2012 Annual Report - Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia

Hunter Wetlands CentreAnnual Report 2012

CONSERVE DISCOVER EDUCATEThe Hunter Wetlands Centre is anot-for-profit communityorganisation established in 1985 asAustralia’s first Wetlands Centre.Hunter Wetlands Centre412 Sandgate RdShortland NSW 2307AUSTRALIATelephone: 61 2 4951 6466Facsimile: 61 2 4950 1875Email: hwca@wetlands.org.auWeb: www.wetlands.org.auISSN 1449 - 4736

ContentsOrganisational ProfileExecutive ReportsConservation & ManagementEducationEcotourismOur TeamPartnersMembers & SponsorsFinancial ReportGrants4

Organisational ProfileGuiding PrinciplesCommitment to wise use of wetlandsCommitment to ecological sustainabilityRespect DiverstiyMake decisions based on scientific researchRespect and value peopleAct with integrityProtect our credibilityProvide a safe environment for staff, volunteers and visitorsAchieve financial sustainabilityHunter Wetlands Centre’s Strategic Plan outlines the organisations StrategicPlan Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia’s Strategic Plan (2004-2009) outlinesthe organisation’s strategic direction and focuses on four key operationalareas:1. Wetlands Conservation and Management promoting and demonstratingsustainable conservation and management of wetlands through communityparticipation.2. Education – Increasing and sharing our knowledge and understanding ofwetlands and promoting the Ramsar convention.3. Tourism and Recreation – Providing services and facilities to create a highquality and enjoyable experience for visitors that showcase wetland values.4. Governance – Meeting business requirements using ethical practice,achieving financial stability, and fostering community involvement.5

Board of DirectorsTom BagnattJoe BidwellRod CaldwellJenny CastlesBen ChardJohnathon CordinglyDavid CroftsJohn DugasCarolyn GillardMary GreenwoodNicole HolmesEdwin LewisChristine PriettoRoger PriorJohn StewartDeon Van RensburgNational Parks & Wildlife Service (resigned)Chair of the Environmental Science Department,University of Newcastle Representative(Secretary) Community RepresentativeHunter Landcare Representative(Chairman) Community RepresentativeCommunity Representative (resigned)Community RepresentativeFaculty of Business & Law,University of Newcastle (resigned)Department of Education and TrainingCommunity RepresentativeHunter Water RepresentativeCommunity Representative (resigned)Community RepresentativeDepartment of Education Representative(resigned)Community RepresentativeArea Manager, National Parks & WildlifeService Representative6

Hunter Wetlands StaffChief Executive OfficerKen ConwaySite Manager & Biodiversity Officer Paul TruteSite StaffShane Holmes (resigned)Will McCaffreyMatt StowFinanceEcotourism & Marketing ManagerGrant MorganAnna RyanVisitor Centre & ActivitiesManager Rae Nelson (resigned)IT & EventsVisitor Centre Information OfficersActivities & Birthday Party HostsJake RelfSue Strickland, Alexis TingSue Smith, Hailey RonaldWetlands Education CentreTeacher in ChargeTeacherSchool Administration ManagerPeter JonesCarolyn GillardRhonda Atkins7

Chairman’s Report - Ben ChardIn the short time in this role as Chairman ofthe Hunter Wetlands Centre it has becomeincreasingly obvious that it is difficult to runa viable business if that business is in passiverecreation.The global financial crisis is not helpingbecause the general community is veryconservative about spending and thebusiness community is careful aboutsponsorship. Additionally when your majorcompetitor is a council run business whichis subsidised by rate payer funds it makes itvery difficult to reach breakeven point.In spite of these obstacles, for the WetlandsCentre to have achieved an operating profitand only a small net loss, it is a reasonableresult and a number of parties need to bethanked.Firstly the volunteers’ efforts are critical tothe survival of the Centre. There are around150 volunteers and they contribute thousandsof hours on an annual basis towards theexternal and internal operations of thebusiness. The Centre could not afford to payfor that work if that support was withdrawn.The State and Federal Governments havebeen generous with their support throughvarious grants for environmental andinfrastructure improvements. The Educationcentre is a mainstay of the WetlandsCentre, with students being introduced tothe importance of the environment. Newprogrammes are being developed and theseprogrammes should encourage greaternumbers of students using these wonderfulfacilities. A closer link toNewcastle Universityshould also be possible,and the involvement ofnew Director Joe Bignall should facilitate Iwould thank the Directors for theirinvolvement throughout the year andthe support they have provided to me and tostaff. I would like to offer my congratulationsand thanks to the Chief Executive OfficerKen Conway and all the staff. The effortthey have put in to run this facility on a verytight budget is outstanding. It has beennecessary to reduce staff numbers over theyear because of our financial situation, andthis is disappointing, but other staff (andvolunteers) have picked up the extra load andthis effort is recognised by the Board.The challenge for Directors and staff inthe future is to maintain the integrity ofthe Wetlands Centre but at the same timeintroduce new attractions that appeal to abroader section of the community. That initself requires a delicate balance.Ben ChardChairman8

CEO’S Report - Ken ConwayAt the end of 2011 the full force of the La Ninaweather pattern impacted on our wetlandsand flooded an already sodden site on anumber of occasions turning most of thetracks into mud. This had a major impacton visitation and therefore income right upuntil the end of July when the weather godsturned the tap off and we began to dry out.We had a few good months before the pondsdried up totally with the exception of BHPpond and most of the birds left and visitorsstopped coming again and that reflects in ourfinancial result for the year.This pattern unfortunately is a repeat ofother years and is the reason the Board hasadopted a strategy to try to diversify ourincome base. The Board held a Strategy Dayin early 2012 and again in 2013 to discuss waysto diversify income while maintaining theessential environmental and education aimsof the organisation. To that end a DA waslodged with Council for the building of anadventure ropes course on the site which wasapproved bay Council in late 2012. It should beconstructed in the second half of the year andprovide an additional source of revenue.Our Nursery was upgraded during 2012,capacity was approved and a comprehensiveEnvironmental Management Plan wasdesigned by Site Manager Paul Truteand Nursery Manager Ken Bayliss. Theproject was funded through Wetland CareAustralia by a grant from the Hunter CentralRivers Catchment Management Authority(HCRCMA). It’s primary focus was toallow us to expand capacity and at the sametime minimise any impact on Ironbark Creekand the Canoe Channel by ensuringnutrients from thenursery were preventedfrom leaching into thecreek. We also receiveda number of plant orders for commercialquantities of plants creating a new sourceof income. Part of the Boards diversificationstrategy is to expand the range of nativeplants and commercial sales in 2013.Café Nourish lease came to an end inDecember and after careful considerationthe Board took a decision to run the caféourselves. This was done not only to addanother income source but to ensure thatwe had control of our reputation for qualityand service. To facilitate this Executive ChefPeter Halse was employed to re-establishthe café under our own brand. The Café willbe called Spoonbill Café and will have beentrading for several weeks by the time thisreport is published. It will not only focuson a café menu but breakfasts, functions,weddings and seminars. And the cafe willintroduce special monthly speakers dinnersand move on to opening for dinner Thursdayto Saturday evenings.In September 2012 we introduced the Hunterto the first Hunter Paddle Challenge as aFundraising Event for the Wetland Centre.The event was very successful and we expectit to grow in 2013. It had over 4 competitorsin two sections. Eight paddlers did the full60km paddle from Lorne to Stockton andthe rest undertook the half paddle fromRaymond Terrace to Stockton.9

CEO’S Report - ContinuedWith the help of Dart Energy, ourmajor sponsor, we raised over $6,000to put toward our site restoration andeducation programs. Dart have alsoagreed to sponsor the event again in2013. We are hoping for in excess of150 competitors in 2013. Anna Ryan(Ecotourism Manager) and Jake Relf(Events Manager) worked tirelesslyto ensure the event ran well and wasconducted in a safe manner.A number of other fundraising eventsare also being considered for 2013.We are also revisiting the ideaof allowing camping on site inconjunction with environmental toursand may lodge a DA with Councilsometime in 2013 and a numberof other ideas will be developedfollowing the Boards Strategy Dayheld in Late January 2013.The focus on rehabilitating the sitehowever has not been lost andcontinues at great pace with the helpof various funding bodies and a largeand willing workforce of volunteers.This workforce is guided and assistedby Site manger Paul Trute, BiodiversityOfficer Matt Stow and Project OfficerWill McCaffrey.Significant projects worked on duringthe year were:A Butterfly Garden funded byPerpetual Trustees through the EstateRobin Vincent Udny Rothwell AccountWildlife Presentation Trust. This projecthas been completed and the site is fullof butterfly attracting plants, it has apicnic area, pond, bridge and windmillfor irrigation purposes and I am surewill be a favourite area along with theBushtucker Garden once the plantshave grown sufficiently.10

A 5 year project funded by the FederalGovernments Biodiversity Fund to replace upto 8 ha of weeds with a major extension ofour rainforest.The revegetation of Farm Dam and a new SiteManagement Plan funded by the HCRCMAwas commenced. The revegetation work isbeing supervised by Jenny Castles (BoardMember and Hunter Landcare NetworkMember).The Wallaby Flat revegetation processis almost complete and will certainly becompleted in 2013. The “Thursday Mob” ledby Paddy Lightfoot has transformed this areawhich was a large blackberry patch a numberof years ago into a magnificent example of asite revegetated by local native plants.Hunter Water and the NSW EnvironmentalTrust were also major funding partners in therevegetation process along with a number ofother smaller funding bodies.John Dugas, Jonathan Cordingly, Roger Pryorand Tom Bagnatt resigned from the Boardduring the year for a variety of reasons as didlong standing Director Ted Lewis who aftermany years has decided to take a well earnedrest. Thank you all for your assistance andguidance.Professor Joe Bidwell, Chair of theEnvironmental Science Department atNewcastle University, Deon Van Rensburg,Area Manager NPWS and John Stuart joinedthe Board and are all working well andmaking valuable contributions.Long serving staff members Shane Holmesand Rae Nelson departed and are bothmissed and I thank them for their service.Above all though, I would like to pay tributeto our many wonderful volunteers. Thereare too many to mention individually. Theywork in all sections of the organisation andare the glue that keeps the organisationtogether. This year a new innovation hasbeen the introduction to the volunteerranks of a number of overseas studentsfrom the University. They come from arange of nations but the majority are fromChina. They have worked in most areasof the Centre but by far the most valuablecontribution was made during the heat ofNovember, December and January whenon regular occasions along with our regularvolunteers they worked in severe heatto hand water over 8000 newly plantednatives. This new source of volunteers wastapped by Grant Morgan our volunteercoordinator who is also the StudentRepresentative on the University Senate.11

Site Managers Report - Paul TruteWelcome back to another activeyear. I hope we are able to keep ourmomentum going, and continue toevolve and improve our community– as some of you have been doingfor over 27 years! 2013 will see thecompletion of the renewal of oursite management plan which willset a forward direction and providean action layer that will help drivegrants and projects in land andconservation management of thesite. Congratulations to all staff andvolunteers on a good year in 2012, andplease read on to get a feel for my roleand to understand some of the mainachievements in 2012.2012 sees the completion ofthe Environmental Trust Grant. Thisgrant ran from 2009 to 2012 and it setsthe bench mark for the site managerrole in relation to managing projectsfor the site. Taking over from thislast grant we were awarded a newEnvironmental Trust Grant, entitled“Hunter Wetlands community Ramsarsite improvement (phase 2).” Againthis outlines projectobjectives andactivity summary for the site managerposition and essentially provides uswith a funded site manager positionfor the land and conservationmanagement program of the siteover a three year period. This grantwill provide a total of $92,128 (Ex GST)over a 3 year period from 2012 to 2015.This funding enables us to identify andmanage critical projects and activities forthe centre. Some of the things in the grantinclude:Monitoring and evaluation plan for thegrant.Annual progress and final reports(including financial audit at the end of theproject).Achieve bush regeneration objectives.Manage our wetland complex (related toour Ramsar ecological character).Manage riparian related issues.Monitor our Egret Breeding colony andRamsar photo points.Report on bird observation records, andhighlight, if any, sightings for AustralasianBittern.Engage our volunteer’s participation,including student involvement in studyand work experience.Foster partnerships and traditionalknowledge.Promote and raise awareness onthe importance of our wetlands andsubsequent activities.Pursue and manage projects and fundingopportunities to achieve outcomes.Insert Environmental Trustacknowledgement from contractagreement specific wording ... forcontinued support of our Site ManagerPosition and management objectives.12

In 2012 we also completed our bushregeneration works, media articles,and a few other tasks and objectivesfunded via Hunter Water under theirChichester Pipeline offset project.It included works in the SubstituteMelaleuca Forest adjacent to theIron Bark Marsh Boardwalk, theriparian zones around MelaleucaSwamp, and the re-vegetation ofWallaby Flat. The funded componentwas approx $90,000 over 3 years andhelped to pay for staff, materials,tools and equipment, and so on.The maintenance of these projectareas will form part of the new sitemanagement plan ensuring that itis recognised moving forward as anarea to be maintained and enhancedin years to come. Many thanks toHunter Water for their continuedsupport. Hydrology and waterwatchcontinued in 2012 mainly due touniversity students and Michael, avolunteer.Great work! We also startedsampling for invertebrates in all ourponds – which I hope to formaliseand increase in frequency. We arein discussion with the Universityto see what role they may be ableto play in wetland monitoring forour site. These activities are criticalas the active water managementkicks in. Although our results couldbe described as poor or standardwhen comparing to water qualitystandards – they are essentially“normal” for a wetland site. We are,after all, the kidneys of thenatural water cycle system, and haveadditional loads through storm waterinput and the magnitude of bird lifeoccupying our site, providing a refugefor wildlife. Along with the helpreceived in waterwatch by studentswe have also had active involvementfrom the University of Newcastle bywork experience students, continuedefforts in Green and Golden BellFrog survey and research, and alsowelcomed to the board of directorsProf. Joseph Bidwell. This all helps infurthering our win –win partnershipswith stakeholders interested in our siteand our projects helping us to achieveresults.During summer this year wehad an interesting Egret breedingseason (2012-13). We started offwith great Egrets arriving and thenleaving, with the ponds dry andnot much encouragement or waterprotection for them to hang around.A big thank you to HBOC, GeoffNichols, Margret and Robert Stewartand Paddy Lightfoot for their effortsin bird surveys and reporting overthe last year. Geoff organised andcompleted the annual Egret Watchsurveys. He was helped by the HunterBird Observers Club and reported thefollowing numbers:13

Site Managers Report continued14December 2012 results showed nilGreat Egrets, however they werecounted in very small numbers atthe back of the breeding season inFebruary. Only 8 Intermediate egrets,down from 42 in 2011. Only 1 LittleEgret nest, down from 3 in 2011, and300 cattle Egret nests (On MiddletonSwamp) down from 360 in 2011. Theibis had 26 nests, and usually breedin July so another survey will becompleted then. This large drop innumbers has been attributed to thedry period leading into the breedingseason. 2 Latham Snipe were surveyedbut no Australasian Bittern which tie inwith our Ramsar status. AustralasianBittern usually visits the siteintermittently in Iron Bark Marsh andwas recently seen in 2011. Our surveysalso revealed some nice surprises in2012 including a Sea Eagle nest on sitea Brush Cuckoo, Red-Kneed Dotterel,Black-winged Stilt, Pink-eared Duck,Blue-faced Honeyeater, PeregrineFalcon and King Parrot that aren’t seenevery year, all in the atlas survey andHBOC annual report for 2012.Additional HBOC records for the yearhighlighted our first on site Sea Eaglenest, a Brush Cuckoo (not seen on sitesince 2006), and a King Parrot! Alsosome other interesting species to noteincluding the Black-winged Stilts, andPheasant Coucals amongst others.building construction disturbed areasand connectivity to the junior Landcarearea.On the bush regeneration front wehad a number of projects funded andcompleted. And I would like to thankthose supporters for their contributions.These included:Be Natural Landcare Grant for revegetatingaround the new WEECCatchment Management Authority –including weed control and plantingswithin the Aboriginal Conservation Areaand main track Iron Bark Marsh bushregeneration area.Wetland Care Australia - Latham SnipeplantingCaring for Catchments Alligator weedcontrol across site (CFOC 2012-13 ongoing)Catchment Management Authoritybush regeneration including plantingsand weed control around the Farm Damunderstory, causeway and sensory trailconnection adjacent to Tuxford Park.(ongoing)We welcomed a new staff member,Matt Stow, who is managing tasksassociated with the Biodiversity ProjectAreas including bush regeneration andnest box installations on site, and supportto volunteers. He has brought with himsome experience in offsite contractorwork and nursery enquiries from hisprofessional network that may help todevelop our client base with the CentreNursery for commercial orders.

Site Managers Report continuedIn 2012 we recorded a total of 33011 plantsout of our nursery and into the ground.Some were provided by the AustralianPlants Society nursery, and this year wealso purchased from Burringbar nurseryto add to our rainforest diversity on site.As we extend our rainforest and continueour native regeneration and revegetationprocess the nursery will continue to be ahub of driving force for our Landcare teamsplanting requirements.Thanks to our Sitemanagement committee for their guidanceand discussions, and continued effort inhelping with all site management matters.ProjectSum of # PlantsBe Natural 2852BHP Project (BTG/BFG) 2814Biodiversity Project 13952CMA HCR11_212 3075Hunter Water Offset Project 4590Latham Snipe Project Area maintenanceplanting 680Latham Snipe Wetland Care Project 825Lions Club Special Promotion Filming Event 25Maintenance of 2010-11 brambles project area 20Maintenance of GGBF Project Area 1454Maintenance Other Areas 1641Perpetual Project Areas (BTG/BFG) 1083Grand Total 33011Fauna release and bird releases for 2012continued under the Native AnimalTrust Fund relationship with the HunterWetlands Centre, and although limited thisyear included animals displaced by fire,rehabilitated from accidents and releasedunder NATF (NPWS licensed) license to thesite. We had a mix of Ring tail possums, andlocal species of wetland birds for the mostpart - but it all helps provide a future for theseunfortunate animals while adding to ourdiversity on site. A total of 11 possums and2 birds were released to site this year withmore planned for 2013. In particular we arehunting for funding in 2013 for Wallaby releaserequirements that include GPS tracking, so ifyou’re interested in sponsoring a project letme know!In order to protect all our native faunaand avi-fauna as well as plants from predationwe continue to actively manage our PestControl Program. This includes baiting for fox,rat and rabbit control around the site. Witha natural boundary along Iron Bark Creek wealso welcomed the news that Wetland CareAustralia has been discussing these issueswith other stakeholders in the area which willbe the only way to completely eradicate thesepests from site in the long terms as they oftenrecruit into the site from other areas via ournatural creek boundaries.Our recycling efforts continue at the Centrewith scrap metal, kerbside collection recyclingand contaminated waste to skip bins. Otherwaste including suitable foods are being usedfor worm farms.Volunteer hours reached 38370 hrs for2012. 2012 was also a higher workload yearwith approx 50% more workload in bushregeneration than normal, and associatednursery and project administration workas a result which was also reflected in thenumbers.15

2012 higher workloads also includedthe two year review and upgradeof our workplace health and safetysystem, and the completion of theEnvironmental Management Systemfor the nursery. Both these projectsrequired additional consultation,workshops, meetings, and taskallocation as they were additional itemsin the mix.I would like to say well done to thenursery team in particular who alsomanaged a 20,000 plants project forNewcastle Coal Infrastructure Groupwhich was supplied on a commercialbasis and installed under NPWS licenseto Ash Island where they have helped toestablish a Green and Golden Bell Frogstudy project habitat.A big thank you to all individuals andcommunity groups involved in helpingus manage our wonderful 45HaHunter Estuary Ramsar Site “ShortlandWetlands”.16

Thursday Mob ReportThe Thursday Mob consists of mobsters with a diverse range of skills whichcontribute to the successful management of the native plant environmentsof Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia (HWCA).Basically Mobsters are divided into two congenial and synergistic groups.The first consists of members of Newcastle Group of the Australian PlantsSociety. This group propagate Australian Native Plants in their nursery. Theplants grown are sold to the General Public on Thursdays throughout theyear and at various shows – such as Tocal Small Farms Exhibition. Manyplants are donated to our Wetlands for planting in the gardens surroundingthe Visitors Centre and adjacent developed areas such as our EducationCentre and the car parks. Monies raised are used to assist the Group,Hunter Region Botanic Gardens as well as HWCA.The second group of volunteers, who have various interestingbackgrounds, prepare and plant new areas as well as maintaining existingplanted sites. As well these men are experts in bush regeneration overexisting sections of naturally occurring vegetation. The group includes twodisadvantaged men and their hard working carer, Branko.This year has seen our CEO, Ken Conway, successfully obtain an AustralianBiodiversity Fund Grant. The grant has as its purpose re-establishing localAustralian plant species over our weed infested site. The Thursday Mob hasassisted by preparing and planting areas to complete the requirements ofthe grant.Following initial plantings last spring, the weather turned hot and dry oversome months necessitating continual watering up to the end of the year.Most plants were saved and in early 2013 sites such as that surrounding theoverflow car park are looking wonderful.The Mobsters are proud of their considerable contribution to therestoration of the environment and ecology of HWCA for the benefit of allNovocastrians and their visitors.17

Education Report - Peter JonesThis was an exciting year as theWetlands EEC staff welcomed a newPrincipal to replace Christine Priettoafter many years tenure. Peter Joneswas previously Literacy consultant atthe NSW DEC Hunter Central CoastMaitland Office and before that HeadTeacher of HSIE at Callaghan College,Waratah Campus. Peter thoroughlyenjoyed his first year settling intothe position, becoming familiar withprograms and enjoying the wide rangeof teaching opportunities this positionoffers.Carolyn Gillard, Teacher; andRhonda Atkins, School AdministrationManager remained on the staffand enjoyed working with Peterand ‘breaking him in’ to this uniquesetting. The education program wasalso supported by a small team ofcasual teachers with a wide range ofskills enabling them to teach acrossvarious curriculum areas and ages.This support is particularly necessarywith large groups of students in orderto comply with DEC requirements forstaff / student ratios on excursions,particularly in proximity to water.WEEC staff continued tomanage the design and delivery of ourcore excursion programs for visitingstudents from Kindergarten to Year 12.Students participated in a wide rangeof investigations with the integration oftechnology a great drawcard.All programs support NSW DEC syllabusrequirements and enhance learning.Visiting schools predominantly comefrom the Hunter region, but also fromSydney and other areas of the state.6928 students visited WEEC in 2012.This included 63% primary students, 37%high school students. 95% of schoolswere from the Hunter Region. Staff alsopresented environmental programs viaVideo Conference to over 370 students.Of the 23 Environmental EducationCentres in the state, WEEC has one of thehighest visitation rates.WEEC staff also coordinated:Environmental Sustainability Forum,which is a one day networking forumfor teachers to keep up to date withenvironmental initiatives across the stateand programs offered across the region.Over 60 teachers participated in 2012.18

Education Report continuedPlanet Savers was held at HWCA as acelebration of World Environment Dayon 5 June. Short hands-on activitieswere provided by a number ofenvironmental providers to 561 seniorprimary students over 2 days. It is acouple of years since this program washeld and wonderful to have it returnin 2012. Thanks go to HWCA staff andvolunteers for the support they offeredwith student planting on the site asone of the activities. Envirothon is anenvironmental competition for Year 11students, which integrates fieldworkskills, management decisions andpresentation skills in a real life setting.The 2012 event was held at HunterWetlands Centre with support fromHWCA staff and volunteers, NationalParks and Wildlife Service and theHunter Central Rivers Waterwatchteam. Eleven teams participated andHWCA CEO, Ken Conway participatedas a judge for the final presentations.The result was a tie between DungogHS and Merewether HS with LambtonHS a close second. Once again wewere very grateful for Hunter WaterCorporation sponsorship.Wet and Wild proved to beextremely popular again in 2012,with over 70 teams participating inthe on line research competition.The 3 week project for seniorprimary students researched foodwebs in a wetlandEco News is a quarterly newsletterWEEC sends to all schoolsthroughout the Hunter Region.This keeps teachers up to date withour excursion programs, regionalenvironmental events, grantopportunities, and contacts. Acopy is also published on the WEECwebsite. Eco News is a quarterlynewsletter WEEC sends to allschools throughout the HunterRegion. This keeps teachers up todate with our excursion programs,regional environmental events,grant opportunities, and contacts.A copy is also published on theWEEC website.Climate Clever Energy Savers isa state wide project for schools,encouraging student leadershipin the management of energyin schools. WEEC teaching staffsupported 16 teachers in theHunter as they participated in thisprogram.19

Education Report continuedYouth Eco Summit provided environmental workshops and speakers for over2,000 students at Newington Armoury, Sydney. WEEC staff accompanied a busload of Hunter students to the event for one of the days.Wetlands EEC staff are represented on a number of HWCA managementcommittees including, Board of Directors, Site Management Committee and OH&SCommittee.Volunteer Coordinator Report - G. Morgan2012 saw a major overhaul of ourVolunteering Coordination with RaeshealNelson moving on to other things, wewould like to thank her for her tirelessefforts on behalf of volunteers. Continuedimprovements to the Volunteer databasedesigned by Jake Relf with the assistanceof Paul Trute and Glenys Palmer haveassisted in upgrading the record keeping forvolunteers. This is an ongoing process andfurther improvements are expected overthe coming year. Reduction of paper workand better integration with our WHS systemshould ensure that volunteers’ needs arelooked after more efficiently.The value of our volunteers continues tobe recognised throughout the community.Darren Duggan, Linda Robens, CameronArnott and our finance and nursery teamsare all amongst those whose efforts havebeen recognised throughout the year for anoutstanding contribution to the community.Other volunteer programs such as thearrangement with the University ofNewcastle’s Language Centre have receivedstrong support and are the envy of othervolunteer organisations. Our relationshipwith the University of Newcastle continuesto grow through popularity of these andother activities, student volunteers andestablishment of relationships with theTom Farrell Institute for the Environment,Newcastle University Postgraduate StudentsAssociation and Engage Newcastle.Hunter Wetlands Centre has been successfulin getting some grants that have beendesigned improve the volunteeringexperience. NSW Mine Safety Board providedus with a small community grant to fund our“Safe Volunteer Team Project” this has beenvery successful and would like to thank themfor their support of our volunteers. This granthas seen the purchase of first aid kits, newuniforms and an AED but most importantlyis paying for training of volunteers andsupervisors in safety and first aid. This willhelp us prevent injury and illness amongstour volunteers and be prepared to deal withaccidents when they occur.20

Ecotourism, Marketing & Events -Anna RyanMarketing an attraction that reliesheavily on good weather is a challenge andthe past 12 months have indeed proven tobe testing in many respects. The visitationof the centre throughout the year appearsto have been a direct correlation with theweather patterns and we certainly had ourfair share of wet weather followed by thedry. While this ususally isn’t a deterrantfor our long standing members whoknow how beautiful the wetlands are inall weather - the general ‘Jo Public’ in thispart of the world tend to wait for a niceday to head outdoors. There are a numberof perception hurdles when it comes towetlands - weather, mozzies and ‘whatdo you do there’ are possibly the mostcommon. We need to constantly encouragepeople to brave the great outdoors anddiscover this amazing destination that ison the doorstep of Newcastle, whateverthe climate! Our NBN advertising hasworked reasonably well , particularly inthe middle of the year. We had to changetack very quickly with ads towards the endof the year scheduled to promote the birdbreeding season and then the birds left!Advertising and promotion of the centreover the next 12 months will focus heavilyon the new Spoonbill Cafe with a newNBN campaign due to start early April.Thank you to Ian Dunn who donated manyhours of his own time in his busy scheduleto get some beautiful footage of thesite, sometimes under trying conditionsbetween rain and mosquitos. While ourbranding for the Wetlands continues to beConserve Discover Educate; we have addeda new tag to the NBN ad - Hunter WetlandsCentre- Open All Seasons, which I think speaksfor itself and requires no explanation.Advertising of the centre also continuedthe past 12 months through local parentingmagazines, Newcastle’s Child and Get AheadKids; the Herald; The Star and other publicationson occasion as well as community noticeboardsand social media. We have maintained ourtourism memberships with Lake Maquarie andMaitland as well of course, of Newcastle andwe are constantly striving to make not justvisitors aware of our amazing facility and whatwe do, but also to our fellow tourism operators,particularly accommodation providers, asthe more they have us on their radar, themore likely they are to recommend theHunter Wetlands as a worthwhile destinationfor visitors looking for something to do.Efforts through to the year to encourage CruiseShip passengers to visit while in port haveproven difficult with transporting people to thesite. Investagations of running our own tourto bring people out to the site have provenunviable at this stage but it is an avenue thatCutting the RamsarAnniversary Cake -Christine Prietto withDr Max Maddox21

Ecotourism & Marketing Continuedwe will continue to move towards.We have teamed up with InnerCity Winemakers and East CoastExperiences to create a great dayout and hopefully the on boardtour promoters will pick us up as apackage in the next round.Changes to our membershipstructure have taken place sinceJune 2012 in an effort to offer a moreflexible membership arrangement.Generally our membership numbersare down signficantly and oldermemembers not renewing theirmemberships. A membershipdrive will be held in 2013 throughnewsletters of associatedorganisations, through the centreand in public notices with supportfrom the Newcastle Herald.2012 saw the 10 YearAnniversary of our signing of theRamsar Agreement which was anexciting milestone. We had a smallevent with a seminar programconducted by Hunter Wetlands,Christine Prietto and Louise Duff fromWetland Care Australia followed by acelebratory cake and a group photo.I had the good fortune in Octoberto attend the Asia-Pacific Global EcoConference which was held in Cairns.The theme for the conference was‘Optimising Eco Wonders’. I washonoured to present a paper on‘Communities Benefitting fromStrategic Partnerships’. It was veryexciting to be able to present theHunter Wetlands Centre, our history,our structure, our partnerships andconsiderations for our future topeople in the ecotourism industryfrom all over Australia, Asia andas far away as Central and SouthAmerica. The conference gave me awonderful insight into the amazingthings that tourism operators aredoing - from the big guns includingVirgin who are working on usingbiodiesel in their planes to smallcommunity organisations in Ecudorwho are setting up tourism initiativesas an alternative to logging. Its a greatenvironment for learning about andfrom others successes and challenges.Our challenge for the comings yearsis to bring more visitors to the siteand to promote active use of the site.This will be done through furtherpromotion of our Segway Tours andsoon to be constructed Ropes Course.We also hope to be able to present anAboriginal Cultural event towards theend of the year and to present variousevents with Spoonbill Cafe.22Ramsar 10yr Anniversary

EventsWe celebrated Easter with EasterBunny Adventures on EasterSaturday.We played golf and raised just over$2000 for the cente.We attended Tocal Field Days.We attended SOFA Festival.We held the inaugural HunterPaddle Challenge.We celebrated 10 yrs of our listingas a Ramsar Wetlands.We hosted a number of artexhibitions; an exhibition from theNatural History Illustration Schoolat Newcastle University and theWUPA Art exhibition. We werealso fortunate during the year tostart the path on re-establishinglinks with our sister wetlandsin Japan, Kushiro InternationalWetlands Park. A concurrentexhibition was held at eachwetlands featuring photos of their‘sister’ site. We hope to continueto share and exchange informationwith Kushiro throughout thecoming years.Kushiro International Wetlands Park - JapanThe first Hunter Paddle Challengewas held on the 16th September.We were fortunately enough tohave journalist/ author, ScottBeven of ABC News24, agree tobe Ambassador of the event andthanks to Scott for his endorsementand giving up his time (and energy!).Scott not only opened the racebut chose to particpate on theday. With a short time frame toorganise the challenge, we had40 competitors and realised weneeded to change the name fromthe Hunter Kayak Challenge to thePaddle since had Stand Up Paddleboarders and outriggers in themix. 8 paddlers dared to throw intheir vessle 60kms upstream atLorn and head down the mightyHunter River picking up the 30kmpaddlers at Raymond Terrace onthe way. A huge thank you to ourvolunteers on the day who assistedwith marshelling and a myriad ofjobs (including our bank manager -those ads ARE true!). Thank you toDart Enery & Maria’s Farm Veggiesfor your financial sponsorshop andNBN and The Herald for generousassistance to promote the event.We certainly learnt alot from theevent of what works and howwe can improve to make 2013bigger and better. What a greatway to highlight the beauty andimportance of the Hunter River andit’s estuary. The 2013 Hunter PaddleChallenge is set for Sunday 8thSeptember.23

Sponsors & SupportersHunter Water has been a strong support for the Hunter Wetlands Centre over themany years. Their long standing involvement reaches financially and beyond. This yeartheir sponsorship went towards assisting events such as our school holiday programand enabling us to have some eduational promotional material updated and printed.We are extremely grateful for their support which helps keep the Hunter WetlandsCentre alive and assists our public education of wise use of water and wetlands.The Hunter Valley Private Hospital also continues to support the Hunter WetlandsCentre and helps to promote the centre to all who visit their hospital. The HunterWetlands now proudly feature in areas of their new wing. We would also like tothank HVPH for their ongoing support.Dart Energy & Maria’s Farm Veggies has been a supportive sponsor this year andwithout their assistance we would not have been able to run the Hunter PaddleChallenge event. The Hunter Wetlands Centre are thankful for their financialassistance.We continue to seek major sponsorship fo the Hunter Wetlands Centre to assure thefinancial and secure future of the centre.Thanks to our Supporters• Newcastle Herald• NBN• Insight Designs• Hunter Region School ofPhotography24Kushiro International Wetlands Park - Japan

Hunter Wetlands Centre Aerial ShotHunter Paddle Challenge 201225

Financial Report 2012

30Notes

Notes31

CONSERVE DISCOVER EDUCATEwww.wetlands.org.au