On the Road in the Region

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August was a busy month for the NACC NRM team, with expos and agricultural days held all around the Northern Agricultural Region! Our Sustainable Agriculture and Biodiversity staff were lucky enough to attend the Mingenew Midwest Expo and the Perenjori Agricultural Show, providing opportunities to network with our partners, stakeholders, and members of the community.

At the start of the month, NACC NRM’s Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator Annabelle and Biodiversity Project Officer Sam had a wonderful day exploring the McIntosh & Son’s Mingenew Midwest Expo. As this year marked the 40th anniversary of the show, Mingenew had a lot to celebrate over the two days!

The expo was jam-packed with a variety of exhibits, ranging from agricultural equipment and technology to local produce, cooking demonstrations, and arts and crafts. All made even better with blue skies and sunshine!

It was great to see many familiar faces enjoying the festivities, which provided new and innovative ideas for environmental sustainability and future regenerative agriculture technology. A big thank you to the many organisers and support crew who helped to make the day a success, and we look forward to checking out next year’s expo!

McIntosh & Son’s 2023 Mingenew Midwest Expo

Our Biodiversity Project Officer Sam was on the road again a few days later to take part in the 81st Perenjori Agricultural Show! Perenjori certainly did put on a show, with a range of local arts and crafts, produce, sideshow alley, and animals all on display. Local exhibitors showed off their winning poultry and fleece, locally grown vegetables, and beautifully crafted blankets.

The Perenjori show was a great opportunity to discuss with locals NACC NRM’s current project in partnership with the Shire of Perenjori (along with the Shires of Mingenew and Morawa), ‘In the Wake of the Storm – Environmental Recovery and Preparedness’. This project was created in response to the severe impact of 2021’s Tropical Cyclone Seroja throughout the Midwest, and the need for a proactive approach to changing climate and the potential of future weather extremes. Funding from this grant will enable NACC NRM to revegetate areas of Perenjori’s Golf Course to demonstrate a more resilient and strategic format of planting, under the recommendation of expert infrastructure and botanist advisors.

The 81st Perenjori Agricultural Show

Thank you to all the organisers who put in the work behind the scenes and pulled off another fabulous Agricultural Show that had something for everyone. Congratulations Perenjori; we are excited to see what next year’s show will bring!

This project is funded by the Commonwealth Governments Preparing Australian Communities – Local Stream.

Samantha Comito – Biodiversity Project Officer

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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.