Annual Report 2009/2010 - Hawkesbury City Council - NSW ...

Community Achievements
Bushcare
Introduction
The areas that are worked throughout the LGA include; Kurrajong Heights, Kurrajong, Grose Wold, North
Richmond, Ebenezer, Sackville, Glossodia, McGraths Hill, Lower MacDonald and St Albans. The Bushcare
program is a national program in Australia that aims to provide training and support to environmental
volunteers.
Local impacts on the program include; limited funding opportunities, time limitations on staff to further
develop Bushcare volunteer numbers and create environmental awareness, vegetation dumping increases
weed threats, illegal four wheel driving & vandalism through sites can set back progress of reserve and their
potential to regenerate.
Measures of Performance
Measure
1. Provide a friendly neighbourhoods,
connected communities, and supported
households and families.
How is the Hawkesbury performing?
The number of bushcare groups remain
constant
The Sydney Metro CMA facilitate quarterly meetings for what is known as a VCN, where all Government
bodies meet that have a Bushcare program or similar. The Hawkesbury Bushcare model can be compared to
other local councils within this network as every year a statistical report is produced.
Current status and trends
The Bushcare program has remained at a constant over the past years; with the maintenance of
approximately 13 Bushcare Groups. For this to increase in volunteer numbers, a "volunteer drive /
recruitment" would need to be implemented. An increase in Community Bushcare Officers would usually see
a direct correlation in the increase in Bushcare volunteers. People can join the Bushcare program by joining
an existing group, or possibly starting a new community Bushcare Group. The Bushcare program is
advertised by a quarterly newsletter "Weed All About It
Response to the issue
Various Bushcare Groups work in Ecological Endangered Communities undertaking bushland regeneration
and are an integral part of the state and federal grant application process. Grant bodies request community
involvement and participation at these sites and reserves and the community involvement is used as an "inkind"
contribution towards grants of which helps to boost funding for various projects and increases the
probability of potential grants being successful.
In some cases Council reserves are maintained solely by the various Bushcare Groups and if the community
group did not undertake this voluntary work, environmental work at these sites would not exist.
Future directions
The Bushcare Program in future if in its present state, volunteer numbers will remain the same, with some
volunteers leaving, but new volunteers beginning. It is expected that future volunteer numbers may increase,
due to the aging population and environmental issues becoming main stream. However with these two points
of possible increase in volunteers, adequate staffing levels would be required to support the Bushcare
Volunteers.
Page 92
2009/2010 Annual Report