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Helping Hand to Build Wheatbelt Groups

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Community Engagement

Two wildflower groups, a river conservation society and a native sandalwood enterprise have been given a hand to help with the daily running of their operations. The funding has come from the WA State NRM program and natural resource management group Wheatbelt NRM through its Group Capacity Building scheme.

In all, 15 groups in the Wheatbelt, largely made up of volunteers, have been given funding totalling $50,000. Wheatbelt NRM’s Jacqui Lucas said the program was about providing support for the running of these groups. “This program is more about improving how these groups work on a daily basis, rather than the projects they carry out,” Jacqui Lucas said. “If we can help the group function, they will be strong and active well in to the future.” For Sandra Murray from the Kulin Wildflower Group and Herbarium, the funding means the purchase of a freezer.

“This money will be used to help us conserve the hundreds of flora specimens kept in our herbarium,” Sandra Murray said. “Every six months we need to freeze the collection to prevent insect damage. “Instead of knocking on doors trying to find enough cold storage around the town, we will now be able to invest in our own.”

Altogether there were 15 successful applicants:

  • River Conservation Society in York
  • Nungarin Community Development Group
  • NRM Professional Network
  • Merredin Land Conservation District Committee
  • Earth Solutions-Avon Valley
  • Nyabing Farm Improvement Group
  • Gabby Quoi Quoi Catchment Group
  • Mt Marshall Sandalwood
  • Mukinbudin Conservation Group—Regional Herbarium
  • Toodyay Land Conservation District Committee
  • Ucarty Catchment Group • Westonia Tidy Towns
  • Kulin Wildflower Group
  • Wongan Ballidu Bush Care Group.

Media contact: Jacqui Lucas, Wheatbelt NRM, 9670 3100