This reflects the accomplishments of the Australian Association of Bush Regenerators (AABR) in 2023;
key achievements, member updates, and exciting plans for the year 2024 are highlighted.

AABR BOARD

The AABR Board does not have requirements for representatives from each State and Territory. However, it is really pleasing that AABR has Board members from Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales.

EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Suzanne Pritchard, our Executive Officer continues to keep our organisation running. Suzanne does many things which includes media promotions, invoicing and assisting organisation of events.

MEMBERSHIP GROWTH AND DIVERSITY

AABR has seen steady growth in its membership, with a current total of 1,116 members as of November 2023. Our members represent a diverse range of categories. AABR concentrated on better contact with Agencies and Councils. Numbers for 2022 are in brackets.

  • Accredited: 256 (246)
  • Pioneers: 37 (37)
  • Individuals: 445 (484)
  • Businesses: 46 (41)
  • Students: 271 (263)
  • Agencies: 23 (19)
  • Non-profit organizations: 18 (15)
  • Complimentary: 18 (17)

Membership is largely NSW (mostly Sydney north to the Queensland border), Victoria, and SE Queensland. Other states have smaller numbers.

ACCREDITATION PROGRAM

The Accreditation programme continues to move forward, with growing interest in the recognition that accreditation offers, to both professional bush regenerators and volunteers. Thirteen members were accredited, with AABR Victoria seeing a number of members now being accredited.

SPONSORSHIPS AND DONATION

Sponsorship from business supporters continues to enable AABR to produce exceptional resources for the bush regeneration sector such as AABRFest and the National Forum.

AABRFest 2023. MID NORTH COAST OF NSW

This year AABR held the inaugural AABR Fest at Topi Topi on the Mid North Coast of NSW. A couple of hundred regenerators from as far afield as Queensland and Victoria attended 3 days of celebration, learning and sometimes, really bad live music. The event was a mixture of formal, semi formal and informal activities and went off a treat. Most of the attendees weren’t members of AABR and there were many early career bush regenerators as well. The event stirred up a lot of interest and discussion around the future of bush regeneration, and the pressures facing both the industry and volunteers, and the role for AABR. The event was made possible through generous sponsorship and the hard work of a number of members and AABR Board members, agencies and environment groups.

See article in Newsletter 157 pages 4 – 7.

Plans are underway for AABRFest 2024

EVENTS

The walks and talks subcommittee and the Victorian branch organised a range of activities in the field across three states. Often these were co-hosted with other keen organisations.

ATTENDANCE AT SER 2023 CONFERENCE

AABR was well represented at the SER conference in Darwin this year. AABR funded the development of promotional and information products and generated informative video at the conference which is now available through Regen TV  and Newsletter 157, Page 3.

Tein McDonald, presented a paper on behalf of AABR, titled ‘Sharing insights about harnessing natural regeneration in restoration – SER’s Natural Regeneration Network commences its journey towards a common language,’ which was part of a symposium at the virtual component of the conference. Other AABR Members who presented were Scott Meier, Paul Gibson-Roy, and Jen Ford

COLLABORATION WITH LANDCARE

We have been continuing to develop our relationship with the Landcare movement around Australia. There is significant overlap of interests between AABR and Landcare.

ENVIRONMENTAL TRUST GRANT

AABR was fortunate to obtain a significant grant from the NSW Environmental Trust, to develop a learning management system or online platform which will host information regarding best practice restoration. It is early days in the project, but we hope to create a product which has internal tools to help people make decisions and identify what they need to know and do and can be used widely .

There is already have a range of collaborators on the project including the Australian Network for Plant Conservation, NSW TAFE, Greening Australia, and Local Government NSW.

SUBMISSIONS

One of the important roles that AABR fulfills is to engage in government consultation processes regarding the management of Australian ecosystems. The AABR board and members volunteer their time to read quite often significant amounts of information regarding new government legislation, programmes, developments and policies, and then developing a response from the Association based on our objectives, policies and position statements.

Submissions for 2023:

AABRs INTERNAL FUNDING PROCESS

This year we continued our internal funding process. This was set up last year to create a robust and transparent decision-making process around how AABR uses its funds – predominantly from membership fees – for projects.

Any member is able to approach the Board with ideas for projects.This helps AABR progress in a strategic intent, especially in the areas of education, awareness raising and promoting best practice. Funding is limited but in 2023 two projects were approved; the social media’what do Bush Regenerators do’ campaign, and facilitating AABR’s presence at the Society for Ecological Restoration conference in Darwin with a presence online through regenTV.

STRATEGIC PLANNING

In 2023, AABR began the process of developing its first strategic plan. Two workshops were held, and an initial list of priorities was created and sent back to the Board. This process is still in train and until finished the Board will continue to make decisions based on the objectives of the association and reacting to opportunities that may come up. Once the strategic plan is drafted it will be put out to all members for comment and I would encourage all members to review and give feedback.

AABR VICTORIA

Achievements- see separate report below.

AABR CHAIRS MEETING ON NOVEMBER 29, 2023

The meeting for the chairs of working groups and committees, held on November 29, 2023, brought together key stakeholders to discuss important matters. The meeting covered various topics, including plans for 2024, acknowledgment of country, and actionable items:

  • Amendment of bylaws to include annual chairs of working groups meetings.
  • An increased focus on engaging effectively with the indigenous community.
  • An IT review to be conducted before determining the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, with Nation Builder being considered.

PLANNING FOR AABRFEST 2 AND A TAFE SYMPOSIUM

A bunch of enthusiastic people at AABRFest associated with Ryde TAFE approached AABR about holding a symposium in a partnership between AABR and TAFE NSW; and also planning for a second AABRFest in 2024.

PLANNING FOR AABR NATIONAL FORUM IN VICTORIA

The upcoming.AABR National Forum in March 2024 will be held in Victoria hosted by the AABR Victoria Branch and also thank the City of Yarra Council for their very generous sponsorship of this event.

SUBCOMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS

AABR’s Industry Working Group, led by Scott Meier, has been active in the past year. The group’s activities include:

  • Email communication with board members regarding industry perspectives on various issues.
  • Zoom meetings to discuss industry requirements for TAFE.
  • Organising AABRFest, a successful event held in Topi Topi, NSW, which included food, music, restoration workshops, and industry discussions.
  • Collaborating with council members to address restoration sectors.
  • Providing an industry perspective in various contexts and sharing AABR’s messages.

Chemicals in the Management of Biodiversity

Patrick Deasey leads the group focused on Chemicals in the Management of Biodiversity, which has 23 members. Discussions have included innovative approaches to chemical usage, treatment strategies for challenges like Nutgrass, and the development of information sheets and safety videos.

Marketing and Communications

The Marketing and Communications team, led by Suzanne Pritchard, has held 10 meetings with 9 members. Discussions have covered campaign development, membership engagement, communication and outreach, collaboration and partnerships, data and measurement, and branding and visual identity.

PLANS FOR 2024

  • AABR has exciting plans and initiatives on the horizon. Some key areas of focus include:
  • Client partnerships that have proven successful.
  • Utilising standards as an auditing tool to differentiate between practice and process.
  • Developing a Learning Management System to facilitate the retrieval of information from various target audiences at different stages of their learning journey.
  • Exploring opportunities to secure external grants.
  • Leveraging grant opportunities to seek additional funding from investors.
  • Reviewing and improving the Accreditation system in early 2024.

AABR Victoria Achievements 2023

This covers AABR Victoria achievements in 2023 and summarises the achievements and key activities encompassing a wide range of initiatives, events, and developments undertaken by the organisation and discussed at the AGM 2023.

COMMITTEE ROLES AND MEMBERSHIP:

2024 Committee nominations and acceptances were decided on at the November 2023 AGM:

  • Alex Moodie (Chair)
  • Rob Scott (Deputy Chair)
  • Kylie Robertson (Accreditation)
  • Craig McGrath (Annual Forum/ABBR Fest)
  • Joab Wilson (Training/Accreditation)
  • Sharon Mason (Events)
  • Gidja-Lee Walker (1st nations liaison/bush worker collective)
  • Matt Hall (ECA representative/Associate Member)
  • Max Campbell (Associate Member)
  • Lincoln Kern – member

A strong emphasis was placed on committee member roles and responsibilities. The branch aims to attract active committee members and review the nomination process.

EVENTS

The AABR Victoria branch organized a series of successful events throughout the year. Notable highlights include:

  • The Whittlesea Students expo event, which received positive feedback and featured QR codes and graphics.
  • The inaugural walk and talk at Ngarri–djarrang grassland co-hosted by Merri Creek Management Committee and Darebin City Council.

PLANNING FOR THE AABR NATIONAL FORUM: This AABR National forum, The R’s of Restoration: Restoring biodiversity through resilience, regeneration, reintroduction, and reconnecting to country, is being hosted by the AABR Victoria branch in March 2024. Organisation of the forum has included bringing together professionals and enthusiasts in the field of bush regeneration and securing sponsorship for the forum

WEBINAR AND COLLABORATION: The branch co-hosted a webinar titled Wetland Revival Trust Protecting and restoring Wirra-lo Wetlands in collaboration with ECA (Ecological Consultants Australia).

ACCREDITATION AND TRAINING: The branch actively engaged in the accreditation process. A pilot is being undertaken to utilise ‘Notion’ online system to manage the process.

(Assessors=6   Active Applications=5

Total number of Accredited practitioners=14)

MEMBERSHIP: The membership continues to grow. There are 167 members on the member register and 388 Supporters (e-news list)

Membership comprises:

  • 112 individuals, 35 students
  • 9 Agency/Local government 5 not for profits
  • 6 Businesses-1 small, 3 medium, 2 large)

CONCLUSION

The AABR Victoria branch has had a productive year filled with successful events, and initiatives. The commitment to accreditation, training, and collaboration demonstrates the dedication of the branch to advancing the field of bush regeneration. Looking ahead, the branch aims to continue its efforts to promote conservation, education, and best practices in bush regeneration within Victoria