Champions of the Catchment 2011 ~ Landcare Illawarra
Every even year, at a prestigious gathering in Canberra, the National Landcare Awards are judged from all the state and territory Landcare winners. This means that every odd year, the State/Territory Landcare Awards need to be judged as the lead up to the National awards.
While there are 12 state Landcare award categories, there are always some Landcare people, who despite the work they do, do not meet the strict criteria of the awards.
For this reason South East Landcare, partnering with Southern Rivers CMA, decided to promote separate awards in each of the 7 District Landcare Associations (DLAs) that make up South East Landcare in the Southern Rivers catchment. The purpose of these awards is to recognise the many Landcare enthusiasts we have, who, because what they do does not meet the strict criteria of the 12 state awards, will not receive recognition for the contributions they make, and without which, their local environment and their local community would be much poorer.
For this reason, Landcare Illawarra nominated a number of community groups and individuals as a local "Champions".
Jim Derbyshire and Terry Rankmore -- Landcare and Indigenous Education Award
Jim Derbyshire began his fight for Blackbutt Forest Reserve when, in 1978, the then state government proposed to clear cut the forest for public housing. Many, including Jim, protested so vigorously that the forest was given to the community to be held in trust by Shellharbour City Council. Since that time, Jim has been involved on and off with Blackbutt volunteers. In 2008, thirty years later, as his dicky back was getting more and more dicky, Jim switched from slashing away at lantana and other weeds to portraying the forest through art interpretation. Helped initially by his teacher daughter Celina, Jim set about working with students from the schools which had been involved in National Tree Day plantings at Blackbutt Forest. Various animals of the forest were outlined on calico by Jim, painted by the students --sometimes quite creatively -- then their edges were trimmed and they were glued on to a Blackbutt Forest backdrop painted by Jim. Each mural measures 90 cm by 150 cm, and the 18 murals completed by Jim and the school students in 2008, 2009 and 2010 are now displayed in nine local schools. A further three murals will be completed in October/November this year. Jim Derbyshire's imagination and rich artistic skills have led to proud, permanent and beautiful records of schools assisting with National Tree Day plantings, totaling 5,180 local indigenous plants at Blackbutt over the past four years.
Terry Rankmore has a passion for native plants and a great admiration for the complex plant science of traditional aboriginal people. Terry is a regular volunteer on working bees at Blackbutt Forest Reserve, but his real love is building his knowledge of the usage of native plants by the aboriginal people of the Illawarra and sharing that knowledge as widely as possible. In 2009 Terry received a grant from Landcare Illawarra which enabled him to turn his private notes on plant use by the Dharawal people into Murni Dhungang - a beautiful, commercially printed, 70-page, full colour book on the plant foods and animal foods of the local, traditional aborigines. Three hundred copies were printed. Murni Dhungang was then introduced to teachers from twenty Illawarra schools at a two-hour workshop. Schools which sent a teacher to this workshop received a class set of books for their use. A grant from Southern Rivers CMA enabled 700 more copies of Terry's book to be printed. Workshops were conducted with a further twenty-three schools in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, to help ensure that the substantial plant science of traditional aboriginal peoples was more widely appreciated and respected. Terry has now received a major grant from the NSW Environmental Trust to produce another book on Bush Medicines of the Illawarra. The Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation has been essential in backing this passion of Terry's to research and then share such vital understandings of aboriginal history.
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Champions of the Catchment ~ Lynne Kavanagh (Outstanding Support for Bushcare Volunteers Award)by LandcareIllawarra51 views
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