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.
“As environmental and social challenges grow ever more pressing, NACC NRM and our partners’ work in this realm is increasingly urgent and necessary. I look forward to working with the Board, staff and partners to continue to meet these challenges and deliver real and sustained natural resource management impact on the ground.”
At the start of 2023, the NACC NRM team stepped out of their comfort zones and tackled Euphorium Creative’s ‘Smooth Talker’ training. This workshop helped the team fine-tune their public speaking skills by exploring different tools and approaches which can be used to deliver presentations and facilitate meetings.
NACC NRM’s program teams have continued to nurture partnerships with community groups, local government and NGOs to deliver projects and events around the Northern Agricultural Region. This financial year presented new opportunities for engagement, with an increased interest from schools around the region. As a result, the program teams established relationships with several school groups from Coorow to Kalbarri. Teams developed and implemented curriculum packages, facilitated on-Country learning, and carried out excursions and incursions.
In November of 2022, NACC NRM was recognised at the Mid West Chamber of Commerce and Industries Business Excellence Awards night, taking home the Aboriginal Engagement, Not-for-Profit and Business of the Year awards. The following week, in partnership with Mid West Food Industry Alliance, our Sustainable Agriculture team hosted a National Agriculture Day breakfast, welcoming over 50 attendees to the first community event held at our new premises, the NACC NRM Enterprise Hub. Not only did this event celebrate the agricultural industry, but it also supported our Nothern Agricultural Region community by showcasing over 15 local businesses, and connecting agronomists, growers, landholders, and regional traders.
Beyond our region, NACC NRM’s Midwest Aboriginal Ranger Program (MARP) received national recognition, through our Programs & Operations Manager Kane Watson and MARP Rangers who took to the podium at the 2022 National Landcare Conference in Sydney. Their speech was later presented by NACC NRM CEO Katherine Allen at the 2022 National NRM Knowledge Conference held in Margaret River, WA. Our Coastcare Support Officer Alanah Campbell also spoke in Margaret River on NACC NRM’s partnership project with Halfmoon Biosciences, ‘Mitigating Marine Debris Impacts on Threatened Seabirds at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands’.
NACC NRM ‘s growing online presence not only assists in the widespread promotion of NRM activities, but also supports connections with partners and collaborators while providing a unique measure of reach. We have seen significant increase in engagement across NACC NRM’s Facebook and Instagram pages in comparison to the 2021/22 financial year. Our Facebook profile visits are up 148%, and our Instagram profile visits have climbed 95%. Our NACC Notes newsletter is received by over 1,500 readers each month, and our website continues to draw users, 80.05% of whom are new to our website, and 19.95% returning visitors.
“We will continue to have a strong focus on looking after each other, looking out for our community, and increasing the scope of on-ground conservation activities across the region. The challenges of the year ahead will be different, and will also bring with them opportunities.”
Among the accomplishments, in October 2022, NACC NRM purchased 4 Walton Close in Geraldton to be a new, permanent home for the organisation. The purchase was made possible by the organisation’s strong financial performance, and it links to a key part of our strategy to strengthen our organisational agility and resilience. Most of the staff were in their new home by the end of the financial year, with the final move scheduled for early FY2023-24. The first events that we hosted in the new building demonstrated the opportunity and potential that this building will bring for both NACC NRM and the broader NAR community.
Also indicative of our ‘coming of age’ as an organisation, in November 2022 we were honoured to be awarded the 2022 Midwest Business of the Year, winning both the Not-for-Profit and Aboriginal Engagement Awards at the Mid-West Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business Excellence Awards held in Geraldton. This recognition reflects our focus on building and maintaining strong partnerships and continuing to look for opportunities to collaborate, to achieve the best possible outcomes for natural resource management in the region.
In the midst of these exciting highlights, we were deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden and tragic passing of our much loved and valued Corporate Services Manager, Mr Tom Maina. Tom had been with NACC NRM since 2009. He was passionate about the organisation’s purpose and values, and his careful and wise financial management was an instrumental part of much of our successful development, including being able to successfully purchase our own premises. Tom’s passing has been heavily felt by all of us at NACC NRM, and many others across the wider Midwest community –to whom he has made such a contribution in so many arenas. We are still recovering from his loss and continue to extend our deepest condolences to his family.
Despite the deep sorrow and great shock at Tom’s passing, the NACC NRM team successfully and professionally concluded the current five-year Federal Government National Landcare Program’s Regional Land Partnership collaboration, with impressive conservation and community engagement outcomes, and a great deal of valuable learning. At the same time, the team also began preparing the tender for the next round, using NARvis to identify relevant outcomes that would align with the Federal Government’s priorities in the new Panel of Regional Delivery Partners arrangements. We look forward to the conclusion of this tender process, and the opportunities that we hope it will present for natural resource management in the region. NACC NRM has been successful in diversifying our income stream through several other state and federal government initiatives, and we will continue to strive for this diversification, as part of our organisational resilience strategy.
At the heart of NACC NRM are the people: the staff, the community, and our partners. I would like to thank the staff, ably led by our CEO Katherine Allen, for the positive and professional way that they have embraced change, weathered the uncertainties and risen to the challenges of this year. I would like to thank the Board for their ongoing support and guidance and would particularly like to thank our long-standing and outgoing Board members, immediate past Chair Dr Rob Keogh and Deputy Chair Miriam Stanborough. Their steady hands and wise counsel have served NACC NRM well for many years and have been great support for me as incoming Chair. And finally, I would like to thank our numerous partners in the region and beyond, who are instrumental in helping us deliver our purpose of ‘supporting people to support the natural environment’. Globally, as environmental and social challenges grow ever more pressing, NACC NRM and our partners’ work in this realm is increasingly urgent and necessary. I look forward to working with the Board, staff and partners to continue to meet these challenges and deliver real and sustained natural resource management impact on the ground.
We were cognisant of some of the challenges which FY2022-23 would present for NACC NRM, not the least of which would be delivering the final year of our five-year funding program (Regional Land Partnerships) for the Australian Government. This new model of delivery for all NRM organisations across WA and indeed Australia presented a great opportunity for NACC NRM and for the region but also came with risks. Fortunately, we managed the risk carefully and delivered an extensive set of proposed project services, and all but one contracted project outcome was achieved or exceeded. This missing outcome was a significantly ambitious target to get Malleefowl delisted as a threatened species – an extremely long-term aspiration. I am pleased to advise that we were able to support a positive species trajectory locally, contributing to this national scale ambition.
This five-year procurement program with the Australian Government has taught us a great deal. We are grateful for what we have learned and how we have turned that learning into opportunities for the organisation and the region.
Early in the new financial year the organisation also realised a long-held strategic vision to secure a permanent base of operations for NACC NRM. The purchase of 4 Walton Close, in the regional centre of Geraldton now named the NACC NRM Enterprise Hub, was finalised in October 2022.
The road to moving the whole team to the NACC NRM Enterprise Hub has been long. We have been partially occupying the building since December 2022, and finished that move in July 2023. I am grateful for the patience and understanding that the team has shown as we worked through this transition.
Of course, the move into NACC NRM Enterprise Hub has been bittersweet. The loss of our long-time Corporate Services Manager, Mr Tom Maina in April 2023 has rocked the foundations of our organisation and moving into the building without Tom – who was a staunch advocate of this procurement strategy – has added another layer of grief for the team. We continue to support Tom’s family as they navigate life without him.
We are grateful for the support of our partners and stakeholders during this difficult time. For example, we are very thankful to Australian Wildlife Conservancy who named a Western Quoll, released at Mt Gibson Sanctuary, in Tom’s honour. The release of Western Quolls at Mt Gibson was five years in the making to re-introduce the native predators around the feral free enclosure at Mt Gibson Sanctuary. The results of this ongoing work will be valuable for future conservation and species recovery activities. A short video of Tom the Quoll being re-released can be seen here.
Another fauna highlight included confirmation and monitoring of the northern most breeding population of Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos on Murchison House Station near Kalbarri. We are hopeful that we can continue to support MHS and this important Carnaby’s population and to learn more about the movements of these iconic birds. You can read more about the work undertaken by the team in our NACC Notes article here.
During FY2022-23 NACC NRM also implemented site protection and improvement works at several sites to improve outcomes for endemic threatened flora species (Eromophila subangustiflia, Eucalyptus leprophloia, and Philotheca wonganensis). “Safeguarding Midwest Flora” built awareness and understanding of these priority flora species in the NAR. Possibly the most exciting outcome of this project, was the two-way learning which was facilitated through this project’s collaboration with First Nations groups. You can read more about the achievements of this and of other projects in past issues of our Monthly NACC Notes e-newsletter.
To address several threats to coastal biodiversity and ecosystems, NACC NRM continued our financial support of the Coastal and Marine program and activities. The Coastal and Marine team delivered a number of significant activities during the year in partnership with small groups and consultants across the region. They have also been busy upgrading the NACC NRM website to improve access to our coastal education packages for teachers across the NAR.
As well as educating young people, we have had a strong focus during FY2022-23 on building our internal capacity across the emerging issue of natural capital and carbon markets. In particular our Sustainable Agriculture team have had a strong focus in this area, to provide better support to landholders across the region who may want to participate in these emerging markets. We know this space is developing rapidly and challenging many landholders. It is an area of significant strategic importance for the region and also for NACC NRM.
There is no denying that FY2022-23 challenged NACC NRM in ways that we couldn’t have imagined and I won’t pretend that we are recovered. FY2023-24 is shaping up to be another tough year. Not just for our organisation as we navigate loss, grief bought about by Tom’s passing and the changing program arrangements, but also for the region and our community as we navigate climate change, new pressures and threats all while trying to move forward.
As is often the case, we have welcomed some new faces to the NACC NRM team during FY2022-23 and we have also said some goodbyes. We are excited to have new faces joining us and we wish all those who will forever be part of the NACC NRM family, all of our best wishes.
I have talked in previous years about my pride in the NACC NRM team and it was especially pleasing to have their achievements recognised at the Business Excellence Awards in November 2022 where NACC NRM was named Business of the Year and also taking home the Aboriginal Engagement Award and Not-For-Profit of the Year. In addition to the unprecedented achievements, the team has also demonstrated strength, resilience and unwavering commitment to the organisation and to each other in the face of significant adversity.
During FY2023-2024 we will continue to have a strong focus on looking after each other, looking out for our community and increasing the scope of on-ground conservation activities across the region. I strongly encourage you to all do the same. The challenges of FY2023-24 will be different and will also bring with them opportunities and we look forward to sharing more about those opportunities in the coming months.
Despite the changes and challenges, the auditors at William Buck issued an unmodified audit opinion following the audit conducted in August 2023.
I draw your attention to the Financial Report for the year ended 30 June 2023.
NACC NRM took a significant step forward in regard to organisational stability, with the purchase of and relocation to the NACC NRM Enterprise Hub at 4 Walton Close in Geraldton.
The building was purchased with cash, as outlined in the balance sheet by the reduction of the Cash and Cash Equivalents during the financial year. A large portion of the reduction in Cash and Cash Equivalents can also be attributed to a transfer to Financial Assets in the form of a term deposit. The balance sheet also shows a decrease in net assets. This was to be expected as we find ourselves at the end of a five-year funding cycle with many projects concluding on 30 June 2023. Despite decreased net assets in FY2022-23, average net assets across the last five years have increased.
The organisation’s liabilities have remained 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 $4,419,057 against expenditure of $5,141,350 resulting in a loss of $722,923. This loss was anticipated with the purchase of a significant asset in the NACC NRM Enterprise Hub and works required to enable the team to operate from the premises. It should also be noted that this purchase was possible due to strong profits from 2019 to 2021, as evident in the Operating Statement graph. Across FY2022-23 NACC NRM has prioritised diversifying income streams, as represented in the Income By Funding Source graph. In addition to this, the NACC NRM Enterprise Hub has provided revenue through the hire of training rooms. The continued success of the Hub in the long-term will compensate for costs associated with the new building. Furthermore, the long-term strategic vision of the training room business is to utilise surplus funds for additional NRM activities.
I extend my thanks and appreciation to the outgoing board members, Miriam and Rob. I have thoroughly enjoyed our shared journey on the NACC NRM board. Each of your inputs, passion and professionalism will be missed, especially the English word ‘smithing’ that I am luckily able to understand most of the time, but certainly could not create myself.
It has been a great privilege to serve with my fellow directors on the NACC NRM Board, 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, members and stakeholders, who collectively have made the just concluded year a great success. To the NACC NRM staff team, I offer you my best wishes for the coming year.
Within NACC NRM’s focus area of On-ground Impact the Biodiversity Program has implemented the organisation’s strategy of ‘supporting landholders, community groups, and government to improve biodiversity in the NAR’ and ‘Increase landholder capacity to integrate on-farm biodiversity into land management practices’. Five distinct projects have contributed revegetation, habitat protection, threat reduction and land manager engagement this year. One of these contributing projects is supporting Carnaby Black Cockatoo populations in the NAR. Over the project period, 21 sites across 1,527 hectares have undergone activities to benefits pairs of black cockatoos, supporting significant achievement in partnership with landholders. The program goal of ‘2,500 ha of habitat for threatened species in Northern Agricultural Region is maintained or enhanced through increased predator control and reduced grazing pressure’ has also been exceeded this period with over 8,000 hectares achieved. This year, 24 regional groups and 17 regional stakeholders have been supported to deliver services targeted at improving strategic habitat and biodiverse outcomes.
The Biodiversity Program provides an excellent platform for NACC NRM to continue collaboration across a range of regional stakeholders. The delivery and/or completion of five projects this year, targeting outcomes for both flora and fauna has enabled collaboration with State Government agencies, Local Government, conservation organisations, community groups, and private land holders. Traditional Owner groups have also continued to support and partner in delivery across regional outcomes for threatened species. We are excited to announce that the outcomes for the Safeguarding Mid West Flora Project were exceeded, with seed collection completed from all three target species to further safeguard genetic diversity. First Nations Ranger groups were involved in key activities and utilised the opportunity to engage in training with conservation specialists during this year.
This year, four biodiversity projects have been completed. Gnow or Never, Protecting WA’s Black Cockatoos, Securing the Future of Regionally Extinct Mammals in the NAR, and Safeguarding Midwest Flora have contributed to improving the trajectory of both threatened flora and fauna within the NACC NRM Region. The highlights for the biodiversity team have been plentiful. Some key achievements are the addition of new breeding sites for both Carnaby and Malleefowl to national monitoring programs, supporting Australian Wildlife Conservancy to release a new population of Western Quoll (Chuditch) to the Mt Gibson Sanctuary, and publishing an article confirming the breeding of WA’s northernmost Carnaby population.
The newest project, ‘In the Wake of the Storm’, is progressing well and the Biodiversity Program is pleased to be contributing to building climate resilient communities in the NAR. Guiding strategic and thoughtful restoration of natural assets within cyclone-impacted communities will support landholders and local government to plan and adapt revegetation work. The project is working towards easy-to-use guidelines for local parks, streetscapes, and private properties to cope with and mitigate the effects of future extreme events. Demonstration sites have been identified across the three participating regions and revegetation work will commence in the new year in line with the guidelines developed.
Within the projects delivered this year, and by working with partners and stakeholders across our region, we have continued to deliver positive outcomes for the protection and restoration of priority habitat. This has included key project activities that have enabled appropriate fire management regimes, funded predator control, raised awareness of threatened species and their plights, and through community engagement we have highlighted best practice methods for threatened species management.
The Sustainable Agriculture Program has continued to deliver all projects and activities to provide meaningful contribution against the NARvis vision that ‘Agricultural production systems are diverse, adaptable, and proactively managed using responsible practices suited to the environment’. This has been achieved through targeted actions aligned with NACC NRM’s strategy to ‘support landholders, community groups, and government to improve biodiversity in the NAR’. This period key projects have supported an increase in landholder capacity to integrate on-farm biodiversity into land management practices. The Sustainable agriculture team have contributed to the delivery of over 15 capacity building events and supported 20 stakeholders in completing project planning and funding applications, which align with the program goal to ‘Engage land managers to improve the uptake of improved land management and actively participate with and support regenerative and sustainable agricultural producers.’
This year has seen the Sustainable Agriculture team completing three projects, Building a Buzz, Growing Great Ground and the Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator while continuing delivery of the Regional Node lead and Chapman Catchment – Landscape Scale Regeneration project. In addition, this period has seen the successful establishment of the Maintaining Community Capacity project to strengthen organisational focus on social outcomes, while also supporting other Community Impact Program projects funded by the Foundation of Rural and Regional Renewal. Delivered in close partnership with grower groups and industry representatives these projects have seen the culmination of NACC NRMs effort to build and grow the Sustainable Agriculture Program to broaden its focus and impact though the concurrent delivery of multiple medium and long term projects. Outcomes from project activities to June 2023 have resulted in over 3500ha of on-ground impact including 24 demonstration sites with capacity and knowledge building events that have engaged with over 1250 land managers, 22 groups and assisted 20 stakeholders with project planning and funding applications.
This year had a strong focus on onground delivery, with the Sustainable Agriculture team finalising three projects, exceeding targets, and facilitating strong outcomes for the region. The program supported activities that were adaptable and suitable to the environment allowing for diverse and proactive management of agricultural systems. The project Growing Great Ground concluded, achieving the adoption of over two and a half thousand hectares of improved management practice and nearly 500 hectares of biodiverse planting to reduce wind erosion risk and increase of on-farm biodiversity. To improve the impact of the project NACC NRM engaged 196 land managers and 8 groups in events that focused on capacity building to ensure a legacy of ongoing improvement.
This year has also realized the successful conclusion of the Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator (RALF) role. For the past five years, our RALF’s have been traveling across the region, working with groups and individuals to support the future of sustainable agriculture. NACC NRM has been fortunate to have outstanding team members perform in this role, achieving support for over 15 community groups, promotion of over 60 funding opportunities to our community and distribution of over 80 articles. The team have attended over 100 regional events and supported a further 25 events. More than 20 stakeholders have been supported with project planning, funding applications and grant writing through individual assistance, letters of support and community grant writing workshops. The dedicated people who have been a part RALF have been a highlight for the Sustainable Agriculture Program and NACC NRM, they have engaged widely and built an incredible network of support in the region.
Achievement against the organisational strategies of ‘Empower Traditional Custodians, Aboriginal organisations, and Aboriginal-owned businesses to lead NRM activities and achieve NRM outcomes that acknowledge TEK’ and ‘Establish partnerships with Traditional Custodians and Aboriginal organisations and Aboriginal-owned businesses’ has continued to be a focus this year for the Aboriginal Custodianship program. The successful delivery of the Mid West Aboriginal Ranger Program has maintained contractual partnership with two Aboriginal Owned businesses and supported connection to Elders from six Traditional Owners groups. The program has identified the strategic activity to ‘Facilitate the Indigenous Rangers attending natural and cultural resource management events, forums and conferences’, which has been progressed through the Rangers presenting their achievements at the National Landcare Conference this year. This activity has enabled the respectful sharing of knowledge, celebrated First Nations achievement, and developed the capacity of Rangers to tell their story. The Aboriginal Custodianship Program goal of ‘Commit to delivering and progressing NACC NRM’s Reconciliation journey through a Reconciliation Action Plan’ has also progressed, with delivery of NACC NRM’s Innovate RAP and alignment with the strategic activity to ‘Facilitate learning on country to create opportunities for intergenerational sharing of knowledge’. This has been achieved through engagement with seven regional schools and on country sharing at two significant sites.
The Mid West Aboriginal Ranger Program (MARP), funded by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet through the National Indigenous Australians Agency, remains the centrepiece of NACC NRM’s Aboriginal Custodianship program. MARP offers employment and training placements for Rangers and Ranger teams through three program delivery partners; Kwelena Mambakoort Wedge Island Aboriginal Corporation (KMAC), Western Mulga Pty Ltd, and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA). The unique delivery model across multiple partners provides a diversity of employment opportunities and access to high quality conservation estate for the Ranger teams.
The Ranger team’s have undertaken work on Declared Flora, Threatened Species, Heritage Sites, and contributed to conservation of Sea country. Employment outcomes have continued to exceed targets, with the teams now exploring expansion options. Across two regional meetings delivered this year, shared learnings has continued to be a focus with representatives from the Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation’s Ngoolark Rangers building from the previous collaboration with the Goldfields Land and Sea Council Rangers. This cross regional collaboration has provided grounds for shared learnings and strengthened the connectivity of the Ranger program.
Collaboration is a key mechanism of the Aboriginal Custodianship program delivery model. The approach facilitates partnerships across other conservation organisations, with work on Country guided and informed by Elders, and western conservation specialists supporting training for the Rangers. The team have contributed to the advancement of the Badimia Healthy Country Plan this period, and supported the survey, collection, and protection of three priority flora species under The Threatened Species Action Plan.
Continued achievement is assisting the Aboriginal Custodianship program to attract recognition. This has been demonstrated through NACC NRM’s success at the MWCCI Business Excellence Awards for 2022, and winning the Aboriginal Engagement Award. Emerging First Nations groups are also recognising the positive outcomes being achieved, with direct approaches to expand the Ranger services being made this period. Combined with the improved capacity and increased capability of existing partner organisations, NACC NRM is well placed to expand the reach of the Aboriginal Custodianships program.
Achievement against the organisational goals of ‘achieve measurable beneficial impact on the region’s terrestrial, coastal and marine biodiversity’ has been progressed by the Coastal and Marine program this year. This has been delivered through the strategy to ‘Support coastal stakeholders to deliver on-ground coastal conservation in the NAR’. The team have supported over 10 conservation activities across 7 community groups and 2 schools this year.
A further organisational goal the Coastal and Marine program has contributed to is ‘to increase community awareness of regional TEK, NACC NRM, and NARvis, and improve opportunities for the local community to contribute to NRM in the NAR’, with specific achievement through the strategy of ‘Provide services to and encourage approaches from NRM groups, producer groups, and community members regarding NRM project delivery’. 16 community engagement and awareness-raising events have been supported this period. This achievement also progressed the Coastal Program goal of – ‘NAR Community members will have actively participated in beach clean-up and data collection events effectively reducing marine debris and widening their understanding of the impacts and sources of marine debris’ through the delivery or support for 9 Beach Clean-Up events, that engaged over 90 individuals.
It has been a fantastic year for the Coastal and Marine Program, with the completion of three important projects. These are; Round 11 of the ‘Coastal Communities Grants Program’, ‘Mitigating Marine Debris Impacts on Breeding Seabirds at Houtman Abrolhos’, and the ‘Chapman River Estuary Reserve Action Plan’. The team enabled a successful partnership to deliver a new Coastal-impact focused role titled ‘LGA Coordinator Environmental Projects (Off Road Vehicles Management)’.This has been supported by the WA State NRM Program and the three Local Government Authorities in the Turquoise Coast Management Group (TCMG). This project and the TCMG will continue to engage and support community group involvement across the region, contributing to the protection of coastal and marine biodiversity.
The program continues to strengthen existing partnerships and build capacity in both community and coastal managers. Strong and spirited community consultation was undertaken with more than ten coastcare groups across the region; utilised to develop project concepts for new and emerging funding opportunities. Two proposals were submitted as part of NACC NRM’s Panel of Regional Delivery Partners tender response. One Coastwest application was submitted, aiming to provide significant support for at least two community-driven applications. In addition, the team continues to deliver on its Service Agreement with the City of Greater Geraldton to conduct community boxthorn workshops and photo-monitoring.
This year, investment in NACC NRM’s Coastal Curriculum packages has been initiated to increase the accessibility and utilisation of the educational resources in local schools. Engagement and capacity building has also included team members presenting at both the WA State NRM and Coastal Conference in Mandurah and the National NRM Conference in Margaret River.
A core component of the Coastal and Marine Program is to engage directly with the region’s coastal communities. During this year, notable and especially enjoyable activities have included; World Wetland Day guided walks, Beach Clean-up Day events, activities with Yamatji Southern Sea Rangers and Central Regional TAFE, and collaboration across the Aboriginal Custodianship Program to deliver “Reconnecting to Country” activities with two local Primary Schools, in partnership with two community groups.
This past year we were excited to participate in the WA Beach Clean-up with a registered event at 7 Mile Beach, in partnership with the Shire of Irwin’s Community Resource Centre. The annual WA Beach Clean-up is an initiative driven by Tangaroa Blue along with Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI), partners Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB) WA, and Tallwood. The aim of this event, aside from collecting, removing and quantifying marine debris in this location, engage and encourage community stewardship, and build capacity for a new community group in the region.
With over 30 volunteers of all ages, we managed to sort and remove 63kg of marine debris. This is just one of the many excellent events that NACC NRM has either engaged with or directly delivered this year, providing excellent conservation outcomes through the removal of marine debris, but also inspiring the community to continue to address the challenges our marine environment faces.
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.
