Volunteers in action ENews

Natural Resources Northern and Yorke Volunteers in Action ENews keeps you in touch with activities, events and opportunities, specific to volunteers who manage our natural resources in the Northern and Yorke Region.

Your contributions help us build on our network of volunteers.

Please keep sending in your stories, dates, events & volunteering opportunities to DEWNRNRNYVolunteers@sa.gov.au  

SA Campground Host Training

Campground hosts are volunteers who are stationed in national park campsites and support the park rangers with the management of the park and its visitors throughout the year.  At Mt Remarkable National Park, we would like to expand our hosting networks and volunteering opportunities.  Therefore, we are hosting the next training event at Mambray Creek. 

The Department will be holding the next campground host training event at Mambray Creek campground in the Mount Remarkable National Park from Friday 19th June until Sunday 21st June 2015.  This is the first time campground host training will be held in a regional park, as previously the training has been held in Adelaide.  We would like to invite all interested local volunteers and community members to participate in this event and hope you can join us for what promises to be a fun weekend. 

• What’s included:   Campsites will be free for participants, with DEWNR providing a light lunch and morning tea during Saturday’s training, followed by a Saturday night bbq dinner.

• What you need to bring:  Accommodation – tent, van etc., camping equipment, seats, food for Friday night, Saturday and Sunday breakfast, Sunday lunch and other nibbles.  Appropriate clothing and anything else you would usually take on a camping weekend.

Local volunteers and community members are encouraged to participate in this event.

To reserve your place or if you have any questions please contact Lynn Newman, Volunteer Programs Co-ordinator, on 08 8124 4841 or email lynn.newman@sa.gov.au

Bookings are essential

Get involved in bush regeneration

Trees for Life

In the Month of June there are two ways you can get involved:

‘Come and Try’ Bushcare
A practical morning working in the bush so you can see what it is all about.
TUE 2 JUN, Neagles Rock Reserve, CLARE

Introductory Bush Regeneration Workshop
Learn about bushcare and how to get involved
TUES 9 JUNE, CLARE

BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL

If you are interested in attending one of these sessions then contact Trees for Life directly on  - 8406 0500 or email bfl@treesforlife.org.au

Secchi disk volunteering and marine forum

The Friends of Gulf St Vincent will host a Marine Forum at Pine Point, Yorke Peninsula, on Sunday 21 June. Guest speakers will provide presentations on Native Oyster farming and marine mammals found in the Gulf.

The Friends of Gulf St Vincent have purchased a number of Secchi Disks to measure water clarity, also known as turbidity. These disks are simply lowered into the ocean until they are no longer visible. This distance is known as the Secchi depth and is an indication of the water’s turbidity.

Schools along the coast and interested volunteers are invited to participate in monitoring water quality in Gulf St Vincent through a citizen science project. While the waters off Yorke Peninsula are relatively clear, this can quickly change and having baseline data will prove invaluable. Friends of Gulf St Vincent are looking for volunteers who can take samples at least monthly and who have access to a secure structure over relatively deep water, such as a jetty or boat.

The Secchi project will be among the topics discussed at the marine forum on the 21 June at Pine Point from 10:30 to 2:30.  Cost is only $5 per person and includes lunch.

If you are interested in attending the forum RSVP to friendsofgulfstvincent@gmail.com or for more information about Friends of GulfSt Vincent and their activities visit http://friendsofgulfstvincent.org.au/

Yacka Moorundie Landcare Group

The Yacka Moorundie Landcare Group, a local agricultural and land management community group, will be hosting a two-day workshop, “Towards Sustainability” on Monday 15 June and Tuesday 16 June 2015, at the Clare Country Club, with special guest and agricultural advocate, Catherine Marriott to chair the event.

The workshop aims to increase awareness of environmental issues impacting the region and encourage sustainable land management practices, which is a fundamental goal of the group.

A Celebration Dinner will be held on Monday 15 June ‘Celebrating over 15 years of Farmers & Community caring for Land’, to focus on the group's achievements and celebrate its vision for the future. This dinner is being held in conjunction with the  2 day Towards Sustainability Workshop.

Guest speakers Catherine Marriott & Julia Telford will provide an insight into their experiences and the workshop activities during an informal discussion panel.

Dinner Only - $50/person or 2 day workshop $125/person (includes dinner)

This workshop is child friendly.

Register & pay for the 2 day Towards Sustainability Workshop by following this link: http://www.trybooking.com/HUSU

If you require accommodation book now as its running out fast. You’ll get a discount from the Clare Country Club if you mention you’ll be attending this event.

There are two free tickets worth $125 each available to Northern and Yorke Volunteers, put your name down to go in to the draw.

For more information on the Celebration Dinner, the Workshop, how to enter the draw for the Free tickets or to learn more about the Yacka Moorundie Landcare Group contact Natalie Sommerville via email at windjara@bigpond.com or Phone: 0427 507 132 or visit www.yackamoorundielandcaregroup.com or www.facebook.com/YMLCG?fref=ts

Other YACKA MOORUNDIE LANDCARE GROUP events….

6 July – Dinner Meeting 6pm Washpool Hall contact Judith Sommerville 0417 882 501 Guest Speaker Dr Bob Holloway on his role at Minnipa Research Station

2015 KESAB Sustainable Communities Awards

Entries are now open for the annual KESAB Sustainable Communities Program - recognising regional community groups, councils and schools for dedication and motivation to enhance their local community.

The Sustainable Communities Program is all about telling your community's story, getting people together to help their local towns, schools and businesses and being proud of what you have achieved! The program started as the Tidy Towns program in 1978, and three decades later it had grown to be an iconic South Australian environmental education and action program.

In 2008, the program moved into a new era, Sustainable Communities. Whilst the program remains community focused, it has been broadened to cover environmental sustainability, heritage or wellbeing initiatives, just to name a few! This means that virtually any community group, council or school in regional South Australia can get involved.

Based on feedback from participants, some refinements have been made to the 2015 program, and KESAB have introduced project of the year awards (for each sector, school, community and council) and have removed the individual region awards, By participating in the Sustainable Communities Program you will be joining a network of regional South Australian Schools, communities, councils and businesses who share your passion and commitment for making SA a better place to live, work and play!

2015 Awards Categories
• Appearance, Amenities and Facilities
• Community Actions and Partnerships
• Environmental Sustainability
• Health and Wellbeing
• Heritage and Culture
• Leadership and Youth Activities
• Litter Prevention, Resource Recovery and Waste Management
• Natural Environment
• School Project of the Year
• Council Project of the Year
• Community Project of the Year
• Clean Beaches Awards
• Commendation Awards
• Large Town Population > 5001
• Medium Town Population 1001-5000
• Small Town Population< 1000

One town will be announced as the Overall Winner of Sustainable Communities 2015

For further information and to view entry forms, please visit the KESAB website http://www.kesab.asn.au/programs-sustainable-communities/ or ph 882347255 or email communities@kesab.asn.au

Entries close 17 July 2015

2015 Youth Volunteer Scholarships Awards

Are you a Young Volunteer? Or do you know someone who is? Applications will open on Wednesday 10 June 2015 for the Youth Volunteer Scholarship Awards.

The Office for Volunteers Youth Volunteer Scholarship Awards reward young South Australians, aged 25 years and under, who volunteer their time and talents to help others in the community.

Scholarships are awarded in recognition of young volunteers who are currently involved in volunteering, have a history of community participation, and who have demonstrated their personal motivation and interest in volunteering and helping others in the community.

Winners of the scholarship awards will receive financial assistance to help them with tuition fees associated with attending their chosen field of study at a university, TAFE SA, or vocational college course.
The Youth Volunteer Scholarship Awards provide a great opportunity to reward young people who make a difference in our community.

Nomination forms and guidelines will be made available when nominations open at the Office for Volunteers' website at http://www.ofv.sa.gov.au The closing date for nominations is Friday 24 July 2015.

Trees For Life Threatened Flora Project: Diary Dates

Put these dates in your diary for upcoming Trees for Life Working Bees

• June TBA: Acanthocladium dockeri at ‘Hart’ in the Blyth region. Tasks include Broadleaf weeds, soursobs, onion weed
• June TBA: Lachnagrostis limitanea at ‘Yakkalo’ Spalding Region targeting Broadleaf weeds.
• June 23 – 26:  Bush For Life extended BAT - BFL sites at Halbury Parklands / Neagles Rock Reserve / Auburn Cemetery in the Halbury / Clare / Auburn region. Tasks include  Bridal creeper, soursobs, Lavender, bulbous weeds.
• June 27: Caladenia intuta at Brentwood Cemetery in the Yorke Peninsula.  Combined working bee – Freesia, Soursobs, Bridal Creeper.

For more information about the working bees or to register your interest please contact Erica Rees via email
ericar@treesforlife.org.au or on 0408 812 677

Exciting volunteer opportunity to assist in Goanna Monitoring

Are you keen for a virtual treasure hunt? Are you interested in checking wildlife photos?

We are seeking volunteers that would be available to review images from camera-traps for the southern Yorke Peninsula project. Camera-traps will be used to monitor the presence and distribution of goanna species in response to the fox-baiting program.  It’s an opportunity to learn to how to identify some goanna species and see what other animals (native and introduced) have been attracted into the area where the camera-traps are located.

Volunteers are needed for June – early August to review camera-trap images.

Duration: Approximately 1-2 weeks or longer (over 8-10 weeks)

Equipment needed: Personal computer at home (with all your creature comforts), Microsoft software (Excel, Picture viewer)

Duties: Review all images, identify fauna species, record sites and image numbers where fauna species have been seen in Excel, keep track of image review progress

Experience – Experience in using a personal computer use and managing files is essential.

Rewards – Being a part of finding new records of different fauna species presence on southern Yorke Peninsula! Getting a window into the everyday world of native and introduced fauna!

If you are interested in volunteering or would like more more information please contact Lee Heard on 8841 3400 or via her email lee.heard@sa.gov.au

Image – Varanus rosenbergi (Heath Goanna) in Innes NP (Mark Davison)

Free Film Screening - Project Wild Thing

Project Wild Thing is a feature-length documentary that looks
at the challenge of reconnecting children with nature and the
outdoors. The film has inspired a movement around the world to
get kids off their screens and spending more time in wild places.

"Filmmaker David Bond is a worried man. His kids' waking hours are dominated by a cacophony of marketing, and a screen dependence threatening to turn them into glassy-eyed zombies. Like city kids everywhere, they spend way too much time indoors - not like it was back in his day. He decides it's time to get back to nature – literally."

When: Thursday 25 June

Where: Shedley Theatre (Playford Civic Centre) 10 Playford Boulevard, Elizabeth

Time: Networking and nibbles from 6:00pm. Movie begins at 6:30pm (Drinks will be available for purchase from the Shedley Theatre Café)

For more information and to watch the trailer visit www.projectwildthing.com/film or to register your attendance visit www.playford.sa.gov.au/opalnews