Western Landcarelife
News for Landcarers in the Western Region
July 2016
A message from WLNSW Executive Officer – Louise Turner
Welcome to the July/August edition of ‘Western LandcareLife’ newsletter. This year has just flown by
and WLNSW is now getting ready for their AGM to be held in Cobar on 28 July. Membership forms are
steadily flowing in and it looks as though we will have some great new members, some reinvigorated
members and many of our faithful, ‘long termers’ rejoining our organisation. Thank you to both the
Local Landcare Coordinators & Regional Landcare Faciltators for helping with this process.
Pest management is still a high priority for WLNSW as our main focus is Sustainable Agriculture,
although we must not forget that Landcare encompasses many ideas across the vast geographical region
that is ‘Western’. If you have any thoughts for projects, please do not hesitate to contact the Local
Landcare Coordinator in your area for help.
I hope everyone has a happy, wet July and hope to see many of you at the AGM.
New Regional Landcare Facilitator for north Community
On 1 July Fiona Harris joined the Landcare team at Local Land Services
Western Region in the Bourke office. After many years teaching and
coordinating Outreach programs at TAFE in Western NSW, Fiona joined
Local Land Services in January 2014 as the Community Education Officer.
For the last twelve months Fiona has been working as part of a nationally
funded NRM Planning for Climate Change program which involved
writing an addendum to the Western Local Strategic Plan to ensure
regional strategies to address climate change and the emergence of the
carbon farming industry.
Fiona is a passionate believer in Landcare and is really excited to be
joining the dedicated Landcare team at both Western Landcare and
Local Land Services to support a vibrant and engaged Landcare
community in Western NSW.
2016 National Landcare Conference
The National Landcare Conference and Awards will be held from 21 – 23 September 2016 at the
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The theme for the Conference is ‘Collaborative
Communities – Landcare in Action’ with a diverse program offering robust discussion, opportunities to
network with your peers, and insights from community leaders and innovators on the latest trends and
technologies driving the industry.
There will be opportunity to experience local natural resource management across Victoria first hand
through a number of field trips to sites and projects.
westernlandcare.com.au
Go to http://nationallandcareconference.org.au/ to register. Early bird registrations close Friday 29 July.
More information on the program and field trips will be available closer to the date.
2016 National Landcare Awards
The National Landcare Awards ceremony and gala dinner will this year feature 69 finalists, nominated
across nine categories, from all parts of Australia.
We are very pleased to announce Dwayne Evans of Weinteriga Station near Wilcannia, is the NSW
nomination for the Indigenous Land Corporation Indigenous Landcare Award. Dwayne won this category
in the NSW State Landcare Awards in 2015, following on from his win in the Local Land Services Western
Region Land Management Awards.
Dwayne has been looking after Weinteriga Station for the last eight years and has been combining
traditional practices such as burning with modern practices like gyrocopter mustering. Dwayne is
transforming a landscape that was severely degraded before he took over management.
We wish Dwayne all the best with his nomination. You can vote for Dwayne and any of the other
nominations in all categories on the website: http://nationallandcareconference.org.au/
Western Landcare NSW Annual General Meeting
The Western Landcare AGM will be held on Thursday 28 July at the Cobar Bowling and Golf Club
in Bloxham St Cobar. All Landcare groups in the Western Region are encouraged to become a
member of Western Landcare (membership is free!) and a representative from each group is
welcome to attend. If you are a member and would like to attend, please contact Louise Turner
on 08 8091 6728. Funding assistance for travel and accommodation is available.
Plant Identification Workshops
Landholders and interested community group members in the Broken Hill, White Cliffs and Bourke areas
are invited to attend workshops being held to assist in native plant identification.
The workshops will be presented by Australian Network for Plant Conservation Project Manager, Martin
Driver. Martin has more than 35 years experience in native vegetation management, plant
identification, grazing management and restoration ecology.
The workshops will include information about the benefits of retaining native plants on your property,
how to identify native plants, and how to manage native plants to benefit productivity. They are also an
opportunity to exchange information and ideas with other landholders on balancing production and
sustainability on your farm. They will be in the form of 'paddock walks' to allow hands-on plant
identification in the field, so please bring a hat, sunscreen and drinking water. A light lunch will be
provided.
Participants are also encouraged to bring along plant samples to be identified.
Workshop dates and venues:
Clevedale Station via Broken Hill Monday 29 August
Glen Hope Station via White Cliffs Tuesday 30 August
Naree Station via Fords Bridge Thursday 1 September
All workshop sessions start at 10.00 am and finish about 2.30 pm. Please meet at the front gate.
There will also be a Plant Identification Workshop held at the Riddiford Arboretum in Galena Street
Broken Hill on Sunday 28 August from 10.00 am to 2.30 pm for landholders and community group
members in the Broken Hill area. Participants are also asked to please bring a hat, sunscreen and
drinking water, and a light lunch will be provided.
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For further information or to RSVP for any of these workshops, please contact Susannah Sage on 0429
123 858 or email [email protected]
A message from the NSW Farmers Regional Wild Dog Coordinator – Bruce Duncan
70 landholders across the Western region have recently participated in a camera trapping course that
was held at 6 different locations across the area. The training was conducted by Paul Meek and
participants were very pleased with the result. The training course allowed them to gain hands on
experience in using cameras and best management for their environment, and a better understanding
of interpreting the data. We will be looking at running follow up courses for participants and those that
may not have been able to attend the ones just held. This will also involve a bulk order of cameras, for
those interested in training or ordering cameras please contact Bruce Duncan on 0409 515 471 or email
[email protected]
Wild Dog Update
The Boede family of Mt Mulyah station, north of Louth have had
great success with removing many dogs from their property
between 2013 and 2016.
The success behind the removal of the feral species has been a
result of using multiple strategies including camera surveillance,
soft-jaw traps and partaking in rigorous baiting campaigns in
collaboration with other properties in the wider area.
Louth Working Dog School
On 12 and 13 July, 13 landholders from the Louth region
participated in a two day working dog school. The school
was run by Robert Cox and funded by Local Land Services
Western Region.
The school gave participants hands-on experience working
dogs in both the yard and paddock and allowed them to
develop a range of skills that will assist in making dogs a
part of their working team when moving stock.
Upcoming Events and Important Dates
Wentworth Show
The Wentworth Show is on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 August. Please visit the Local Land Services
Western Region Marquee to meet with Henry Gregory or Kaye Gottschutzke if you would like to discuss
anything to do with Landcare. If you are interested in showcasing the fantastic work your Landcare
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group does, please contact Henry Gregory on 0427 861 816 or email [email protected] to
secure a space in the display.
NRM Spatial Hub Workshop
The NRM Spatial Hub provides landholders with the ability to create, integrate, and analyse information
about their properties. The workshop will be conducted in Broken Hill on 27 October at a venue to be
decided. Please contact Susannah Sage for more information on 0429 123 858 or email
[email protected]
Western Landcare Forum – Broken Hill
Broken Hill will be hosting the Western Landcare Forum on 7 and 8 September 2016. The theme of
the forum is Back to Basics and will cover a range of topics including biosecurity, rangeland
rehabilitation, biodiversity and many others. More information and a program will be available in the very
near future.
More information
August Newsletter
Louise Turner
Executive Officer Western Landcare
Phone: 08 8091 6728
[email protected]
Please contact Susannah Sage if you wish to
include anything in the next edition of the
newsletter. All stories and suggestions are
welcome. Phone: 08 8082 5205
[email protected]
westernlandcare.com.au