Making Connections at the Launch of New Regional Partnership
Breaking with tradition, the launch of the Slopes to Summit regional partnership of the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative was marked with the tying of a ribbon rather than the cutting of one.
Professor Nick Klomp, Dean of Science at Charles Sturt University and science correspondent for ABC radio, did the honours at the Slopes to Summit Farm and Environmental Open Day held on 23 May at Woomargama between Albury and Holbrook.
“This project is bringing together lots of different groups in the region that give a damn. It’s about making connections between people so that we can work together to restore, rehabilitate and reconnect the landscape. So it fits perfectly that today we’re tying a ribbon together as a symbolic gesture of connectivity,” said Klomp.
The Slopes to Summit project is working to reconnect native habitat in the upper Murray River catchment from near Albury to the high country of the Australian Alps.
Slopes to Summit Facilitator, Alison Skinner of the Nature Conservation Trust of NSW, spoke about the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative and the role the region plays in the vision to establish a conservation corridor extending along the mountains and slopes from Victoria to far north Queensland.
Dr Veronica Doerr from CSIRO explained the concept of connectivity in a simple and fun way using giant puzzle pieces.
Over 200 people attended the Open Day which was held at, “Annandayle South” a beef cattle farm owned by Andrew and Anne Hicks.
Visitors to the Open Day attended a variety of talks and workshops on everything from soil health to making clay seed balls. The event also promoted a range of conservation opportunities from direct seeding machines to Property Vegetation Plans and Voluntary Conservation Agreements, with Maya Beretta flying the flag for DECCW’s Conservation Partners Program.
There was also a guided tour of adjoining Woomargama National Park with Ranger Dave Pearce, and a tour of “Annandayle South” to view the conservation and rehabilitation work being undertaken and the corridors being created to connect habitat to the National Park.
The day also showcased the many different organisations which have come together to be part of the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative.
Lead Partner for the region is the Nature Conservation Trust of NSW, and their staff worked closely with key local partners including the Murray CMA and Holbrook Landcare, Charles Sturt University, CSIRO, the Australian National University and the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative team based at DECCW Queanbeyan, to organise the event.
The Open Day was featured on ABC’s radio’s Countryhour and promoted extensively in local media.
