Changing Environments: New Challenges for the Living Country
Four days of entertainment, information and energy.
Tuesday 27 - Friday 30 October, Geraldton, WA
Day 2 - WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 28
9am – 5pm
BIO diverse: NACC Photographic Exhibition
Upper Foyer, Queens Park Theatre
Free, open entry
The 230 entries that were entered in this year’s NACC photographic competition will be on display. See the three winning images and the pictures that will feature in the NACC 2010 calendar.
The images celebrate “Our Beautiful Region” and show the richness and diversity of the Northern Agricultural Region.
Last year there were 130 entries in the inaugural year and the exhibition travelled to several towns in the region. See the 2008 entries here.
11am to 2pm
Gardening for the Climate: Great Gardens Workshop with the Great Gardens Team
Lower Foyer, Queens Park Theatre
Free, open entry
The Great Gardens Team visit towns around WA and help gardeners understand how to “garden to the climate”. The workshops are fast paced, informative and highly entertaining – they’re also incredibly useful.
Read what This Greener Life columnist, Brian Poller has to say about Great Gardens in This Greener Life.
Register on the Great Gardens website here
8am – 9.30am
Changing Environments Exhibitors
Lower Foyer, Queens Park Theatre
Exhibitors from around WA put up their displays yesterday and there’s lots to be seen, read and talked about including the four CDI (Catchment Demonstration Initiatives) from around WA.
7pm – 9pm
Synergy Energy Efficiency Gardening Workshop with the Great Gardens Team
Lower Foyer, Queens Park Theatre
Free, open entry (Register online here)
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7.30am
Changing Environments Registration open at the Queens Park Theatre
8.30 – 6(ish)
Discovery Day Tours
8.30 Welcome to Country
8.40 Minister’s Speech
9am Board the bus for your adventure day
Travel throughout the magnificent Northern Agricultural Region for an adventure in natural resource management, biodiversity and beautiful locations.
The Discovery Day tours will take delegates to places that even many locals don’t know about and along the way, we’ll learn about what’s happening in sustainable farming, wetlands and rivers, biodiversity, perennials and much more.
Each tour has been reconnoitred by NACC staff (the most popular day at work for most of them for a long time!) and has a great mix of locations and information.
Each bus will have experts on it to outline points of interest on each tour. Along the way, special guests will offer a masterclass view of the issues found along the way.
It won’t be all work. Some of the tours will stop at local landmarks for lunch (and in some cases, sample our local horticultural diversification into grape growing!)
Discovery Day tour one – Coalseam National Park Tour
This tour will head east to the magnificent Coalseam National Park which is in the heart of the wildflower area of the Mid West region. It lies between the northern sandplain to the west - where a remarkable variety of woody heath plants flower profusely during the wildflower season - and the aridlands of the Murchison, part of Outback Mid West - where winter rains can trigger a late winter flowering of annuals.
Coalseam Conservation Park has the best of both worlds. Here is Kwongan heath (click here for more)on the sands of the plateau country. On the reddish loams of the floodplain of the Irwin River is wattle scrub. In the wildflower season a carpet of pink, gold, cream and white everlastings transforms the usually sparse understorey of wattle scrub. Park Ranger Rob Thorne will join us for an in depth exploration of this wonderful place.
On the way the bus will visit sites at Uralla and Nangetty where healthy farm projects are underway. Delegates will also visit some trial sites and visit Strawberry Bridge which is not only picturesque but has a great NRM story to tell. See map
Discovery Day tour two – Kalbarri
This tour is like being on holidays! Head north into one of Australia’s most famous tourism regions, Kalbarri National Park. Highlights will be a visit to the Grand Stand and Eagle Gorge to the south of Kalbarri and then a visit to the Sea Horse Sanctuary and Kalbarri River Mouth. From there, delegates will travel to Hawks Head Lookout on the magnificent Murchison River.
There’s a range of NRM projects that our specialist, Chiara Danese, will talk through including coastal rehabilitation works and biodiversity projects.
We’re just sad we can’t fit in a visit to Eurardy Station, owned by the Australian Conservation Foundation or Riverside Farm, or up the Murchison River to the magnificent cliffs, or down to the sides of the river where lead was mined at the old township of Galena. Similarly we won’t be able to show you the work that’s been done on the Hutt River on the way home…(you’ll just have to come back to do that!). (see map)
Discovery Day tour three – Chapman Valley
Delegates will board their bus at the Queens Park Theatre and had north east into one of our favourite secrets: the rich farming area of the incredibly scenic Chapman Valley, where diversification might soon see the area challenge other WA day trip destinations.
During the day we’ll visit to Yanget farm where the father of Natural Sequence Farming, Peter Andrews, will walk through the NSF processes being applied there with local farmer Rod O’Bree. (see story) Get ready for learning about landscape with a little sand play with Peter and friends.
Pass by Australia’s prettiest spy base and on to Nabawa to hear about the Upper Chapman Project, of the most ambitious catchment projects undertaken in the region. Take a look at the projects themselves and then enjoy the peace and tranquillity of another of our well kept secrets, Nukara Farm (more) where environmental work has become a tourist paradise.
Another port of call will take delegates to the top of the Moresby Ranges which fringe Geraldton to look at some biodiversity projects happening on the hills. (see map)
Discovery Day tour four – Abrolhos Islands Tour
Too late – already booked out!
But those lucky enough to have put their hands up will travel to the Houtman Abrolhos by plane and see a range of the NRM and environmental projects – both current and future projects.
Newsletter Archive
4/05/2012 -
NACC Notes Thursday 22nd December 2012 4/05/2012 -
NACC Notes Thursday 5th January 2012 30/06/2011 -
June 30, 2011 28/06/2011 -
NACC Notes Tuesday June 28, 2011 5/04/2011 -
Quick NACC Notes April 5 2011 25/03/2011 -
NACC Notes Friday March 25, 2011 4/03/2011 -
...a little NACC Note: another Clean Up site & calling EOI for Indigenous engagement 4/03/2011 -
Welcome to Autumn. NACC Notes Mar 4, 2011. 15/02/2011 -
NACC Notes Feb 9 2010 11/02/2011 -
"Quick" notes from NACC 24/12/2010 -
Ding Dong Dell! It's NACC Notes for Christmas. 10/12/2010 -
NACC Notes Tuesday December 7 2010 16/11/2010 -
NACC Notes - Nov 16, 2010 21/10/2010 -
NACC Notes Thursday October 21 14/10/2010 -
NACC Notes Thurs October 14 6/10/2010 -
NACC Notes September 6 2010 9/09/2010 -
BIG IDEAS FESTIVAL and BANJAR... Sept 16 &17th Geraldton 25/08/2010 -
NACC Notes August 28 2010 23/07/2010 -
NACC Notes July 23 2/06/2010 -
NACC Notes June 1 2010 Congratulations Sue and vote for MIG.... 9/03/2010 -
NACC Notes March 9 2010 8/03/2010 -
NACC Small Grants - Coastal and Wind Erosion. Out now. 14/01/2010 -
NACC Notes: 2010 Calendar available now & WA NRM Community Grants close end Jan. 7/01/2010 -
NACC Notes - CFOC 2010 Business Plan Released today 4/01/2010 -
Happy New year and News from NACC