If you bring a horse to water, can you make it drink?
If you bring a horse to water, can you make it drink?
Well depends...Did you ask if it was thirsty?
Reaching Out -
LLCI010-020
The issue
The Junee Area Network folded in 2010, however a landcare presence was sustained through the fantastic work of the cross property planning project. This project worked with community to achieve 797 ha of natives planted, 695ha of existing native plants protected, 67km of fencing installed, 11806 ha managed for weeds, 23,995ha managed for pests and 52 workshops and field days conducted over 6 years. Amazing right?! This project was completed in June 2017.
The Cootamundra Landcare folded in 2009 and there has not been a landcare presence since.
Challenge: re-ignite landcare in the Junee and Cootamundra region.
The solution
I approached this challenge in two ways 1) I held a general meeting calling for all interested community members to attend (I held two in-fact –glutton for punishment?) 2) I hosted a direct seeding demonstration workshop in the hope to lure participants. Neither were successful. Why? Because at the end of the day neither approaches truly understood what would drive the Junee and Cootamundra community to invest their time and energy into a landcare group.… and I suspect that my marketing tactic of bulk email and social media slightly missed the mark also. I mean, who even knew those events were on?
The impact
There isn't a landcare presence in the Junee and Cootamundra area
Key facts
- There remains no landcare presence in the Junee and Cootamundra area.
- Current techniques have not sparked community interest in landcare
- More time will be spent trying to understand community issues, needs and wants.