Cattai Hills Environment Network
Re-invigorating Landcare in the Cattai catchment and Hills Shire
Reaching Out - LLCI012-006
The issue
The Cattai and Little Cattai catchments cover a large section of Sydney’s north west, and sit mostly within the Hills Shire LGA. At present there is little to no coordinated conservation on private land happening in this area.
A community meeting is required to gather all stakeholders to begin discussions about the establishment of a Cattai Environment Network, in lieu of a Landcare presence in the catchment.
The solution
Hills Shire Environment Education Officer Gerard Nolan and long time resident Sue Martin (Sustainability Officer, Riverview) called for a meeting with Local Land Services and Landcare to talk about the re-invigoration of Landcare in the Cattai catchment.
Greater Sydney Local Landcare Coordinator began promoting the idea with an inaugural community meeting planned for October 20 (2016), ensuring 4-6 weeks lead up time.
A professional flyer was developed and group emails sent out. Facebook was used heavily to spread the word about the meeting on suitable Facebook pages within the Cattai catchment.
The impact
The Inaugural meeting was a great success, with over 20 supporters attending and voting unanimously to begin Landcare in the Hills Shire once more.
This saw the Cattai Hills Environment Network established, and the old Cattai Catchment Landcare Group re-invigorated.
Through this it is hoped that a Landcare Group will be formed in each sub-catchment of the Cattai catchment, offering a more coordinated approach to Landcare and conservation on private land in the Hills Shire.
Ultimately, more support from the Hills Shire will also be sought to ensure the initiative is sustained in the long term.
Key facts
- Initial meeting with G. Nolan, S. Martin and Landcare, July 28
- Facebook and online promo mid Sept – October 20
- Meeting held with 20+ participants, October 20, 2016
- Cattai Hills Environment Network formed
- Next meeting planned for December 1