Welcome to the first edition of electronic news from the Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority (CMA). This new format of Catchment News is being trialed as a way of bringing you more timely information on the various activities that are happening around our local catchments as well as highlighting opportunities for you to participate in CMA programs and access support for natural resource management (NRM) activities through other government and non-government programs.

Catchment News in this electronic format will be sent out on the first week of every month and an archive of editions maintained on the CMA website. To subscribe to receive future editions of Catchment News send an email to hcrcmanews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.au.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Catchment News. We welcome your feedback so please send any comments you have to hcr@cma.nsw.gov.au.

What's happening around the catchments?

Revegetating the Hunter River Estuary
If you like getting out and getting some fresh air on a Sunday morning, meeting new people and doing some good for your local environment, why not join the KooraGang Landcare group with their ongoing efforts to redress the loss of native riparian vegetation and floodplain forest in the Hunter River Estuary?

As part of the Envirofund Corridor Connections project, volunteers will be weeding, planting and watering at the CMA's Kooragang Wetland Rehabilitation Project on Ash Island on Sunday 20 January and Sunday 17 February. Morning tea is provided. Contact Peg, Rob or Sue at the Kooragang Wetlands Office on 4964 9308 to register.

WetlandCare National Art Competition 2008
To celebrate World Wetlands Day 2008 on 2 February, WetlandCare Australia has organised an Australia-wide art competition, offering categories for both children and adults. The Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) is also sponsoring a photography prize, for photographs of NSW Wetlands. Go to the WetlandCare Australia website or call 1800 816 147 or 02 6681 6169 for information on entering these competitions. Entries close 5.00 pm 21 January 2008.

Learning about local marine ecology
If you're interested in learning about marine ecology and conservation and you're in the Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens or Great Lakes areas, there are some free courses available during February and March. Project Aware on the Rocks is a unique community education model which involves participants learning about marine ecology in their local area and then passing on what they have learnt by designing and delivering education projects to their own networks and communities. 

The courses are being funded by the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust through the CMA's Education Grants 2007-08. Find out more by calling Kym Bilham on 4921 0458 or email kbilham@lakemac.nsw.gov.au for the Lake Macquarie course happening in February; Melinda Anderson on 4980 0251 or email melinda.anderson@portstephens.nsw.gov.au for the Port Stephens course also in February; or Suzanne Fiebig on 6557 5399 or email pbd@gmx.net for the Great Lakes course in March, which involves a beach and reef snorkelling trip.

Biological farming in the Manning Valley
A two-day Biological Farming workshop is being held in February 2008 for landholders in the Lower Manning area and is being coordinated by the Manning and Karuah-Great Lakes Landcare Management Committees. The workshop will be presented by acclaimed author and speaker Graeme Sait. The project is being funded by the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust through the CMA's Education Grants 2007-08. For information on dates and bookings please contact Albert Mullen on 6554 1655 or 0427 902 405.

Lantana Control Field Day
A field day will be held on Wednesday 20 February at Bretti near Gloucester where a demonstration will be conducted of the 'gas gun/splatter gun' method of Lantana control, which can eradicate 5 acres of Lantana in 15 hours. Other issues to be discussed on the day include Property Vegetation Plans, the Native Vegetation Act and implications for clearing, erosion control, and riparian corridors. Lunch and light refreshments provided. For more details contact Andrew Paget at the Hunter-Central Rivers CMA Taree Office on 6551 8994.

National Bitou Bush Workshops
The NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) is preparing the weeds of National Significance Management Manual for Bitou Bush and is inviting Bitou bush managers from up and down the coast to attend a half-day workshop to contribute their experience on best practice methods and control strategies. Researchers from the University of Wollongong will be present to report on current research and findings. To register at one of the workshops, which will take place in Newcastle on Thursday 6 March 2008 and Taree on Wednesday 5 March 2008, please contact Marion Winkler on 9585 6087 or email marion.winkler@environment.nsw.gov.au.

Coastal school holiday programs for January 2008
If you're in the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle or Port Stephens areas this summer and are looking for some fun and educational activities for the kids (and yourself!) get in touch with your local council to find out about some of the great school holiday activities happening throughout January.

In the Central Coast there are Rockpool Rambles happening at Forresters Beach (Sat 12), Batueau Bay (Mon 14), Norah Head (Thurs 17) and Pearl Beach (Sun 20). Discover water bugs at Pioneer Dairy (Fri 11) or Katandra (Thurs 17); Become a 'bush detective' or a 'seagrass sleuth'; or get crafty and make some recycled paper at the Kariong Ecogarden. For full details check out the Community Environment Network website or phone 4349 4756.

In Lake Macquarie you can join the Glenrock Coastal Walk (Fri 4), Dudley Coast & Rock Platform Walk (Sat 5), or Swansea Heads Rockpool Ramble (Mon 7). Discover Swansea's Seashore Life with photographer Keith Davey (Mon 14), take the Caves Beach Sea Caves Twilight Stroll (Tues 15), join the Fossil Forest Ramble at the rock platform at Swansea Heads (Thurs 17), or learn about the Science of the Surf with Dr Rob Brander (Sat 19). To book in for these activities contact Kym Bilham on 4921 0458 or email kbilham@lakemac.nsw.gov.au.

In Newcastle you can go Beachcombing at Burwood Beach (Wed 2 and Tues 15) or Stockton Beach (Thurs 3), go on a Rockpool Ramble at Nobbys (Tues 8), Merewether (Wed 9), Newcastle or Merewether Ocean Baths (Thurs 17 and Fri 18); or take to the cliffs on the Rock Falls Walk (Mon 7) or the Coastal Discovery Walk (Mon 7). There's also the Bitou Bush Bash at Nobbys Beach (Mon 7-Fri 11), or the Ash Island Twilight Bike Ride (Tues 8) and Mangrove Meanders (Mon 21, Tues 22). To book in for these activities contact Kym Bilham on 4974 2858 or email kbilham@ncc.nsw.gov.au.

And in Port Stephens, there's snorkeling at Fly Point (Tues 8, Wed 23), the Tanilba Bay Heritage Walk (Wed 9), the Tilligerry Koala Walk, which takes in the new foreshore boardwalk and the regeneration that has occurred since the recent bushfires (Thurs 10). There's the Corlette Coastal Walk (Thurs 10), or Rocky Shore Rambles at Boat Harbour (Wed 16) and Fishermans Bay (Mon 21). And finally, find out about the volcanic activity that led to the formation of the rocks of the Port Stephens coast at Morna Point (Tues 22). To book in for these activities contact Melinda Anderson on 4980 0251 or email melinda.anderson@portstephens.nsw.gov.au

In other news

Crawling the Lansdowne
The first Manning, Great Lakes Catchment Crawl hosted by MidCoast Water (MCW) and the CMA was held 3 December 2007 in the Lansdowne River catchment, with Tinonee, Harrington, Crowdy Head, Coopernook, and Lansdowne public schools participating.

A Catchment Crawl is a snapshot study of the health of a catchment using water quality as the main indicator. The Lansdowne River catchment was chosen as the study site because it is a demonstration catchment for MCW initiatives in the water reuse scheme and it has been identified in the CMA's Catchment Action Plan as a priority catchment. Details of the results of the day will be made available once the data has been analysed.

Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries
Comments are invited from individuals and organisations in the primary industries sector to inform the development of a National Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries, which is being developed as a collaboration of the Rural Research & Development Corporations, governments and their agencies and the CSIRO. Visit the Land & Water Australia website for further information and to register your comments.

Young Australians invest in the Manning Estuary
The 2007 Manning Estuary Green Corps team graduated recently from 6 months of restoration work. Ten young Australians worked to plant native vegetation along areas of the Manning Estuary from Wingham to the coast on both public and private lands. An endangered ecological community of coastal saltmarsh, an important breeding ground for small crustaceans and other tidal life, has been fenced to protect it from stock access, while wave barrier structures riverbank plantings and weed control will benefit the mangroves lining the riverbanks. The overall outcome is a better place for fish to breed and a natural filtration system that will prevent loose sediment from entering the river.

North Coast weed and plant manual
A weed and plant collecting manual was produced in 2007 by the Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service (AQIS), the Indigenous Land Corporation and the Weeds CRC, as a resource for indigenous ranger groups and communities contracted by AQIS to collect plant and weed samples. To view this new publication go to the Weeds CRC website.

Farewell Lois Dawson
On Thursday 20 December 2007 a packed CMA boardroom of acquaintances old and new witnessed the end of an era. After some 42 years of service as Administration Officer and Finance Officer to the Hunter Valley Conservation Trust, the Hunter Catchment Management Trust and the CMA respectively, Lois Dawson is embarking on an exciting new adventure. We'd like to wish Lois the very best for her retirement, while we welcome Brenda Piper who has stepped into Lois' shoes and is doing a fantastic job.

Financial support currently available for NRM activities through the CMA

Sustainable Agriculture Grants
There are currently two funding programs being offered through the CMA for sustainable agriculture activities. The Australian Government's National Landcare Program (administered by the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry) is the source of an assistance package for rural landholders, managers and rural industries in the Gosford, Wyong and Lake Macquarie areas to implement on-ground works of up to $10 000 value.

Applications for this program close on Friday 15 February 2008 and full details and application forms are available from the CMA website or by calling Carolyn Jenkinson at the CMA's Gosford Office on 4324 3844.

The other program currently available for landholders implementing sustainable agriculture activities is the Integrated Land Management Project, with funding from the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust, which is offering grants of up to $15,000 (per property on a matching dollar for dollar basis) to rural landholders in the Hunter-Central Rivers region who have completed specific training courses in sustainable land management.

To be eligible for this program you need to have completed an endorsed course through the CMA's Integrated Land Management Project in the areas of Sustainable Grazing, Property Planning and Targeting Actions for Local Catchments, provided by the Department of Primary Industries and other selected providers in various locations throughout the region.

The closing date for funding applications is 15 February 2008 and all works funded through this program must be completed by 30 June 2008. For more information go to the CMA website or contact David Green at the CMA's Gosford office on 4337 1207.

Other NRM funding programs

If you have a project that you'd like some assistance with, your local Community Support Officer or Regional Facilitator can help you develop your project plan and complete applications for a range of available funding programs. Keep an eye on the CMA website for information and links on available funding for natural resource management activities.

In the coming weeks the Australian Government is expected to announce new rounds of Envirofund and Community Water Grants. Keep in touch with the latest news on these by checking the Australian Government website.

If you are part of a community group or school in the Lake Macquarie area and you have an environmental project you'd like some assistance with, Lake Macquarie City Council is offering grants of up to $3000 through the Lake Macquarie Environmental Grants Program 2008-09 towards projects that will improve environmental behaviour of individuals and groups within the Lake Macquarie community. Applications close on Monday 25 February 2008. Contact Environmental Officer Margo Smith for more information on 4921 0702 or email masmith@lakemac.nsw.gov.au.

About the Hunter-Central Rivers CMA

The Hunter-Central Rivers CMA is one of 13 CMAs coordinating the management of natural resources across NSW. The Hunter-Central Rivers region includes a unique and diverse 37 000 square kilometres of the east coast of NSW-from Taree in the north, to Gosford and the coastal waterways of the Central Coast in the south, and from Newcastle in the east to the Merriwa Plateau and Great Dividing Range in the west.

The members of the Hunter-Central Rivers CMA Board are Wej Paradice (Chairman), Neil Rose (Deputy Chairman), John Weate, Julia Imrie, Arthur Burns, John Asquith, and Chris Scott. The General Manager is Glenn Evans.

Contacts

For more information on any of the stories in this edition of Catchment News, please contact Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority Community Education Manager 
Tiffany La Gerche on 4930 1030.

For all other inquiries contact your local CMA office:
CMA Tocal Office
816 Tocal Road (Private Bag 2010) Paterson 2421
Phone: 02 4930 1030
Fax: 02 4930 1013
Email: hcr@cma.nsw.gov.au

CMA Gosford Office
40 Mann Street (PO Box 1267) Gosford 2250
Phone: 02 4324 3844
Fax: 02 4323 3960

CMA Muswellbrook Office
Level 2, 160 Bridge Street  (PO Box 297) Muswellbrook 2333
Phone: 02 6542 4444
Fax: 02 6543 4164

CMA Taree Office
98 Victoria Street (Po Box 440) Taree NSW 2430
Phone: 02 6551 8994
Fax: 02 6552 2047

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© Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority 2008.