Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
Key
site specific
region wide
Entertainment helps save Wimmera wetlands
Conservation is blending with puppetry, animation and entertainment in an effort to capture the imagination and save wetlands in the Wimmera, Western Victoria.
Funding
The Wimmera Catchment Management Authority (CMA) received more than $350,000 over three years from the Australian and State Governments for the 'Protecting the Seven Wonders of Our Wetlands' project. A key aim is to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands through community events such as the Wimmera's annual World Wetlands Day celebration.
Activities and achievements
"Long time wetlong time dry is a unique multimedia show created for the 2007 World Wetlands Day celebration," said Wetlands Officer Justine Watt. "The show features world-class animation, shadow puppetry and recordings of people telling lake tales and swamp stories about their love of wetlands.
"The success of our projects depends on the strength of our relationships with the community, so working with the community to collect material for the show was as valuable as the show itself.
"We contacted people who'd not previously attended one of our wetlands events and listened to their stories of living in a landscape scattered with swamps. This deepened our understanding of management issues and concerns within the community."
The Wimmera has more than 3,000 wetlands in the entire region - more than 25 per cent of the total number in Victoria. They are unique in that most are inland and not stream-fed. Justine says many are high quality and 90 per cent are on private property.
"That's why we're engaging landholders as much as possible through events such as our On Farm Breakfast Series - similar to field days but taking a fresh approach by hosting seminars and workshops, and starting with breakfast," said Justine.
"We look at issues such as sustainable grazing and the social and economic drivers behind restoring wetlands. Wetland ecologists present scientific information while workshops allow landholders to share their knowledge with Wimmera CMA, providing an opportunity to challenge 'best practice' and learn from local experience."
Another creative product of the project has been a series of 'ute or glovebox guides' - robust and waterproof field guides to native plants, birds and frogs. The latter includes a CD so that when farmers hear a frog, for example, they can listen to the calls recorded on the CD to identify the frog.
"We're making a big effort to do things differently, and make them interesting and entertaining as well," said Justine.
More information
- Justine Watt, Wetlands Officer: (03) 5382 1544 or wattj@wcma.vic.gov.au
- Wimmera Catchment Management Authority website: www.wcma.vic.gov.au
See also
Key
Links to another web site
Opens a pop-up window