Hi Landcarers

Have you thought about joining us for Tree Day activities this month?

We have four days of events at the end of the month. The first two are ‘invite only’ but National Tree Day (NTD) is open to everyone!

The events kick off with Eco Day on Thursday, 28 July at the Central West Livestock Exchange (CWLE). Representatives from Stage 3 students in Parkes and Forbes schools will take part in workshops and activities that will increase their knowledge of recycling, domestic and invasive animals, Wiradjuri culture, insects, snakes, weeds and much more.

On Thursday we will be enjoying Schools National Tree Day with Forbes primary schools and pre-schools. We will be planting out near the CWLE.

Forbes NTD will be held on Saturday, 30 July between 10am and 1pm. We will be planting out a tree belt and continuing the work undertaken by the schools on Friday.

Parkes Tree Day will be held at a picturesque spot out of the Condobolin Road. This is a new location for NTD and will assist with the increase of habitat connectivity in the area.

Both events will be held between 10am and 1pm and finish with a BBQ which will be overseen by the Rural Fire Service. They are both listed on the Planet Ark NTD site, click here and register so that we have enough lunch to go around.

A few weeks ago I attended a Habitats for Hollows conference at Dubbo. This fantastic conference was run by the Central West Councils Environment and Waterways Alliance (CWCE&WA). The CWCE&WA is a partnership of 19 Councils across Central West NSW, encompassing both the Central Tablelands and Central West Local Land Services (LLS) regions. The Alliance exists to improve environmental outcomes across the region.

The Alliance employ a Project Support Officer to assist Councils with on-ground works, grant funding opportunities, project development and management and the organisation of Alliance meetings and capacity building events.  This role is supported and complimented by relevant staff from both participating LLS regions.

In order to fund the operational costs of the Alliance, financial contributions are made by each member Council representing 50% of the total Alliance funding.  The remaining 50% of funding is contributed equally by Central Tablelands LLS and Central West LLS who utilise the existing and functional Alliance format as their primary means of engagement with Local Government across their respective regions.

The member Councils have a long history of collaboration, dating back to 2000 when they first came together as the Salinity Action Alliance to tackle the emerging threat of salinity across the region.  In 2007 the scope of the partnership was widened to take in the protection of waterways.  This was achieved by partnering with the then newly formed Central West Catchment Management Authority to deliver sound and practical on-ground environmental outcomes.

Much of the focus of the group surrounds issues along waterways and rivers – Coxes, Fish, Macquarie, Castlereagh, Bogan, Lachlan, Cudgegong Rivers and their many tributaries.

I have several free first aid courses available to members if you are looking to update your certificate. We were successful in obtaining funding through the Central West Local Land Services to run a course. Each space would normally cost $165. It requires online testing prior to the practical. Please contact me ASAP if you are interested.

As usual, links to items in this article are available on facebook or on our website at centralwestlachlanlandcare.org and I can be contacted at our office on 02 6862 4914 or email me at cwllpo@hotmail.com

Until next week, happy Landcaring!