Proposal to change definition for Volunteering

Speaking at the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) World Conference in the Gold Coast recently, Volunteering Tasmania’s Claire Ellis said a review of the official definition of volunteering was needed.

Ellis said the current definition used by Volunteering Australia was adopted in 1996 and was different to that used by IAVE. She said that Volunteering Tasmania was leading the review process on behalf of Volunteering Australia and was getting ready to start a consultation phase. You can read more about this story.

Have your say about the NRNY Volunteer Engagement Strategy

Natural Resources Northern & Yorke (NRNY) have been progressing with the development of a Volunteer Engagement Strategy.

NRNY acknowledges the valuable contribution of their volunteers and is committed to facilitating community involvement in managing our natural resources. This Strategy will provide direction for NRNY to achieve an effective and consistent approach to engaging with their volunteers.

The Strategy’s development is now at the volunteer and external stakeholder consultation phase and NRNY would like to invite their volunteers and stakeholders to provide comment.

To ensure your views are considered, please make a submission to the Volunteer Support Officer at:

• Post: 2/17 Lennon St CLARE SA 5453
• Email: dewnrnorthernandyorkevolunteers@sa.gov.au
• Phone: 8841 3400

Consultation closes: 5th December 2014

BEST foot forward for biodiversity

A group of volunteers who love nature and don’t mind getting their hands dirty for conservation, were rewarded with a special find on a recent biological survey in Mount Remarkable National Park.

BEST (Biodiversity and Endangered Species Team) volunteers recorded two narrow-nosed planigales during a survey of the Alligator Basin in mid-October.

Australia’s smallest carnivorous mammal, the Narrow-nosed Planigale (Planigale tenuirostris), was last seen in Mount Remarkable National Park in 1983.

“Discovering a previously unrecorded plant or animal, or one that has not been seen for a long time, is one of the best rewards a conservation volunteer can have”, said Wendy Cliff, Volunteer Support Officer with Natural Resources Northern and Yorke and Secretary for the BEST team.

“The little four gram carnivores were certainly highlights, but we also recorded some really interesting reptiles including the Australian Coral Snake (Brachyurophis australis) and the Ragged Snake-eye Skink (Cryptoblepharus pannosus), ” Miss Cliff said.

The recent biological survey of Alligator Basin was funded through a Northern and Yorke Natural Resources Management Board 2014/15 Community Grant.

Linked to a large prescribed burn planned for autumn 2016, the survey, one of several to be conducted over the next three years, will provide information about the impact of fire on plant and animal species in the Alligator Basin.

Established in 2004 to protect and conserve threatened flora and fauna in Natural Resources Northern and Yorke Region, the BEST team have also worked on Pygmy Blue-tongue and Fairy Tern surveys, bat monitoring, biological surveys in other districts, pest plant control, and the award-winning Biodiversity Blitz in Innes National Park in 2011.

“The BEST team are a passionate, enthusiastic, and dedicated group of volunteers who generously give their time to help us protect and conserve our biodiversity”.

“Volunteers play an important role in managing our natural resources”, said Miss Cliff.

To get involved, contact the Northern and Yorke Natural Resources Centre on 8841 3400, email us or visit our website.

Bushfire Safety

Bushfires can threaten suddenly and without warning, we need to ensure we prepare for potential situations around our house, while travelling, holidaying and undertaking volunteer activites.

A bushfire safety plan must be prepared for our volunteer(s) who propose to undertake field work outside of a 'Bushfire Safer Precinct' or 'Safer Settlement' on a day of severe or extreme fire danger, in conjunction with the volunteer management framework procedures.

The following resources are available to assist you in developing a busfire survival plan for you volunteer activity.

• DEWNR Volunteer Bushfire Safety Plan
• CFS Bushfire Survival Plan
• Contact your local NRNY Community Ranger on 8841 3400.
• Bushfire Information Hotline 1300 362 361
• CFS website

Introducing Friends of Private Bushland

The Friends of Private Bushland is a South Australian group for people who own or help to maintain areas of bush on private land. Many of our members own Sanctuaries, Wildlife Refuges or have areas of Heritage Agreement bush on their land.

The group operates through the volunteer efforts of its members, with assistance from the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, and is affiliated with Friends of Parks Inc.

Friends of Private Bushland was set up in 1992 to provide support for owners and managers of natural bushland who wished to preserve that land in its natural state and people who are prepared to put in their own time and effort to preserve and restore bushland areas. 

The principal activities of the group are field trips to bush areas, training courses, and meetings where we can get together to talk about mutual interests. Many of our members are involved in very inspirational conservation such as bandicoot breeding and re-introduction, combining farming and eco tourism, combining orchards and vineyards with sanctuaries and broad scale revegetation of former farmland.

Membership costs just $10 per year and provides a newsletter containing a wealth of useful information every two months. Download a membership application form.

Aboriginal Skies

Saturday 22 November

7:30-9:30pm

Adelaide Planetarium, Mawson Lakes Campus, University of South Australia.

$38/person, concession available

Join astronomer Paul Curnow for an evening at the Adelaide Planetarium where he will take you on a fascinating tour of the Aboriginal night sky. The Aboriginal Peoples of Australia have been gazing skyward for thousands of years and have an in-depth knowledge of the skies above. Hear about The Dreaming stories that relate to the night sky of Aboriginal Australians. Learn about how constellations like the Southern Cross and Orion were seen by Indigenous Australians.

Book online with WEA.

Channel 9 Young Achiever Awards

The purpose of the Channel 9 Young Achiever Awards is to acknowledge, encourage and most importantly promote the positive achievements of young South Australians up to 28 years of age.

The Awards recognise the achievements of South Australia's youth in nine categories, with one of the nine category winners being named the Premier's Channel 9 Young Achiever of the Year.

Categories include:

• AustralianSuper Career Kick Start Award
• Awards Australia Southern Community Service and Volunteering Award
• Flinders Port Holdings Environment Award
• The University of Adelaide Faculty of Sciences - Science and Technology Award

Nominations close 2nd December 2014

Ulooloo Field Day - Landscape and Catchment Function

Ulooloo Station - 10 km North of Hallett

03 November 2014

9.00am - 12.30pm

BBQ Lunch Provided

The field day is part of the Caring for our Country Community Landcare Grants funded "Landscape and Catchment Function" project.

The field day will focus on:

1. A review of the landscape processes, condition and trends
2. Assessment of on-ground works undertaken to restore landscape and catchment function
3. Working demonstration of on-ground works

For more information or to register (by Friday 31 October), please contact Rural Directions Pty Ltd on 08 8841 4500.

Project funded and supported by Burra Rangelands Action Group & South Australian Murray-Darling Basin NRM Board

Connecting Communities through Water

The Philmac Project is our way of giving something back to the regional Australians who support us. This exciting funding initiative offers $30,000* in cash grants per year to help community groups – such as schools, sports clubs, landcare groups and show societies – roll out water-related community projects.

So if you have a great idea, like a new bore, a rehabilitation site or a better use for rainwater, we’d love to know. It’s easy to enter. Just fill in the brief form online, and then rally your local community to drum up votes.

Submission open until 12 December 2014 - 5:00 PM.

Judging will be open from 15 December - 30 January 2015.

Rural Research & Development for Profit Programme

Applications close on 15 December 2014.

The Australian Government's Rural Research and Development (R&D) for Profit programme aims to improve farm-gate productivity and profitability and deliver real outcomes for Australian farmers.

To be eligible for grant funding, RDCs must partner with one or more researchers, research agencies, RDCs, funding bodies, businesses, producer groups or not-for-profit organisations, and the partnership must provide funding (cash or cash plus an in-kind contribution) at least equal to the requested Australian Government grant funding.

New online portal for environment information

A new online portal providing one-stop access to environmental data and reports is now available to the public.

Enviro Data SA was developed by the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources as part of the Premier’s Open Data policy agenda.

Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Conservation Ian Hunter said new data sets and reports would continue to be added to the site, providing a wealth of information on the state’s natural resources.

“This will be of benefit to everyone from primary producers, environmental decision makers and scientists to interested members of the public and school students,” Mr Hunter said.

“Enviro Data SA brings together information from a number of agencies and institutions, including DEWNR, the Environment Protection Authority, Primary Industries and Regions, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Goyder Institute, the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the Department of State Development.

“It contains information on people and the environment, land, water, coast and marine issues, plants and animals, the climate, and economy and industry.

“You can find information ranging from real time water data collected around the state on groundwater aquifers to flora and fauna survey sites – and that is only the start.

“In the past, this information has sometimes been difficult for people to find because it was stored in a number of locations.

“By bringing it all together in one easily-accessible place, we hope to see not only better environmental decision making, but an improved public understanding of the reasons for those decisions and of the science behind them.”

Enviro Data SA complements www.environment.sa.gov.au and www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au, sites that provide information about the management of the state’s environment, water and natural resources, as well as practical information and services to help the community manage their own land.

For more information, visit www.data.environment.sa.gov.au.

Volunteering Opportunities

November

18th: Friends of Innes National Park Working Bee

• Contact - Malcolm Ball

2nd: Friends of Burra Parks Working Bee

• Hopkins Creek CP - Monitoring of Hairy-pod Wattle (Acacia glandulicarpa) and weed eradication
• Contact - Maureen Wright

7th - 21st: Biennial Hooded Plover count along the shoreline of Yorke Peninsula

• Contact Deborah Furbank 0421 617 155

Every 3rd Thursday: Friends of Telowie Gorge Working Bee

• Contact - Frank Gordon 0447 764 064

Every 2nd & 4th Sat: Friends of Spring Gully Working Bee (Sevenhill)

• Contact - Jim Scott