A watery Landcare Link-up
Posted on 8 August, 2018 by Asha
It was a dark and stormy night when Landcarers from around the region gathered in Campbells Creek. Our guest speakers included Trent Gibson (North Central Catchment Management Authority), Barry Floyd (Coliban Water), Brett Thompson (Coliban Water) and Mark Bailey (Goulburn Murray Water).
Trent started us off by talking about some of North Central CMA‘s current local projects. You can CLICK HERE to download his full presentation (2 Mb). Among other things, he talked about the new Castlemaine Creekways Management Plan developed by Mount Alexander Shire in partnership with Friends of Campbells Creek and Castlemaine Landcare Group.
Next we heard from Barry and Brent from Coliban Water, each covering different aspects of their work. They encouraged groups to keep an open mind about where partnerships can come from, and to consider the public health benefits of Landcare work and ways to partner with Coliban Water-funded projects.
Mark from Goulburn Murray Water (GMW) finished the event. He explained that GMW covers an area the size of Tasmania, and encouraged groups to have a look at the plans on the GMW website. During question time, Mark also directed us to the interactive map on the Visualising Victoria’s Groundwater website.
One of the big takeaways from the night was that water management is a complex issue, and we merely scraped the surface in this jam-packed evening. All four speakers stressed their support for government-community partnerships, and an interest in working with more Landcare groups. Speakers emphasised that the way our waterways are managed has changed significantly in the last 30 years, and we need to continue to adapt with the changing climate.
Thank you to all of our guest speakers, and to the representatives from eleven Landcare and Friends groups who came along and contributed to the discussion. Thanks also to the volunteers who helped plan and implement the Link-up, included the Landcare Steering Group, and Daryl for picking up our soup!
Beautiful Baker’s Swamp, by Geoff Park
Looks like a fascinating meeting. Water & waterways!
Yes, also sorry I missed it. another possible in the future? Massively important topic! I think lots of people would be interested to attend. Cheers, E
Hi Eliza,
Glad to hear you would be interested in something watery in the future! We don’t have anything planned at the moment, but some Landcare groups may be running water workshops later this year. We’ll share them on the blog when more info is available.
Cheers,
Asha
What was the date of this talk? So sorry I missed it. Should read newsletter more thoroughly in future. Anything there re Catchment Management and increase in housing spreading out on edges of towns effecting water run off with less permeable surfaces – creeks ? hence possibly more water quickly…other than the heavier downfalls we now have anyway….
Hi Chris,
The Link-up was on Thursday 19 July. We didn’t discuss urban sprawl in detail, but it was touched on as part of the big picture of water management.
Thanks,
Asha