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Issue 8: August 2008 Welcome to the August edition of Catchment News, the newsletter of the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority (CMA). Previous editions of this newsletter are available on the CMA website. To subscribe to Catchment News or make changes to your subscription details please send an email to hcr@cma.nsw.gov.au. Click here to view large text format | Click here for print-friendly version What's happening around the catchments?
On 11 July 2008 Kooragang Wetlands and the community of Newcastle lost an amazing environmental advocate and educator in Sue Rostas. For those who didn't know her, Sue was an integral part of the team at the Kooragang Wetland Rehabilitation Project in the Hunter estuary, where she worked as the project's Communications Officer for the past 11 years. Sue's energy, enthusiasm, generosity and humour will be sorely missed by all those who knew her and worked alongside her in protecting and promoting the unique environment of the Hunter estuary. Sue's contribution to Kooragang Wetlands will be acknowledged at a special rainforest planting at the site later in the year.
The Upper Hunter River Rehabilitation Initiative (UHRRI) has come to an end after five years of intensive research and development. While a few of the research papers are yet to be fully completed, a key output of the project has just been released. A technical manual outlining the specific findings of the project has been printed and is being distributed to river managers in agencies across the state including State Water and DPI Fisheries as well as the CMAs of Namoi, Northern Rivers, Murray Darling, Sydney Metro, and Hawkesbury
Nepean. The final executive meeting for the UHRRI project will take place in
September. From 18-22 August the Hunter-Central Rivers Waterwatch team will be offering Waterwatch demonstrations to high schools in the Lake Macquarie, Upper Hunter and Lower Hunter regions as part of National Science Week. Waterwatch coordinators will demonstrate how water quality data is collected in the field and how and why we test for temperature, pH, Electrical Conductivity, Turbidity and Available Phosphate.
To organise a Waterwatch demonstration during National Science Week 2008 contact the Waterwatch team on 4930 1030. A group of concerned divers have joined forces in the Great Lakes area to undertake important monitoring of their local marine habitat. The Great Lakes Underwater Group (GLUG) formed in May this year and grew from 25 members, at the initial meeting, to 40 by the end of July. The group recently completed a series of dives, with the direction of local marine biologist, Suzanne Fiebig, through a CMA-funded program to collect photographs and observations of marine life at four locations along the coast, including one site in the Port Stephens - Great Lakes Marine Park. The data collected by the group has been used to generate a comprehensive baseline species list for each site, which will be monitored in the future for changes. The group has recently applied for funding to continue monitoring in Great Lakes area, and has forged support from the Marine Parks Authority (MPA), Derpartment of Primary Industries (DPI) and Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), and hopes to contribute to the DECC Marine Habitat Mapping project currently being undertaken along the NSW coast. Other important activities the group hopes to be more involved in include monitoring fishing debris in grey nurse shark habitat, monitoring for marine pests, and compiling species lists in strategic locations within and outside of the Marine Park.
Pilgrims visiting the Hunter for World Youth Day took the opportunity to get involved in some local natural resource management activities while being billeted with families in Dungog. After attending mass at local churches in Paterson and Dungog, two groups of pilgrims and their host families got involved in some tree planting at St Anne's Anglican Church Gresford and the Williams River Caravan park in Clarence Town. The 180 trees planted at Gresford were part of at CMA grant and the 150 trees planted in Clarencetown were supplied by Dungog Shire Council, while CMA Community Support Officer Mick Budden provided some enlightening instruction and guidance to the pilgrims. World Youth Day tree planting activities also took place at Kooragang Wetlands on 11 July.
Landholders wanting to know about the plants that grow in their local area, perhaps to assist with selecting species for planting, can generate a species list for their specific locality from the PlantNET website of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. To do this go to the PlantNET website, click on the yellow flower search icon and then on Flora Search. Select Advanced Spatial Search from the next page and make the appropriate selections from the drop-down fields. You can simply select a pre-defined area such as the Hunter-Central Rivers CMA region, the Local Government Area, or nearby National Park or State Forest areas; define a specific area with the latitudes and longitudes to create a boundary (say from a topographic map); or create a list for an area a particular distance from a main town. Be aware that the records are sparse for many species, so defining a very small area like your property may give poor results. Keeping an area at least 5-10 km in diameter should give more reasonable results.
On 24 July CMA staff from the lower and upper Hunter braved the elements on a joint field trip to Wollombi. Landholder Brian Woodward generously showed the team around his Stockyard Creek property where he has undertaken riparian works, including the installation of large woody debris, and established a Property Vegetation Plan to conserve native remnant vegetation. The team were also privileged to be shown some important Aboriginal cultural sites on the property.
CMA Program Manager Jeff Palmer took part in the recent Tom Farrell Institute for the Environment Forum in Newcastle. The theme of the forum was Improving and Maintaining the Hunter Region’s Biodiversity and speakers discussed biobanking initiatives, property covenants, catchment management plans and other incentives for protecting and enhancing terrestrial biodiversity. Jeff provided background to the CMA's dual roles to protect native vegetation and biodiversity and how the CMA offers incentives to landholders for catchment activities that support the management targets of the CMA's Catchment Action Plan. Jeff also discussed concerns about inconsistencies between the process of implementing the Native Vegetation Act 2003 in rural areas compared to the planning processes for urban and mining areas where the Act does not apply.
The CMA said a sad farewell to Sharon Vernon on 31 July on her last day at the CMA as Program Manager for the Hunter. Sharon's long and illustrious career spans some 21 (and a half) years in the Hunter, from being one of the five original staff of the Hunter Catchment Management Trust in 1987 to her most recent role of Program Manager for the Hunter with the CMA. We wish Sharon all the best for her retirement, as she takes off on a new adventure travelling around the country, which she will fit in around her important volunteer work in the Hunter, of course.
Meanwhile Hunter-Central Rivers CMA Chair Dr WEJ Paradice has just been reappointed for another three years. NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Verity Firth, recently announced the reappointments of the chairs of ten of the thirteen CMAs, saying it was vote of confidence in their leadership and will provide certainty and continuity for the communities who rely on the CMAs for strategic natural resource management. Dates for the calendar2 August - Backyard Biodiversity - Port Stephens Council Find out how you can make your garden more bird-friendly at this practical workshop. You'll learn about local birds, their nesting and eating habits and how to build nesting boxes. The workshop will be held at 1.30 – 4.00 pm Tanilba Bay. Bookings are essential. Phone: 49 800 251 or email: melinda.anderson@portstephens.nsw.gov.au. 14 August - Port Stephens Marine Discovery Series Head along to Tomaree Library and Community Centre, Salamander Bay at 6.30 pm to hear from Award winning underwater filmmaker, George Evatt, and Marine Scientist and underwater photographer, Dave Harasti, on all things weird and wonderful under the sea. Contact Melinda Anderson for more information on phone: 4980 0251 or email: melinda.anderson@portstephens.nsw.gov.au. 16-24 August - National Science Week 2008 National Science Week is a week of events dedicated to science. Feature art exhibitions, film competitions, drama productions, rock concerts, parties, panels, forums and fairs will be among the events, and they won't just be limited to capital cities. Check out the Science Week website for information on events happening near you. 18-22 August - Coast to Coast Conference 2008 Australia's biennial national coastal conference will be held in Darwin, NT and will focus debate, discussion and learning across the full range of coastal and marine issues - at the international, national, state, regional and local levels. More information is available at www.coast2coast.org.au. 23 August - Save Money and Energy - Home Energy Audits Visit a household on a mission to reduce energy use and combat climate change and find out how you can reduce your energy and water use at your home, and save money at the same time. 10.00 am – 12.00 pm at Nelson Bay, phone: 49 800 251 or email: melinda.anderson@portstephens.nsw.gov.au to book your place. 29 August - close date for applications for funding under the CMA's 2008-09 Incentives Program See details below under Support available for natural resource management activities. 25-31 August - Keep Australia Beautiful Week 2008 Keep Australia Beautiful Week is a week full of opportunities to learn more about keeping our environment clean and healthy. There are some great ideas for participating schools and community groups on the Keep Australia Beautiful website, where you can also find free educational resources, environmental tips, and media release templates for councils and schools. 1-7 September - Landcare Week More Information: http://www.landcareonline.com/index.asp The 11th International Riversymposium will be held in Brisbane and will explore the challenges associated with increased flooding and drought expected with climate change. Topics covered include building climate resilience into rivers, drought management and planning, flood mitigation, preparing urban waterways, maintaining food production and insurance risk analysis.
For more information go to www.riversymposium.com. The Small Footprint Initiative is a community run weekend event in Pacific Palms focusing on sustainability. Great Lakes Council will be attending with a 'live' weeds stall, and will be promoting their community sea grass project, the Great Lakes Underwater Group and their marine conservation activities, and backyard composting, recycling and worm farming. for more information go to www.smallfootprint.com.au. Support available for natural resource management activitiesCMA Incentives Program 2008-09 The CMA is seeking partnerships with organisations, community groups and individuals to implement on ground works, educational and capacity building activities that will contribute to strategic targets that have been identified in our region’s Catchment Action Plan (CAP). If you'd like to apply for funding through the CMA, the closing date for the assessment of funding applications for 2008-09 is 29 August 2008. If you would like to submit an application for funding for a project you plan to complete before June 2009 you must first submit a Registration of Interest form, which can be accessed from the CMA website or by calling your local CMA office (see details below). A CMA officer will then contact you to discuss your project and assist you with your application. In addition to the financial assistance offered through the CMA's incentives program, there are a number of other ways the CMA can provide assistance and support to private landholders and groups in the community for engaging in natural resource management activities. CMA officers have technical expertise in a range of areas and can provide advice and support to groups and individuals working on natural resource issues in local catchments. These include: riparian (or river) management; vegetation and grazing management and the development of Property Vegetation Plans (PVPs); identifying and managing salinity; improving soil health and reducing and managing erosion; and rehabilitating and protecting coast, estuarine and marine areas. Support is also available to individuals and groups through a range of educational and skills development activities delivered through the CMA’s Community Support Program. Current information on subsidised training, field days, and demonstrations will be published in future editions of Catchment News. The Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority
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A tribute
Guide to river rehabilitation
Waterwatching as part of National Science Week
Great Lakes Underwater Group
World Youth Day plantings at Gresford and Clarencetown
Generating a plant list for your local area
Hunter team field day at Wollombi
Meeting of minds on biodiversity
Farewell Sharon Vernon
CMA Chairs reappointed
The CMA Board meeting and project inspections will take place in Gloucester
this month on 14 and 15 August. The members of the Hunter-Central Rivers CMA Board are Dr WEJ Paradice
(Chairman), Neil Rose (Deputy Chairman), John Weate, Julia Imrie, Arthur Burns,
John Asquith, and Chris Scott. The General Manager is Glenn Evans.