Ideas and Opportunities
Professional development in action
Capacity building - LP13- 002_LLCSG
The issue
Local Landcare Coordinators are allocated a Professional Development (PD) budget. Being part-time, this provides a challenge - how to dedicate hours to PD in addition to managing day-day activities when the day-day always seem to take priority? The provision of this budget is greatly appreciated and so it is really important to select well so the opportunities outweigh the inconveniences!
The solution
Recently, and utilising my PD allowance, I was able to attend the Seed Supply Forum in Uralla hosted by Biobank Seed. The location was local (ish) and the topic was highly relevant to my work managing The Living Classroom Landcare Nursery and working with farmers and other stakeholders to encourage restoration of Box Gum Grassy Woodland. The forum brought together key government and non-government agencies, scientific experts, and native seed suppliers. The goal - to address a critical but overlooked bottleneck of native seed supply caused by rapidly increasing demand. The demand is coming through government-directed restoration programs, which are driven by carbon markets, biodiversity investment, and nature positive initiatives.
The impact
The forum was exceptionally facilitated and had a user friendly format of short presentations followed by panel discussions in each session. There was robust discussion around a number of key issues, including the disconnect between desired best practice benchmarks and the reality of on-ground seed collection. The range of stakeholders in the room provided significant networking opportunities and learning experiences. Inclement weather (which we were all happy about) stymied the on farm session on Friday. So, sheltering inside, we discussed important information about the pros and cons of Seed Production Area (SPAs) development - both on private and public land. This is an area of opportunity for our region. The use of drones "computers with engines" in large scale restoration was also demonstrated and discussed - this too has potential for our region in the future.
I left with a head full of ideas, new connections and opportunities for NSLA to explore in partnership with agencies and other stakeholders. Time and money definitely well spent!
Key facts
- Genetic diversity trumps provenance
- Restore and Renew webtool - a great resource in planning seed collection
- Landholders can and should play a vital role in the native seed space