Mid Murray LAP 13th Annual Report 2009-2010 funding sources. They are impacted on by changes in...

Mid Murray LAP

13th Annual Report

2009-2010

Mid Murray Local Action Planning Committee Inc.

PO Box 10

CAMBRAI SA 5353

Phone: 08 8564 6034 Fax: 08 8564 5003

Mob: 0439 965 407

Email: [email protected]

The Mid Murray Local Action Planning Committee was formed in 1997, drawing its members

from a broad cross section of the community. Although members come from differing back-

grounds, it does not matter because no single approach to natural resource management will

provide all the solutions.

The broad aim of the Committee is to foster collaborative participation, the exchange of

ideas, knowledge and experiences, so that the Mid Murray community will be empowered to

tackle the crucial issues of environmental degradation within their district. Such a direction

will help ensure that the vision of “a healthy and sustainable riverine environment for present

and future generations” is realised.

By working together for a sustainable future, the Mid Murray

LAP Committee hope to achieve their vision by:

• empowering the community through education and networking;

• encouraging natural habitat rehabilitation;

• collaborating to ensure sustainable irrigation development and practice;

• ensuring that recreation activities are sustainable; and

• facilitating measures to improve water quality.

National Tree Day Cambrai Area School

Contents

Chairman's Report 5

Committee Profile 6

Annual Report 7

Gross Pollutant Trap swan Reach 7

Shell Hill 8-9

Mannum Interpretive Boardwalk 9

Weed Warriors 9

Community Nursery 9-10

Community Bat Monitoring 10

Marne River Bridge 10

Regent Parrot 10-11

Meldanda Community Farm 11-12

Wetlands 12-13

Newsletter 13

Auditors Report 14

Cash Flow Statement 15

Income and Expenditure statement 16-17

Statement of Financial Position 18

Page 4

Mid Murray Local Action Planning Association Inc. Annual Report 2009—2010

Chairman’s Report 2010

As usual, 2010 has been a busy year for all of the LAPs. We are the organisations that deliver the onground works for the funding bodies and we often under value our importance in the system. We are at

the coalface, dealing with communities, talking with landowners. We do a great job year after year. We interface with the public in a way that governments cannot.

More and more we are working together on part-nered projects, gaining direction and strength in these ventures. It is the time of the year to recognise

these partnerships with our community groups, with our schools, with our volunteers and with our coun-cils and to work toward enhancing those partnerships to better work through an uncertain future.

The LAPs and the community groups are small and adaptable; they can develop and adapt independ-

ently to adjust to the changing world in which they operate. They are not overly restricted in the way that they operate by the changes in the government departments, agencies, or boards. On the other hand, they are impacted on by changes in funding and funding sources. They are impacted on by

changes in government focus.

They are impacted on by the changing staffing arrangements brought about by the governments regular departmental reshuffling. This is not new. After more than thirteen years, the LAPS are still do-ing their worthwhile work. We are still going strong. Let us all take heart. We have outlived the Natural Heritage Trust, we have survived C4C, and our Pro-

ject Officers beat Tracker into submission and even-tual demise.

Gone are the days when it was hard to get four LAP

Chairs to sit at the one meeting. In recent years, all chairs have met and discussed with goodwill our common problems and celebrated our successes.

Gone are the rivalries. We now work strategically and collectively to advance the future of our LAPs

To many of us the Chairman and General Manager of the SA Murray Darling Basin Natural Resource Management Board have become very approachable. They have talked to us individually or collectively, at LAP level or at Local Government level. I have found

their doors open whenever I have called into Murray Bridge. I thank them both for their support.

The future is uncertain. The Board will have a differ-ent structure, some different faces, and no doubt different funding arrangements, but we have been there before. We, along with our staff know the ropes, we can play the game and we will be flexible

but we will be feisty and far more experienced.

We have seen governments come and governments go and some squeak into power by the barest of margins, yet as long as we remain independent and flexible and as long as we bring the community along with us, we will survive all efforts to homogenize our

activities and continue our good work.

We must also be mindful of the impact of the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s

Guide just released and the eventual plan due for release late 2011. We must be actively involved in the community consultation. This

plan will have a big impact on how the River Murray is man-aged and who it is that does the on-ground work.

This year has brought for Mid Murray LAP changes and new beginnings. Congratulations to Aimeé on having a beautiful daughter. Everything that Aimeé does is done with grace, good humour, and great results.

Welcome to our new Project Officer, Warrick Barnes,

who has settled seamlessly into his role and brings

with him new experiences and new ideas from the eastern states. As long as we have the funding, we will have a strong team engaging our community and driving our onground works and our administration.

We have had new committee members over the last few years and will again this year. Welcome to them and thank you for your dedication to our team effort.

To our continuing members we offer you our thanks for your ongoing commitment and accumulated knowledge that is always at our disposal.

To our community members and volunteers, you are our strength; we value you highly and respect your efforts while urging you to continue your interests

and activities in the environment and in our LAP.

To our partnering organisations and our funding partners, I congratulate you on a successful year. I look forward to sharing many more well into the fu-ture.

To our staff, I offer our grateful appreciation of their great efforts during this year and for many more to

come.

Next year will bring new challenges. We are ready for them. We will negotiate, we will be strategic, and we will be adaptable. Our task is to involve our commu-nity and to work for the improvement of our environ-ment.

As we approach the festive season, I wish you the

very best for now and the coming year. I hope that it is everything that you could wish for yourselves and your families. May you have a Christmas full of good-will and joy and a New Year full of hope and happi-ness.

Page 5

Committee Profile

Inez Bormann

Chairman

Terry Franklin

Vice Chairman

Neville Schultz

Executive Member

Aimee Linke

Project Manager

Ian Mann

Mayor

Don Webster Cr. Brian Taylor Glenn Donnell

Kelvin Goldstone

Advisory member Council

Pam Graetz

Administration

Greg Smith

Page 6

Mid Murray Local Action Planning Association Inc. Annual Report 2009-2010

Isobel Campbell

Indigenous Advisor

Warrick Barnes

Project Officer

Rosemary Laucke


A n n u a l R e p o r t

2010 Report provided by Warrick Barnes, Project Officer

for the Mid Murray Local Action Planning

Association.

Gross Pollutant Trap Marks Landing

Swan Reach’s Len White Reserve has received

a face lift with the installation of a Gross

Pollutant Trap, reed control along the channel

and the planting of tube stock. The LAP

received Funding from the Community NRM

Grants for the project, then worked with the

Mid Murray Council and local volunteers to

achieve this outcome.

Works involved included;

Replacing a 600mm culvert with a

gross pollutant trap.

The removal of silt build-up within

the channel

Spraying and slashing the Italic

Australis which had overtaken the

creek

Planting the creek edges with a

variety of riparian plant species.

For the 26.4ha Len White Reserve Catchment

it is estimated that 24,700kL of water will flow

through the trap annually trapping 2000kg

gross pollution and 5100kg of suspended

solids. With the control of the reeds, there will

be better water flow between the wetland and

the river and the biodiversity of the creek line

will increase from less competition from the

reeds.

The work conducted at Len White Reserve will

continue with the support of the locals who

will assist with the ongoing control of the

reeds and the watering of the plants over the

summer months

Page 7

Before

After

The old and the new

Page 8


Shell Hill Reserve

Shell Hill has seen a number of significant

changes over the past 12 months. With

assistance from the Mid Murray Council and

Eastern Hills and Murray Plains Catchment

Group, signs, fencing and shelters have

been erected in an effort to make Shell Hill

a more attractive place for visitors and

protect remnant vegetation.

A new fence has been completed along the

roadside into Shell Hill to protect vegetation

and the fence height increased around the

remnant of shells. Gates were installed to

allow access to the powerlines. The new

fence has four points of access to the

walking trails, they were designed to

prevent motorbikes gaining access.

The walking trails were marked by GPS

waypoints and identified by using small

droppers; each trail has a different name,

distance, estimated time and level of

difficulty associated with it.

A sign has been developed that includes

showing the walking trails throughout the

reserve. The 4 walking trails have been

marked They have been named and the

distances have been determined.

Echidna 3000m –duration 60 minutes

Wombat 650m – duration 20 minutes

Rock Wallaby 250m– duration 5

minutes down/10 minutes up

Shell Hill 300m – duration 10 minutes

LAP has developed signs that are attached

to steel frames and have been placed at

Shell Hill.

The Shell Hill entrance sign, made from

stone, has been erected designed to entice

visitors into the area by making the

entrance more attractive.

Two Bushland Condition Monitoring sites

have been set up. The plant diversity

scores came out as excellent providing

proof that the works being conducted to

protect vegetation at Shell hill are highly

valuable

One of the signs erected at Shell Hill

Page 9


‘A wombat sign has been erected for the

reserve. It will be positioned on one of the

walking trails

Mannum Wetland Interpretive Walk

With the assistance from the Mid Murray

Council, the Lions Club and Correctional

Services, thirty metres of the Mannum

Interpretive boardwalk was erected. The

materials used for this project have avoided

the equivalent of 5,555kg of plastic entering

landfill.

LAP is currently looking for extra funding to

extend the boardwalk to one day reaching

the river. LAP is excited with the boardwalk

being surrounded by water for the first time

since its erection and hope that the water

maintains a good level so that members of

the community can continue to appreciate

the hard work done by many people for this

project.

Weed Warriors

The Mid Murray LAP has once again been

involved with the Weed Warriors program

aiming to educate students on Weeds of

National Significance and biological control

agents. Students from Blanchetown Primary

have their own biological control nursery

raising Leaf Buckle Mite with the aim of

releasing some on wild infestations of

Boneseed in the near future.

Cambrai Area School was involved with the

release of Bridal Creeper Leaf Hopper at

Christians Reserve. The program seems to

be working with students involved in

previous weed warriors programs having

good knowledge of weeds and biological

controls.

Cambrai Community Nursery

The Cambrai Community Nursery has

continued to be a vital aid for local land

holders in the area as it assists with small

revegetation projects on their properties.

The nursery has also supplied tube stock for

other revegetation projects carried out by

the LAP including the Regent Parrot planting

days and planting days at Meldanda, Marne

Bridge and Len White Reserve. The ability to

grow its own seedlings has enabled the LAP

to conduct on ground revegetation works at

Wombat Sign at Shell Hill Reserve

Weed Warrior Release

Finished Boardwalk surrounded by water

Page 10


a lower cost and allowed limited funds to be

better utilised. The Nursery has continued

to be a low cost option providing quality

native tube stock allowing the LAP to

involve a broad spectrum of the

community.

The work undertaken at the Nursery has

been made a lot easier with the support of

our dedicated volunteers who were involved

in a variety of duties throughout the year

along with the Mid Murray Council who

have shown their support with the delivery

of materials and the fixing of the shade

cloth.

Facilities at the Nursery are also being used

as a Biocontrol nursery for Boneseed and

the rearing of Leaf Buckle Mite as part of a

wider project supporting South Australian

Research and Development Institute

(SARDI) who are looking at the Leaf Buckle

Mite as a possible Biocontrol agent for

Boneseed. The Nursery has also been a

vital component of our weed warriors

program with the Boneseed and Bridal

Creeper grown provided for the program.

Community Bat Monitoring

The Mid Murray LAP’s community bat

monitoring program continues to be

popular with a variety of landholders

continuing to borrow our bat monitors for

their properties. A variety of workshops

were conducted by LAP which were very

popular and provide valuable learning

opportunities while assisting in raising

awareness of bats within the community.

Marne River Bridge

The Marne River Bridge restoration project

started with a planting day held in early

August. With fantastic winter rains, the

Marne River has begun to run again

inundating the plantings on three

occasions. The planting day was a success

with many plants being planted improving

the biodiversity of the popular picnic area

for travellers through the region. Although

there has been some casualties from the

high river levels many tube stock planted

have survived the high water levels with

the tree guards helping to protect the

young plants from the fast moving river.

Regent Parrot Recovery Project

The past year has seen the development of

a flight corridor plan by Greening

Australia’s Jo Spencer for Regent Parrots.

The LAP has been involved with the Regent

Parrot Recovery Team assisting with on

ground works that aim to link nesting sites

with surrounding stands of Mallee bushland.

The planting of native plant species

occurred along a fenced area of land along

Pipeline Rd North of Swan Reach. The

planting day involved Mid Murray LAP,

Greening Australia, SA Water, River Murray Photo taken at Community Bat Workshop

Planting Day Photo

Page 11


Urban Users LAP and volunteers from

Riverland West LAP and Conservation

Volunteers Australia.

A large area of land was also direct

seeded with assistance from staff from

Greening Australia and a dedicated local

volunteer.

Rabbit control was undertaken in the area

by the SA Ferret Association prior to the

planting and direct seeding with fantastic

follow-up rain complementing the work

achieved over the past twelve months.

Regent Parrots and Blanchetown

Primary School

Students from the Blanchetown Primary

School have once again used their know

how and a bit of old fashioned hard work

in a planting day held in late August near

Morgan’s Lagoon south of Blanchetown.

Enthusiasm and a happy approach to the

planting was the order of the day with

students planting roughly 100 plants in

the afternoon.

It is the second time students from

Blanchetown have been involved with

planting for Regent Parrots with an area

being planted in 2008. There previous

work has been successful with Regent

Parrots observed feeding on plants from

the earlier planting.

Meldanda

It has been a busy year at Meldanda

property. The area continues to be a hive

of activity with contributions from the

students and staff of the Cambrai Area

School and many volunteers that

generously give their time to make the

place what it is. With many of the dreams

from the movers and shakers of Meldanda

starting to take shape, the area is coming

together nicely although there is still

much more to be done.

Bushgardens

The Meldanda Bushgardens have

continued to take shape in the past

twelve months with new plant

communities being planted and the

continued maintenance of the established

area. Assistance from dedicated

volunteers and the passionate Ross

Elliker, who continues to be a driving

force with the whole Meldanda project,

making the Bushgardens what they are

today.

Students from Blanchetown Primary

Direct Seeding near Pipeline Rd

National Tree Day at Meldanda

Page 12


With the assistance of new technologies the

story of the Bushgardens has been

cemented in history with the creation of the

Meldanda Bush Gardens placestory. This

technology has enabled the story of the

Bushgardens to be told with accompanying

photos showing a quick timeline of the

project which was uploaded onto the

internet for all to see. www.midlap.org.au

The assistance from the students of

Cambrai Area School has been vital in the

plantings of the new plant communities in

the gardens with irrigation being set up to

water the plants over the summer months.

Signs have been designed, printed and

placed around the garden for the pleasure

and education of visitors to the gardens

The Butterfly gardens

Plant signs have been made for the butterfly

garden and bush foods area. Plants have

been mapped for future placement of the

signs.

Frog Pond

The frog pond has been one of the

highlights for the year at Meldanda with

successful funding received for the project.

The frog pond has been excavated, lined

with plastic, planted with riparian plant

species and had chip bark laid around the

plastic liner of the pond .

On National Tree Day the Students of

Cambrai Area School planted the area

around the frog pond transforming the pond

from a plastic lined dam into what will

hopefully be an ideal breeding environment

for a variety of frog species. After the

planting day, chip-bark was laid

transforming the area into one of the

highlights of Meldanda

Wetlands

It has been a busy year with water

monitoring, vegetation transects, tree

health evaluations, bird and frog

monitoring, commenting on a variety of

management options for our wetlands and

the increase in water into our river system

after good winter rains.

The year has been full of ups and downs

with the outlook going from poor to good

within a matter of weeks. The increased

water level has bought spectacular

responses from a variety of species,

especially the frogs, with some wetlands

noisier than an international airport.

Wetlands have started to fill up with the rise

in water and the carp screens seem to be

doing a great job in keeping the wetlands

carp free.

The Mid Murray LAP assists with the on

ground monitoring in a variety of wetlands

including;

Wongulla wetland

Noonawirra wetland

Sweeny’s lagoon

Morgan’s Lagoon

Sugar Shack Wetland

Lake Carlet

Before and after shots

Page 13


Devon Downs

With the help of funding received this

year, the Devon Downs precinct continued

to see work undertaken on the control of

wheel cactus and boxthorn .

The wetland group at Devon Downs has

again been active in monitoring their

wetland, attending monitoring days

organized by the Mid Murray LAP and the

SAMDB Wetland Officer Kate Mason. The

group assists with a variety of monitoring

activities including photo-point photos,

tree health surveys vegetation monitoring

and groundwater monitoring. The Devon

Downs wetland group use these days as a

valuable means to interact with

neighbours and other landholders within

the area while providing a friendly and

relaxed environment for land holders to

quiz both the Mid Murray LAP project

officer and the Wetlands Officer on a

variety of issues.

Noonawirra wetland

In early June the pumping of water into

the Noonawirra wetland started after a

few years of extended drying of the

wetland. The wetland responded well with

water seeping into the cracks that had

formed over the past years and the

germination of native grasses and reeds

along the water’s edge.

A top up water was scheduled for later in

the year but with the fantastic rains and

the increased river levels the earthen

bank that was put in place to keep the

water in the wetland for the original

watering was removed to allow water in

the river to enter the wetland unimpeded.

Newsletter

The Mid Murray LAP produces regular

newsletters which profiles some of the

projects it has been involved with and

issues within our region. The newsletter

reaches a broad section of the community

and positive feedback is received from

those who receive it The LAP also has a

webpage where the latest newsletters can

be downloaded and with links to other

projects and information, visit

www.midmurraylap.org.au

Cactus control Devon Downs

Before

During

After

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