Burdekin Bites

Burdekin Bites 29 October 2008

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What's happening in our region :

  1. Farewell to Deborah Cavanagh
  2. International Youth Coastal Conference 2008
  3. Traditional Owners participation in the Future Leaders Eco Challenge 2008
  4. Carbon field day 14 November
  5. Promote your activity
  6. Date claimer – Wetland train-the-trainer
  7. Eel Passage Over Large Dams Forum – 26 November 2008
  8. Aerial spray application and technology workshop first for the Burdekin
  9. Evaluation of on-ground incentive schemes in BDTNRM funded projects
  10. Queens Beach is a Clean Beach
  11. BDTNRM excels at triathlon
  12. Landscape Linkages project wins Landcare Innovation Award
  13. Grazing for Profit School at Townsville
  14. Pixel project expands to schools
  15. School declares war on tilapia
  16. Cane growers fine tune their spray techniques
  17. Caring for our Country - Outcomes 2008-2013
  18. Burdekin Solutions AGM – 28 November 2008
  19. National indicators for natural resource condition
  20. Dreamtimetracks.com launched
  21. Wild dog management review
  22. AgForward workshop update
  23. Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference – Townsville, March 2009.
  24. Qld Weeds Symposium – Yeppoon, July 2009

 

Send your news items to deb.cavanagh@bdtnrm.org.au

Farewell to Deborah Cavanagh

Deb, a member of the Burdekin Dry Tropics Natural Resource Management (BDTNRM) team commenced in the role of Communications Manager in late 2005, has left BDTNRM for new challenges. Deb will not be far away having accepted a job as Marketing and Development Officer with the School of Engineering at James Cook University in Townsville. BDTNRM would like to wish Deb all the best in her new role.

Until a replacement arrangement for Deb’s role is finalised our CEO Bob Frazer will be the initial contact for enquiries and requests which Deb used to handle. Bob can be reached on phone 4724 3544 or email bob.frazer@bdtnrm.org.au.

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International Youth Coastal Conference 2008

BDTNRM were proud sponsors of the International Youth Coastal Conference 2008, held 20 - 21 October in Townsville. The conference attracted over 300 delegates, from primary through to secondary school, from around the world. “Kids Teaching Kids” was the theme – not a grown-up run workshop in sight!

Leonie Maddigan from BDTNRM was on the Steering Committee and lucky enough to be involved in both the workshop sessions and the Environmental Project Day held on Magnetic Island. Paul Wuth, BDTNRM accompanied Leonie over to the island to lead groups of students through their ‘hands on’ activities. Maggie Island provided the perfect backdrop to get the hands dirty with some revegetation and solar energy activities, putting into practice some of what they had learnt. 

Presentations covered the world – with issues in New York, Solomon Islands, New Zealand, Victoria, Tasmania, Perth and of course Townsville covered (to name just some). There were colours and costumes and artworks and songs and lots more. The whole experience was focussed on the ‘can make a difference’ idea – the roof was raised with enthusiasm for our coastal environment and what we need to do to protect it.

“I think we can all benefit from hanging out with the younger generation – their minds are open, their ideas are fresh and their enthusiasm is unreserved” Leonie said.

When Leonie asked one little girl what she thought of the mangroves at Horseshoe Bay, she said simply, “They are beautiful and green and I love them.”

Happy participants at the Youth Coastal Conference.

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Traditional Owners participation in the Future Leaders Eco Challenge 2008

Juru Elder Renarta Prior and Indigenous high school students from Kirwan High School participated in the Reef Guardian School Future Leaders Eco Challenge (FLEC) 2008 in Townsville on the 14th October 2008. 

The Future Leaders Eco Challenge organised by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, invited Reef Guardian Schools in the Townsville region to participate in a one day workshop to share stories and experiences about what their school is doing to understand sustainability and the impacts it could have on local, regional and global scales.

At the FLEC, Juru Elder Renarta Prior, with the support of BDTNRM, delivered a powerful presentation about the importance of sea country to Aboriginal people, and the importance of sustaining the reef for cultural purposes.

As part of the presentation, Elder Renarta Prior had written a cultural play which was performed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from Kirwan State High School, directed by Leah Saltner, Land & Sea Management Coordinator, BDTNRM.

The Traditional Owner presentation was one of the workshop’s highlights and students received a broader understanding of sustainability and its importance for all purposes, including cultural.

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Carbon field day 14 November

The Dalrymple Landcare Committee Inc. in conjunction with BDTNRM is hosting a “3 Cs” field day on Friday the 14 November 2008 at the Ewan Race Track, about 120 km north of Charters Towers on the Lynd Highway. The one day field day is part of the NAPSWQ Clarke River & East Burdekin Project that has been running in the region for the last two years. Three guest speakers will be discussing various aspects of the carbon debate and the interactions that occur within the northern grazing regions.

Researcher Dr Beverley Henry from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) will be discussing methane emissions from cattle and how these emissions have been shown to vary depending on the diet and forage quality. Dr Chris Stokes, CSIRO Townsville, will be presenting about the basic carbon cycles in the environment and the differences between labile and humic carbon in soils. Dr Stokes has also been researching the interactions of fire and subsequent emissions. The final speaker for the day will be Dr Steven Bray, DPI&F Rockhampton, presenting findings from his recent research on properties across Queensland identifying carbon sinks and sources and how some of these characteristics may change with property development and management.

Following the presentations, a nearby property will be visited to see how the on-ground works of the Clarke River and East Burdekin Project have been implemented to improve water quality and property management.

The field day is free of charge and starts at 8.30am sharp. All participants are advised to bring their own lunch and smokos as no catering will be provided in the remote location. Participants are also asked to bring adequate water, a chair, hat, sunscreen and an open mind to learning more about carbon and how its various forms interact with the northern grazing instance. All RSVPs must be made by Monday the 10th November to John Nicholas from the Dalrymple Landcare Committee Inc. on either: ph: (07) 4761 5170 or john.nicholas@dpi.qld.gov.au. Thanks again to the event sponsors: NAPSWQ, BDTNRM, DLC, MLA, DPI&F and CSIRO. All Welcome!

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What's On

For more details go to : www.bdtnrm.org.au/events/

Coming up in 2008

November

14: Dalrymple Landcare Committee Carbon Field Day

17-18: Wetland train-the-trainer

19-25: Grazing for Profit School, Townsville

20: Deadline for submissions on wild dog management

26: Eel Passage Over Large Dams Forum, Townsville

28: Burdekin Solutions AGM

 

 

 

Promote your activity

The BDTNRM website has a spot dedicated for community input.  If you have an activity coming up, updates on ongoing work, promotion of a past success or other item of interest then why not post it on the BDTNRM website! 

The section is called Community Activities and is found under the Engagement and Knowledge programme.  Upcoming events will also be posted on the “Notice Board” part of the site.  To have your item included on the BDTNRM website contact the Manager Community and Engagement Judy Warner on ph. 4724 3544 or email judy.warner@bdtnrm.org.au.

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Date claimer – Wetland train-the-trainer

A training workshop, aimed to update extension and natural resource management staff (including industry, agency, agri-business and community groups) on Farm Management Systems and the risk based approach to managing wetlands, both natural and artificial, in intensive farming situations will be held.

The free workshop is one-and-a half days long and will be run on 17-18 November 2008 at a location still to be finalised in the Burdekin area. For more information contact Amber Webster from WetlandCare Australia based at BDTNRM. Phone 4724 3544 or email amber.webster@bdtnrm.org.au.

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Eel Passage Over Large Dams Forum – 26 November 2008

What impact are large dams in this region having on eel passage? BDTNRM and Alluvium Consulting are hosting a forum to discuss the issue and explore ideas for eel passage. A full day is planned to include expert presentations, discussion and ideas for a plan of action.

The forum runs from 9am to 4pm and will be held at Riverway Art Centre, Townsville. For more information please contact Diana O’Donnell or Paul Duncanson at BDTNRM on phone 4724 3544 or email diana.odonnell@bdtnrm.org.au or paul.duncanson@bdtnrm.org.au.

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Aerial spray application and technology workshop first for the Burdekin

A demonstration of the aircraft’s spray pattern.

Eight Burdekin pilots enjoyed the opportunity of getting together in mid-October at the Brandon Aero Club to learn about spray pattern testing and calibration of their aircraft; responsibilities in respect to changes to chemical labeling and legislation; and to swap aviation stories.

Through support from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F FutureCane), BDTNRM, the Cotton Research Development Corporation and Burdekin Productivity Services, Bill Gordon Consulting was employed to conduct workshops with local pilots, including analysis of their aircraft spray pattern outcomes, discussion and information on chemical drift management strategies, spray quality, nozzle models and much more.

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Evaluation of on-ground incentive schemes in BDTNRM funded projects

Since 2006, BDTNRM and our partners has directly or indirectly funded over 200 land managers in the region to undertake on-ground action to achieve natural resource outcomes for the region.

As we move forward into the future, BDTNRM wishes to ensure that we are efficiently and effectively achieving outcomes for our natural resources on behalf of the Australian Government.

To evaluate all of the BDTNRM on-ground programs, we have engaged a team headed by Dr Jeff Coutts of Toowoomba to evaluate each of the on-ground incentive projects that have been delivered in the region. Therefore, the team is independent of BDTNRM and its partners. The information held by the team will remain confidential and will only be reported as aggregated information for both projects and the region.

As part of this project, we are trying to contact all land managers who have received incentive grants, land managers who did not receive grants and people involved in delivery and managing the grants processes throughout the region to determine how the process to allocate grants worked, obtain some suggestions for improvements and how the incentive grants allowed changes to land management to improve the region’s natural resources, that is, land condition, water quality or biodiversity or other natural resource outcome.

If you have any questions, please contact the Land, Soils and Agriculture team at BDTNRM - Linda Hygate (Programme Coordinator) or Amanda Laurie (Programme Support Officer) on 07 4724 3544 or by email – linda.hygate@bdtnrm.org.au / amanda.laurie@bdtnrm.org.au. It is envisaged that a copy of the final report will be available on the BDTNRM website in January 2009. 

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Queens Beach is a Clean Beach

On Wednesday 15 September Rachel Allan and Peter Arthofer from BDTNRM attended the judging of the Queens Beach entry in the Keep Australia Beautiful Clean Beach Challenge. The Queens Beach Action Group (QBAG), and the Queens Beach School have been working hard with partners the Whitsunday Regional Council and Queens Beach Surf Club to keep the beach tidy and undertake weeding and revegetation projects. Both year seven classes attended the judging and would have made quite an impression on the judge. Now we await the judge’s decision!

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BDTNRM excels at triathlon

On Sunday the 12th of October BDTNRM had three teams participating in the 2008 Corporate Triathlon, at Townsville. The race included a 400 m swim in Ross River, 16 km bike ride and a 4 km run.

Competitors doing BDTNRM proud were Doug Willis, Paul Duncanson, Leonie Maddigan, Rochae Cameron from the Regional Groups Collective hosted by BDTNRM, Amber Webster from WetlandCare Australia hosted by BDTNRM, Rachel Allan, Rhiannon Passfield, Jenni Edmonds and Judy Warner.

Family and staff support were there to encourage participants across the finishing line. Overall a great day was had by all and money was raised for The Cancer Council Queensland.

Results are on the Corporate Triathlon website http://www.corporatetriathlon.com.au.

The BDTNRM teams that competed (from left to right), Rhiannon Passfield, Jenni Edmonds Judy Warner, Paul Duncanson , Doug Willis, Leonie Maddigan, Rochae Cameron, Rachel Allan and Amber Webster.

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Landscape Linkages project wins Landcare Innovation Award

Congratulations to the Desert Uplands Build-Up and Development Strategy Committee for winning the SKM Innovation Award at the 2008 QLD Landcare Awards held recently in Monto. The Committee was awarded the prize for the Landscape Linkages project which uses an innovative tender based approach to reward land managers for good natural resource management.

The project funded by BDTNRM currently involves 15 properties covering 85,000 hectares in the southern Desert Uplands undertaking two year management agreements to maintain or improve their land, keeping it in good condition.

The SKM Landcare Innovation Award was sponsored by Sinclair Knight Merz consulting group who will provide $12,000 worth of consultancy services to the Desert Uplands Build-Up and Development Strategy Committee.

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Grazing for Profit School at Townsville

Resource Consultancy Services (RCS) will be holding a Grazing for Profit School in Townsville from the 19 to 25 November 2008. This training covers many aspects of the grazing business and has proven to be highly successful in working with producers to examine their business from a social, environmental and economic perspective. BDTNRM will subsidise the cost for several graziers within the region to participate (conditions apply). For more information contact Toni Allen, RCS on phone 1800 356 004; email tallen@rcs.au.com or visit the RCS website at www.rcs.au.com.

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Pixel project expands to schools

Adam Connell and Jude Robinson from BBIFMAC
provide students with a demonstration.

Children in the Lower Burdekin are being educated on the importance of water quality through the Burdekin Bowen Integrated Floodplain Management Advisory Committee’s (BBIFMAC) WQ Pixel Project (funded by BDTNRM). The success of the WQ Pixel Project with Lower Burdekin farmers has flowed over to local schools. Project Officers Adam Connell and Jude Robinson visited Maidavale State School to educate students on the importance of good water quality and its effect on the local and wider environment.

The students participated in a hands-on demonstration, where they were taught how to monitor water quality using simple techniques. The school was provided with a test kit, similar to those given to farmers, which will allow students to monitor the local lagoon and the school’s bore water on a weekly basis. BBIFMAC will provide ongoing support to the school by collecting samples for lab analysis and interpreting results. “We are planning to visit more schools in the future to provide education on water quality issues specific to the local area,” Adam Connell said.

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School declares war on tilapia

Parents and Friends of the Charters Towers All Souls St Gabriels School are holding a fishing weekend at Fletcher Creek in an effort to control the pest fish tilapia. Tilapia, a native of Africa, is rapidly invading the rivers of Queensland to the detriment of our native fish.

All Souls St Gabriels has obtained a permit from the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries and in return will be gathering important information on the tilapia catch.

The weekend kicks off on Saturday morning 1 November with a briefing on the rules and procedures. Prizes will be awarded for the largest and the most number of tilapia caught. It should be a great family day for the school. For further information contact Ann McKenzie, BDTNRM on phone 4761 5166.

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Cane growers fine tune their spray techniques

Learning how to get the best outcome when using
pesticides.

Burdekin cane growers were last week visited by the popular pesticide application expert, Graham Betts, who shared his knowledge on improving pesticide cost-efficiency and reducing chemical loss on farm.

Every application issue was addressed to help growers get the best out of their herbicide by learning about the mode of action of each chemical family, how to manage weather conditions to avoid spray loss, ensuring correct nozzle selection for optimum droplet size, pressure and litres per hectare output and understanding the efficiency of water quality and filtration, plus boom height and stability.

The two workshops were organised by BSES, BDTNRM and DPI&F with added support from NuFarm.

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Caring for our Country - Outcomes 2008-2013

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts Peter Garrett and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tony Burke announced the targets for Caring for our Country, saying it would provide unprecedented transparency for natural resource management funding.

Minister Garrett formally launched the Caring for our Country - Outcomes 2008-2013 with the Member for Newcastle, Sharon Grierson, at Kooragang Island, near Newcastle.

Specific five-year outcomes have been identified across the six national priority areas for the program including:

-  increase the size of the protected-area estate under the National Reserve System to 125
   million hectares - a 25% increase;
-  increase the area of native habitat and vegetation managed to reduce critical threats to
   biodiversity by at least one million hectares;
-  reduce the impact of invasive species including rabbits and rodents on Macquarie Island,
   Tasmania and cane toads; and maintain viable Tasmanian Devil populations;
-  assist at least 30% of Australian farmers to adopt sustainable land management practices;  
   and
-  contribute to at least 30 partnerships with Indigenous groups and at least five major regional
   partnerships.

See the source media release for more information.

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Burdekin Solutions AGM – 28 November 2008

Burdekin Solutions Ltd, the company operating as Burdekin Dry Tropics Natural Resource Management (BDTNRM) is holding its Annual General Meeting in Townsville on 28 November. Company members will receive their meeting notices and invitations to attend by mail in the near future. Company membership is open to anyone who lives in or who is a landholder in the region. Membership is $11.00 per year. Further information and application forms are available on our web site http://www.bdtnrm.org.au/about/membership.html.

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National indicators for natural resource condition

Wondering how to monitor condition of a natural resource at a project or regional level? Wondering which indicators to use? The Monitoring & Evaluation section of the Australian Government NRM website has some handy documents - http://www.nrm.gov.au/publications/factsheets/me-indicators/index.html#esis

For each 'matter for target' identified in the current National Framework for Natural Resource Management Standards and Targets an overall indicator is provided, called a 'heading indicator'. These heading indicators each list recommended indicators (also known as resource condition indicators) that suggest how to measure the various dimensions related to each heading indicator. The hierarchy of what is provided is:

Matter for target

  • Indicator heading
    • Recommended indicators

If you click on

  1. A “heading indicator” (in bold under each matter for target) then it takes you to a page where you can download a PDF containing information on that heading indicator.
  2. A “recommended indicator” (under a heading indicator) then it takes you to a page where you can download a PDF containing detailed info on that recommended indicator e.g. site selection, mapping scale, data sampling & analysis, proposed responsibilities.

Use of these national indicators makes it easier for data to be collated at local, regional, state and federal levels – for resource assessments and looking at performance of investments (i.e. your own purposes plus those of others).

The current matters for target include land salinity; soil condition; integrity and significance of natural communities and ecosystems; nutrients and particulate in aquatic environments; surface water salinity in freshwater aquatic environments; and ecologically significant invasive species.

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Dreamtimetracks.com launched

Dreamtime Tracks, an initiative bringing together a number of Indigenous tourism enterprises in North Queensland, publicly launched its website (www.dreamtimetracks.com), book and displays at the Cultural Centre, Townsville last Saturday, 25 October. BDTNRM, Townsville City Council and a range of other sponsors are providing support to this initiative which is contributing to the economic viability of traditional owner land use in north Queensland.

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Wild dog management review

Biosecurity Queensland, DPI&F is seeking residents’ feedback on wild dog issues such as controlling wild dogs, the Queensland wild dog strategy’s effectiveness in protecting grazing industries, and the impact of wild dogs on Queensland’s economy, lifestyle and environment.

An issue paper has been developed and public meetings held to stimulate discussion about what the objectives for wild dog management in Queensland should be, and the role of Biosecurity Queensland and other stakeholders in achieving them. Closing date for submissions is 20 November 2008.  For more information visit the DPI&F website www.dpi.qld.gov.au.  

 

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AgForward workshop update

The AgForward team present a range of workshops to landholders, including GPS essentials, computer mapping, vegetation management, and AgForest's native forest field days. Upcoming workshops include:

  •   3 November    Byrne Valley      GPS Essentials
  • 11 November    Eidsvold           AgForests Field Day
  • 13 November    Mt Garnet          GPS Essentials

To register for the workshops contact AgForward on 3238 6039. More information can be found at www.agforward.org.au

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Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference – Townsville, March 2009

The call is out for papers for the Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference. The conference themed Many Tribes, One Country is to be held 24-27 March 2009 in Townsville. “The conference focus for 2009 is on the environment, our young people, business opportunities and maintaining our culture” (from the conference website www.aitc2009.com). Abstract submissions close 28 November 2008.

 

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Qld Weeds Symposium – Yeppoon, July 2009

For those wishing to submit papers or posters for the 10th Queensland Weed Symposium the deadline for abstracts is the 15 December 2008. For more information on the symposium visit the website: www.wsq.org.au/10thWeedSymposium/

 

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For more information on the events above and more, go to www.bdtnrm.org.au/events/

Your feedback and contributions are welcome.
Please forward contributions to the Acting Editor – Ann McKenzie em: ann.mckenzie@bdtnrm.org.au.



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