CEO Blog: The Sum is Greater Than the Parts

“It is good to win awards but the most important is to win together.” – N’Golo Kante

For anyone who missed the news, earlier this month NACC NRM was awarded both the Not-for-Profit and Aboriginal Engagement Awards at the Mid West Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Business Excellence Awards held in Geraldton!

In addition to these two accolades, as a result of our win in the NFP category, NACC NRM was subsequently declared the winner of the 2022 Business of the Year award. It was a euphoric night and I am incredibly proud of our team and our partnerships for the efforts which culminated in these awards. I am also extremely proud of the professional way in which our team conducted themselves throughout the awards evening.

The recognition for NACC NRM through these awards is the result of our continuing focus on building and strengthening relationships with our partners to collaborate, achieve more, and deliver better outcomes for the region. In this respect, I want to say a huge thank you and congratulations to our partners and collaborators. You played an integral role in securing the awards.

Winning the Business of the Year award has prompted the question: ‘Is NACC NRM really a business?’ I want to take this opportunity to share with you why we are a business, albeit a social enterprise, and why we will continue to operate that way.

Behaving like a business and developing business opportunities presents an enormous and important opportunity for natural resource management and conservation in the Northern Agricultural Region. In every case, without exception, our business mindset is underpinned by a firm focus on our organisational purpose:

Ensuring that the community of the Northern Agricultural Region values and actively protects our region’s natural capital consistent with the Goals and Aspirations of NARvis.

Thinking like a business gives us the opportunity to deliver on government priorities when they align with our purpose (and NARvis) and increase delivery on some community priorities, which may not attract government funding.

Just as the Not For Profit sector is learning to think like a business, the ‘for-profit’ sector is increasingly being asked to demonstrate its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) credentials and alignment with a greater purpose to retain market share.  There are enormous opportunities for both sectors to learn from each other for better community outcomes.

One of NACC NRM’s recent business endeavours is the purchase of a permanent home for the NACC NRM team at 4 Walton Close, Geraldton (formerly Master Builders Association). These premises will not only be a base for our operations, but the site also presents an opportunity to further deliver on our purpose. We will approach delivering this purpose with a business mindset so that we can continue to deliver on government and community priorities, where they align with NACC NRM’s purpose.

The purchase of a building is a big investment for any organisation, business, or otherwise. To ensure this investment generates a return so that we can continue to deliver NACC NRM’s purpose, we are investing in planning efforts to ensure both NACC NRM and the community more broadly reap the benefits. If we think like a business to improve our organisational sustainability, we can return more to the region through on-ground activities.

A great example of this is our Coastal and Marine Program which NACC NRM has seed funded since early 2020. Since it was re-established, the NACC NRM Coastcare team has either directly secured or helped to secure for the region, over $280,000 in funding for coastal projects and activities, which would not have been possible without NACC NRM’s seed investment in this program.

Katherine Allen – CEO

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CEO’s Report

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.