The third-year Environmental Management and Agricultural Science students from the University of Queensland (UQ) took part in the three-day field trip to examine real life examples of landscape scale management of natural resources.
Staff from natural resource management (NRM) body the Queensland Murray-Darling Committee (QMDC) spoke to the students about current projects that occur across the Border Rivers catchment.
QMDC Catchment Coordinator Julia Telford said salinity, biodiversity monitoring, weeds and pests, water and cultural heritage conservation were just some of the issues the organisation worked in partnership with landholders to manage at a landscape scale.
“It’s important to work with the community to manage the environment,” Ms Telford said.
“Landholders and community groups are the ones that can make the difference on the ground; in working together, we can achieve change across the catchment.
“Without those partnerships, it would be very difficult to manage the natural resources of our region effectively.
“As an NRM organisation, QMDC staff understand the importance of such field trips in developing the students’ knowledge and awareness of on-ground activities, and the value of the partnerships formed through these events.”
UQ unit coordinator Carl Smith said it was important students got a feel for the real-life catchment-scale problems and discussed how they might be managed.
“We try and instil in the students that many NRM problems cannot be effectively managed unless tackled at a catchment or landscape scale, with coordinated action among stakeholders,” he said.
The students travelled from Inglewood to Goondiwindi and Nindigully for the tour and they will use the information gained to better equip them for their journey into NRM and environmental employment fields in the future.
The value of landscape scale natural resource management was the key message delivered to more than 20 university students during a tour of the Goondiwindi region last week.
April 28, 2009
Photograph: Landholder Paul Southern from Weengallon checks a Piezometer in a bore with the UQ students.
