Central West Lachlan Landcare Dinner with Special Guest Costa Georgiadis
Central West Lachlan Landcare Dinner with Special Guest Costa Georgiadis
Central West Lachlan Landcare were pleased to once again host their Landcare Dinner at Forbes Town Hall.
Community Participation -
LP002-004
The issue
After a significant change in our landscape after drought, Central West Lachlan Landcare (CWLL) commenced planning for a Landcare Dinner. After hosting a successful dinner in 2018, the Committee had always planned to run another event.
We wanted to bring a guest speaker to the event who would engage with guests. The Committee also wanted the opportunity to highlight the NSW Landcare Program and promote two local projects.
COVID19 at first seemed like a challenge as we had to halt plans for 2020 events.
The solution
Once we realised that COVID19 was going to put a stop to events of this type in 2020, our Coordinator commenced planning and booking for 2021 and we were pleased to engage Costa Georgiadis to speak at our dinner, present at Eco Day and join the community at the Forbes Riverside Garden Open Day.
The Dinner was the result of many volunteer hours, contributions and planning.
With support from Forbes Shire Council grants program, the Hall was provided free for the evening. Our Welcome to Country was supported by the Landcare NSW Working Together Small Grants Program. Our MC volunteered his time as did our two presenters, Dr Karen Ritchie and Mr Guy Webb.
This was also an opportunity to acknowledge the significant impact that the NSW Landcare Program has within our local communities, supporting our long term coordinator and the volunteer Committee.
The impact
The evening was a fantastic success, with attendees enjoying hearing from and being inspired by Costa Georgiadis. They also heard of the success of the Soil C Quest project and the Sculpture Down the Lachlan project. It was also an opportunity to hear about the NSW Landcare Program.
Attendees had time to spend with Costa after the dinner. Costa had time to spend with anyone who approached him and there were photos galore!
The feedback after the event was so encouraging. We look forward to hosting another event in the future.
Our table decorations were donated and proceeds from donations for the beautiful eucalypts were given to Parkes and Forbes Can Assist charities.
Key facts
- Volunteers make wonderful Landcare events possible.
- Landcare events need to be high quality to engage community in future projects.
- It is fantastic to have a special guest presenter, but important to showcase local projects.