In this edition: 20 years in the catchment; New executive team and chair; Community help GeoCatch strategise for the future; Soil testing underway on local farms; Kiwis show off their 'neat kits' on NZ Dairy tour; Plan first-the key to successful revegetation; Being Bay OK; Schools get Western Ringtail Possum boxes; Nightwalk excursions; Deputy chair Felicity Bradshaw braves Channel 7's TV cameras representing GeoCatch on Western Ringtail Possum conservation; and MERRY CHRISTMAS AND BEST WISHES TO ALL!

Celebrating 20 years working in the Geographe Catchment

In October this year, valued stakeholders, project partners, staff, and past and present members celebrated GeoCatch's 20th birthday with a sundowner event at the Busselton Visitor Centre. The event was attended by the Minister for Water, the Hon Dave Kelly MLA, who recognised GeoCatch’s achievements in managing the natural resources of the Geographe Bay catchment.   Inaugural GeoCatch Chair Barry Oates spoke about the formation of GeoCatch in late July 1997 and early years of the group which evolved to secure a strong foundation for GeoCatch’s future. Deputy Chair David Kemp noted the importance of GeoCatch’s strong partnerships with government agencies, local government, industry and the community. “20 years of working in this catchment has given us the experience to deliver major projects under Revitalising Geographe Waterways" said David. "Our work with Western Dairy and dairy farmers to improve effluent management has led other similar initiatives in the state. This is a really challenging area that we could not work in if it wasn’t for those partnerships. Our current dairy effluent program is oversubscribed. We’ve worked with over 50% of farmers in this catchment on fertiliser management projects and have supported landholders to fence over 300km of waterways to protect riparian vegetation. I’m proud of GeoCatch’s role in bringing the community along on the journey in partnership with government, City of Busselton and Shire of Capel in delivering on ground projects across the Geographe Catchment.”   GeoCatch launched a report recognising 20 years of natural resource management in the Geographe catchment, which is available HERE .

New executive team and chair

At GeoCatch's AGM in October, a new executive team and chairperson were voted in, to guide the way forward for GeoCatch over the next 12 months. Chair for the past 12 months and member for five years, Will Hosken passed the leading role on to Chris Adams, whilst continuing on the GeoCatch board as a community representative in the role of Secretary/Treasurer.   New Chair Chris Adams brings with him a wealth of experience, with a long career in local government and engaging with community groups. Chris said that he is honoured to lead GeoCatch through its 20 th year, to celebrate its past achievements but more importantly to focus on planning for the future.   Chris is supported by the GeoCatch Executive with Felicity Bradshaw as Deputy Chair, Will Hosken as Secretary/Treasurer and Jo Hoyes as Deputy Secretary/Treasurer.

Photo: GeoCatch Board members (from left): Coralie Tarbottom, David Kemp, Chris Adams, Will Hosken, Julie Howes, Geoffery Oddy, Felicity Bradshaw and Jeff Falconer. GeoCatch members absent from this photo are: Brian Hearne, Joanna Hoyes, Ben Lullfitz, Bev Thurlow and Leon van Wyk.

GeoCatch community strategise for the future

“As the community’s voice in the catchment, it is critical that the community is involved in setting GeoCatch’s future priorities," GeoCatch Chair, Chris Adams. 

The local Geographe community joined members and staff at GeoCatch’s ‘Looking Back – Looking Forward’ community views session in Busselton on 24 November this year. Attendees were invited to have their say on environmental values and issues that are important to them. Information collected will assist GeoCatch in setting future priorities to protect the environment through its review of the Geographe Catchment Management Strategy, which was last updated in 2008. Feedback from over 50 participants at the workshop identified that having healthy waterways, wetlands and Geographe Bay, and protecting native flora and fauna are still important priorities for the Geographe community. Emerging issues such as a changing climate, securing ongoing funding, and education were also highlighted as being important considerations for future planning and management of the environment. “Changes in land use, environmental impacts, funding frameworks, and community values has meant that GeoCatch needs to consider its future priorities to ensure a healthy and sustainable future for the Geographe catchment, and revising the 2008 Geographe Catchment Management Strategy is an essential component of this," said GeoCatch Chair, Mr Chris Adams. GeoCatch will continue seeking input from the community on the development of the new management strategy for the Geographe Catchment, with the upcoming release of an online community survey , and meetings in the new year with targeted stakeholder groups. If you’d like to be involved, please join GeoCatch’s mailing list to receive GeoCatch invites and updates - it's quick and easy, just hit the subscribe button at the end of this email.

This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program, supported by Royalties for Regions.

Soil testing underway on local farms

Geographe farmers participating in this year’s soil testing program have recently had soil samples collected from every paddock across their farm. The samples are on their way to the lab where they will be tested for phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, pH and phosphorus buffering index. Geographe had a great uptake for the program with samples being collected across 26 farms in the catchment. Once the samples have been analysed, colour coded nutrient maps will be developed. Farmers will attend a farmer workshop in late February to collect their maps and discuss how to interpret the information. Local agronomist Graham Mussell is on the agronomic panel for the project and has worked with a number of Geographe catchment farmers to answer questions about their maps and help develop fertiliser recommendations.  "Offering farmers the opportunity for agronomic advice was a new addition to the soil testing program last year and it proved really popular with farmers in this catchment," said Mr Mussell. "One farmer I worked with diverted money budgeted for phosphorus into lime this year after soil tests showed adequate levels of phosphorus but low pH. Follow up tissue testing and targeted soil tests will help tailor next year's fertiliser regime to provide enough nutrients to match production targets." Following the journey of farmers involved in the soil testing and fertiliser management project will be a focus in 2018, with the establishment of several pilot farms. Two farms have already expressed interest and the opportunity will be extended to other farmers in 2018. Soil testing is a component of GeoCatch’s fertiliser management project under the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program. The project supports farmers to make informed decisions around fertiliser use to sustain productivity while protecting water quality.  Anyone who would like to find out more about being a pilot farm or register interest for the 2018 soil testing program can contact Breanne.brown@dwer.wa.gov.au

This project is being delivered through the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program, supported by Royalties for Regions to improve water quality, waterway health and management of Geographe waterways.

Kiwis show some “nice kit” on dairy farms

Photos: Effluent Yardmaster technician shows off an impressive concrete effluent tank system 'kitted out' with powerful agitator

There’s nothing like looking over the fence to see how the others are doing it when it comes to managing effluent on dairy farms. A small team from the DairyCare Effluent project did just that in October, visiting the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. The team was eager to look at a variety of system designs utilised by farmers in the region to deal with challenging issues faced in the Geographe catchment including high water tables and sludge management. “It really was eye opening to see the level of investment and the excellent equipment, system design and support offered to kiwi dairy farmers,” said GeoCatch project officer Bree Brown. While tight regulation is a motivating factor for good effluent management in New Zealand, it was noted by the team that farmers also seemed to have a good understanding of effluent as a valuable resource on the farm. Key learnings that will be considered in the GeoCatch effluent project is the importance of effective solids separation, the ability to minimise storage requirements by reviewing a range of factors in the milking shed and opportunities to be innovative. "The kiwi farmers were very proud of their farms and were keen to discuss their newer equipment (known as ‘kit’)" commented Ms Brown. "Effluent management is something they think about all the time, and are investing in heavily, so there was a lot to learn from them."

This project is being delivered through the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program, supported by Royalties for Regions to improve water quality, waterway health and management of Geographe waterways.

Plan first-the key to successful revegetation

With the summer heat well and truly upon us, preparing for next year’s revegetation efforts is probably not at the forefront of most landholders minds. However, if the planning has not yet begun, now is the time.  Geocatch recently hosted a training session presented by Tranen Revegetation’s Managing director Damien Grose on the 'Tranen approach' to making revegetation a success. Damien emphasised that planning is everything... Planning should be the beginning of any revegetation project, with considered thought required on what the vision is for the site and what the end goal may be. The aim may be complete ecological restoration, some shade trees for stock, or shelter belt establishment. Whatever the aim the considerations are the same:

What’s the budget for the site? This will shape what’s achievable in terms of purchasing revegetation materials and if any labour may need to be brought in along the way.  How much time can you physically commit to completing the project? Seasonal tasks on the farm can clash with revegetation timeframes. What is the exact size of the area and what planting densities will be used? This will depend on the aim of the revegetation. What weeds are present at the site and what control needs to be scheduled prior to any planting next season? Some weed species are more active in the summer making effective control more effective over the growing season. What site preparation is required? Are mechanical methods an option such as slashing, ripping, mounding or a combination?  Are any pest animals present? Rabbits and Kangaroos can be problematic. What measures can be put in place to manage the risk (rabbit baiting, RHD virus release, fencing, tree guard installation)? What species will be used? Species endemic to an area are a good option. Are the species commercially available? If so spring and early summer is the best time to order tube stock to ensure plants are available for the planting season.

Whilst these points may raise a few more questions along the way, the more bases covered the better. It may be a simple as a thorough walk through the site and putting pen to paper to map out a plan ahead. If you are a landholder in the Geographe catchment with a waterway on your property, GeoCatch can assist with revegetation activities along waterways through the provision of revegetation materials and technical support toward the project.  For more information contact GeoCatch on 9781 0114 or via email geocatch@dwer.wa.gov.au

This project is being delivered through the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program, supported by Royalties for Regions to improve water quality, waterway health and management of Geographe waterways.

Help reduce nutrients entering Geographe Bay

Photos: The Johnson family (pictured above) at 5 Rangatira Crescent won their sustainable front garden by entering their new home in GeoCatch’s Bay OK garden competition! A landscaping team created their sustainable Bay OK garden from scratch in a single morning whilst our workshop participants looked on and learnt about the process from Chris Ferreira of The Forever Project.

There are simple and cost effective steps that gardeners can take to reduce nutrient pollution in our catchment. It starts with feeding plants only what they need and only when they need it. Local gardeners recently learnt about fertiliser wise and water wise gardening principles at two exciting new Bay OK workshops that involved practical garden installations.   One of the garden installations was at GeoCatch’s Frontyard Fix workshop in October, where participants watched a specialist sustainable landscaping team create a new front garden in front of their eyes in just three hours!   Another garden installation workshop was held at the Busselton Community garden in November, where a new garden verge was created by a band of very enthusiastic community members (pictured below). As a result of their good work, the verge has been transformed into an attractive, waterwise and fertiliser wise garden that attracts local wildlife. Busselton Water partnered with GeoCatch on this initiative, supplying a beautiful array of plants for the project. The two Bay OK demonstration gardens can be viewed at 5 Rangatira Crescent in Peppermint Park, and at the verge garden outside the Busselton Community Garden. Interpretive signage is to be installed at these sites in the new year. You can create beautiful, healthy gardens as well as helping the environment by adopting Bay OK’s sustainable gardening and water wise principles. Visit our being Bay OK page for more information and tons of gardening resources.

Next year GeoCatch will be holding more great workshops on sustainable gardening and will be producing some engaging behaviour changing ‘prompts’ that will help all of us to garden successfully with our environment in mind.

This project is being delivered through the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program, supported by Royalties for Regions   to improve water quality, waterway health and management of Geographe waterways.

Schools get Western Ringtail Possum boxes

This year GeoCatch visited students at Geographe, Busselton, West Busselton and Mary McKillop Primary Schools to install 8 possum boxes in mature peppermint trees. These possum boxes will provide alternative nesting options for the critically endangered Western Ringtail Possum as their natural habitat is increasingly cleared for developments. Although ringtail possums are very capable of creating their own nests called ‘dreys’, installing possum boxes in degraded habitat areas or areas near known future habitat clearing provides the possums with immediate nesting options, encourages possums out of buildings and provides greater protection from predators, all of which aim to increase the species chance of survival into the future. Local primary school students took part in an informative Western Ringtail Possum presentation delivered by GeoCatch and then witnessed a professional tree climber from Arbor Guy install the possum boxes into mature peppermint trees within the school grounds. "Installation of possum boxes in school grounds is a fabulous opportunity to educate students and teachers on the conversation of this iconic species" says GeoCatch Project Officer Nicole Lincoln. Students will take part in monitoring the success of these new homes in 2018.

This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program supported by Royalties for Regions, and delivered by GeoCatch.

Nightwalk excursions help educate kids on conservation of possums

Photo: Lorrelyn from FAWNA talks to students about conservation of Western Ringtail Possums before they head off spotlighting.

Some after dark fun was had during October, with over 100 students and parents spotlighting for the critically endangered Western Ringtail Possum at GeoCatch's Nightwalk events. Nightwalks were held in Busselton and Dunsborough over four nights to create awareness about the Western Ringtail Possum. Possum carers from FAWNA and the Possum Centre led the nightwalks to help spot the possums and provided information to participants on how to protect possums. Forty possums were seen over the four nights. Data is submitted to the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to be entered into the state-wide fauna database .

This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program supported by Royalties for Regions, and Doral Mineral Sands.

Lights, camera - action! Last week, GeoCatch's Deputy chair Felicity Bradshaw, SWCC's Nerilee Boshammer and FAWNA’s Suzanne Strapp braved Channel 7's cameras to speak on an issue that's rightfully getting a lot of public attention, the plight of our critically endangered Western Ringtail Possum. Thank you Felicity, Nerilee and Suzanne, you did an amazing job!

Check out the short Channel 7 video HERE . If you'd like to help the conservation of this locally iconic species, please donate to SWCC's crowdfunding campaign. Visit www.chuffed.org/project/wrp

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