Local Land Services NSW Archives

NSW LANDCARE AND LOCAL LAND SERVICES CONFERENCE A RESOUNDING SUCCESS!

The 2022 NSW Landcare and Local Land Services Conference was held on Thursday 17th March and for the first time it was an entirely online event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The existing three-day program was condensed into a single day of inspiring, informative and innovative presentations and discussions attended by over 250 attendees from across the state.

“Despite the challenges we have faced in the lead up to this conference, we were able to all come together. If we have learnt one thing in the last two years, it has been resilience and adaptability,” Landcare NSW Chair Ms Stephanie Cameron said.

*Landcare NSW Chair Stephanie Cameron opened the conference.*

“Landcare is needed now more than ever. It was so inspiring to see Landcarers from flood affected areas online and sharing their knowledge. Our thoughts and well wishes go out to those who have been and are still being impacted by the devastating floods.”

Hosted by War on Waste’s Craig Reucassal, the event was engaging from the very beginning with an incredible keynote address from Dr Chadden Hunter, producer of the wildlife series Planet Earth.

The day featured concurrent sessions around the theme of the conference: Rethink – Engaging Community; Recharge – Regenerative Agriculture/Land Management; Renew – Biodiversity/Regeneration.

The conference concluded with Landcare NSW CEO Turlough Guerin and NSW Landcare Program Assistant Manager Deb Tkachenko asking the big questions of the over 250 delegates online with their interactive presentation, ‘Rethinking Landcare – Ask the big questions and get answers’.

*Landcare NSW CEO Turlough Guerin asking the big questions!*

“Thank you to everyone who presented at the conference and shared their knowledge, learnings and insights,” said Ms Cameron.

The conference was followed by a free, online awards ceremony for the prestigious 2021 NSW Landcare Awards where the winners for each of the eight Landcare Award categories were announced.

Acting Local Land Services Board Chair, Allison Harker said, “The quality of the nominations from all across the state were outstanding and after an extensive judging process we have been able to pick our finalists and ultimately the Grand Champions for the eight award categories.”

“The nominees should be proud of their achievements, particularly in the wake of cumulative natural disasters and tough seasonal conditions.

“These nominees have shown tremendous resilience in the face of adversity and these awards are an excellent opportunity for us to say thank you to them and the wider Landcare community,” said Ms Harker.

For a full list of finalists and award winners for the 2021 NSW Landcare awards visit, www.nswlandcareconference.com.au

Grand champions of the NSW National Award categories will now go on to represent the whole NSW Landcare Community at the 2022 National Landcare Awards in Sydney.

NSW Landcare Program Gathering, Dubbo 2021

A key component of the NSW Landcare Program is the facilitation of a community of practice, or, ‘gathering’/workshop, for Program Participants (Host Organisations and Coordinators).

This type of forum has been identified as a key milestone for the Program. The opportunity for hosts and coordinators to come together from across the state to share experiences, learn with each other and from each other and to build personal relationships at both the regional and state scales, is seen as critical to building common understanding and capacity for our Landcarers.

Registrations are well over 100 now, with another 50 or so expected comprising of Landcare Coordinators, host organisation members and Regional Landcare Coordinators descending on Dubbo from 8-10 June.

With a key note address by Robbie Sefton, an inspirational communication specialist and farmer, plus guest trainers that will provide sessions that ‘Build Resilience, Not Burnout’ and ‘Whole Brain Thinking’ there is a lot to stimulate thought.

However, this Gathering is not only about learning and receiving information, the Program Team and Landcare NSW staff also want to hear from the Coordinators, hosts and their regions about what works well, the different ways of doing things and what could work better for Landcare into the future.

There are sessions requiring regional thinking and regionally responses, individual self selected optional trainings and plenty of time to confer and network.

Naturally it wouldn’t be Landcare without a few social opportunities and participants are encouraged to attend events at the Devils Hollow Brewery on the first night and the special Conference Dinner on the Wednesday night. If you would like more information, please contact the NSW Landcare Program Team.

Aboriginal Cultural Training and Walkover on the Gegedzerick Travelling Stock Reserve, Berridale

On 30 & 31 March 2021, the Upper Snowy Landcare Network provided a very special opportunity to the local Landcare and school community to walk on the traditional training grounds of Gegedzerick, near Berridale.

Supported by funds from the NSW Landcare Program’s “Working Together” Aboriginal Engagement Program and South East Local Land Services, the event was designed to train local people to recognise Aboriginal objects, artefacts, landscape features and perspectives on land management and traditional Aboriginal culture.

Aboriginal cultural heritage experts Uncle Glen Morris, Graham Moore and local Aboriginal Elder Uncle Snappy were on hand to share their knowledge, provide samples and inject their sharp sense of humour and life experience into a very successful two-day event.

Starting at the local CWA Hall each day, participants were given an insight into the types of Aboriginal objects that can be found in the local landscape, including samples of tools and artefacts for everyone to see and touch. The group then travelled a short distance to the Gegedzerick Travelling Stock Reserve, which is being managed by the Upper Snowy Landcare Network, to utilise their new-found identification skills and knowledge to conduct a “walkover” inspection of the site to identify any potential Aboriginal artefacts.

Uncle Glen Morris speaking to local Landcarers, Day 1.

Under the legislation relating to Aboriginal cultural objects, any artefacts found must be registered and recorded on the NSW Government’s database of Aboriginal objects. A key part of the training during the event involved how to fill in a ‘site-card’ to record the exact location and landscape features surrounding the site and then uploading these to the database.

It is very culturally important that Aboriginal artefacts stay in the location they are found, are protected from disturbance from either farming, conservation, development or other impacts such as soil erosion. Upper Snowy Landcare Network will use the information gathered during this very successful event to further inform future management of the Travelling Stock Reserve.

Further information about the “Working Together” Program can be found at https://landcarensw.org.au/projects/aboriginal-communities-engagement-program/

Further information about Upper Snowy Landcare Network can be found at https://www.uppersnowylandcare.org.au/

Media Release: RETHINK, RENEW, RECHARGE: 2022 NSW LANDCARE & LOCAL LAND SERVICES CONFERENCE

Thursday, 26 November 2020

RETHINK, RENEW, RECHARGE: 2022 NSW LANDCARE & LOCAL LAND SERVICES CONFERENCE

Landcarers from around the state will converge on the far north coast community of Tweed Heads in 2022 for the NSW Landcare and Local Land Services Conference ‘Rethink, Renew, Recharge’.

The conference was to be held next year, but unfortunately had to be postponed due to COVID–19 impacts. It will now take place on 15-17 March 2022 at the Twin Towns Conference and Function Centre in Tweed Heads.

Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall said it would be fantastic to see the conference back after a three-year hiatus.

“The NSW Landcare and Local Land Services Conference presents an opportunity to bring together critical stakeholders across the land management space so that we can explore the trends, insights and strategies being used across our State,” Mr Marshall said.

“This means our land can be more diverse, productive and sustainable and we can empower landholders across the state to improve their local environment.

“Landcare, in conjunction with other stakeholders such as NSW Local Land Service, are working on innovative and interesting projects – several of which I have been lucky enough to see firsthand, such as the rehydration projects west of White Cliffs.

“Any edge we can give those who care for our land, whether farmers, not-for-profits or Government, is critical as cycles become less predictable, and I can’t wait to see what concepts and ideas come out of the 2022 Conference to achieve this.”

Chairperson of Landcare NSW, Stephanie Cameron said it was exciting to announce the go-ahead for the conference on the beautiful north coast.

“It will be particularly special for Landcarers to come together to learn and collaborating after tough times of drought, bushfires and COVID–19,” she said.

‘Rethink, Renew, Recharge’ is hosted by Local Land Services and Landcare NSW with the support of the North Coast Regional Landcare Network.

The conference will bring together a range of environmentally-associated organisations representing industry, not-for-profits, governments, research bodies and businesses as well as grass-roots volunteers.

State Chair of Local Land Services Richard Bull said the conference is about recognising that every day, countless people across NSW are doing their bit to grow and protect healthy environments.

“It is about celebrating everyone’s efforts, from the farmer planting a corridor of trees on his or her property to the urban-based Landcare group cleaning up a local creek,” Mr Bull said.

The three-day event will feature expert speakers and testimonies of Landcarers from around the state who will challenge delegates to rethink how they can best care for land and waterways.

There will be chances for those at the conference to renew their efforts by tapping into the latest research and learning new skills such as new skills in areas such as coast care and regenerative agriculture.

A choice of field trips will be on offer, giving participants the opportunity to recharge the batteries through visiting successful project sites and local places of great natural beauty.

The conference will also include the NSW Landcare awards.

The venue at Tweed Heads has been chosen because it is large enough to allow social distancing measures to be implemented if required.

More than 320 delegates and guests attended the most recent NSW Landcare and Local Land Services conference in Broken Hill last year.

“It will be great to see networks and partnerships that were forged in the outback in 2019 strengthened in the very different environment of the north coast in 2022,” said Chris Roberts from North Coast Regional Landcare Network.

The last time the conference was held on the north coast was at Port Macquarie in 2007.

Conference tickets will go on sale in 2021. Interested delegates and exhibitors can find updates at the conference website www.nswlandcareconference.com.au and by following ‘NSW Landcare and Local Land Services Conference’ on Facebook.

Media: Matthew Burgess, NSW Local Land Services, 0412 795 307

Samantha Stratton, Landcare NSW