A new clean-up plan to remove 10 tonnes of rubbish dumped in bushland near the Nambucca River will employ eight residents and create a better environment for both the community and wildlife.
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The plan, which Nambucca Heads Local Aboriginal Land Council CEO, Michael Donovan, said was Stage Three of a program that began last year, will be put into action with approximately $100,000 from the NSW Environment Protection Authority's (EPA) Aboriginal Communities Waste Management Program.
"We began last year with Stage One, which was a survey of rubbish around the Bellwood Mission and surrounds, Hyland Park and Gumma," Mr Donovan said.
"We then discussed the results with the community and developed a Waste Management Plan (Stage Two), which has been accepted by the EPA.
"The program offers job and training opportunities for eight local Aboriginal people and we are currently in the recruiting phase."
Mr Donovan said he was very happy to have secured the project, which would yield good results for everyone.
We are looking at the waste and how it gets into the river - we will be attacking that and using the compound on Bellwood Rd as the hub.
- Michael Donovan, Nambucca Heads LALC
EPA Acting Executive Director Engagement, Education and Programs Clair Cameron said some of the grant will be used to remove rubbish adjacent to the Nambucca River, which is home to waterbirds, sea turtles, oysters and dolphins.
"Pollution leaching from the dumped rubbish can have a real impact on the plant and animal populations in the adjoining Nambucca River," Ms Cameron said.
"The community is eager to restore the bushland and make the environment safer, cleaner and healthier for local residents."
The Bellwood community clean-up plan includes:
- clearing 10 tonnes of waste
- setting up a recycling depot to upcycle dumped furniture
- providing bins for community reserves
- running school waste education workshops
- planting a bush tucker garden
- and buying a trailer to assist the Bellwood community to remove rubbish year-round.
Ms Cameron said Aboriginal communities often faced barriers to disposing of waste and rubbish, due to lack of services, resources and limited access to waste management facilities ... hence the purchase of the trailer.
"This program has already won a NSW Premier's Award in November 2018 for the pilot Muli Muli Clean Up Country Project which took action to stop a 50-year-old dumping site encroaching on ancestral burial grounds,'' she said.
"The key to the success of these projects is they are chosen by the community, for the benefit of the community.''
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Ute Schulenberg
Journalism was always my plan but plans being what they are, I did not get to realise it until my early 40s ... and have loved every minute since. For me community journalism is the most intimate and honest place to be in this field - telling the stories of people I live with, side-by-side, every day. It is an honour.
Journalism was always my plan but plans being what they are, I did not get to realise it until my early 40s ... and have loved every minute since. For me community journalism is the most intimate and honest place to be in this field - telling the stories of people I live with, side-by-side, every day. It is an honour.
