Malpas catchment group to design new 5 year plan

Bron Cameron from 2ROG presenting an outline of the Armidale Regional Council’s Catchment Water Quality Strategic Plan process as part of the gathering.

15th Feb 2022

A small number of participants, including staff from Armidale Regional Council, attended the Malpas Catchment Group (MCG) meeting in December. The objective of the evening was to engage Malpas Catchment Group members, seek initial ideas and input towards the preparation of a five-year action plan (2022-2027) for the group.
Speakers included Bill Perrottet, an MCG member, who provided a brief history of the Malpas Catchment Group, from his perspective as a local group member, Bronwyn Cameron, of 2Rog, presented an overview of the Armidale Regional Council Catchment Water Quality Strategic Plan and Pete Fitzgerald provided an overview of his role in facilitating the development of the five-year group action plan including a brief timeline.
Participants were asked to consider, discuss and document their thoughts and ideas based on the following question: “What kinds of activities could the group undertake in the next 5 years” under the following scenarios - if there were “No external funds available for activities”, or there were “Unlimited funds available for activities”.
A plethora of ideas were forthcoming. For those associated with activities run on non-external funding, suggestions included: publicity with a positive focus on water quality, public engagement, encouraging the local schools to learn about and be involved in riparian management, community and indigenous initiatives, education for landholders to enhance & preserve water quality.
With an unlimited funding scenario, ideas were emboldened to include catchment erosion control and de-silting dams, satellite imagery of ground cover (time-lapse), tree plantings, benchmarking demonstrations, education awareness & training, inclusion in school curriculum, groundwater research, grant applications etc.
The list of ideas generated by participants can be viewed on the Southern New England Landcare website’s Homepage & Latest News webpage.
Next steps in developing the Malpas Catchment Group 5-year action plan meeting will involve the following four key components.
• Sharing of meeting outcomes including the compiled list of activity ideas with Malpas Catchment Group members.
• Seek feedback and additional ideas from interested members of the community.
• Hold a second workshop to confirm support for, details of, and finalisation of the plan (exact date to be confirmed)
• The finalised plan will be in place by 30th June 2022.
If you would like to provide input in the form of ideas, or suggestions regarding the draft list of activities or next steps in the process, please contact Pete Fitzgerald via the Southern New England Landcare office on 02 6772 9123 or email: mail@snelandcare.org.au. Website: www.snelandcare.org.au

Going strong for 100 years

Phone	(02) 6779 2347
Email	Contact Us
Social

Malpas catchment group to design new 5 year plan

Menu

News

Contact