From the desk of Catherine, South Coast Enviro-Experiences. 

This year’s Live Lighter Albany Agricultural Show 2023 came alive with a full range of animal and horticultural displays as well as the usual stalls and live performances. The South Coast Enviro-Experiences project teamed up with project stakeholders, Torbay Catchment Group, Wilson Inlet Catchment Commitment and Oyster Harbour Catchment Group, bringing the farm boot traffic into the Ag Focus tent.  

It wasn’t just the amazing enviro experiences competition prize hamper that peeked everyone’s interest. Children were kept captive by the Oyster Harbour River Catchment Model interactive display, spraying feral animal characters (and members of staff!) while understanding the very complex ecosystem of the Oyster Harbour river systems. Attendees learnt that the threat of feral cats currently contribute to 26% of bird, mammal and reptile species extinctions around the world, dung beetles improve soil health and pasture productivity, and Western ring tail possums live in ‘dreys’ and hollows in trees. Decorating the group’s collaborative stall was a huge range of invasive weed species that threaten our natural environment and biodiversity.   

Budding environmental volunteers were shown a selection of the exciting citizen science and enviro events that not-for-profit groups have delivered over the past year and encouraged more volunteers to sign up to the South Coast Enviro-Experiences web platform to explore upcoming activities that will support these dedicated and passionate organisations into the future. Hugely successful, thoroughly enjoyable and even more so, because the Honorable Jackie Jarvis MLC for Agriculture and Food, Forestry and Small Business dropped by to meet everyone. It was a pleasure to be able to offer the community just a snippet of the amazing information we can provide about our amazing collaborative efforts of natural resource management in our local area. 

If you missed us at the Agricultural Show and would like to learn how to connect with your community through environmental volunteering, head to the South Coast Enviro-Experiences volunteer web platform and register so you can see the many amazing volunteering activities across the south coast.  

The South Coast Enviro-Experiences project is supported by Lotterywest.