Building Soil From Scraps

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Compost has been flavour of the month here at NACC NRM recently, and really what’s not to love!?

On Saturday 12 September, the NACC NRM RALF team of Lizzie and Belle, headed out to the beautiful Nukara Farm to support Desert Blue Connect’s Whole Woman Whole Earth Event. The day-long event was kicked off by a panel which included our very own CEO, Katherine Allen. The RALF team delivered a very popular one-hour workshop on compost and waste management, with support from NACC NRM’s Bushcare Officer Jarna. The team engaged a number of enthusiastic women who were keen to get their hands dirty and learn some tips for getting started with home composting.

In an ideal world, no organic waste would ever end up in landfill, instead it would all be recycled into compost, and then returned to the soil where it can really work its magic and increase soil health. No matter where you live, you can undertake composting in one form or another and this was one of the key take home messages for the day.

Belle, Lizzie and Jarna ran through several compost making methods for backyard gardeners, including trench composting, lasagne beds and sheet mulching, compost bins and tumblers, the differences between hot and cold composting, bokashi bins, worm farms and of course chickens (who will do all the hard work for you, plus provide you with delicious eggs!).

After covering some of the dos and don’ts, Carbon(brown), Nitrogen(green)ratios, pitfalls and how to correct/avoid them, the group moved to hands-on activities. With the help of Belle, Lizzie and Jarna, each participant made their own worm towers or ‘worm hotel’ and were given some composting worms to take home and get their composting journey underway. The ‘worm hotels’ are well suited to use in raised beds, wicking beds or even very large pots. Each tower is a mini compost system, with vegetable scraps added from the top for worm food, and the worm waste and worm castings improving the surrounding soil as they seep away. Be sure to keep them as cool and moist as you can over the hot summer months.

The keen participants also enjoyed making seed bombs, using a mix of compost, clay and water, with everlasting seeds collected from Lizzie’s very own luscious garden. These can be thrown into desired areas, towards the end of the summer, and will break apart, allowing the seeds to germinate with the cooler season rains. Many different seeds can be used; however, it is important that seed bombs containing potential weeds are not to be used in areas where they could pose a threat to native flora.

The Whole Woman Whole Earth event was designed to help women to reconnect minds and bodies with the land, and gardening ticks all of the boxes as well as creating something beautiful – and hopefully edible – along the way.

If you would like any further information on composting or minimal waste living, please contact our Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitators:

Annabelle Garratt (E) Annabelle.Garratt@nacc.com.au or (P) 0448 986 879

Lizzie King (E) Lizzie.King@nacc.com or (P) 0447 361 335

This event was supported by NACC NRM, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Annabelle Garratt & Lizzie King – Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitators

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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.