Chittering Landcare Centre shines as an environmental steward in the Northern Valleys. This month the team celebrates a milestone: May 1 marking twenty-five years since the centre’s opening, generously supported by long-term sponsors Tronox, who provided the land and original building.
The Chittering Landcare Group, which started with a small group of concerned landowners in the Chittering Valley in 1991, collaborated with the Ellen Brockman Integrated Catchment Group (EBICG), the Wannamal Lake Catchment Group, North Swan LCDC, and the Gingin Brook Catchment Group to form a highly effective integrated natural resource management organisation.
Rosanna Hindmarsh, coordinator of Chittering Landcare Centre, says their core mission is, “To ensure the health of the Ellen Brook and Brockman River catchment areas.” It is a simple statement that belies the work that goes into actioning this — waterways have been fenced, degraded farmland revegetated, millions of trees have been planted, and continual water quality monitoring efforts over 30 sites on both waterways make the team the first line of defence should anything go awry.
The catchments of the Ellen Brook and Brockman River cover approximately 2,300 square kilometres and face significant challenges. Rosanna explains, “The Ellen Brook has the greatest nutrient load tributary entering the Swan Canning Estuary. It has delivered twenty-seven tonnes of phosphorous to the estuary in previous years, significantly increasing threats from algal blooms and fish kills in the iconic Swan River.
“Previous projects in the region have sought to fence and streamline the channels of the Ellen Brook and its tributaries, to reduce surface water flow and contamination from fertilizers, animal wastes and silt. Evidence to date indicates that streamlining has prevented further contamination. The nutrient level in the waterways has been reduced with the lower concentration of nutrients maintained for the last ten years.”
The Brockman River feeds the Chittering Lakes, wetlands of national significance and the prime breeding site for Straw Necked Ibis and Great Egret in Western Australia. Rosanna says, “The salinisation of rivers and soils and the problems of a rising water table in the upper catchments have been strategically approached by our groups, and our work has seen a reduction in the area of land under threat by surface expression of salinity.”
CLC’s success stems from various factors, with access to crucial funding being paramount. This funding enables them to employ a dedicated team, ensuring that essential work is not solely reliant on volunteers.
Rosanna says, “There’s been a lot of iterations in the way that Landcare has functioned, but DBCA Rivers and Estuaries, formerly the Swan River trust, have supported us for a long period of time. They provide funding for us to be able to employ people, as does the Shire of Chittering, City of Swan, and Shire of Gingin. This is all combined to keeping the centre running. These landcare officers then apply for further funding to undertake the on ground work required to restore and protect our natural assets.
“I think the Shire of Chittering’s initial insight into applying for funding for the first Landcare officer here was crucial, and we have evolved from that. They have been incredibly supportive and I would think one of the best in maintaining their natural environment.”
Additionally, Rosanna and the team, much like a symbiotic relationship in nature, have mastered the art of collaboration. Working in a region that covers three local government areas and being able to form vital partnerships with state government departments, such as DBCA, has allowed them to foster effective alliances far and wide – “Collaboration is key,” said Rosanna. This also extends to working with private landowners to protect and repair their properties, and to engage and educate the community – something Rosanna says is proving more challenging.
“I do think people have perhaps lost the ability to see the importance of the natural environment – how it is essential for their own wellbeing and for survival of the planet. I find it is lost in the busy-ness of life — young people are busy doing other things, and losing sight of the natural world — the enjoyment of it, and protection of it.”
Despite this apparent trend of apathy in the general youth population, there are some dedicated individuals that embark on environmental science as a career, and Rosanna – though hesitant to admit it, has a knack for identifying and nurturing this talent — a skill finely tuned through twenty years as a high school teacher.
“I like to ensure that I support these young people — there will come a time when I’m going to have to retire!” she laughs.
Rosanna says that over the 25 years, many projects have transformed the region. “The revegetation effort and the landscape protection that has occurred is substantial.” And for the average landholder or budding citizen scientist, making a difference is simple. “You don’t need to be on committees, just hold some space for the natural world,” said Rosanna. “For me, getting out there and planting things is the mainstay, and the rest of the biodiversity will follow.
“If you want your native animals to survive, they need food and they need a home.”
You can keep up to date with Chittering Landcare Centre’s upcoming projects and workshops via their website www.chitteringlandcare.org.au, and Facebook page @ChitteringLandcareCentre. And of course check out their columns every month in the NVN!
