The Authority Monthly newsletter of the Cradle Coast Authority May 2010
What’s on in June?
A benchmark for future NRM activities
1-11 June Short term visitor volunteer tree planting and weed works in Stanley area. Contact Belinda Colson
Cradle Coast NRM has been learning about a key resource in the region – its people. To ensure natural resource management projects have maximum impact and to better track the results of NRM activities, the Cradle Coast NRM team commissioned a benchmarking research study to understand the current natural resource beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of Cradle Coast residents.
21-22 June Training in the use of Ripper Mulchers to prevent soil erosion. Table Cape and Forthside. Contact Anna Renkin
The study surveyed rural landholders, urban residents, stakeholder organisations, community groups and marine resource users by telephone and questionnaire at the end of 2009.
The full benchmark reports will soon be available from the Cradle Coast NRM web site (www.cradlecoastnrm.com) and when repeated in the future will provide a valuable guide to NRM activities in the region. Here’s a preview of the current state of play:
Rural Landholders The study found that a range of sustainable land management practices are being undertaken in the region including shelter‐belt planting, fencing to control native or pest animals, soil testing and crop rotations. The top NRM issues identified by landholders were weeds, introduced pest animals, and pasture reduction through native animal grazing but the majority felt that they had the ability to address the issue with only 14% rating the issues as moderate or major.
23 June Arts Industry Drinks networking event. Contact Joanna Gair All month Tree planting and weed works with local schools. Contact Anna Wind
Urban Residents The most commonly reported environmental issues for this group were associated with water, weeds and forest management and nearly 80% of residents expressed concern about the negative impacts of climate change on themselves and their children. There was a strong level of participation in household conservation activities with more than 90% of residents regularly buying local produce and recycling or reusing household waste.
Call us on 6431 6285 to find out more
Cradle Coast Authority 30 Marine Terrace (PO Box 338) Burnie 7320 Phone: 03 6431 6285 Fax: 03 6431 7014 E-mail: admin@cradlecoast.com
Community Groups Fifty‐eight percent of community groups in the survey had received support from Cradle Coast NRM in the previous year with the most valuable areas of support nominated as being help in developing partnerships with other organisations, access to technical advice, and assistance in applying for funding. The benchmarking study found that weeds were the number one natural resource management issue for Cradle Coast landholders, highlighting the importance of Weedbusters training (above) and other weed management activities undertaken by Cradle Coast NRM. Photo: Matt Rose
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The Authority
Meet the Cradle Coast Authority tourism team The Cradle Coast Authority Tourism team works with the tourism and associated industries, councils, state government and visitor centres to create a regional tourism sector that delivers economic, social and environmental benefits to the region. Meet our talented and dedicated team: Ian Waller – Regional Tourism Development Manager Leads the tourism team and develops and promotes tourism in the Cradle Coast by ensuring industry collaboration. Don Monk – Tourism Marketing Coordinator Coordinates the Western Wilderness and North West Coast Zone Marketing Groups strategies and implements tourism campaigns in state and national media. Kylie Scolyer – Tourism Administration and Marketing Officer Supports the team with administration and implementation of marketing promotions including events and monthly newsletters. Also provides administration support to the Zone Marketing Groups. Jenny Evans – Tarkine Project Officer (P/T) Coordinates the development and implementation of the Tarkine tourism strategy. Joanna Gair – arts@work Officer (P/T) North west program officer for Arts Tasmania and arts@work. Provides regional support for Arts Tasmania’s funding programs and works with the team to promote cultural tourism.
Some of the current tourism projects include: • Strategic planning and training support for the Cradle Coast Visitor Information Centre Network. • Local Marketing Groups and Zone Marketing planning and campaign delivery including “Where will the brochures, websites stories take (right) and newspaper articles and advertising. you?” is a major • Implementing the Mining regional tourism Heritage Strategy. campaign • Implementing the Tarkine launched in April Tourism Development Strategy. • Implementing the Source www.tasmaniasnorthwest.com.au to Sensation (food tourism) strategy – Food Connections Tasmania. To contact a member of the Tourism team or find out about regional tourism activities, call 6431 6285.
May 2010
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Healthy competition in Regional Tourism Awards Entries are mounting in the 2010 Cradle Coast Advocate Newspaper Regional Tourism Awards in the lead up to the application closing date on 31 May. The inaugural Awards have been created by the Cradle Coast Authority to recognise excellence in the local tourism industry and provide a confident stepping stone to state and national competitions. The Awards include eleven categories to celebrate a range of business and individual contributions and extend to events, festivals and visitor information services. Entries have been coming in from across the Cradle Coast and the independent judging panel lead by Ron Stendrup is now planning site visits in preparation for the winner announcements on 29 July. Winners and certificates of merit will be awarded at a special ceremony to be held during the 2010 Cradle Coast Regional Tourism Forum. This year’s Forum is themed ‘The Art of Partnerships – leveraging relationships to grow your business’ and has attracted an impressive program of speakers including representatives from Tourism Tasmania, the Federal and State Tourism Ministers, Qantas Holidays and a case study presentation from Geelong Otway Tourism. Registrations for the Forum will open in June. Contact Ian Waller on 6431 6285 for further details on the Regional Tourism Awards or Forum.
In the news Cradle Coast Authority staff have been actively promoting regional projects and successes over the last month. Here are some examples: “...the region’s health and unemployment issues could be a lot better served by coordinating the efforts of all three levels of government ...” – Roger Jaensch, Executive Chairman. Commenting on topics raised with the PM at the Community Cabinet. The Advocate, May 19.
Visit the Cradle Coast Authority web site for
:“...we involved the school students in a planting to recreate the habitat for the lobster ...” – Alison Dugand, Biodiversity Coordinator, on the NRM tree planting activities undertaken in Flowerdale with local school students. The Advocate, May 25. “...(we’ve compiled) a free food, beverage and accommodation showcase to give Southern residents a sample of what’s in store if they opt for a weekend away...” – Don Monk, Tourism Marketing Coordinator, on the North West Coast and Western Wilderness showcase at Salamanca Market. The Mercury, May 8 and The Advocate, May 6 And... there were radio interviews regarding the Bass Highway Sisters Hills upgrade, NRM support of Arbor Week activities at the Arboretum, Landcare funding, volunteer tree planting with NRM, and the Ripper Mulchers. For more details, please contact Amanda Wilson on 6431 6285.
copies of our media releases www.cradlecoast.com
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The Authority
Milestone for North West Coastal Pathway plan Phase one of the North West Coastal Pathway project – Information Gathering ‐ is now complete following an extensive literature review and interviews with Local Councils, State Government departments and parties with a role in the pathway’s planning. Two key considerations raised from this consultation were technical and land management issues in route planning (including use of the rail corridor and land tenure) and regional pathway delivery (including land use planning processes, section prioritisation, and maintenance). The importance of community expectation management and a clear understanding of the project benefits and drivers in guiding plan decision making were also frequently raised during phase one. Work continues on the pathway master plan with a target completion date of end August 2010. The North West Coastal Pathway phase one report will be available on the Cradle Coast Authority web site: www.cradlecoast.com/latest_news.html from 8 June. For more information contact Karen Hampton on 6431 6285.
A good hearing at the Community Cabinet The Cradle Coast Authority had two meetings at the recent Community Cabinet —one between Roger Jaensch and Karen Hampton and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and one between Richard Ingram and the Hon. Tony Burke MP, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Roger and Karen discussed the relationships between the region’s adult literacy, health and unemployment issues and the need for coordinated programs between the three levels of government and across ministerial portfolios. The topic received a good hearing and the Authority is now organising a meeting with the Prime Minister’s and Premier’s departments to develop a detailed proposal with local government representatives. Richard Ingram provided practical feedback to the Government on both the Landcare program and Caring for our Country initiative in the Cradle Coast region. A key message was the requirement for a shift away from ‘one size fits all’ programs and the ability for regions to customise programs and engagement methods to suit local conditions. The feedback was well received and Richard has since been contacted by department representatives to follow up on some of the issues raised. For information on Community Cabinet discussions, please contact: Roger Jaensch on rjaensch@cradlecoast.com Richard Ingram on ringram@cradlecoast.com (Left) Kevin Rudd visits Burnie for the Community Cabinet. Photo: Tahnia Creedon
Briefly Bass Highway, Sisters Hills Upgrade It was a pleasure for the Cradle Coast Authority to attend the Bass Highway, Sisters Hills road opening event and share the community celebrations marking the completion of the $30 million upgrades. The upgrades significantly improve road safety and traffic flow in this part of the region. Thank you to the State and Federal Governments and congratulations to the Bass Highway Working Group, Burnie City Council, Waratah‐Wynyard Council and Circular Head Council for their commitment and contributions to this project.