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In this issue:
Events, funding opportunities and resources:
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| Welcome to the October Issue of EnviroNews |
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| This month we say farewell to our valued Executive Manager-Strategy, Policy and Planning, Mark Batty. |
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 Mark has been an Executive Manager at WALGA for more than 14 years, spending 14 years as the Executive Manager of Environment and Waste and more recently of Strategy, Policy and Planning.
During Mark's career at WALGA, he has enjoyed developing and supporting the team to deliver on a range of policy, advocacy and capacity building outcomes for Local Governments.
Mark was involved in the UN award winning Perth and South West Biodiversity Projects, the WALGA Climate Change Policy, the development of LGmap spatial data tool for Local Governments, the Environmental Events Series and recently the introduction of the Container Deposit Scheme and WALGA’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts for the sector.
Mark supported the development of partnerships with colleagues in WALGA, the sector and in state agencies and was involved in the development of the New WAterways water sensitive urban design capacity building program, the Light Industry Audit program, Coastal Hazard Risk Management Adaptation Planning.
He was also involved in facilitating grant funding for the sector in areas as diverse as dealing with animal welfare in emergencies, coastal management, climate change adaptation, urban forestry, and household hazardous waste, all reflective of the diversity of services and functions that Local Governments provide for their communities.
Two personal highlights was meeting his amazing partner through working at WALGA, and being the Australian Local Government representative at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20), in 2012.
We hope Mark enjoys his tree change down in Northcliffe! |
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| Field Training Day on Plant Recognition Practices in Natural Areas A Success! |
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| WALGA partnered with the City of Stirling to host a field training event on Thursday, 8 October, attended by 43 staff from 19 Local Governments. |
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 The training shared the practical, on-ground knowledge needed by Local Government staff involved in the conservation of natural areas. Attendees visited a variety of vegetation complexes, including coastal heathland, and Banksia and Tuart woodlands, and focused on restoration approaches, plant identification, and how to undertake natural area surveys.
The day was a great example of collaboration between a number of organisations, with WALGA, the City of Stirling, Perth Natural Resource Management (NRM), Stirling Natural Environment Coastcare, the Wildflower Society WA, and Friends of Trigg Bushland all contributing their expertise.
This is the second year that WALGA has offered the field training in the Perth metropolitan area, which will be expanded to cover the Wheatbelt and South-West region in 2021.
Please see the resources from the day here. |
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| For more information, email Biodiversity and Sustainability Project Officer, Melanie Davies or call (08) 9213 2065. |
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| Trees in a Liveable City: An Urban Forest Conference |
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| WALGA, in conjunction with the Local Government Urban Forest Working Group, will host Trees in a Liveable City: An Urban Forest Conference on Friday, 27 November at the University of Western Australia. |
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The conference aims to highlight the increasing vulnerability and threats that our urban forests are facing from climate change and urban growth.
A keynote address will be given by David Callow, Director Parks & City Greening from the City of Melbourne about the journey Melbourne has been on to green its urban landscapes. Councillor at City of Sydney and Program Director of Greener Spaces, Better Places, Jess Miller, will share the results of their recent research project, Where Will All The Trees Be?
Additionally, a concurrent session on data will include Karen Sweeney, City of Sydney's Urban Forest Manager, who will present on their new spatial analysis used by the City for better urban forest management.
Participants will be able to attend the conference in person at UWA or access the sessions online.
The conference program can be viewed here. |
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| For more information or to register for the event, visit the WALGA website. |
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| Heritage Workshops for Local Government |
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| The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) is partnering with Local Governments to hold a series of free workshops covering current issues in historic and Aboriginal heritage in October and November. |
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One-day workshops are being held in Geraldton, Albany and Perth and are offered to Local Government officers and executives.
A series of webinars will provide core material for those unable to attend a workshop.
WALGA staff from the Community and Environment teams attended the first workshop in Busselton. Presentations included the Shire of Collie's Minninup Pool Project, the City of Busselton's Reconciliation Action Plan, the Busselton Cultural Centre Redevelopment and the DPLH team about the Local Government Heritage Framework and Aboriginal Cultural Bill.
Further information for each workshop is provided in the links:
Geraldton: Friday, 30 October
Albany: Thursday, 12 November
Perth: Wednesday, 18 November
Image: Susie Moir, WALGA's Policy Officer Community, joins the tour of the Old Gaol in Busselton as part of the Heritage Workshop in October. |
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For more information or to register, email the DPLH or call (08) 6552 4151.
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| City of Albany Joins Nationwide Climate Alliance |
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| The City of Albany has joined 134 councils taking part in the nationwide Cities Power Partnership Program, which will support the City’s aspiration to become a clean, green and sustainable city. |
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The Cities Power Partnership Program is focused on transforming Australia’s energy future by supporting the switch to renewable, efficient and clean energy.
The collaboration will connect the City with local and international experts, providing valuable resources in helping the City achieve its goal to become 100% corporate renewable energy efficient by 2030.
Mayor of Albany Dennis Wellington said "the partnership will help the City lead by example in environmental sustainability and will bring lasting community benefits."
As part of the Cities Power Partnership the City has committed to action on renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, working together and influence, which will be developed as part of the City of Albany Corporate Energy Plan due to be released late 2020. |
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| For more information about the project, email City of Albany's Environmental Sustainability Officer, Mary Holt, or call (08) 6820 3972. |
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| CoastWest Grants Support Cambridge Coastal Conservation |
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| The Town of Cambridge and local volunteer group, Cambridge Coastcare, have both received 2021 Coastwest grants to continue the valuable work of caring for the fragile coastline. |
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Conservation work is already underway at Floreat Beach to stabilise and restore dunes in front of the the Floreat Surf Life Saving Club, The Kiosk and the adjoining play area.
Cambridge Coastcare's $10,590 grant will be used to provide fencing, matting and vegetation cover across the three dunes to protect them from future erosion. The Town's $49,700 grant will contribute to developing a Coastal Hazard Risk Management and Adaption Plan, aimed at identifying and managing coastal hazards along the Town's coastline.
The conservation project is a special partnership between the Town of Cambridge, Cambridge Coastcare, Floreat Surf Life Saving Club and the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage through their Coastwest grant.
Image: Councillors Alaine Haddon-Casey and Kate Barlow with Cambridge Coastcare volunteers at Floreat Beach. |
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| For more information, visit the Town of Cambridge's website. |
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| Shire of Augusta-Margaret River Flicks Switch on Battery |
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| The Shire of Augusta-Margaret River's new distributed energy battery was turned on recently and aims to improve the quality and security of energy distribution across the local area. |
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Image: Shire of Augusta-Margaret River Councillors Pauline McLeod and Julia Meldrum and Sustainability Planning Officer Katie Biggs with the new Tesla battery.
The battery, built by Tesla, was installed behind the Margaret River Recreation Centre several months ago as part of a State-wide 5 year community battery trial being run by Western Power.
The technology will allow energy to be distributed across Shire sporting facilities, reducing costs and reliance for the high-demand service in peak times. The battery and intelligent Tesla Opticaster software enables power to be stored during off-peak times and will discharge when there is heavier usage of the local network’s power.
Sustainability Planning Officer Katie Biggs said shifting grid usage to off-peak times would significantly reduce the Shire’s annual energy bills and carbon footprint.
Ms Biggs said the battery also served educational purposes, allowing the community to see how the technology could be implemented locally with minimal risk, potentially paving the way for further installations.
Distributed energy batteries have been emerging across WA as part of the Energy Transformation Taskforce's Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap (DER Roadmap) that was released in April. The Roadmap aims to provide a pathway for a transition to a ‘decentralised, democratised, and highly data driven power system.’ |
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| For more information about the project, please contact the Shire’s Sustainability Planning Officer, Katie Biggs, on (08) 9780 5268. |
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| Cockburn Builds Possum Bridge |
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| It’s been more than a year since the City of Cockburn installed Perth’s first possum bridge, and there is now hard evidence it is being used by the curious nocturnal marsupials. |
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Cockburn Environmental Officer Isabella Streckhardt said motion-sensor cameras installed at the Beeliar Drive structure earlier this year recently produced footage of a brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) using the 6.3m rope bridge between 9.14pm and 9.18pm on 24 August.
She said that independent surveys in February 2019 confirmed the presence of brushtail possums at Kogolup Lake on the road’s southern side.
“Although previously thought to be plentiful locally, brushtail possums surveys indicated very few exist in Yangebup Lake but appear in high numbers at Kogolup across the road,” Ms Streckhardt said.
“The hope is that the Kogolup possums might expand their habitat by traveling further afield to Yangebup Lake. Previously, the busy road has been a dangerous barrier to expansion, but the rope bridge may now help increase the possums’ numbers locally.” |
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For more information, call the City’s Environment Team on
(08) 9411 344. |
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| Biosecurity Blitz! |
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| The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is running its annual Biosecurity Blitz to discover, photograph and record damaging pests and raise community awareness about biosecurity until Monday, 16 November. |
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 Community and industry stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the Blitz to identify damaging pests, including weeds, insects, animals and diseases that pose a threat to biosecurity.
Each organism that is reported is then identified by DPIRD's experts and mapped online for the community to view. Individual reports from the public are then combined with other WA surveillance data collected to verify Australia's freedom from particular unwanted pests.
To participate in the Biosecurity Blitz:
- Sign up to register your interest
- Download one of DPIRD's free reporting apps
- Make reports from 19 October to 16 November 2020
- Participate in one of our challenges!
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| For more information, visit the Biosecurity Blitz webpage or email DPIRD. |
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| Encouraging Cat Owners to Keep Their Cats at Home |
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| The South West Group and six Local Governments in the south west metropolitan area have just launched the Happy At Home cat owner education program. |
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 Supported by State NRM Program funding, the objective of this collaborative project is to make cat owners aware of what their pets get up to when they roam away from home, the risks their pets face when roaming, and how to keep their cats safe, happy and well behaved at home.
The South West Group, made up of the Cities of Canning, Cockburn, Fremantle, Kwinana, Melville and the Town of East Fremantle engaged Murdoch University to determine whether wildlife predation or cat welfare was a greater driver for cat owners to keep their cats contained within their property boundary.
The results from the study were then used the results to develop a “call to action” video, and education video, and a webpage containing lots of information and resources for cat owners. |
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| For more information, email Regional NRM Facilitator South West Group, Peter Nash, on (08) 9364 0771. |
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| Water Corporation's Waterwise Greening Scheme Success |
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| Over the past 12 months, the Water Corporation has provided 16 Waterwise Councils with over $110,000 in co-funding for a range of waterwise greening initiatives. |
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Local Governments have used the funding for native plant giveaways, verge transformations, verge and garden workshops, garden competitions, trees and demonstration gardens.
Funding also helped purchase more than 47,600 waterwise plants and 520 waterwise trees, including 60 street trees.
While physical distancing measures saw many planned events altered, some Councils arranged delivery of waterwise plants to residents' homes or provided online garden workshops.
The Water Corporation would like to thank all the Local Governments who got involved and they loved seeing our State become even greener.
Expressions of interest are currently open for eligible Waterwise Councils wishing to claim under the 2020/2021 scheme. Expressions of interest close Thursday, 31 December 2020.
Image: The Water Corporation has created a Waterwise Verge guide for residents. |
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| For more information, visit the Water Corporation's website. |
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| Councils Lead World’s Largest Alliance of Climate Action Focused Cities |
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| A new committee for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), a global network established to address climate change at a local level, has recently met for the first time. |
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 The committee aims to boost collaboration between cities, Local Governments and community partners globally to achieve emissions reductions while adapting to a changing climate.
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy is the world’s largest global network of local councils taking action on climate change, linking Oceania Mayors with over 10,000 cities from 120 countries, representing more than 950 million people world-wide.
Newcastle Lord Mayor and Committee Chair, Nuatali Nelmes, said that “Our collective priorities for the next year are to grow the GCoM network, build powerful partnerships with aligned organisations, and advocate to governments to support city climate action.”
City of Melville’s Mayor Hon George Gear JP is a Committee member of the Global Covenant of Mayors Oceania.
ICLEI Oceania is the GCoM regional secretariat and all local councils are invited to become a signatory to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy. |
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| For more information or to become a signatory, email ICLEI Oceania. |
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| Digging Deeper Into Soil Health |
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| Moore Catchment Council held a week of workshops focused on soils, gardening, permaculture and healthier living in September. |
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The workshops gave attendees the opportunity to learn about integrated systems, including pest and weed management, and helped Moora High School horticulture students install vegetable beds and plan their patch. Participants also learnt about better acreage management to be eco and firewise.
Moore Catchment Council's (MCC) Community Landcare Coordinator Rachel Walmsley said about the workshops:
“It was a fun and interesting week in Perenjori, Moora, Guilderton and Woodridge. We learnt lots about our soils - testing them, conditions for growing vegetables, how to improve. We had a look at the amazing community gardens in Perenjori and Guilderton."
Fiona Blackham from Gaia Permaculture and Chris Ferreira from The Forever Project were among the presenters at the workshops and received excellent feedback from attendees.
The project was funded by the State Natural Resource Management Program.
Another Digging Deeper workshop with Fiona Blackham is scheduled on Thursday, 19 November at Carrah Farms. RSVP to Rachel Walmsley.
Image: Participants learnt about soil conditions for growing vegetables and how to improve them.
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| For more information or to RSVP to the workshop, please contact MCC's Community Landcare Coordinator, Rachel Walmsley, on (08) 9653 1355. |
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| Spring Fruit A Breeding Ground For Exotic Pest in Western Suburbs |
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| Spring is the time for lemons, cumquats, mulberries, figs and other yard fruits to ripen, though it is also prime time for Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) to breed. |
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Image: DPIRD undertakes surveillance activities.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is currently undertaking a Qfly eradication program in the western suburbs of Perth.
As part of the program, residents who live in the Quarantine Area (QA), which covers Dalkeith, Nedlands and parts of Claremont, Subiaco and parts of Shenton Park and Karrakatta, are being asked to regularly remove in-season fruit from their trees.
If you live in the QA:
- do not take Qfly host fruit out of the QA or dispose of it unless it has been cooked, frozen for 24 hours, or solarised (by placing in a black plastic bag and placing in the sun for a minimum of seven days)
- pick all ripe or ripening host fruit from your trees and plants, and pick up all fallen host fruit every three days, and
- remove all host fruit from any material going to green waste or verge collection.
If it became established in Western Australia, Qfly would damage the State’s horticultural industries.
DPIRD is making good progress towards ridding the state of this pest but they still need assistance to ensure it is eradicated. |
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| For more information, including a list of Qfly host fruit and fruiting vegetables, visit DPIRD's Biosecurity alert webpage or call the Pest and Disease Information Service on (08) 9368 3080. |
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| Old Reserve Plaque Unveiling Event |
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| The Old Reserve, 5km south of Moora, was an Aboriginal camp from the 1950s until 1978 and is now the site of a project to share the history and cultural significance of the reserve. |
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 The project, led by former Old Reserve resident Fred Mogridge is helping to highlight the history of the reserve and make it an educational and welcoming place to visit. Fred approached Moore Catchment Council for funding to help conserve and promote the reserve.
Works have included fencing and bollard installation, and installing four interpretive signs sharing the history and cultural significance of the reserve.
A community event was held on Saturday, 12 September to unveil the upgrade works and commemorative plaque.
Special thanks to Fred Mogridge, Alice Warrell and all the Yued community members that contributed and to Rob Barrett and other volunteers for helping with the fencing and digging the bollard holes.
The State Natural Resource Management Program funded the on-ground works for this project. |
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| For more information, please contact MCC's Community Landcare Coordinator, Rachel Walmsley, on (08) 9653 1355. |
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| Heroes of the Helena River |
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| The Helena River Catchment Group (HRCG) is implementing a three-year restoration project along the Helena River, funded by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction's Community Rivercare Program. |
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The project aims to improve the riparian habitat along the Helena River downstream of the Pumpback Dam by removing and controlling invasive weeds to allow for the natural regeneration of native species.
The HRCG supports biodiversity conservation through their catchment-wide approach and supports a number of Friends Groups within the catchment to implement land care projects.
Image: Trymalium odoratissimum in flower throughout the Northbank project site.
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| For more information on the project, call the Eastern Metropolitan Ring Council on (08) 9424 2242. |
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| Peel Harvey Biosecurity Group Weed ID and Advice Workshop Proves Popular |
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| More than 70 people attended two Weed ID and Advice workshops hosted by the Peel Harvey Biosecurity Group (PHBG) in September, with a total of 150 weed samples brought in to identify and discuss. |
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The first workshop proved so popular that the PHBG held two workshops in the day instead of one.
PHBG welcomed back weed experts Greg Keighery, Order of Australia recipient, and Principal Ecologist, Andrew Mitchell to host the workshops.
The workshops were informative and interactive with many attendees providing feedback that the workshops increased their knowledge of weed identification and control.
A large number of Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale grounds crew attended and the Officers had many questions about the plants they come across in their day to day work.
All attendees received the companion to weed ID and control in the form of the Southern Weeds and their Control booklet. Correct identification of weeds is the first step in effective control. The take-home resource provided at the workshops described both physical and chemical control options.
To read more about the workshop, click here.
The Peel Harvey Biosecurity Group are excited to host future workshops with the next one planned for early 2021 in Harvey.
Image: Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale Operations Staff brought plant samples along to the PHBG Weed ID and Advice Workshop. |
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For more information, visit the Peel Harvey Biosecurity Group website.
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| Resources |
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WALGA has many environment related resources available to assist you with operational and policy issues:
WALGA LGmap
A mapping product that has been specifically designed to meet the needs of Local Governments. The LGmap has a large range of data relevant to land use, infrastructure and environmental planning. It has the capability to enable the inclusion of local data and unique reporting functions linked to statutory process requirements.
WALGA Environment Platform
The Environment Platform is an online hub for the Local Government Sector to build capacity and knowledge in Environment And Sustainability, as well as provide networking groups for Elected Members, Officers and Environmental Planning Tool (EPT) Users.
Find a Conservation Group
To find out whether there are any community volunteers interested in bushland restoration in your Local Government area, go to the ‘find a conservation group’ application provided by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction’s Urban Nature Program.
Approved Vegetation Clearing Statistics for Local Government Area
Clearing statistics by industry group, Local Government or IBRA regions provided by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.
To find out more, visit the Environment page of the WALGA website or contact the Environment team at WALGA.
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| WALGA Environment Team Contacts |
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Acting Environment Policy Manager - Garry Middle, 9213 2049
Environment Policy Officer - Gemma Cook, 9213 2027
Business Development Officer (LGmap) - Renata Zelinova, 9213 2521
Biodiversity and Sustainability Project Officer - Melanie Davies, 9213 2065 |
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| WALGA |
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ONE70, LV1, 170 Railway Parade,
West Leederville, WA 6007
PO Box 1544, West Perth, WA 6872
Tel: (08) 9213 2000 | Fax: (08) 9213 2077
Email: info@walga.asn.au
www.walga.asn.au |
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| © Copyright Western Australian Local Government Association 2014 |
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