Community of Practice in the Central West a Huge Success
An opportunity to come together as a region provided long-awaited educational and networking opportunities.
Capacity to Deliver - LP003-CWR01
The issue
After lockdowns, flooding and with no Regional Landcare Coordinator in the role, the Central West Region was keen for the opportunity to meet together face to face for training, networking and for some, an opportunity to meet other regional contributors face to face.
It was agreed that there were some areas that groups could benefit from having training, so with an overview of needs, the task was set to find someone to deliver these requirements.
With many groups having to travel for several hours to attend, it was recognised that a two day event to incorporate the needs of coordinators and volunteers.
The solution
Facilitator, Natalie Bramble from iClick2learn was brought in to deliver a workshop at Dubbo Western Plains Zoo Conference Centre on social media and presentations. Natalie also performed facilitation for community of practice opportunities where there was an opportunity for everyone to contribute to planning for the future of the region.
To gain a better understanding of what was happening on the ground regionally, the then Minister for Agriculture was invited to engage with participants and the Minister also provided words of encouragement for the work that was being undertaken across the Central West.
Guest speaker and Landcare Australia Award recipient Bruce Maynard also gave a insightful and interesting presentation.
The impact
Coordinators and volunteers came away from the event having built on regional relationships and looking forward to building on what had been established at this face to face event and using the skills learnt from the training sessions.
Networks from across the Central West are continuing to re-form and develop as a result of the Community of Practice event and we are looking forward to our next event with a focus on the next NSW Landcare Program.
Learnings
Two day meetings and training sessions work well particularly when some coordinators and volunteers have to travel reasonable distances to meet.
Key facts
- Face to face engagement was extremely beneficial for our regional event allowing some coordinators and volunteers from across the region to meet for the first time.