2017 – A Look Back, A Look Ahead

2017 has been an amazing year, with so much going on! In fact, it’s hard to keep track of it all, and there are more good things to look back on than I can fit in one little blog post. Here are a few of my highlights from 2017. Early in the year we had a super fox shoot – despite all the wet weather. We were, as always, delighted with the results and the smiling faces. See the results here. We were successful in our bid to receive funding for Katanning EcoWeek 2017 and 2018 from the Great Southern Development Commission. As a result, we had one of our most successful EcoWeek event series ever, with 1700 people attending the EcoFair, and that event being nominated for an Australia Day award! Very exciting! The Piesse Lake-Over was a huge success with over 650 man-hours applied to planting the shoreline of the Piesse Lake. The community was so supportive, and we can’t wait to tackle phase two next year! We are also very proud of the results of our work with Katanning Primary School on their native seasons garden. Take a moment to drive past and see the results of the teachers, students and parents who all helped to create this lovely garden. We also launched our online mapping tool, which allows you to map your expressions of interest for fencing and revegetation projects, as well as sightings of weeds and rare species! Our AGM in September saw the majority of members retained, and a few new members who came into our group. We were also very delighted with the community response to our request for the Soil Conservation Service Charge to continue over the next three financial years. We successfully launched the 10 Week Bin Transformation online course with 45 participants. Almost everyone in the program halved their rubbish output at the end of the 10 weeks! If you want to learn how to do this as well, check out our 10 Week Bin Transformation page and register your interest in the next round coming up in 2018. People became really interested in where their rubbish and recycling goes, so we organised a tour of the local recycling facility in Kojonup, and we had a great turnout. It was a real eye-opening experience. The QFH Multiparts Productive Landcare Demonstration had some interesting results of a first go at planting Messina. We are really interested in how it will go next year, and will be sure to let you know! The Lake Ewlyamartup flushing channel got the go-ahead and Wheatbelt NRM have been actively working on getting everything ready to go. If all goes to plan, construction could start as early as January! We secured more funding from State NRM Office for 2018, including ongoing Bridal Creeper roadside spraying, trees and fences to build biodiversity, and a series of workshops, events, and busy bees in 2018. Look for more information on that in the new year. Through the State NRM funding, and the GSDC funding for EcoWeek 2018, we are looking for a new team member to take on the role of Katanning Landcare Events Coordinator. We’d love to hear from you if you think you can take on this energetic and dynamic role! Or please pass the word along to those you know that would be perfect for this job! And, just this week, members of the Katanning Land Conservation District Committee came to an arrangement to purchase the Blyth Tree Farm! We’re putting in our first crop this week and look forward to the challenges and exciting opportunity ahead! You will hear more about this soon, but in the meantime, we are taking orders! So get in touch with us ASAP! Next year we have a lot going on, and many new projects to tackle. We started working with South Coast NRM on two projects: the release of the K5 calicivirus for rabbit control, and the Talkin’ Soil Health Conference, coming to Katanning in March. We hope to see a huge turnout here for the great speakers. Have a look at the quick calendar to see a few more of the things already lined up for 2018. And keep an eye out for more amazing events, workshops, and cool things happening around Katanning! The whole team at Katanning Landcare would like to thank all of you, the community, the farmers, the volunteers, the supporters, for all that you do! Thank you for making 2017 one of the most successful and memorable, and we look forward to seeing you in 2018.

Be safe. Have fun.