Breakout Sessions Summaries - GBCMA Sessions Summaries The Fruit Industry Employment Program ... blow to growers from the Goulburn Murray region who supplied SPC Ardmona, with

Breakout Sessions Summaries The Fruit Industry Employment Program ......................................................................................................................... 2

Parrots and People: ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

Workplace Flexibility ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

River Health Program – Landholder Re-engagement Interviews ..................................................................................... 6

iSpy Fish, You Spy Fish, We all Spy Fish ............................................................................................................................. 7

Northern Eco-Connections ................................................................................................................................................ 8

NRM Audit ......................................................................................................................................................................... 9

North Central Social benchmarking ................................................................................................................................ 10

Working and learning alongside Aboriginal people and communities ........................................................................... 11

Farming for Sustainable Soils (FSS) ................................................................................................................................. 12

Harrietville Fire Recovery Project ................................................................................................................................... 14

A Day on the Catchment ................................................................................................................................................. 15

Checking the pulse – using the Catchment Conversation model to connect with your customers ............................... 17

Connecting with the Recreational Fishing Community ................................................................................................... 19

Indigenous Fire Practices ................................................................................................................................................ 21

The Fruit Industry Employment Program

Title The Fruit Industry Employment Program

Theme Connecting better with Partners

Presenter Corey Wilson

CMA Goulburn Broken CMA

About the Presenter

Case Study Overview SPC Ardmona’s April 2013 announcement of major fruit intake cuts was a massive blow to growers from the Goulburn Murray region who supplied SPC Ardmona, with huge flow-on effects to the regional economy and broader community. A rapid response to the announcement was needed, and, with the support of Fruit Growers Victoria, the Goulburn Broken CMA conceived the Fruit Industry Employment Program (FIEP). Goulburn Broken CMA’s trusting long-term relationships with partners once again proved critical, with implementation of FIEP starting within six weeks of ministerial approval. Experiences with drought, flood and fire recovery programs taught the Goulburn Broken CMA that large environmental benefits could be achieved while providing disaster-impacted rural people with timely support and a new focus. Forty people affected by the reduced fruit intake worked under the FIEP, supervised by the Goulburn Broken CMA or its partners: Moira Shire, Greater Shepparton City Council, Parks Victoria, and Goulburn-Murray Water. Participants contributed almost 40,000 hours of environmental works, including 1500 hectares of weed control and 67 kilometres of fencing, while receiving significant income, skills training, and informal social network support. The presentation will describe the ingredients for successful regional employment programs and highlight several new lessons learned post-FIEP evaluation about productive partnerships.

Parrots and People:

Title Parrots and People: Engaging communities through the Broken Boosey Conservation Management Network’s ‘Practical Parrot Action’ Project

Theme Connecting better with Volunteer Groups

Presenter Janice Mentiplay-Smith, Conservation Management Network Coordinator


About the Presenter Janice began working in the NRM field in 1989 with the then Conservation, Forests and Lands. During the 1990’s she gained a B. Applied Science in Parks, Recreation and Heritage from Charles Sturt University, and moved into project coordination and delivery roles for local Landcare groups and Trust for Nature.

In 2004, she worked in the Department of Primary Industries in the Sustainable Landscapes Team as a Catchment Management Officer, running projects to increase awareness of Carpet Pythons and their habitat needs in the Warby Ranges.

Janice became part of the GBCMA team in 2010 as the Broken Boosey and Whroo Goldfields Conservation Management Network Coordinator. Conservation focused projects have always involved the local community, and trying to engage them in different and interesting ways, such as: ‘Practical Parrot Action’, ‘Bed and Breakfast for the Birds’, ‘Yellow Gums and Goldfields’, ‘Bringing out the Best in the Broken Boosey’, ’Beating Weeds on the Broken Boosey’, and ‘A Blueprint for Woodland Birds in the Broken Boosey’. Both Conservation Management Networks have received a range of awards for the various projects.

Case Study Overview The Broken Boosey Conservation Management Network (BBCMN) developed the Practical Parrot Action project in March 2014, when it was identified that the Turquoise Parrot was declining towards extinction. Housed within the Goulburn Broken CMA, BBCMN Coordinator Janice Mentiplay-Smith worked with bird ecologist Chris Tzaros to implement an environmental restoration project through community engagement. Funding of $295,620 was received from Communities for Nature for a two-year project, which included 70 ha of revegetation, 2 km of fencing, 100 nest boxes, and community engagement.

The project is underpinned by sound science, with an engaging scientist (Chris Tzaros) who has strong community support. A long-term relationship between Janice and the community ensures trust: “We do what we say we will do”. The project addresses long-term benefits for conservation, such as linkages across the landscape and revegetation with understorey ‘food’ plants. These ‘multiple benefits’ are well received by the community. The project builds on previous projects, such as the 5 year Carpet Python project. Such continuity and logic gains public appreciation. The community also benefits from the project as local contractors are used for works.

The presentation will highlight community engagement tools that have been used successfully in the project. These include regular newsletters, the use of both online and traditional media for unique promotion of the project, field days and useful

promotional items like Parrot USBs and notebooks. It will also describe how Chris Tzaros’ engaging style has led to increasing community involvement.

Workplace Flexibility

Title Workplace Flexibility – the new black

Theme Connecting better with Staff

Presenter Kate Pendergast, Strategic HR Manager


About the Presenter Bachelor of Business (Marketing), Cert IV Training and Assessment, Law Institute of Victoria Mediation Accreditation, MBTI Certification

Over 20 years’ experience in both private and public sector human resource management. Food industry background with Unilever and Bonlac, public sector experience with Agriculture Victoria, DNRE and since 2004 held the position of Strategic HR Manager with the GB CMA. Areas of special interest include organisational psychology, employee relations and business partnering.

Case Study Overview Workplace flexibility is “the new black”. Societal, staff and legislative needs are driving more workplace flexibility. Part-time work, annualised hours, career breaks, retirement transition, travel breaks, elderly parents, family responsibilities, virtual offices: the list goes on.

What do staff members and organisations need to do to offer continuity of service in a flexible workplace? Can a workplace be too flexible? Organisations have procedures and industrial requirements which govern flexibility, but it is the social contract that exists between staff, their work colleagues and management that allows flexibility to occur. Dialogue, realistic expectations and checklists are what the Goulburn Broken CMA use to support flexibility today but what needs to be in the Goulburn Broken CMA workforce strategy to better manage the flexibility demands of the future?

What should staff and managers expect of each other and do we have the workforce maturity and skills to achieve these lofty objectives? The presentation will explore current trends, strategic objectives, strategies and tools for use by managers and staff to better manage flexibility.

River Health Program – Landholder Re-engagement Interviews Title River Health Program – Landholder Re-engagement Interviews

Theme Connecting better with Customers

Presenter Christine Glassford, River Health Officer


About the Presenter Bachelor of Science (Natural Resource Management), Graduate Certificate River Health. Worked briefly with Agriculture Victoria, before commencing work with GB CMA in 1999. Over the past 13 years have filled various roles within the Waterways / River Health Program. Present focus is working with community and adjoining landholders to improve habitat and connectivity within Hughes Creek and King Parrot Creek for the threatened Macquarie perch.

Case Study Overview Prior to 2013-14, landholder re-engagement in the Goulburn Broken CMA River Health Program was only informally undertaken on an as need or requested basis, reflective of former funding priorities for new project sites. Due to consistent feedback from both CMAs and landholders of the need to maintain ongoing engagement, there has been a shift in recent years to ensure works sites and landholder relationships are maintained. Re-engagement is now an included component of our ECL3 funded project: ‘Each river based subprogram will involve staff time to reengage with a target of 50 landholders that have been involved with previous GB CMA riparian programs. The landholders will be in areas targeted by this program and may assist in generating further uptake in this program. A process will be developed this year to document and evaluate both landholder sentiment towards past work and also the condition/outcomes of past investment.’ As a result, a formal interview approach was developed, to be undertaken annually for three years. Landholders with projects of larger investment, greater age (5-10 years), management concerns and/or potential for further works were targeted along priority waterways. What do we want to know? How do we attain the information? What will we do with the data collected? With the challenge of data storage and collation determined last year, the results for 2013-14 were recently reviewed. Our evaluation of the approach taken and the data collected has led to further refinements. How do we use this information? What do the results tell us? This presentation will focus on what we learnt from the experience, highlighting the challenges and considerations for future survey work.

iSpy Fish, You Spy Fish, We all Spy Fish

Title iSpy Fish, You Spy Fish, We all Spy Fish

Theme Connecting better with Untapped Communities

Presenter Jo Wood, Environmental Water Project Officer


About the Presenter Jo is an Environmental Water Project Officer with the GB CMA. She has worked in environmental water and wetlands for the past 5 years with the CMA and 5 years before that with DELP.

Jo was the project manager of the development of the iSpy Fish App, has written environmental water management plans for wetlands and is currently co-writing the environmental water management plan for the Goulburn River.

Case Study Overview The rivers and wetlands of the Goulburn Broken Catchment provide substantial recreational fishing opportunities, and support a number of threatened fish species such as Murray Cod, Macquarie Perch, and Trout Cod. The iSpy Fish smartphone application, developed by the Goulburn Broken CMA and Sumo software has been built upon the highly successful iSpy Frogs App, launched by the CMA in 2012. iSpy Fish is a mobile-based interactive tool presenting information on all fish species in the Goulburn Broken Catchment. Primarily targeted at recreational fishers, other users include scientists, naturalists, students and natural resource managers. Colour images, physical descriptions, ecological information and conservation status are provided for 21 native, and nine alien, fish species. The App allows users to upload photos and catch detail (species, weight, location, etc) to an iSpy Fish Facebook page, where data is collated to assist river and wetland management, thereby facilitating citizen science activity and community participation in aquatic resource management. The presentation will demonstrate how the App is used and how successful it has been in reaching communities that the Goulburn Broken has not traditionally engaged.

Northern Eco-Connections

Title Northern Eco-Connections


Presenter Carl Gray, Project Manager

CMA North Central CMA

About the Presenter Dip in Business – Sales & Marketing, Dip in Conservation & Land Management, Grad Cert – River Health Management

Carl was employed as an Account Manager with large FMCG companies (Cadbury, C.U.B, Fonterra etc) for 10 years before re-training and joining the NRM world. After a short tenure with Parks Victpia he commenced with North Central CMA in 2010. Carl was initially employed in an operational capacity working on the Gunbower & Kerang Ramsar Enhancement projects, later becoming their Project Manager. He has been focussed on the Northern Eco-Connections project since its inception Nov 2013.

Case Study Overview The Northern Eco Connections project was developed in partnership between North Central, Goulburn Broken and North East CMAs.

The project objective is to support landholders to improve and protect native vegetation on private land, focusing on improving connections and linkages across the diverse landscapes of northern Victorian. This was delivered through a conservation tender process in 2014.

Importantly this has been an opportunity for the 3 x CMAs to work together to deliver a multi-regional project and strengthen our relationship as outlined in the Board Memorandum of Understanding.

This case study will look at the partnership approach that has been used to manage and deliver the project to date. It will have a focus on stakeholder engagement, clear communication and collaboration in decision making for mutual benefit. It will look at the management of people across the three organisations and the complexities in managing expectations.

The presentation will also include findings from an independent project evaluation that is currently underway. The evaluation will be of value in directing a stronger working relationship between North Central, Goulburn Broken and North Central CMAs.

NRM Audit

Title NRM Audit


Presenter James Shaddick, NRM Services Coordinator

CMA North Central

About the Presenter Bachelor of Applied Science (Geomatics), Postgraduate Certificate in Assessment and Evaluation

With ten years’ experience in GIS and Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting at three regional NRM organisations (in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria); I’m interested in simple, practical and robust methods to improve practice, prove outcomes and tell the story of NRM delivery.

Case Study Overview How do CMAs understand the environmental difference projects are making?

How do CMAs engage landholders and understand the changes on their property beyond the funded life of a project?

And how do you engage staff in a process that answers these questions while facilitating peer to peer learning that’s practical?

The session will explore the answers to these questions by exploring one of North Central CMAs solution to these issues – the NRM Audit. The Audit consists of three stages: a desktop audit (paper-warfare compliance); a site visit; and landholder survey. Audits are currently undertaken three years after delivery, on a sample of all works. Trialled in 2012-13 (on 2009-10 works), the audit is now on its second full year of implementation.

The approach, tools, lessons and key findings from the last three years will be discussed.

North Central Social benchmarking

Title North Central Social benchmarking


Presenter Rohan Hogan, Water and Environment Specialist


About the Presenter Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Grad Diploma Environmental Engineering, currently studying a Masters of Environment.

Rohan has over 20 year's professional experience in a wide range of natural resource management (NRM) areas including River Health, Environmental Flows, Land and Water Management, Salinity Management and Water Policy. Rohan was responsible for the development of the Regional Catchment Strategy and Waterway Strategies and is currently developing a climate change plan for the region.

Case Study Overview Although much is known about landholders and communities across the North Central region, there are still gaps in our understanding of regional communities and social drivers. In conjunction with Allan Curtis from Charles Sturt University the CMA has completed a social benchmarking study focused on better understanding landowner’s values and behaviours in relation to NRM. The project will assist in:

monitoring long term changes in landowner knowledge and behaviours

Describe the social/ farming structure (property size, property turnover, property subdivision/ amalgamation, occupational identity of landholders, extent of absentee ownership) for the region

Provide a coherent explanation of landholder adoption of recommended practices identified in the North Central Regional Catchment Strategy.

Provide advice about how to engage rural landholders (or specific cohorts) in NRM, at both the regional and environmental asset scale.

The presentation will provide an overview of the key findings of the project and explore how this valuable information will be used to develop tailored communication and engagement approaches.

Working and learning alongside Aboriginal people and communities

Title Working and learning alongside Aboriginal people and communities


Presenter Trent Gibson, Manager


About the Presenter Bachelor Applied Science, Bachelor Social Science (Environment), Graduate Certificate in River Health Management

After a misspent youth working across manufacturing, outdoor education, banking, ski instructing and consulting, I started to gravitate towards a career in the natural environment, however I have always had a great passion for social equality.

During my years working for the Brotherhood of St Laurence and Sacred Heart Mission I establishing a range of social initiatives aimed at assisting lower social economic families with nutrition for children. Moving onto working with GHD, I was for a part of a small team that developed their social responsibility programs, many of the individual projects still operate today.

I have now been working in the Environmental industry (Consulting, CMA) for over ten years and still feel as passionate about both the environment and social issues / opportunities as the day I started.

Case Study Overview Around 2009 the North Central CMA implemented two Indigenous works programs, working closely with both the Barapa Barapa and the Dja Dja Wurrung traditional owner groups. We achieved what many organisations can only dream of; we had over 12% Aboriginal staffing levels and we were running project that not only met our NRM outcomes, but played a part towards ‘closing the gap’.

Since then we have watched the funding for our Indigenous works programs continue to decrease and we have been able to spend some time reflecting on the programs that we ran, what we did well, but perhaps more importantly many of our failures. Since the end of the programs we have watched one of the Traditional Owner groups continue to thrive in this space with several of the original crew currently playing key roles within their own organisations, while many members of the other never worked within the NRM / environmental industry again.

This case study will look at the various models, some of the traps and key learnings, what CMAs can be doing to improve Indigenous engagement and long term employment.

As I am not Indigenous and I certainly don’t see myself as someone who has all of the answers, this presentation is my account of the programs I have been lucky enough to be involved in and some of my observations over time.

Farming for Sustainable Soils (FSS)

Title Farming for Sustainable Soils (FSS)


Presenter Phil Dyson, Project Manager


About the Presenter Phil Dyson is an experienced hydrogeologist and geomorphologist. He has worked closely with catchment communities throughout southeastern Australia over many years. Phil has a Diploma of Applied Science (Geology) and post graduate qualifications in hydro-chemistry and isotopic geo-chemistry. Most of his work has focused on the challenges of land and water management.

Phil has a long standing interest is in understanding the water balance of landscapes given different land types, climatic circumstances, groundwater systems, vegetation types, farming enterprises and land management approaches.

Phil has worked both as a freelance consultant and within public sector agencies. He has a strong background in science and applied research and currently manages the Farming for Sustainable Soils program for the North Central Catchment Management Authority.

Case Study Overview Soil is part of the natural capital that humans and other life forms need to survive on planet Earth. Our challenge is to sustain the integrity of our soils in the face of industrial agriculture, the extreme climate variability we now experience, and a rapidly expanding global population? FSS does not have all of the answers. The strength of the program is our commitment an old adage, “think globally and act locally”. There is no doubt that we need to improve the condition of our soils and sustain their productive capacity and ecological integrity for future generations. We need practical solutions that focus on improving our farming systems consistent with local condition. The project encourages local communities to take responsibility for the soils of their farmlands. This philosophy underpins our ‘Farming for Sustainable Soils’ program. We work with our FSS groups and together we build our skills, knowledge and experience in soil management. We give our FSS groups responsibility for the protection and regeneration of their soils, and we encourage and support and mentor them to make certain this happens. We employ local part-time facilitators to act as our ‘arms and legs’. They work as a team in building local area soil managements plans, constructing schedules for each growing season, and organizing and coordinate the delivery of each group activity throughout the year.

Each year FSS groups assess the health and condition of their soils, learn from expert knowledge providers, and conduct trials of potential sustainable farming systems.

Harrietville Fire Recovery Project

Title Harrietville Fire Recovery Project


Presenter Steven Martin – Manager Program Implementation

2nd Speaker - TBC

CMA North East CMA

About the Presenter Steven Martin

Steve joined the North East CMA in 2013 having worked in local government and

consulting sectors. He has been involved in delivering a diverse range of projects

from major port developments to urban creek restorations.

Case Study Overview Following the alpine fires of January 2013 a flash flood occurred that resulted in

major ash and sediment loads impacting the small community of Harrietville. The

combination of disaster events had a major social and economic impact on the

community. A large amount of criticism was aimed at the various government

agencies involved in disaster management including DELWP, ParksVic, CFA and the

North East CMA.

Funding was provided to both the Alpine Shire and the North East CMA to assist the

community to improve their disaster readiness and enhance the local economy. The

delivery of these projects required re-connecting with the community, identifying

their key needs, establishing a collaborative approach with all agencies and ensuring

that any works undertaken could be maintained and enhanced in to the future.

The Alpine Shire’s shared trail project highlighted the communities desire for

greater connection and access to the Ovens River. North East CMA consulted with a

range of community groups, local landholders and agencies to establish the most

suitable site to complete a riparian restoration project. During the project scoping

the long term future of the site was worked through with community groups, and a

committee of management established.

The collaborative approach with all agencies resulted in significant co-investment in

the project. This not only enable a greater amount of works to be done, but also

enabled the project to be delivered more quickly with agencies taking on the issues

that they were best equipped to deal with. This included VicRoads managing road

closures and traffic control.

A Day on the Catchment

Title A Day on the Catchment


Presenter 1 – Toni Costello – River Health Strategy Officer

2 – Jayne Stringer – Corporate Support Officer

CMA North East CMA

About the Presenter Toni Costello Toni commenced working with the North East CMA in 2004 as the Regional Waterwatch Coordinator, and in recent years has been focused on waterway strategy development and seeking co-investment opportunities for Waterwatch.

Toni has a background in Nature Tourism, Ecology, Environmental Interpretation and Community Engagement and has worked in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Prior to working at the CMA, Toni was employed with Parklands Albury Wodonga organising and running community events and interpretive tours, coordinating the volunteer program and designing interpretive material and signage. Toni lives with her husband and 3 boys on a 50 acre property at Gerogery East (NSW) and enjoys the outdoors and spending time with family and friends.

Jayne Stringer Jayne has been employed at the North East CMA since 2009 in a Corporate Support role. Before this Jayne was in an administrative role for 5 years at the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Prior to working in the Public sector Jayne worked in the hospitality field for many years.

Originally from North Central Victoria Jayne and her husband moved to Albury in 2002. Together with their 2 children they enjoy travelling, camping and spending time with friends and family.

Case Study Overview ‘A Day on the Catchment’ was a concept inspired to get all staff to spend a day out of the office and away from their usual duties to experience an area of the catchment with one of our CMA experts. The concept gave staff the opportunity to meet the community, see some project sites, collaborate with different staff members, be creative and innovative and very importantly have fun. Staff were randomly split up into small groups and each group focused on a different catchment area of the North East region. The goal for each group was to collect some videos, photos, interviews and anecdotes to present at the NECMA “Short Film Festival”. This material would also be considered for use as a community engagement tool.

Each group decided on where they went and who they arranged to meet with the only major requirements being to source some great footage about how we and our community value our catchment. The concept was aimed at working together, building camaraderie, learning about the catchment, valuing community partnerships and being creative and innovative.

Checking the pulse – using the Catchment Conversation model to connect with your customers

Title Checking the pulse – using the Catchment Conversation model to connect

with your customers


Presenter Mary-Anne Scully, Communications Consultant

2nd Speaker - TBC

CMA North East CMA

About the Presenter Mary-Anne Scully

Bachelor of Communications (Broadcast journalism), Graduate Diploma

Environmental Management.

Initially a broadcast journalist, Mary-Anne chose to study environmental

management because she wanted to help businesses translate complex technical

information into language that could motivate people to care for their environment.

Using these combined skills, Mary-Anne has developed campaigns and

communication resources for agriculture, manufacturing, vocational education and

public health. She also developed corporate social responsibility programs on behalf

of Greening Australia and secured a Prime Minister’s Community Business

Partnership Award for these efforts.

She has supported the North East CMA since in 2005 with a focus on media

management and development of innovative resources to support delivery of River

Tender, drought employment, fire and flood recovery. She co-authored Finding

Common Ground – a review of Indigenous engagement in Landcare in Victoria and

devised the 'catchment conversation' model to encourage widespread community

involvement in renewal of the 2012 North East Regional Catchment Strategy.

Case Study Overview Like many parts of Australia, North East Victoria is constantly changing in response

to new and emerging environmental issues, and social and economic shifts.

This dynamic scenario presents interesting customer service challenges for a natural

resource management agency like the North East CMA.

At one end of the spectrum, the CMA has clearly defined responsibilities when

responding to customers and support emergency agencies during events like fire

and flood. However, the CMA is also committed to encouraging community led

practice change. For this reason, it needs to identify, understand and respond to

emerging ideas and less obvious ‘shifts’ and trends ‘bubbling’ below the surface.

The renewal of the 2012 North East Regional Catchment Strategy offered the North

East CMA an opportunity to interact in new ways with its community customers and

partners in development of an environmental ‘blueprint’ for the region.

This presentation will explore why and how the North East CMA initially utilised and

continues to evolve the ‘catchment conversation’ model to:

tap into local knowledge about what is likely to work and what is not

better understand complex issues in communities

provide opportunities for cooperative, co-learning experiences and critical

reflection

increase effective, open and transparent engagement processes that carry

greater legitimacy and credibility in the community

deliver new networking opportunities, access to information and resources,

personal recognition, skill enhancement and a sense of contributing to community

problem solving.

Connecting with the Recreational Fishing Community

Title Connecting with the Recreational Fishing Community


Presenter Andrew Briggs, Catchment Coordinator – Ovens and King

Anthony Wilson, Catchment Coordinator – Upper Murray

CMA North East CMA

About the Presenter Andrew and Anthony are Catchment Coordinators who have dedicated responsibility to servicing local areas. Each of our Catchment Coordinators is highly experienced and knows the region well. They help the community connect with specialist advice and information, discuss new ideas and approaches and identify support options available through projects and funding grants.

Andrew Briggs has extensive experience in river health restoration with a strong focus on native fish and the re-introduction of fish habitat into waterways. Andrew joined the CMA in 2004. He has an excellent knowledge of the North East region and is passionate about working with community groups to deliver natural resource management outcomes.

Anthony Wilson joined the CMA in 2004 after working for the Department of Primary Industries as a Catchment Officer in Pest Plants and Animals. Prior to that, he worked in Tasmania on the Fox Taskforce and assisted in monitoring the spread of facial tumours on Tassie Devils.

Case Study Overview Over the past 10 years, the North East CMA has received concerns from fishing groups that the activities of the Authority’s river health programs were not always aligned with the interests of recreational anglers and the species they target. In recognition of this feedback the Authority has looked for ways in which to deliver habitat improvement for recreational fish species in the region.

NECMA now use a range of tools to engage with local anglers and community groups to ensure:

1. Consideration of the habitat needs of recreational fish species are included

during the planning phase of works programs,

2. Wherever possible, activities are driven by the local community with sound

practical guidance from the Authority’s Technical staff.

The Ovens, King, Nariel Creek and Mitta Rivers have been key focus areas, ensuring a range of communities and geographical areas are covered. The focus has been to deliver enhanced “connection” of habitat within waterways, and the surrounding riparian zone, in reaches that are devoid of suitable habitats.

The feedback received from angling groups has been very supportive. In the past, there has been an unfortunate assumption amongst the fishing fraternity that the implementation of riparian management works was undertaken by government officials with no interest or practical knowledge of what is required for fish habitat. There is now recognition that whilst the two parties may not always agree, undeniably we are kindred spirits in our endeavours to restore waterways, and the fish populations within them, to the highest possible standard.

Indigenous Fire Practices

Title Indigenous Fire Practices


Presenter Richard McTernan - Indigenous Liaison Officer,

Greta Quinlivan - Biodiversity Program Coordinator

CMA North East CMA

About the Presenter Richard McTernan - Indigenous Liaison Officer Richard has been employed at the CMA since 2006. Prior to this Richard worked as a park ranger/works supervisor for Albury Wodonga Parklands, working with Indigenous rangers to maintain regional parks and infrastructure and undertaking revegetation projects. Richard has a background in working with the local Indigenous community and recently has been involved in the CFOC Traditional Ecological Knowledge programme Greta Quinlivan - Biodiversity Program Coordinator Greta has been employed in a Project Management role with the North East CMA since 2004. In the last few years managing the Exploring the Links: Carbon and Biodiversity Project and recently, taking on the Woodlands and Wetlands Project. Before this she worked at Tallangatta and Nathalia for Parks Victoria and DSE. Greta has a Science degree in Environmental and Natural Resource Management from ANU.

Case Study Overview The North East has for the last 6 years worked with the local Aboriginal Traditional Owners to share and record Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) using local resources found within Box Gum Grassy Woodlands.

The use of TEK in the Box Gum Grassy Woodlands Project had a number of vital elements; it needed to:

1. Capture traditional knowledge of the local area;

2. Assist in facilitating the knowledge transfer by attracting youth to attend the TEK workshops; and

3. Engage non Indigenous landholders and community members who were interested and wanted to know more about Aboriginal culture.

Workshops were conducted in partnership with Landcare groups and networks using TEK as a common theme for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. The use of common themes is based on the Recommendations of the Victorian Landcare Finding Common Ground Report (DEPI 2010).

These common themes included weaving workshops using the local grass species, the cutting of traditional bark canoes, and traditional fire knowledge to reduce fuel loads and improve native pasture grasses.

The highlights of the collaboration with the Box Gum Grassy Woodland Projects have been;

1. Increased the participation of the Local Traditional Owners of the area;

2. Creation of networks and strong links with other Indigenous groups;

3. Facilitated friendships and partnerships with Landcare networks in the North East;

4. Created a greater awareness of the cultural use of Box Gum Grassy Woodlands; and

5. Demonstrated to both community and NRM agencies that finding common ground is key to engagement.

Documents

Breakout Sessions Summaries - GBCMA Sessions Summaries The Fruit Industry Employment Program ... blow to growers from the Goulburn Murray region who supplied SPC Ardmona, with