The North Swan Land Conservation District Committee (NSLCDC), also locally known as Bullsbrook Landcare, has now been in operation for 20 years! This is quite an achievement as unfortunately so many LCDC’s have now folded due to lack of membership. We are a small but passionate group and we are just hanging on by our fingernails as an LCDC! It is therefore essential for us to promote the importance of having an LCDC/ Landcare group in the Bullsbrook area — we want to encourage any willing adults from the Bullsbrook community, who share our passion and interest, to consider joining our group!
Becoming a member is easy, there is an $11 annual fee and we only hold six meetings a year, including the AGM. Positions on an LCDC run for 3-year terms and the construction of positions is legislated by the Commissioner of Soil and Land Conservation. In a nutshell, this means that we must have a set number of people on the committee. Past and current projects include the re-vegetation of degraded farm land, SALP funding for local landowners, management of the Bullsbrook College Bushland, local bird, flora and fauna surveys, protection and re-vegetation of the Bullsbrook Bridle Trail – which, although slightly controversial at the time, has been identified as a significant waterway linking in to the Ellen Brook catchment. The catchment must be managed and protected for the future health of the water systems. Our group is often asked to comment on any removal of native vegetation. During these times of change and development in Bullsbrook, it is essential that we have a voice when it comes to our local environment.
We have a memorandum of understanding with the Chittering Landcare Centre, enabling us to access the expertise of their Natural Resource Officers and resources held by the centre. They also undertake the process of applying for our grants which includes the management, budget, and acquittal of the grants, plus organising people to come plant the 1000’s of trees when required to do so! Re-vegetation is a large part of Landcare work. It is a much smarter way of operating and ensures that Landcare funding for the area is targeted at significant work that will make a real difference to the environment. It also makes the work of our small committee a lot easier!
Bullsbrook and surrounds are fortunate to have such a wealth of knowledge and we hope the community is aware of all the good work that is carried out to promote sustainable land management and the undertaking of projects within the community. The community also has access to the range of workshops carried out at the Chittering Landcare Centre — all of this comes from the exhaustive work carried out by Rosanna Hindmarsh and her talented team of officers at the Chittering Landcare Centre. We are proud to be a part of this team!
We would like to invite people to our 20th Year Celebration, which will be held on Saturday 21 October. We are planning an interesting and interactive day. Starting at 8.30am with a bush walk in West Bullsbrook – lead by ecologist Dr Mike Bamford, who is an expert regarding the flora and fauna of the area. Celebrations will then continue at the Bullsbrook Museum on Turner Road from 10.30am, with scrumptious morning tea supplied, guest speakers on recommended plant species for our local areas (including bird attracting and fodder species), how the bush regenerates following fire, the health of our waterways, birds, flora and fauna and the successful work of our group. The talks will be followed by a lunch – all to be supplied by Bullsbrook Landcare. Please join us and think about becoming a member to ensure that our Landcare future is secure.
For more information on becoming a member or about the 20th Year Celebrations, please contact Anne Janes on 0405 736 831 or email annejanes@bigpond.com.
