educator, Alison Elvin, creating integrated weed management plans to manage their tussock and other weeds effectively and economically x And 300 have attended plant and weed id field days within the catchment x The dinners enabled workshop participants to reconnect with fellow Tussock Tamers and co-ordinators; discuss management changes they have implemented; and to assist in designing the future direction of Tussock Tamers.

Following the success of this program and the feedback received, Jerrawa Creek Landcare and Upper Lachlan Landcare have decided to apply for further funding to extend the Tussock Tamers program into 2013

It is encouraging to see that other districts have now taken up the Tussock Tamer model including Hawkesbury- Nepean and Boorowa Landcare Districts.

Weddin Community Nursery

finds a home

Weddin Landcare has found a site in Grenfell to establish the Weddin Community Wildplant Nursery.

Exhaustive attempts to locate a highly visible site within Grenfell CBD or Mid Western Highway were undermined by prohibitive rents, with sunlight and spatial restrictions always present.

After widening the search‐net an ideal location was discovered, by a keen local landcarer, hiding in plain view as a long unused section of the local TAFE.

Initial enquiries and meetings between the TAFE Western and Weddin Landcare Nursery Committee representatives were successful, and rapidly led to the contracts being signed in late December 2011

The present site was originally developed as a tuck shop, amenities building and basketball court of the Grenfell High School in the 1950’s before it became the Grenfell Campus of what is now TAFE Western.

Largely unused since the secondary school moved in the early ‘70s the facility represented a liability to the Education Department in the form of an asset under‐utilised for 4 decades.

The attitude was now ‘use it or lose it’ and the site was in dire need of a tenant. For this reason, the site appears worthy of investment as extended tenure is essential to the buildings continued existence.

Weddin Landcare now plans to:  Hold a series of community working bees to develop the site  Engage TAFE Western to run a short course native plant I.D. seed collection and propagation  Develop partnerships with local health & community service agencies, building pathways for their clients to improved health outcomes resulting from participation in nursery activities

Our thanks go to the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority for its recognition of the need and future of a community nursery, and the ongoing sponsorship of this venture into social and landscape engineering through the LCMA Grenfell District Engagement Plan, which has directed finances toward the project’s planning and infrastructure needs.

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Weddin Community Wildplant Nursery preparations begin

Two beautiful Autumn days nicely supported Weddin Landcare’s initial working bees held at the recently secured site of the

Weddin Community Wildplant Nursery. The Nursery site had recently been secured at the Grenfell campus of TAFE Western, and came with a 1950’s double‐brick building that had only been utilised by local pigeons for the last forty years.

The 15th and 24th March 2012 saw a group of 10 people, in a good mix of urban and rural landcarers, begin the cleanup of the Nursery building. Over the two days the group were able to:

 Remove and assess existing tables and chairs for future needs.  Sweep and clean all surfaces to remove dung and dirt.  Check all utilities and structures for serviceability.  Create a prioritised list for professional repairs to improve the buildings utility.  Remove all excess from site and manage disposal safely.  Set up work areas ready for future training and seed cleaning days.

The days were considered a big success and allowed the group to get a handle on the condition of the existing infrastructure and prioritise what needed repair or replacing to enable the buildings initial and ongoing use.

Purpose‐built for a different use, the building will however still offer well protected spaces for a Landcare office and meeting area, volunteer lunchroom and respite, seed processing and bank, plant propagation, chemical and general storage.

As a follow–up to these two successful events, Weddin Landcare plans to:

 Support 3 further training days on seed cleaning & storage, plant propagation and nursery planning.  Hold ongoing seed processing & storage, plant pot preparation and nursery site clean‐up working bees.  Steadily undertake repairs of amenities and fit‐out to suit processing and storage requirements.  Promote and support future related certificate courses in partnership with TAFE Western.  Seek external funding towards financing nursery infrastructure and continue procurement as needed.  Raise awareness of the nursery, its aims and services.

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Learning through living

Entomology Drawing workshop with Natural History Artist Chris Rockley.

Young District Landcare’s was very excited to have Chris Rockley back after a very successful native botanical drawing workshop last year. This year Chris’s drawing workshop theme was to capture and be inspired by our amazing native Australian pollinators. Chris spoke about the risks facing our most known and prominent pollinator, the European Honey Bee through mite infestation, pesticide use and export, and why we should perhaps be encouraging our native insects to pollinate our food plants. Chris’s work hopes to highlight some of these extremely important and resilient native insect pollinators.

Annabel Wallace’s Gallery provided an ideal location for the workshop, providing lovely open space for collecting allsorts of interesting bugs to draw (and for children to hide in) There was no trouble with attendance for the children’s one day workshop and the adults two day workshop. For those that missed out hopefully they can make it for next years drawing topic .

This native pollinators drawing workshop provided over whelming expectations in raising awareness for our tinnier counterparts. With participates observing and being more careful with insects they dispose of around there house and outings.

Testimonial: I went to empty water out from an old bucket and crickey’s you wouldn’t believe it there was a blue banded bee dead in there. Just like the one we observed at the workshop. Now I know there around I’m going to be more careful with sprays on my garden and what I’m about to swat in future. K Chapman

Drawings from the workshop were displayed at Young Shire Council for two weeks public viewing. An over-all best drawing was chosen and awarded in two categories an adult drawing category worth $100.00 prize money and the children’s category worth $50.00.

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Murrumbidgee CANFA Bus Trip

Young District Landcare took 18 locals on a CANFA two day bus trip to the Murrumbidgee Catchment The first stop was to the Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre at Burrumbuttock. Originally a stock reserve and public watering place, it is know a thriving community run centre with an abundance of learning opportunities for all age groups and interests. The centre has a superbly built environmental shed, catering for workshops, talks, public library, water catchment models, and native fish display tanks the list just goes on and on. Out on the reserve community groups have created walking trails, picnic facilities, farm plantings, wildflowers wetlands, gardens with ornamental native plants including grasses and bulbs, all easily identifiable with great display charts.

Professor David Watson gave a presentation to the group on mistletoe as an environmental indicator, during the talk the group was taken back by how mistletoe has, over the past, become so misinterpreted in our community and David provided a fascinating insight into the role mistletoe plays in our environment.

Day two saw us wake to beautiful blue skies to meet farming family Neville and Jan Labke “Bonnie Rise’ Jindera. On our guided property tour, Neville and Jan told us of there passion for the environment and there sustainable agriculture practices since the early 1970’s. There goal is to develop an ecologically sustainable, productive and commercially profitable agricultural enterprise, one that constantly aims to protect and enhance its valuable resource base as it grows. There was a lot of interest in the variation of fertiliser’s trialled on Neville and Jan’s property on the tour. Their love of native flora and fauna has led to them being an integral part of the endangered stone bush curlew captive breeding and release program.

The trips second property visit was at Tabletops, Brian and Dinah Ward’s ‘Illawong’. Brian and Dinah run a beef operation using the principles of sustainable agriculture. Native pastures have been managed to maintain ground cover year round on slopes. Since the purchase of the property in 1994, over 30% of the property has been planted to native vegetation, or remnant vegetation enhanced, weeds have been managed and improved pastures sown, which has resulted in an overall carrying capacity and productivity increase. The views span over the Hume Lake, a very picturesque sight, surrounded by lush ground cover, fat stock and large tracts of native revegetated sites, a great way to end our trip and head home

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Birds in the Bush Tour

Young District Landcare conducted a series of bird watching days during mid October. During the three days Tony Saunders expert and avid bird watcher took us into the amazing world of our much loved feathered friends. Birds are one of our key indicators to the health of our environment. These field days were a great way to start recognizing the species in our area and get some ideas to start bringing birds back into our backyard or properties

With winter slowly moving behind us it was also a wonderful time to be out and about enjoying the first of springs beautiful warming days, shared with blossoming native daisies, orchids, wattles and the peaceful solitude of being in the bush

‘Cloverleigh’s’ birds in the bush tour was a very successful day with over 13 people in attendance, the weather and bird life did not disappoint. Within an hour of our walk Tony and the group had identified over 47 different species of which 4 were threatened. After lunch, Tony then gave a presentation on the importance of birds in the local ecosystem, describing why they are important in maintaining ecosystem function. He then used the results of several studies to describe how important habitat structure, patch size and connectivity are for maintaining healthy bird populations and maintaining bird diversity. Australian birds are relatively well known compared with other vertebrate species are also generally easier to identify. A diversity of healthy bird populations at a site indicates that the local habitat must be in a reasonably good state. The combination of these two factors makes bird surveys a very useful tool in monitoring the quality and health of a patch of habitat. The workshops created great interest and awareness with a lot of idea sharing discussing options for protecting, enhancing and designing friendly bird environments for their properties and backyards.

For further details on any of these field days contact your local Landcare Support Officer Heather Williams on 0449568512 or email [email protected].

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The Flora Seed Bank Project

Since 2010 Young District Landcare has been delivering a diverse range of workshops, engaging the local community in discovering how significant and diverse our native flora is in the local area. Activities such as Native Flora Seed Bank Information nights, local TSR Walks and Talks, Native Botanical Drawing Workshop, a Professional and Community run Native Seed Collection Workshop and a Weed Identification Workshop.

All projects events have seen a great turn out, with over 16 people attending most workshops. Feedback from participates was positive and tells us their keen to involve themselves in similar community run workshops. Greening Australia has been a great partner in a number of these events and will continue to provide technical support with native seed collection activities in the future.

LCMA’s Mikla Lewis has been an integral part in our TSR Walks and Talks, taking us all on a wonderful journey of discovery exploring native flora in our local traveling stock reserves. These workshops will be running again during the month of September onwards 2012.

Our two day Native Botanical Workshop was a full house, catering the novice to the more experienced artist. Chris Rockley Natural History Artist and Annabel Wallace Gallery owner provided a professional and most delightful weekend for those that attended the weekend workshop. Chris started the group out with a reserve walk to view native flora on the ground before returning to Annabel’s Gallery to work through the different elements and techniques of plant illustration. Drawings were displayed at our local Council Chambers were an overall best drawing was selected, taking home $100 kindly donated by Young Shire Council

Young District Landcare would like to thank the LCMA, Greening Australia, Communities in Landscape and Caring for Our Country for providing the financial and technical support with our Flora Seed Bank project and look forward to highlighting more of our activities as they happen.

Working with Regenerating land and community

Carbon Farming Initiative

Workshops

On 23 and 24th May 2012 The Regional Landcare Facilitator in conjunction with the Lachlan Catchment Management Authority (LCMA) held two one day seminars in Condobolin and Cowra to provide comprehensive information on the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI), as part of the CFI Communications Program run by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The focus was to ensure the research information was relevant to the Lachlan catchment, that we had adequate time to address questions, and for farmers to hear from other farmers who are undergoing the process of engaging with the CFI.

Guest speakers were: David Eyre (NSW Farmers Association) talking about the Clean Energy Future Plan and Carbon Farming Initiative – how the CFI works, funding opportunities for innovation, practical steps for getting involved and business considerations; Dr Brian Murphy (Office of Environment & Heritage) & Dr Warwick Badgery (NSW Dept. Primary Industries) spoke on the results of recent research testing carbon levels across the Lachlan, explaining the CAMBI methodology used in the research, the best way to measure carbon on a paddock scale, and how soil type and land management influences soil carbon; Dr Kaye Spark (Environmental Accounting Services) spoke on Carbon Accounting – practical aspects. What agriculture emissions are covered in Australia's national accounts, how are these emissions accounted for, what is included and excluded, some reasoning behind the policy decisions, and how the process is working overseas; Geoff Minchin (LCMA) spoke on diversifying farm incomes and identifying options, developing a property plan using current opportunities and potential funding examples (stewardship, biobanking, biodiversity funds, etc). Geoff also provided an update on the recent carbon sequestration in environmental plantings research undertaken in the Lachlan by Dr Keryn Paul; and Edwina Beveridge (Farmer – Blantyre Piggery, Young): (Cowra Venue only) spoke on her insights ‐ how a local piggery is capping methane to power generators ‐ reducing electricity costs and creating carbon offsets.

At the end of the day the participants separated into small groups to discuss the major issues that had arisen during the day with a scribe writing down questions to the panel. The groups then had a representative address the panel at the end with the questions. The panel took it in turns to answer questions relevant to their area of expertise.

The workshop at Cowra was filmed with the remainder of the 2011‐12 funds, with the desire to use funds from the 2012‐13 CFI budget to complete the editing and create a DVD and segments edited for the website.

The format and speakers allowed everyone to cover a wide range of issues, with adequate time for the audience to participate in an inclusive manner. The workshops were very well received by the attendees, with the highlight for many attendees was seeing photos and hearing from a local farmer on the challenges and benefits of engaging with the CFI.

The main issues arising from the events were: 1. The overwhelming concern by the majority of attendees was that early adopters will not benefit from the CFI 2. Concerns about planting for major reforestation on agricultural lands (Speculation on increase in Carbon price ‐ capitalising). As a result it devalues land, impact on neighbours with pests and weeds, creates a fire burden, and leaves land badly managed. 3. Need more information online about status of methodologies, including what methodologies are in ‘train’, and when accepted how do we find out about them?

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Working with Regerating land and community