North Central Catchment Management Authority seeking feedback

Would you like to have your say on climate change, the natural environment and sustainable agriculture across north central Victoria?

If so, you may be interested in attending one of five regional forums that will discuss the draft North Central Region Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Plan and the draft North Central Regional Sustainable Agriculture Strategy.

These forums will be held across the north central Victoria region during August and early September (refer to attached flyer including how to RSVP).

Pyramid Hill	Tuesday 11 August	7.00pm	Memorial Hall, Kelly St
Trentham	Monday 17 August	7.00pm	Mechanics Institute, High Street
St Arnaud	Monday 24 August	7.00pm	Community Resource Centre, 85 Napier Street
Castlemaine	Monday 31 August	7.00pm	Campbells Creek Community Centre, Elizabeth St
Charlton	Tuesday 1 September	7.00pm	Charlton Town Hall

**Please note a sixth forum with be held in Bendigo on the 25 August in conjunction with the City of Greater Bendigo who are also seeking  input into their draft Rural Communities discussion paper.

We encourage you to come along and provide feedback on these important issues.  More information can be found on the North Central CMA’s website (Ctrl + click to follow the links)

http://www.nccma.vic.gov.au/What_We_Do/Strategies_plans_and_reports/Climate_adaptation/index.aspx

http://www.nccma.vic.gov.au/What_We_Do/Strategies_plans_and_reports/Sustainable_agriculture/index.aspx

Rohan Hogan and Tim Shanahan (on behalf of the North Central CMA)

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Land Management careers survey

We need your help to educate prospective students about careers in Land Management.

The Integrated Land Management Curriculum for Victoria (ILMCV) is currently developing a careers and education/training information website to inspire and educate prospective students on the many possible careers that exists in land management and what qualifications are needed to get them there.  

Our market research has shown that prospective students have a relatively poor understanding of potential careers in land management and with your help we plan to change this. We are after information on the latest roles that exist in land management careers, what type of qualifications are needed to obtain these roles, the activities that would be expected of someone in this role, e.g. on a typical day.  In particular, we are interested in finding out the link between the level of qualification attained and the corresponding roles that exist within a career.    

In this survey you will be asked to tell us about a career pathway you are familiar with, and outline possible roles that a Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Bachelor, Graduate Certificate/Diploma or Masters graduate would be suited to at an entry level.

This survey should take about 15-20 minutes and will available until the 20th of February 2015. Here’s the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Land_management_careers

Information provided in this survey will be used to create up to date information on land management careers for prospective students that are linked directly to qualifications that will get them there, and will be published on a soon to be created website.  

Your privacy will be protected. The survey responses are completely anonymous, and any identifying information (e.g. to receive a gift) will not be connected to your responses.

Be in the chance to win a prize! 

The first 100 properly completed surveys will each receive a $10 Coles Group and Myer Gift Voucher.

This survey could be undertaken multiple times however you will be limited to a maximum of 2 gift vouchers per person.

What is the ILMCV?

The ILMCV is an initiative aimed at fostering and strengthening collaboration and cooperation between tertiary education providers of land management education and training in Western Victoria to enhance opportunities for Western Victorians to undertake and complete tertiary education and training. The ILMCV consortium comprises The University of Melbourne, Federation University, Bendigo TAFE, Sunraysia Institute of TAFE, Timber Training Creswick and South West Institute of TAFE.  Courses outlined in this survey are either currently available or being developed as part of the project. ILMCV is funded by the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

For further information please feel free to contact the Program Director Antanas Spokevicius via e-mail: avjs@unimelb.edu.au or phone: 03 5321 4153

Thank you very much for any help you can provide us!

The ILMCV Team

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Links to recent articles:

Below are some links to recent articles we have come across – we thought you may be interested:

Data shows human pressure on Earth reaching critical level

How Reducing Food Waste Could Ease Climate Change

‘Project Eyes’ tackles pirate fishing with satellites and algorithms

Green miles: collecting energy from traffic

 

Posted by Peter Verrion. To keep up to date with information about conservation issues, please subscribe to the blog at https://clmconnections.wordpress.com/

Third Annual Future Farming Expo

2015 Future Farming Expo

It’s back!  The North Central CMA, in partnership with Goulburn Broken CMA and Murray Landcare, is proudly hosting the third annual Future Farming Expo.

Discover the latest farm research and innovation from experts, scientists and industry colleagues.

Share ideas with like-minded farmers who are looking to take their farm businesses to the next level.

Learn about regenerative farming practices that enhance soil health and long-term profitability from soil scientist Declan McDonald.  Declan will be one of the expo’s key speakers and will showcase his 25 years experience with an innovative presentation.

Concurrent sessions this year will feature a diverse range of topics including the latest in climate science and what it means for you, irrigation upgrade success stories, value adding through stacking livestock enterprises, online marketing and the new strain of calicivirus.

When:                 Wednesday 4 March 2015

Time:                   8.30 am to 4.00 pm

Where:                Rich River Golf Club Resort, Twenty Four Lane, Moama NSW 2731

RSVP:                  Places are strictly limited, RSVP is essential E: info@nccma.vic.gov.au or P: 03 5448 7124

To view the flyer head to http://northcentral.landcarevic.net.au/.

The expo is a free event brought to you by the North Central CMA, Goulburn Broken CMA and Murray Landcare through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme and Regional Landcare Facilitator projects.

We hope to see you there!

Ashley Rogers | Regional Landcare Facilitator

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What can we do? Have your say

We recently come across some articles that lead us to ask ‘what are we doing?!’ The articles are linked below:

Ocean Life Faces Mass Extinction, Broad Study Says (NYTimes)

Scientists: Human activity has pushed Earth beyond 4 of 9 ‘planetary boundaries’ (Chicago Trubune)

What can we do? Is there one simple action, or is there a range of activities and actions we each need to take.

Take the poll below and let us know your thoughts. If what you think isn’t listed, add your preferred option(s) to the comments:

 

Posted by Peter Verrion. To keep up to date with information about conservation issues, please subscribe to the blog at https://clmconnections.wordpress.com/

What about the animals?

Photo by L. Verrion

As humans, we are aware of the issue of ‘climate change’ (no mater what your view of it might be!) We are also aware that there are some things that we can do that might lessen the impact, such as using alternative energy sources, using less or recycling.

However, what about the animals? They are neither aware of the issues, nor can they do much about it. But they are affected. For example, a 1°C temperature rise could dramatically decrease the entire climatic habitat of the Mountain Pygmy Possum in Victoria’s High Country (see
Climate change impacts – Victoria) and there are threats to eco-systems that of course will affect the animals that live within those eco-systems (see Kakadu: Vulnerability to climate change impacts).

The following links also have more information:

Over 1,400 Endangered Species Are Threatened By Climate Change, Says New ‘Red List’

Coyote Booms, Bear Attacks And How Climate Change Is Wreaking Havoc On The Animal Kingdom

6 Ways Climate Change Threw The Animal World Into Disarray This Year

Earth faces sixth ‘great extinction’ with 41% of amphibians set to go the way of the dodo

 

Posted by Peter Verrion. To keep up to date with information about conservation issues, please subscribe to the blog at https://clmconnections.wordpress.com/
Note: a similar article by the same author first appeared on another blog

 

‘Resilient’ – the movie!

The link below is to an online short film made by the (American) ‘National Young Farmers Coalition‘ that “highlights the work of innovative farmers and ranchers across western Colorado who are adapting to a drier climate” (it’s not just a problem we face here!)

‘Resilient’ short film

It obviously has a US focus – but their issue is water conservation, which is an issue here as well. We would like your opinions on whether what they are doing there can be applied here. See what you think, and leave a comment.

If you know of similar information with an Australian focus, let us know about that as well.

Posted by Peter Verrion. To keep up to date with information about water and land conservation issues, please subscribe to the blog at https://clmconnections.wordpress.com/

Things are heating up!

As we head into summer (here in the southern hemisphere), warmer temperatures are coming. However, overall temperatures across the world are on the rise – note the links below:

Earth Just Had Its Hottest September On Record – http://www.thinkprogress.org article

Global Analysis – September 2014 – http://www.noaa.gov link

Increasing temperatures will have an effect – the following Australian site discusses some of the impacts of climate change:

Climate change impacts in Australia– http://www.climatechange.gov.au link

What can be done? It is a complex topic, but we need to do something to reduce our ‘footprint‘ on the planet.

What do you think we can do? Let us know in the comments.

 

This post first appeared on the DEAS site

Posted by Peter Verrion. To keep up to date with information about conservation issues, please subscribe to the blog at https://clmconnections.wordpress.com/

Gain Future Funds With Crowdsourcing

What is Crowdsourcing/Crowdfunding?

Crowdsourcing has been around for a few years now, and is really starting to take off in Australia. Crowdsourcing is the process of getting work or funding, usually online, from a crowd of people. The word is a combination of the words ‘crowd’ and ‘outsourcing’. The idea is to take work (in this case fund raising) and outsource it to a crowd of people.

An example of Crowdsourcing

Michael Luke and Tony Misson from ClmConnections have recently designed a crowdfunding page for the Bendigo Canoe Club, with a goal of raising $2500 to send 20+ participants to the Massive Murray Paddle – which is an annual event designed to raise funds for the YMCA.  We’ve recently met our $2500 funding target with still 9 days to go!  If you want to check out this project, please go to: http://www.pozible.com/project/183664

Some of the benefits of using Crowdfunding

• It enables you/your group to tell a ‘story’ – hopefully something engaging and interesting, as a way of gaining potential new project doners.  What makes you
• Video – most crowdfunding websites allow you to use or embed a video on your project page – another great way to engage with your audience.  Pictures and moving video are great storytelling methods, more interesting than just text.
• Donate money – easy methods to donate – Credit Card, Paypal, Moneyorder, Direct bank transfer.  Safe and Secure – often no money is deducted from donors accounts until the minimum funding goal has been reached.
• Efficiency – Depending on how you wish to promote you can reach millions of people (all potential donors!)
• Gain funds from associates – Find NEW people to assist you/your group, not just existing friends/family/group members.
• Use Social Media – you want your project’s message to go out to thousands+ of people – Think about using Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr/Instagram/LinkedIn/Pinterest to further spread your message, by sharing your crowdfunding project page on as many social media websites as possible.
• Use Pozible/KickStarter as a ‘platform’ – it is an excellent way to start a fund raising project with minimal effort, technical expertise or fund raising experience.

Crowdfunding for your Project

Now, Crowdfunding uses the same concept of ‘many hands (with $$) make light work’ but the emphasis is less on collaboration and more on simply connecting people (money) and causes (projects) together. Say that your local Landcare group is wanting to start a Riverbank Revegetation project, the group has determined they need $5,000 to start, but have been unsuccessful in obtaining funding from another more traditional source (or are unable to apply for whatever reason).

This is where Crowdfunding can help you raise that money. You find a crowdfunding platform, set the goal amount, deadline, and any rewards offered to donors. You must raise 100% of your goal before the deadline, or all the donations are returned to the donors. Deadlines are typically less than 60 days. Crowdfunding websites or platforms normally take a small fee from successfully funded projects (often 5% – 10%), in order to cover overheads/expenses. Crowdfunding is a low-risk platform, for both project ‘owners’ and contributing donors.

What if my project is not successful in Crowdfunding?

Not all projects will be successful (eg. reach their funding goal), but if your project has appeal and gains a lot of interest, it is possible to even obtain more funding than originally requested. Some projects we have seen here at ClmConnections have been ‘overfunded’ by 892%!!!

There are a number of Crowdfunding companies that are now operating in Australia, here are some of the more popular ones: http://www.pozible.com/ https://www.kickstarter.com http://startsomegood.com/

If you or your group need assistance in developing a project proposal to launch on a Crowdfunding platform, or writing a traditional grant/tender, finding and accessing appropriate sources of funding, or help with project reports or budgeting, please take a look at the Resources tab for further information and contact details and get in touch with Michael Luke who will be pleased to assist.

Posted by Michael. To get contemporary information, please subscribe to https://clmconnections.wordpress.com/

Wind farm cause bird deaths – so should wind farms be banned?

Fairy Wren photo by L. Verrion

One of the issues with wind farms is that they can kill birds.  This fact is often raised by opponents of wind farms, and at times by those who might want clean energy but are worried by impacts of the wind farms on birdlife.

The main reason that wind farms are dangerous to birds is the turbine blades. The blades of the wind turbine don’t spin that fast, but physics requires that the tips of the blades spin faster than the centre. The larger the blade, the faster it spins at the tip; some of the largest can be moving through the air at around 80 meters per second, or around 290 km/h (about 180mp/h).

So, should wind farms be banned? These are just one of the many ways that mankind kills birds; we seem to be doing a very good of it. But banning these doesn’t seem sensible. Electricity, television and mobile phone towers are also a source of bird deaths – should electricity, television and mobile phones be banned? Vehicles are another source of bird deaths, and so are windows in buildings. Should vehicles and windows be banned? Some say that cats are the biggest killer of birds – perhaps cats should be banned?

So, what does this mean? Are we suggesting that its OK for birds to be killed? Not at all. What is needed is for everyone to work together to come up with ways to reduce the impact of technology (or our pets) on birds or any other aspect of the environment.

This is possible, for example, in the case of wind farms, there are a number of things that can be done, including different designs that have less impact, or even turning off the turbines while birds are migrating.

Another view is that by moving to renewable energy sources (and away from the use of fossil fuels), we could save 70 million birds per year!

As mentioned, it is a complex topic. Blanket bans don’t seem that sensible, and often don’t work. Let us know your views.

 

Posted by Peter Verrion. To keep up to date with information about conservation issues, please subscribe to the blog at https://clmconnections.wordpress.com/