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Welcome to this issue
Welcome to our latest issue of Explore. This edition, we look at who cares about the environment, announce an exciting new website celebrating the amazing biodiversity on our doorstep, follow a team on a mission to save the special namesake of an iconic destination, and explore some extraordinary new protected areas. Happy reading! |
 NEWS IN REVIEW |
Building relevance for long-term support
Sustainable nature-based tourism was the star once again at the national tourism awards, held in Hobart at the end of February, with the majority of winners having a connection to the great outdoors in their offering.
A key focus for NPWS is to encourage people to experience our great outdoors through national parks. Despite the rain, our summer figures have shown a successful holiday period, with occupancy rates high for camping areas up and down the coast, and increases in visitation to many national parks, including those in the Alpine areas. This is very positive as we know once visitors come to our parks they enjoy it - with 90 per cent regularly satisfied with their experience.
Increasing visitation should in theory be an uphill battle for us, with some overseas studies showing a worrying decline in visits to national parks. A 2008 journal article by O.R.W. Pergams and P.A. Zaradic suggests an ongoing and fundamental shift away from nature-based recreation, correlating strongly with a rise in playing video games, surfing the internet and watching movies.
Of added concern is a 2009 study by Zaradic, Pergams and P.Kareiva that explores the link between early experiences in nature-based recreational activities and later support of conservation initiatives. Results predict a steady decline in private support for conservation in national parks over the next decade, as a result of reduced visitation and enjoyment of nature-based activities. However, the study also suggests that time spent hiking in nature areas correlates with increased conservation support 11-12 years down the track.
More than ever, we are committed to conserving our national parks and reserves for future generations and, equally, to making our parks more accessible in ways that are relevant to visitors' interests. It is through remaining relevant and raising community awareness of our parks and reserves that we will ultimately strengthen long-term support for conservation in NSW. What this research confirms for us is that we need to continue to work hard to encourage visitation and nature-based recreation, so that our parks will continue to benefit from strong community support.
Sally Barnes
Deputy Director General
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service
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It's a Wild, Wild World in 2010
Nature and conservation are front and centre of a NSW National Parks campaign launched this week called Wild, Wild World. The campaign includes a dedicated website, a host of themed Discovery walks, talks and tours and commercial operator-led tours, and key promotional activity in support of the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB2010).
IYB2010 is a global initiative calling for action to protect and preserve the variety of life on Earth for future generations. The Wild, Wild World campaign champions the amazing natural diversity right on our doorstep in NSW and invites visitors to get into nature and get involved, through interactive park tours and activities, and opportunities to contribute directly to the safeguarding of our biodiversity through the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife. The campaign will run throughout 2010 - visit the Wild, Wild World website.
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Lighthouse cottages a national best
Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse Holiday Accommodation in Myall Lakes National Park has taken out the title of best New Tourism Development at the 2009 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, announced on 26 February. NPWS took on care of the lighthouse and its cottages in 2003, carrying out extensive conservation management planning and restoration works on the historic buildings. A successful partnership with a management team of four locals has seen the cottages become an award-winning and highly popular holiday accommodation for visitors in just over a year, offering a unique heritage stay in a spectacular location overlooking the Seal Rocks coastline.
Congratulations to all of the 2009 winners and finalists, and a special well done to the national park operators, businesses, staff and destinations recognised for their outstanding achievement and success in tourism at both the state and national awards. For the full list of winners and finalists, click here.
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Environment a priority for NSW
The latest Who Cares about the Environment? report was released on 25 February by Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, the Hon. Frank Sartor MP, with results showing the environment continues to be a priority for people in NSW. The survey, an important measure of the environmental attitudes and behaviour of people in NSW, found the environment ranked in the top five issues for state government attention, both now and in the future. Water-related issues and climate change were the two top environmental concerns and, for the first time, energy and greenhouse issues were most mentioned as priorities for government action. On national parks, the survey reported that 67 per cent of people have visited a national park at some time within the past year, compared with 59 per cent of people in the 2006 study. The triennial survey has been running since 1994. Read the full report.
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| TOURISM AND PARTNERSHIPS |
Inaugural Island Hopping a success
Sydney's first Harbour Island Hopping event has received top marks in a survey of visitors to the event, finding 92 per cent were very satisfied or satisfied with the experience. Island Hopping, which took place over three weekends last October as part of Crave Sydney, attracted around 6,200 visitors to the iconic islands of Sydney Harbour National Park, including Fort Denison, Clark Island and Shark Island, as well as the Royal Australian Navy's Garden Island. The survey, conducted by Events NSW, also found:
- 51 per cent of participants had not previously visited the Sydney Harbour islands;
- 30 per cent of participants had visited a national park within the last month and 71 per cent within the last year; and
- 98 per cent of visitors came from NSW and 84 per cent from Sydney.
"Island Hopping is a clear demonstration of how we can use innovative events to grow visitation to parks, encourage repeat visitation and attract and engage new audiences," said Sally Barnes, Head of NSW National Parks & Wildlife.
Sydney Harbour Island Hopping is set to take place again this October - stay tuned for more information.
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Virtual gateway opens on Great Eastern Ranges
It's described as one of the most ambitious conservation ventures of its kind ever undertaken in Australia; a scheme bringing together people and organisations for the creation of a conservation corridor stretching 2,800 kilometres along the Great Dividing Range and Great Escarpment of eastern Australia, from southern Victoria to northern Queensland. Now Australia's Great Eastern Ranges can also be explored online, with a new website showcasing the goals, partnerships, experiences and opportunities of this extraordinary initiative.
Representing one of Australia's largest carbon storehouses, the Great Eastern Ranges (GER) preserve the most intact and diverse eco-systems in eastern Australia, providing refuge for a vast array of animals and plants, and fresh water for 93 per cent of the eastern Australian population. The NSW section of the Ranges alone comprises 1,200 kilometres and more than 300 national parks, including two World Heritage Areas.
The website, which went live in December, provides a platform for people to discover and explore the Ranges and find out about the initiative. It also identifies ways for individuals, landholders, industry, community groups and conservation groups to contribute through regional partnerships.
The GER initiative partnered with Australian Traveller magazine over the summer for a photography competition focusing on the Ranges. The competition called for extraordinary GER images in four categories including landscapes, people, flora and fauna, and under-21s.The winners have been announced and the winning images shown over eight pages in the latest edition of Australian Traveller. The winning and runner-up images will go on display in an exhibition set to tour NSW national park visitor centres. View the winning images on the Australian Traveller website.
Visit the GER website.
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Park revitalised through Aboriginal mentoring program
Bomaderry Creek Regional Park in the south of the state is boasting vibrant new visitor facilities and interpretation works following a volunteer project organised by NPWS with Aboriginal students from Shoalhaven High School. The project, part of the Shoalhaven Volunteer Youth Initiative, saw the students volunteer one day each week for eight months, during which time they created and installed two colourful mosaic artworks interpreting the significance of Bomaderry Creek to the local Aboriginal community.
The first project has seen a play area created for small children with ten large mosaic stepping stones leading to three large sandstone gumnuts, telling the story of how a gumnut seed becomes a tree.
The second project involved a 16 metre long, 2 metre high wall with a mounted mosaic in the shape of the dreamtime snake, representing the flow of Bomaderry Creek. The outline of the snake was made of clay feet of the community Elders, the high school students, NPWS staff, and students from the Boori pre-school. The tail of the snake was designed to represent the past, the middle the sad times of the Stolen Generation, and the head of the snake the future, with painted clay and ceramic animals inside the snake telling the story. The clay feet at the beginning of the snake are those of the Elders, and those at the head of the snake belong to the children from the Aboriginal pre-school.
NPWS staff provided a finishing touch with landscaping and the construction of a sandstone wall for people to sit and reflect on the story.
Bomaderry Creek Regional Park was chosen for the project because of its connection with Bomaderry Children's Home, established in 1908 to house children removed from Aboriginal families.
The NPWS project aimed to re-connect the students with their culture through a community project, while encouraging them to stay on at school and explore career opportunities. In addition to creating a unique and meaningful visitor experience for the park, another benefit has been a significant drop in vandalism since the project was completed.
The Shoalhaven Volunteer Youth Initiative has been running for the last four years, involving students from most high schools in the region in volunteer programs.
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Sydney Green Map a one stop shop
A website bringing together the wide range of nature-based recreational areas and activities in Sydney was launched in February, offering locals and visitors a single point of access for finding and planning outdoor recreation across the region. The Sydney Green Map is a multi-agency NSW Government initiative, providing maps and information on parks, gardens, forests and Crown reserves, golf courses, walking tracks, beaches, bicycle paths, playing fields and coastal walks across ten regions in the Greater Sydney area. Visit the Sydney Green Map website.
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| CONSERVATION ACTION |
River Red Gums to get new lease on life
Locals and tourists will soon have access to a broader range of outdoor recreation and nature-based opportunities in the Riverina, with the Government announcing the establishment of over 100,000 hectares of protected areas of river red gum forests in the region over the next five years.
Marketing and tourism experts from NPWS and Tourism NSW visited the region this week to meet with local tourism, council and regional development representatives.
NPWS Head Sally Barnes said the river red gum forests are of national and international environmental significance, containing two globally-recognised wetlands and providing habitat for threatened plants and animals.
"These places are also important to the community for activities like picnics, camping, fishing and bushwalking," she said.
"We would like to work with the community to identify opportunities to develop exciting experiences and activities to attract more people to the region."
The aim of the visit - by Carl Solomon, NPWS Director Tourism and Partnerships, Charlotte Prouse, NPWS Marketing Manager (previously Area Manager for Tourism NSW for Riverina and Murray for five years), and Andrew Sargant, Tourism NSW Director of Regional Tourism - is to seek local ideas and input, and plug into the existing knowledge in the Murray and Riverina.
"We look forward to working with local councils, tourism operators and other stakeholders in developing unique and attractive new experiences to grow tourism in the area," said Ms Barnes.
Almost $12 million in capital funding over three years has been allocated to the establishment of the protected areas and associated infrastructure, with additional management funding of over $3 million per year. This is part of the $80 million industry and community assistance package put together by the Government to support affected timber industry workers and regional communities, and manage the newly created protected areas. Find out more
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Online survey to map NSW wildlife sightings
NSW residents are being asked to map sightings of wildlife in an online survey that will assist scientists to learn more about the habitats of some targeted iconic species. Launched in January, the 2010 Community Wildlife Survey follows data gathered in a 2006 postal survey to locate animals where they have not been identified before. This may help conservation scientists determine changes in habitat. The online survey is quick and easy to use with questions about threatened species, pests and feral animals seen in NSW, although most sightings are around participants' neighbourhoods. Maps are provided for people to mark the locations of animal sightings. The data will inform efforts to meet NSW State Plan targets of an increase in the recovery of threatened species, populations and ecological communities, and a reduction in the impact of invasive species by 2015. Click here to check out the survey.
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Special birds get a helping hand through science
web.jpg "Muttonbird Island's resident namesake. Image: Frances Zewe.")
Efforts are underway to help save a special breeding colony of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters on Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve at Coffs Harbour. The dramatic island is home to the migratory birds each spring, when they return from their winter feeding grounds in South-East Asia to breed. The population is under threat however from introduced rodents that feed on the birds, chicks and eggs and destroy vegetation supporting the birds' burrows, reducing their breeding success. To tackle the issue, NPWS has established a team that is combining years of voluntary bird-banding data with new rodent control research to ensure the long-term protection of this significant colony.
The project, a collaboration between NPWS, the University of New England, volunteer Bird Banders and the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority, has received funding from the Australian Government's 'Caring for our Country' program to conduct a research-based exotic rodent control program. The team is investigating the internationally protected Shearwater (also known as the Muttonbird, giving the island its name), the removal of introduced rodents from the island, and the significance and impact of the native Swamp Rat that also occurs there.
The project team has been working closely with Garlambirla Guyyuu Girrwaa Gumbaynggirr Elders, the Repair to Country Aboriginal Bush Regeneration Team, and the Department of Lands to inform and advise on management, research and priorities for the island.
Muttonbird Island is much-loved by the Coffs Harbour community, and is a sacred site for the local Gumbaynggirr People (who know it as Giidany Miirlarl), and as a tourist attraction that draws around 150,000 visitors each year.
For more information, contact the NPWS Coffs Coast office on 02 6652 0900.
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Foundation partnership to raise conservation funds
The Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife has partnered with the State Government Employees (SGE) Credit Union to raise funds for conservation through SGE's new Go Green Savings Account. Under the partnership, interest is paid to account holders on the monthly balance of their account, with the interest then matched by SGE and the credit donated to the Foundation. The Foundation purchases land for conservation, funds threatened species recovery actions and involves the community in the conservation of Australia's natural and cultural heritage. Find out more.
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Property purchase safeguards wetlands
The largest privately owned Ramsar-listed wetland in NSW has been transferred to NPWS following the purchase of a property near Moree in the state's north-west by the NSW and Commonwealth governments in February. Old Dromana, part of the Gwydir Wetlands in NSW, contains over 600 hectares of wetland and will become the first in the Gwydir to be included in a public nature reserve for conservation management. NPWS is already dedicating resources to the property, putting pest, fire and water management plans in place. Old Dromana protects 15 ecological communities, including four endangered communities and a large stand of Marsh-club rush, an important wetland habitat. Find out more.
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Story of Yuraygir unveiled in new book
Personal stories and documentary evidence are woven together to present a vivid and diverse history of Yuraygir National Park in a new book launched in January. The book, titled There were always people here: a history of Yuraygir National Park, presents a lively and intimate narrative of people's attachments to the Yuraygir landscape, from Aboriginal connection to Country and settler Australians building new lives, to the complex historical and social forces that shaped the creation and establishment of the National Park. The book is available through Bookshop NSW or view it online.
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| REGULAR FEATURES |
Smooth operator
In July 2009, NPWS launched the Parks Eco Pass licensing system following extensive consultation with commercial tour operators, industry and community groups, and research into best practice components of other systems around the country. Eight months on, nearly half of all previously licensed operators have moved over to the new system, and around one third of licences issued have been to new operators. The first premium ten year licenses have also been approved. A Parks Eco Pass team is in place and working closely with operators to ensure smooth transitions, applications and activities on park.
If you're a commercial tour operator, tune in to 'Smooth operator' in each issue of Explore for news, tips and updates from the Parks Eco Pass team. This issue we're asking our licensed operators - have you completed or updated your business profile on our website? Don't miss out - our tour operator pages are a great way for national parks visitors to find out about you, so make sure your details are there. Contact the Parks Eco Pass team on 02 9585 6082, send an email or visit our website.
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Upcoming events
NSW's national parks provide unique and outstanding locations and venues for events of all sizes, from intimate weddings and photo shoots to community festivals and adventure races. NPWS is also involved in many local activities that support and promote parks and the environment. Visit our website for event updates and info on national park venues. For now, here are some upcoming events for the diary.
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Parks in the press
Best beaches, top lighthouses, harbour highlights, secret treasures, favourite places - summer's round-up of parks in the press shows that even a rainy season can't put a dampener on the magnificent destinations and experiences to be found in the state's national parks.
Travel and Leisure, November 2009, "25 Affordable Beach resorts" - Features Q Station and Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse Holiday Accommodation.
Daily Telegraph, 7/11/2009, "Best in Lighthouses" - A top six of NSW's lighthouses, featuring five national park lighthouses.
Weekend Australian, 7/11/2009, "Harbour City Highlights", Famous Australians reveal their favourite harbour destinations, including North Head.
MX Sydney, 12/11/2009, "Hold the Fort" - Highlighting Fort Denison's summer Sunset Sessions.
Sunday Telegraph, 22/11/2009, "New Tourism Development" - Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse Holiday Accommodation takes gold at the NSW Tourism Awards.
Sun Herald, 29/11/2009, "Look no further" - Holiday breaks on the NSW North Coast, featuring several NSW national parks.
Jetstar Magazine 01/12/2009, "Harbour Highlights" - Best attractions around Sydney Harbour, including Botany Bay National Park, Fort Denison and Q Station.
Weekend Australian, 5/12/2009, "A New Lease of Life" - NPWS's Byron Bay beach shacks are reinvented as beautifully restored, beachfront heritage accommodation.
Wollongong Advertiser, 9/12/2009, "Summer Holiday Spots to Keep the Kids Happy" - Featuring the multi-award winning Minnamurra Rainforest.
Daily Telegraph, 12/12/2009, "Best Beaches South" - A handful of national park destinations make the cut in a round-up of NSW's best south coast beaches.
Daily Telegraph, 12/12/2009, "Take a Trip" - Features magical Montague Island.
Sun Herald, 13/12/2009, "Beat the School Holiday Blues" - Activities run by NPWS to entertain kids over the holiday period.
Australian Traveller, 1/01/2010, "Our favourite places to stay" - East Kunderang Homestead in Oxley Wild Rivers National Park gets a plug in this AT staff round-up.
Daily Telegraph, 15/01/2010, "Our secret treasures" - Highlighting park activities around Sydney Harbour.
Armidale Express, 15/01/2010, "National Parks activities keep families busy" - Profiles park tours designed to keep the family entertained.
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