Lots of pick-up lines on Valentine’s Day

Love was well truly in the air in Geraldton on Valentine’s Day – love for the beach that is! All the loving, for the beach, was at the Batavia Coastcare Network’s very first singles’ event - Love Your Beach.
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Love was well truly in the air in Geraldton on Valentine’s Day – love for the beach that is!

All the loving, for the beach, was at the Batavia Coastcare Network’s very first singles’ event – Love Your Beach.

Organised by NACC, and funded by the WA Landcare Network and Intrepid Landcare, the event invited environmentally-conscious singles under the age of 35 to gather for a beach clean-up in Geraldton.

“Although it was unclear how many people would turn up on Valentine’s Day, we were blown away by the fantastic turn-out,” said event convenor, Batavia Coastcare Network secretary Vanessa McGuiness, who said she said she was “thrilled with how the evening progressed”.

Event organiser and local pirate Vanessa McGuiness

Pages Beach

A group of around 20 volunteers gathered at Pages Beach just as the sun was starting to set and immediately set-off with bags and gloves, ready to tackle any plastic debris and other beach rubbish they could find.

After splitting-up into smaller groups, participants then spent the next hour wandering along the beach and through the dunes, picking-up all of the foreign materials that they could find, and recording their origin.

Vanessa said the records will be sent to not-for-profit organisation Tangaroa Blue Foundation who work on solutions to stop the flow of litter at the source.

Post-event party

After the hard work was out of the way, the group of happy singles headed back to Pollinators shared space on Marine Terrace to relax with a few drinks and some well-earned pizza.

Some hilarious entertainment was provided by Jody Quadrio from the Comedy Emporium, who engaged participants in some speed-dating style activities and comical improvisation.

“We would like to thank everyone who came down and helped us clean up beautiful Pages Beach,” said Vanessa.

“Youth in Landcare is so important for the future, and it was great to spend the evening with such a friendly and passionate group of people.”

And was there any ‘true love’ in the air?

“There were definitely a few people that really hit it off,” said vanessa. “And I’m quite sure that a few phone numbers were exchanged by the end of the event – a win for the beach, a win for conservation, and a win for Geraldton’s amazing singles.”

    

This project was supported by the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

 

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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.