What's On

September

1-30: Biodiversity Month

17- 18: MERI Capacity Building Workshop

17- 19: Queensland Coastal Conference ‘Shifting Sands’, Bundaberg

18- 20: GPS Essentials Workshops

19: 9th International Conference on the Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions

20- 21: Water Quality Link Up

23: Environmental Open Day in Anderson Park, Townsville

24: Burdekin Solutions Board meeting

25: Presentation of Draft Investment Strategy for the Barratta Creek Catchment

25: GPS, ArcGIS and GIS/ARCVIEW training, Emerald.

25- 27: 14th Biennial NSW Weeds Conference

October

01: World Habitat Day

01: Registrations close, Computer Mapping Workshops, Eungella, Collinsville, Belyando Crossing, Charters Towers

03: 3rd Biennial Victorian Weeds Conference

04: Reef Check Australia Photography Competition Awards and Auction, Perc Tucker Gallery

05: Round Two applications close, Lifestyle WaterWise Grants

08: National Weedbuster Week

08- 11: Computer Mapping Workshops, Eungella, Collinsville, Belyando Crossing, Charters Towers

09: Arbour Day

11: Burdekin Water Quality Improvement Plan Workshop

09- 12: 2nd National Indigenous Land and Sea Management Conference: ‘CARING FOR COUNTRY, our people, our nation, our responsibility’, Cardwell

12: Weed Spotter Training session at TAFE, Pimlico, Townsville

13- 14: Girringun Cultural Festival

18-19: Coral Reef Futures Forum, Canberra

21-27: National Water Week

22: Funding submissions round closes, Our Place, Our Future: resourcing rural capacity

BDTNRM Moves Office

Our new office location will be
2 McIlwraith Street, South Townsville.
All other contact details remain the same (including postal).
We will be closed for the move on Friday 21 September and Monday 24 September, and reopen on Tuesday 25 September.

BDTNRM Out and About

Chloe Schauble, BDTNRM’s Monitoring & Evaluation Coordinator, attended the 2007 Australasian Evaluation Society conference in Melbourne on 3-7 September. Highlights were the three fabulous keynote speakers and the warm and thoughtful welcome from the Wurundjeri people (Traditional Owners of the land on which the conference was held). Keynote speaker presentations included: being intentional in building evaluation capacity; the development and testing of programme theory (logics) over the years; and processes for encouraging development of a ‘learning organisation’.

Judy Warner, Melissa George and Cliff Cobbo will be attending the National Forum for NRM Facilitators Network in Canberra 18 – 20 September.

Judy Warner, Leah Salter, Peter Arthofer and Deb Cavanagh will staff the BDTNRM promotional display at TCC Parks Environmental Open Day, Anderson Gardens, Mundingburra 23 September, 10am – 4 pm.

In the lead up to the National Indigenous Land and Sea Management Conference in Cardwell in October, Gale Duell will be in and out of Cardwell, working with Girringun putting the finishing touches on the display showcasing the excellent NRM products they have been developing as part of a major Traditional Knowledge project using GIS as a platform. The first week of the school holidays will find Gale on leave in a remote location with her grandchildren doing nothing more energetic than baiting a fishing rod.

Leonie Maddigan (Coastal LG projects officer) and Dr Rachel Allan (Coastal and Marine Programme Coordinator) will be participating in the State Coastal Conference ‘Shifting Sands’ in Bundaberg 17-19 September. Leonie is presenting a paper, Coastal Management in the Burdekin – Cane and Sea, and Rachel is chairing one of the Public Policy and Governance sessions. Following the conference they will also be attending the Coastal LG Forum on the Thursday. The Coastal Conference will also see the launch of a community service announcement (CSA) developed by BDTNRM and the Sea Turtle Foundation which addresses the significant issue of boat strikes on threatened marine turtles. Stay tuned for more information.

BDTNRM will be out in force at the Indigenous Land and Sea Management Conference 9–12 October. All BDTNRM staff attending (Gale Duell, Leah Salter, Rachel Allan, Judy Warner, Doug Willis and Juelisa Nash) will also be working as volunteers. Leah is also running a sponsorship program to enable a number of Traditional Owners from the catchment attend (similar to the Landcare Conference sponsorship program). 

Judy Warner and Leonie Maddigan are organising and is BDTNRM hosting the Local Government NRM Liaison Officer Meeting 16 – 18 October (they will also be attending).

Leonie Maddigan and Rachel Allan will be attending GBRMPA’s launch of the Reef Guardian Councils programme with Townsville City Council on the 17 October. The Reef Guardian Council initiative looks to achieve better environmental outcomes for the Great Barrier Reef through local government’s role in natural resource management. The initiative also seeks to improve both local government and community capacity in protecting the Great Barrier Reef.

Rachel Allan will attend the Local Marine Advisory Committee meeting on the 18 October, where Dr. Ian Dight will give a presentation about the development of the Burdekin Water Quality Improvement Plan.

For more information on the events above and more click here