NACC NRM acknowledges the Traditional Owners and original natural resource managers of the land and sea country of the Northern Agricultural Region. NACC NRM’s activities are conducted on the lands of the Yamaji and Noongar peoples; we acknowledge their elders past present and future for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and the hopes of Aboriginal Australia.
“Our dedicated team, well led by CEO Katherine Allen, have adapted to working within the constraints imposed by COVID and, despite the shock of Cyclone Seroja in the first quarter of 2021, have continued to deliver against our milestones.”
The end of 2020 saw COVID-19 restrictions relax and life within the Northern Agricultural Region return to a new kind of normal. However, the legacy of COVID-19 lives on through the countless online video calls and webinars that allow us to reach people from far and wide, and have become a useful tool in daily operations! After much rescheduling and postponing, the NACC NRM team were able to dive back into in-person events, site visits and field work.
Our programs teams have been out and about connecting with stakeholders and clients, in places like Kallanie, Greenhead, Moora, Dongara, and Nanson to name a few. Re-wiring the way in which we work and navigating reconnecting with the community has been the team’s main priority this past year, with increased social media reach across all platforms, and community engagement at an all-time high.
Over the last financial year, NACC NRM’s Facebook page gained 280 followers, and had a reach increase of 131%, with one post reaching over 30,000 people! We were proud to host 38 community engagement events, allowing us to engage with over 800 people across the region.
“We’re committed to continual improvement, ‘raising the bar’, working better with more of the community, and delivering the best possible natural resource management activities across the Northern Agricultural Region.”
I am pleased to report another year of accomplishment and consolidation. Steady progress toward programme objectives has been punctuated by several highlights while our financial position has strengthened sufficiently to allow the Board and Management to commit resources to NACC NRM’s longer-term interests.
Confirmation of Western Australia’s northern-most breeding population of Carnaby’s Cockatoo near Murchison House is testament to the diligence of our Biodiversity team while the formation of the Turquoise Coast Management Group represents a vindication of our decision to re-establish NACC NRM’s Coastal and Marine Team and of their ability to catalyse community action.
NACC NRM continues to seek opportunities to extend our activities within the scope of our purpose. Recently we were awarded funding under the Commonwealth Government’s ‘Preparing Australian Communities’ program, for ‘In the Wake of the Storm’, a project initiated following Cyclone Seroja, to develop guidelines for environmental recovery activities, particularly revegetation, to be applied after future such events in our region and beyond. This project is being implemented in cooperation with affected local government authorities.
A second recent success has been a long-term extension of the Mid West Aboriginal Ranger Program (MARP) which is funded by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and which NACC NRM delivers in cooperation with Western Mulga Pty Ltd, Kwelena Mambakort Aboriginal Corporation (KMAC) and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA).
These successes together with the strong performance and financial management delivered by the NACC NRM team ably led by Katherine Allen, has caused the Directors to consider the longer-term work environment and accommodation requirements of the organisation. A year-long project to secure suitable premises has concluded with NACC NRM purchasing a property in Geraldton. We look forward to the many benefits that this modern facility will enable us to deliver to our staff, community and other stakeholders.
Looking to the future, I anticipate continuing strong performance in project delivery and community engagement, increasingly with the local government sector.
The next year will not be without its challenges. The current Federal government-funded RLP program expires soon and we are in the process of developing our bid for the next round. Our commitment to owning our office accommodation will require work and imagination to realise the potential of the investment, which in turn, we expect to contribute to the ongoing financial sustainability of the organisation.
I end my time as Chair of NACC NRM at the 2022 AGM, confident in the capability of the NACC NRM Board, Management and Team and look forward to the organisation playing an ever-increasing role in delivering sound natural resource management outcomes in the Northern Agricultural Region.
Robert Keogh
In 2020-21 I talked about ‘raising the bar’. In 2021-22 we worked on setting the bar on fire. Over the last 12 months, the team at NACC NRM has not stopped.
The Sustainable Agriculture team has extended the program’s reach through collaborations with grower groups in the regions. Specifically, the Beyond Reasonable Drought project and Grower Group Alliance – South West WA Drought Innovation Hub – Geraldton Node project. The Beyond Reasonable Drought partnership with grower groups supported farmers across the region to improve the environmental sustainability of their agricultural production and drought resilience. The outcomes of this project have been consolidated through our successful Expression of Interest to the South West WA Drought Innovation Hub, with support from grower groups across the region, to host the Geraldton Node of the Hub. The program continues to focus on working with agricultural networks to share technical expertise and provide opportunities that will improve land management practices in agriculture across the region.
The conservation outcomes of ranger teams have expanded through work on several land tenures. Maintaining Heritage sites such as Willi Gulli, Racecourse Paddock and Buller River has long been a priority. During 2021-22, the teams have increasingly focused on threatened species and ecosystems.
To this end, Western Mulga rangers have improved management across 19,000 ha for the conservation of Malleefowl through firebreak and access management. They completed the maintenance of water holes and supported the monitoring of over 90 Malleefowl mounds.
Similarly, the Kwelena Mambakort Aboriginal Corporate ranger team have contributed positively to Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo populations by installing artificial hollows and habitat restoration.
All ranger teams have collected native seed, propagated native plants for restoration, and planted native vegetation in key locations across the NAR. Seed collection provides valuable industry experience and has facilitated the planting of over 100,000 seedlings during the year.
In September 2021, the NACC NRM team delivered the WA Threatened Species Forum, held in tandem with the National Malleefowl Forum. Given the impact of COVID and the timing of this event, having more than 100 delegates from all over Australia was a significant achievement. The two Forums brought together 12 events over five days and featured 14 local artists, 25 businesses and 36 youth participants.
Following the successful relaunch of our updated NARvis, NACC NRM was invited to help lead a significant piece of strategic planning work for the region with Mid West Development Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. With funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, the consortia delivered a Regional Drought Resilience Plan covering the shires of Northampton and Chapman Valley and the City of Greater Geraldton, along with significant technical analysis of drought vulnerability for the South West land division. The development of this plan also included extensive community consultation to ensure that local knowledge and technical advice guided the development of priorities for action.
This planning work links to existing NACC NRM on-ground projects, including Beyond Reasonable Drought and the Chapman Catchment Collaborative regeneration project.
It was a busy year for events with face-to-face events becoming commonplace again. During 2021-22 we hosted events in Gingin, Moora, Dalwallinu, Cervantes, Jurien Bay, Walkaway, Nabawa, Perenjori, Kalannie and Morawa. We supported events in Karakin, Thundellara, Perenjori, Paynes Find, Wubin, Cataby, Warradarge, Northampton, Yuna, Dalwallinu and Dandaragan.
We also supported on-ground works throughout the region, including at the following locations Yuna, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Merkanooka, Goodlands, Kalannie, Bunjil, Yardarino, Canna, Kondut, Latham, Kadathinni, Nabawa, Red Gully, Sandy Gully, Waddy Forrest, Devils Creek, Perenjori, Bowgada, Ellendale, Wandana, Namban, Hill River, Warradarge, Gillingarra, Regans Ford and Moonyanooka.
Our region is vast – slightly larger than Tasmania, which for comparison, is serviced by three separate NRM organisations. Covering the NAR region and its many environmental threats is challenging. We continue to focus on partnerships and collaboration to address this challenge. We know that by working with our community through passionate delivery of collaborative on-ground projects and education, the community will value and actively protect our region’s natural capital.
This year we have launched a new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The RAP Working Group consulted widely and developed an Innovate RAP which Reconciliation Australia approved in March 2022. The activities to fulfil these commitments are now in full swing.
Sadly, at the end of 2021, we farewelled former NACC NRM CEO Shelley Spriggs, who lost a long battle with cancer. Shelley was an inaugural inductee to the NRM Leadership Honour Roll. I will always be grateful for her guidance and no-nonsense approach, not to mention her passion for life.
While we have said farewell to some, we have welcomed many new faces across all programs, including our Administration team. We have also hosted a school-based trainee from Nagle Catholic College who has been working towards a Certificate II in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. This trial position has been very successful, and we look forward to making this opportunity available again in 2023.
During 2022 we have taken on new projects that align with our organisational and program objectives, and we have successfully completed some great initiatives that support continued conservation and sustainability outcomes. I want to thank the whole team who continue to go above and beyond for the organisation and each other proving their ongoing commitment to our purpose and our values.
I wish to extend my gratitude to all who have been involved in making the last year a great success. I have had the pleasure of working with my fellow Board members in discussing the future of the organisation and embarking on new and exciting initiatives.
It is my pleasure to present to you the Treasurer’s Report for the year ended 30 June 2022.
I draw your attention to the Financial Results for the year ending 30 June 2022. The audit was again successfully performed by William Buck , firstly through an interim audit at the end of April and then finalised onsite in the Geraldton Office during August. Thanks to Tom and his Team. Noted is the fact that despite the current challenge that all organisations face with movement of staff, the anticipated disruption did not eventuate. Both organisations worked tirelessly to ensure the process proceeded without delays. The draft accounts and project acquittals all delivered ahead of schedule.
The Balance sheet reveals we have been operating optimally throughout the year. Our net-asset position has remained the same as last year. Cash and cash equivalents equated to 93% of total assets.
Notably for most of the year, the interest rate regime was not favourable with the return on our invested cash assets attracting an average interest rate around 0.27%.
The organisation’s liabilities remain stable in line with project delivery with comfortable ability to meet commitments as and when they fell due throughout the year.
The Operating Statement reveals NACC NRM’s recognised income for the year was $4,504,166 against expenditure of $4,503,998.
Perhaps of interest especially for many of our stakeholders are the factors beyond the control of the organisation. For the first time, the Board has interrogated assumptions that are underpinned by macro-economic factors like inflation and its impact on the budgeting process. As global economic conditions influence policy settings of nations around the world, never has it been more important to monitor all that is happening in the macro-economic environment. With the beast of inflation raging around the world, disruptions continue in supply chains and the labour market continues to tighten.
The other strategic matter that the Board has considered important to the long term future of the organisation is the organisation’s office accommodation needs.
During 2021-22 the Board considered the purchase of a building to house the team in preference to lease arrangements which have perpetuated for much of NACC NRM’s existence. . The time has come for a permanent solution to this challenge. It is instructive that the Board intends to re-coup the cost of investment through revenue that will arise from the availability of parts of the building. It is an exciting time for the entire NACC NRM team.
It has been a great privilege to serve with my fellow directors and I look forward to the year ahead. To our very able Chair, I extend a note of thanks for your leadership. I thank the NACC NRM team and all stakeholders who collectively have made the year a great success.
To the NACC NRM staff team, I offer you my best wishes for the coming year.
Thank you
NACC NRM recognises the intrinsic link that Aboriginal culture has to Country, Language, Lore and Dreaming and acknowledge that all of these are directly related to specific Country. Together, these elements provide a pathway for increasing self-determination for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people in natural resource management and the transfer and practice of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the region. NACC NRM is committed to meaningful engagement, collaboration, and co-design with Aboriginal peoples. This ‘two-way’ land and sea management philosophy combines traditional knowledge and contemporary science to conserve culture and protect biodiversity.
Funded by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet through the National Indigenous Australians Agency, the Midwest Aboriginal Ranger Program (MARP) is now in its fourth year. This project provides opportunities for Aboriginal people across the Midwest region to engage in natural resource management (NRM) activities.
The Midwest Aboriginal Ranger Program offers employment and training placements for rangers and ranger teams through three program delivery partners; Kwelena Mambakoort Aboriginal Corporation (KMAC), Western Mulga and the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA). These partners deliver on-ground NRM activities with a focus on supporting cultural connection to Country for employees. This program has proven successful, particularly in delivering employment and training outcomes in partnership with Aboriginal people and organisations. In consultation with our delivery partners, NACC NRM submitted an application to continue MARP to 2028 during FY21.
Western Mulga has employed over 20 rangers during the year, including an expansion of female employment opportunities through delivery of the Aboriginal Woman’s Conservation Team previously operated from within NACC NRM. WM rangers are encouraged to share their cultural knowledge within the team through opportunities to represent when visiting their respective Country. This activity has provided opportunities for leadership across the group. Training has continued to be a strong focus for all ranger teams, with participants progressing Certificate III and IV Conservation and Land Management. Western Mulga has continued to manage sites in consultation with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) and Traditional Owners.
KMAC’s trainees have undertaken diverse opportunities, including work on Declared Flora and Threatened Species, and learning directly from Yued Elders. DBCA rangers have applied and increased their skills in fire management through regular participation in fire activities and incidents throughout the year. Participants from the other providers also supported prescribed burns during summer and contributed to revegetation during winter. The program has provided over 200 unique on-Country activities that support environmental management and conservation outcomes and preservation of Aboriginal sites.
Cross-regional collaboration has been a highlight this year. An example of this was the regional meeting held in Green Head in XXX 2020. Specifically, this location represents a transition zone between Yued and Yamaji Country. Across three days, ranger teams were guided by Traditional Owners and other inspirational Aboriginal people to connect to country and culture. This included the inspection of Yued and Yamaji sites, discussion of survey techniques, traditional foods, and Aboriginal agriculture opportunities. This event was complimentary to an Aboriginal language workshop, ranger awards presentation, and a site visit conducted with Naaguja Traditional Owner’s earlier in the year.
KMAC has provided additional opportunities for their ranger team through intra-state exchanges with other teams delivering professional ranger activites and cultural experiences. Exchange activities have included engagement with State and Local Government agencies, a number of mining companies and NGO’s. The KMAC rangers have also been conducting flora assessments during much of Autumn.
Western Mulga has also expanded their opportunities through delivery of vegetation assessments under sequestration initiatives. This activity supports on-ground activities and is a unique training opportunity for rangers on-Country within an emerging industry. The expansion of ranger skills and Traditional Owner engagement during the year has supported improved Aboriginal engagement across other areas of NACC NRM project delivery.
The Biodiversity program has continued to soar this year, with projects generating egg-cellent results. During FY21, the biodiversity team has focused on stakeholder engagement to conserve, restore, and collaborate with the community for threatened species management. Two Return to Country events, previously delayed by COVID, were delivered during the year. These events engaged over 175 Traditional Custodians and community members on Country to support the preservation of Malleefowl.
The two projects running for all of 2020-2021, ‘Protecting WA’s Black-cockatoos’ and ‘Gnow or Never’ (Malleefowl) have increased habitat protection and regeneration activities in partnership with landholders. While these on-ground activities increase habitats for target species, they also benefit non-target species and farm productivity. During FY21, these projects achieved over 175ha of revegetation and over 500 Ha of habitat protected. Major events have impacted our region during this period, most notably Tropical Cyclone Seroja.
Given these challenges, strong relationships with stakeholders have been critical to successfully maintaining project services and delivering or exceeding annual targets. The ‘Protecting WA’s Black-cockatoos’ project has delivered 10 new artificial nesting hollows this year and maintained a further 80 hollows across a key breeding site in the region. This year’s commencement of the ‘Setting seed: Rescuing Foote’s Grevillea (Grevillea calliantha)’ project has supported the planting of 270 propagules of this critically endangered species.
Three years in, ‘Gnow or Never’ is demonstrating achievement against the project’s intended outcomes. The project has enabled landholders within the Northern Agricultural Region (NAR) to protect over 1100 hectares of Malleefowl habitat (roughly the size of Cocos Keeling Islands) and supported landholders to strategically target and revegetate over 400 hectares of cleared agricultural land. In addition to providing habitat for Malleefowl these works also support landholders to combat salinity and on-farm wind and water erosion. Actively protecting remnant vegetation also enhances conditions for other endemic species. Co-benefits for ecology and biodiversity are also achieved through regionally coordinated invasive species control supported by this project.
The installation of ten new artificial hollows within the ‘Protecting WA’s Black-cockatoos’ project has been a key achievement for this project. We are very excited to report that within months of their installation, they were being prospected by Carnaby’s for this year’s breeding season. This project has also provided engagement with students for species conservation. Driven by a dedicated NACC NRM volunteer – with support from the NACC NRM team – these activities engaged 84 students, calling on them to be champions Carnaby Black-cockatoo preservation.
This year, the Biodiversity team was also excited to support and deliver two new projects through funding from the WA Government’s Greenjobs initiative. The ‘Northern Ecological Linkages project’ and ‘Northern Coastal Carnaby’s project’ are part of the Environmental Revegetation and Rehabilitation Fund (ERRF). These projects both supported employment and training to achieve strategically located seed collection. These projects were delivered through partner organisations and community groups across the region, employing and developing the skills of over 24 people. It was excellent to achieve such high community engagement through these projects, in partnership with Midwest Aboriginal Ranger Program participants, Yued Elders and Moore Catchment Council.
The Coastal and Marine Program’s first full year of operation since re-establishment in 2020 has been very successful. Two grant applications were successful:
The latter project resulted in a well-attended beach clean up event in October 2020. The former project is nearing completion and enabled a successful Coastcarer Forum; three Coastal school curriculum packages (watch this space!); and formed of the Turquoise Coast Management Group (TCMG) to facilitate partnership projects between community groups and coastal managers.
A further five funding applications were submitted during the year, with many more supported by the Coastal and Marine team.
An exciting first for the team was signing a two-year Service Agreement with the City of Greater Geraldton to deliver boxthorn workshops and monthly beach photo-monitoring.
Building the capacity of coastal communities has been the major theme for FY21. COVID-safe road trips to visit all coastal community groups throughout the region revealed NACC NRM’s Coastal Community Grants Program has been sorely missed. This provided some impetus for one of the State NRM applications mentioned above.
Many individual group projects have also been supported by the Coastal and Marine Team team, thanks to funding from the Core Business Investment Plan component of the State NRM Program. The team provided planning advice for Sharp Rush control at Hill Estuary, Pyp Grass control in Cervantes and Jurien, and dune restoration in Kalbarri, Geraldton, Green Head and Lancelin, to name just a few. The Coastal and Marine Team is looking forward to the upcoming inaugural Turquoise Coast Management Group (TCMG) meeting and looks forward to the many partnership projects that this new group will be able to kick start, over the coming years.
The Coastal Program has been supporting regional Coastcarer Forums since 2012. The most recent forum, held in Jurien Bay, was an outstanding success with around 40 attendees and many fascinating presentations. These events always have a positive energy about them, with shared Coastcare experiences a common theme across the presentations. They are a welcome ‘shot in the arm’ for volunteer communities seeking to mitigate ever-present coastal impacts, particularly with the added pressures that ‘holidaying at home’ has brought to the small coastal towns and their fragile coastal environments within our region. A significant opportunity exists to divert this positive energy towards partnership projects with coastal managers via the Turquoise Coast Management Group.
NACC NRM’s Sustainable Agriculture Team has been working closely with land managers, community groups, and industry experts to address challenges facing the region’s agricultural sector. This year has realised growth in project delivery for the NACC NRM Sustainable Agriculture program with a renewed focus on drought susceptibility and climate change through successful funding of ‘Beyond Reasonable Drought’ through the Australian Governments Future Drought Fund. This initiative contributes to the existing ‘Growing Greater Ground’ project to support the improvement of soil management and on-farm ecosystems of the NAR.
Through funding from the Australian Government’s Regional Land Partnerships Program, NACC NRM’s Sustainable Agriculture Program has supported practice change across 384ha of agricultural land to reduce the risk of soil carbon and nutrient loss. Additional commitments have been made for practice change on a further 115ha of agricultural land to protect and enhance Native vegetation and On-farm Biodiversity. Our ‘Growing Greater Ground’ project has engaged with seven regional groups by delivering events and activities, demonstrating the broad and expanding community participation the program is generating. Beyond Reasonable Drought has realised a commitment from three groups to deliver project activities across 760ha of trial sites.
A key deliverable for the Sustainable Agriculture Team is the Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitator (RALF) role. The RALF team within NACC NRM has continued building relationships and has strengthened working partnerships with Landcare Groups, Grower Groups, landholders and schools in the Northern Agricultural Region, particularly those impacted by Tropical Cyclone Seroja in April 2021. Many agricultural businesses in the region have experienced significant damage to infrastructure, and native vegetation damage is also substantial. The Sustainable Agriculture Team, working closely with impacted communities, continues to provide support wherever possible as works to rebuild and recover progress. This includes promoting available assistance and continuing to check-in with key stakeholders.
NACC NRM’s Sustainable Agriculture Team has continued to deliver projects funded through the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program with two new initiatives funded during FY21. These new projects include the ‘Chapman Catchment – Collaborative Landscape Scale Regeneration’ and ‘Building a Buzz for Beneficial Bugs’, which support landholders to improve sustainability outcomes. The ‘Chapman Catchment – Collaborative Landscape Scale Regeneration’ is an exciting opportunity for NACC NRM and the region to apply, demonstrate and assess landscape regeneration activities in partnership with landholders. This project is complemented by the support from regional stakeholders, enabling adoption of practices and economic analysis of the project activities.
Cross-regional collaboration has also been a highlight this period. The Rangelands and NACC NRM partnership delivered a regenerative agriculture workshop leading to an ongoing commitment between NACC NRM and Rangelands RALF’s to create a regular “Sharing Stories” feature. This promotion of local landholders implementing sustainable production activities within the regions is a great way to extend knowledge and awareness to other landholders, encouraging wider adoption of sustainable agriculture practices.
Events have been a buzz this year. The Sustainable Agriculture Team has partnered with eight regional groups to facilitate more than a dozen events, including the Soil Carbon Roadshow through ‘Growing Greater Ground’. The roadshow consisted of four workshops across the region, attracting more than 80 participants to learn more about soil carbon. The team also hosted a native grasses workshop in Perenjori with participants travelling from as far away as Bunbury to attend. The diversity of events during this period also incorporated a successful grant writing workshop. Participant engagement remains high across the region with a variety of events planned for 2021-2022.
