Land restoration works - 2004

Home | Land | Land Use & Management | Land Restoration Works | 2004

Indicator description

What does the Data tell us for 2000/2004

Councils Capital Works Program

Roadside Environment

Bushland Management

Shoalhaven Total Catchment Management (TCM) Landcare Committee

Shoalhaven Bushcare Program

 

Council's Capital Works Program

Council undertakes a major works program each year that improves and/or enhances facilities for residents and visitors. Whilst not specifically aimed at environmental restoration, all ‘works’ projects seek to limit the impact they have on the environment and, wherever possible, turn around an existing situation of environmental degradation.

Council is committed to ensuring that all ‘works’ are carried out only after full consideration has been given to the care of flora, fauna, air, land and water. In order to achieve this, Council is committed to:

  • observing all relevant environmental laws and regulations;

  • implementing a system of staff training and induction concerning our environmental system;

  • implementing and maintaining a system of continual improvement for the maintenance of our environment to provide a balance between our activities and the socio-economic needs of the community; and

  • implementing and maintaining a system of documented procedures to ensure environmental objectives and targets are being met and reviewed.

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Roadside Environment

A Roadside Environment Management Plan has been adopted by Council.

Roadside environments sometimes represent the best example of remnant vegetation remaining in an area. The conservation of these roadside environments is important.

An audit has been carried out on the main roads in the Shoalhaven which classifies roadsides as having either high, medium or low conservation value.

This information forms the basis of the roadside management plan which outlines best management practices for Shoalhaven roadsides. The plan outlines maintenance practices as well as areas which need special attention because, for example, they contain threatened species or some other attribute that needs to be protected.

An important first step in the implementation of the plan will be the training of roadside workers in understanding the value of roadside vegetation and how it can best be protected and enhanced.

Council has received grant funding to employ a Rural Privet Control Officer who is developing strategies and actions in partnership with land owners to control this noxious weed.

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Bushland Management

Shoalhaven City Council manages more than 2,000 parcels of land that are reserved for public use. This land is combined into 839 separate reserves. At least one third of the reserved land (727 properties) can be classified as natural area ie. 1,319 ha out of 3,972 ha.

In addition to this, much of the parkland area of sporting fields are surrounded by bushland. The management of this bushland is a significant undertaking that Council recognises as being important.

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Shoalhaven Total Catchment Management (TCM) Landcare Committee

Shoalhaven TCM Landcare Committee administers the position of Landcare Coordinator in the Shoalhaven using a Natural Heritage Trust Grant and support from Shoalhaven Council, the Department of Land & Water Conservation (Landcare) and National Parks & Wildlife Service. The position was established late in 1997 and is an ongoing position.

The Committee has representatives from each of the northern, central and southern areas of the Shoalhaven as well as representatives from Council, Department of Land and Water Conservation and National Parks & Wildlife Service.  Funding for this project requires the development/implementation of:

  • four natural resource plans;
  • one planning workshop;
  • four newsletters;
  • four technical seminars;
  • four media releases;
  • four displays; and
  • four community talks.

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Shoalhaven Bushcare Program

Shoalhaven City Council began registering volunteer Bushcare groups to work on its reserve land in January 1997. This is an ongoing program and major gains have been made. There are now more than 75 Shoalhaven Bushcare groups with approximately 600 volunteers. Bushcare empowers the community to work on public reserve land in cooperation with Council. Sometimes the results are obvious, as they are for example when a boardwalk is built.  In other cases Bushcare simply means that one person wants to weed the bushland next to their house.  They quietly undertake this work, whenever they can or whenever the mood strikes them.

What is Bushcare?

Bushcare is about volunteer participation in the repair, protection and enhancement of natural areas in public ownership.

Over the last few decades there has been growing public recognition of the increased levels of degradation of our bushland areas.  There has also been a growing awareness of the need to manage bushland areas to maintain healthy ecological systems for their social, economic and environmental benefits to the community.  These principles are in accordance with Shoalhaven City Council’s Guidelines for Integrating the Principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) into Shoalhaven City Council Activities.

Concurrently, Landcare, Dunecare and Rivercare programs have been contributing to an ever-increasing body of knowledge about how to manage bushland areas.  This knowledge has contributed to a growing appreciation by landholders and the wider community that reversal of land degradation is possible.

The Bushcare program provides an opportunity for members of the community to participate, as volunteers, in rehabilitating and caring for lands managed by Council for the community’s benefit.  Bushcare volunteers have a vital role in the management of these natural areas and are an essential part of Council’s approach of including the community in decisions and actions pertaining to their local area.

The Shoalhaven has 727 public reserves that are classified as community land that have a total of 1,319 hectares managed by Council in accordance with State Government legislation and planning policies.  In addition, many of the sporting fields are surrounded by bushland.

Bushcare volunteers may become involved in a variety of activities including bush regeneration, weed control, stormwater control, track and trail construction and maintenance, flora and fauna surveys, public and schools education, site assessment and environmental monitoring.

Shoalhaven Council is a major land manager and recognises the importance of protecting the areas’ natural assets and the crucial role that community involvement can play.  Council is committed to supporting community volunteers participating in the Bushcare program.

Benefits of Bushcare

The Shoalhaven Bushcare program will provide:

  • An increased awareness of bushland management issues among participants and the wider community.  Increased awareness fosters stewardship of publicly owned bushland and is one of the most effective methods of dealing with problems such as rubbish dumping, damage or removal of native vegetation, encroachment, and weed invasion;

  • An opportunity to improve the effectiveness of bushland management in the Shoalhaven by complementing bush rehabilitation works and projects undertaken by Council and other agencies.  The Bushcare program increases the extent of on-ground works where degradation issues are being rectified.  Bushcare can also provide the on-going care necessary to achieve good outcomes from one-off initiatives;

  • Improved quality of community life through increased social interaction, sharing of information and maintenance of the aesthetic quality of bushland; and

  • Additional opportunities for interaction between Council and community members.  This facilitates community-inclusive development and implementation of management strategies, and the prevention and resolution of disputes.

Aims of the Bushcare Program

The aim of the Bushcare program is to promote and implement ecologically sustainable management of the natural bushland areas within the City of Shoalhaven by encouraging community ownership of the natural environment and supporting community members becoming actively involved in-group activities.

Objectives of the Bushcare Program

The objectives of Council and the Bushcare Program in managing vast areas of public Bushland reserves are as follows:

  • To conserve biodiversity and maintain ecosystem function in respect of the land, which is categorised as a Natural Area, under the Local Government Act 1991;

  • To work in areas categorized as natural areas - community land, and provide for the restoration and regeneration of these areas under the direction of Council in accordance with best practice bush regeneration techniques;

  • To control and eradicate noxious and environmental weed species, stabilize soil erosion, re-vegetate with local native plants and increase the public awareness and appreciation of the natural values through education initiatives and training;

  • To provide for community use of and access to the land in such a manner as will minimise and/or mitigate disturbance caused by human use;

  • To assist in and facilitate the implementation of any provisions for management of the land that are set out in a recovery plan or threat abatement plan prepared under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 or the Fisheries Management Act 1994; and
  • To encourage and promote community awareness of the Shoalhaven City Council Bushcare Program.

The main focus of works are

  • bush regeneration and restoration;

  • sand dune stabilisation;

  • erosion control;

  • track maintenance/construction; and

  • erection of protective fencing;

Currently the main challenges for Council are

  • Having enough resources to adequately support the Bushcare program;

  • Effective management of volunteer activities within the City;

  • Ensuring all volunteers receive appropriate training and resources;

  • Ensuring all volunteers are working in accordance to Council’s OH&S guidelines; and

  • Increasing the grant funding opportunities to enable the Bush care groups to increase their effectiveness.

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Table 64 - Bushcare Grant Funding 2000 - 2004

Project

Description

Amount

Funding Source

Illawarra/Shoalhaven Coastal Restoration Project

The Illawarra District Weeds Authority has been contracted by the Southern Rivers Catchment Authority to run the Illawarra / Shoalhaven Coastal Restoration Project. The project will target 8 sites across the Illawarra & Shoalhaven to target Bitou Bush control in line with the South Coast Bitou Bush Control Strategy.

Four sites have been chosen in the Shoalhaven as follows

  • Seven Mile Beach National Park;

  • Comerong Island Nature Reserve;

  • Culburra Beach; and

  • Sussex Inlet – Cudmirrah Beach

In the Shoalhaven, SCC will manage the project by employing a Project Officer to coordinate strategic Bitou Bush control and revegetation between state, local government and community groups as well as employing contractors to work on areas where there are no volunteers groups or are too hazardous for volunteers.

$40,000

Southern Rivers Catchment Authority

Culburra Beach Dune Restoration & Bitou Bush Control Project

This project will aim to build on, coordinate and support the continued efforts of the strong Bushcare volunteer network and local land management agencies engaged in dune rehabilitation works on and surrounding Culburra Beach.

A contract trainer and bush regenerator will be engaged part-time, to train and assist the Bushcare groups working on Bitou Bush control and dune restoration project in and around Culburra Beach, in accordance with the Management Plan for Culburra Beach Bitou Bush Control Program 1997. 

$24,940

Australian Govt Envirofund

 

Restoration, Conservation & Community Awareness of Lake Wollumboola SEPP 14 Wetland No. 365

This project will aim to restore, conserve and raise the community awareness of the natural values of Lake Wollumboola and the extremely sensitive vegetation communities and threatened species habitat of the SEPP 14 Wetland No 365  along the northern shore of Lake Wollumboola.

$23,198

Australian Government Envirofund

Narrawallee Community Dune Restoration – Envirofund Grant–2004

This project will aim to reduce the impact of exotic weeds on the biodiversity of Narrawallee Beach dunes, as well as provide educational opportunities to raise the public awareness and appreciation of the local coastal ecology.  

$20,091

Australian Government Envirofund

Southern Shoalhaven Coastal Restoration and Bitou Bush Eradication Project -

This project will aim to compliment the volunteer on-ground works with the use of contractors to oversee and coordinate volunteer efforts and undertake regeneration works in remote and hazardous areas over the 40km coastline of the project area. The project has been on-going for the past 6 years and has achieved major restoration works along the coastal zone throughout the entire project area. 

$22,770

Australian Government  Envirofund

Bannister Point Littoral Rainforest Restoration – Stage 3

This project will continue to boost the volunteer efforts undertaken by the Mollymook Dunecare group who have been working for 5 years to rehabilitate a small but significant remnant of SEPP 26 Littoral Rainforest, situated on Bannister Head, Mollymook. 

$7,416

Australian Government  Envirofund

Lake Tabourie  Foreshore Regeneration

The Tabourie Bushcare Group have identified two key lake foreshore sites within Lake Tabourie that are degraded due to impact from visitors gaining uncontrolled access to foreshore. Both these sites are contributing to the siltation and decline in remnant foreshore vegetation.  This project will:

  • Reduce and minimize erosion of Lake Tabourie and Lemon Tree Creek by re-vegetating degraded areas of the Lake Tabourie and Lemon Tree Creek;

  • Reduce the impact on the lake & creek foreshore by managing visitor impacts and excluding illegal access to foreshore areas;

  • Reduce sedimentation of Lemon Tree creek through the exclusion of motor vehicle and a community riparian revegetation; and

  • Improve the biodiversity value of the Tabourie Lake.

$6,764.60

Australian Government  Envirofund

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Northern Area Bushcare Groups | Central Area Bushcare Groups | Southern Area Bushcare Groups

 

Home | Land | Land Use & Management | Land Restoration Works | 2004