Project Description
The Guest Speaker at Annual General meeting of the Victorian Branch of The Australian Associaiton of Bush Regenerators was Craig McGrath who shared how as City of Yarra’s Biodiversity Officer he is Using the National Restoration Standards in contract management, a Council’s perspective.
In 2001, Craig commenced a community engagement role at the City of Yarra focussed on bushland restoration and subsequently that portfolio evolved to initiate substantial strategic documents like the Urban Wildlife Management Plan (2009), Biodiversity Health Survey (2016) and Nature Strategy (2020). With the release of the SERA national standards, Craig eagerly adapted Council’s bushland maintenance contract to reference elements within the SERA circumplex. Embedding tangible biodiversity outcomes he aspires to broaden the appreciation of regeneration approaches beyond the industry.
Topics covered
0:00 Welcome & Housekeeping – Rob Scott, Chair AABR Vic.
05:00 Introduction Craig McGrath City of Yarra’s Biodiversity Officer.
07:15 Overview City of Yarra- demographic and issues.
09:15 The 2017 Bushland Maintenance contract and the Standards.
14:45 Principle 1 – Ecological Restoration practice is based on an appropriate local native reference ecosystem.
15:32 Principle 2: Restoration inputs will be input by the level of resilience and degradation.
18:20 The Fulcrum Phone App- https://www.fulcrumapp.com/
20:20 Principle 3: Recovery of ecosystem attributes is facilitated by identifying clear targets, goals and objectives.
22:10 Case Study – Site 45 Halls Reserve
25:25 Outcomes of the internal review of the process
26:10 Questions
26:45 What is the area of managed bushland?
28:00 With the initial assessment was that the annual assessment?
29:10 Was the Chilean Needle grass area (Halls Reserve) planted out or directed seeded?
31:10 Where was the source of the natural regeneration on site?
32:10 Can you provide a cost/time estimate to set up the Fulcrum App?
35:10 Parting comments –
CM“ The kind of data we’re getting out of this program , compared to a paper based options and double or tripling handling information has just streamlined it. The Recovery Wheel make greats sense to use it in tandem with the Fulcum App we’re using.”
RS “It’s really broken some new ground there, well done, thanks for preparing the talk”
Find out More
National Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration in Australia
To access the PDF versions click on the following link: National standards for the practice of ecological restoration in Australia
There are more talks and tip for bush regenerators and land managers on AABR’s website https://www.aabr.org.au/regentv/
AABR acknowledges Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Nations of this continent and recognises their custodianship and continuing connection to its land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the Elders past and present and future, for they hold the memories, traditions, culture and hopes of Indigenous peoples across the nation.