Communicating with the community and interested groups is important to us as we are keen to present to you details of our environmental and social initiatives. We certainly understand that newspapers and other communication mediums do not always have the space or time to share with you all the details we provide to them.

That’s why we have developed this space on our website, to provide you with more information so that you can fully consider the issues to hand. We will be loading information onto this page as and when issues arise so you can stay fully informed regarding all the relevant aspects.

We have structured this page so that the most current media releases

15/5/07	- NBSP response to "Green Groups oppose Yelgun Site" in The Byron Echo
(15/ 5 / 07)	NBSP complete response to "Green Groups oppose Yelgun Site" in The Byron Echo

Cultural activity need not be odds with the community or the environment.

Few would argue the need for a sustainable long term festival venue in the Byron area. The current venues will eventually be lost to the shire and it is plain to all that these venues are far from perfect even if they were available in the long term.

A long term venue would allow for better management of noise, traffic, waste and other logistics.

Most importantly though, it would allow those who manage the events to invest in long term strategies that will reduce the cost of these events to the community [and the environment] and to promote and harness the benefits to the community. Those in doubt need only look to the experience of the Queensland Folk Federation and the move it made from the Maleny Showgrounds to its’ current site at Woodford.

The Woodford experience is proof that cultural activity need not be at odds with the community in which it is held – or the environment.

With this in mind, one of North Byron Shire Parkland’s (NBSP) primary goals is to substantially improve the environmental values of this site [which has suffered a long and well documented history of environmental degradation at the hands of its previous owner].

Whilst the site contains more than 500 acres of completely cleared pastoral land it also contains significant areas of compromised native vegetation that will need substantial and costly regeneration and augmentation. Cattle grazing has adversely affected ground layer habitat of unfenced forest blocks while fenced forest blocks are seriously affected by weeds including Lantana.

Indeed, the long term health and viability of the Billinudgel / Mount Warning nature corridor will require substantial regeneration work. The site in its present condition is far from optimal with regards to both fauna and flora – this fact is clearly agreed by all parties – including the National Parks and Wildlife Service, The Council and most [if not all] the environmental groups that have acted to protect this area over the years.

With this in mind that the sites new owners have commissioned a detailed [and ongoing] assessment of the sites ecology. It is our hope that this assessment process will provide the basis for a host of environmental initiatives to restore the ecological integrity of the site.

Current plans include:

• A program of endemic plantings to provide habitat linkages between currently isolated forest blocks;
• A proposed land swap with National Parks to improve existing fragmented wildlife corridors;
• Planting trees that provide food resources for various fauna (such as Koalas and Flying Foxes);
• Implementing a weed management program;
• Installing and monitoring nest boxes;
• Fencing sensitive vegetation; and
• Conducting systematic fauna surveys.

In addition to these initiatives a sustainability strategy is currently being developed which covers a range of environmental and social programs from energy and water management to local employment opportunities and scientific research with universities and natural resource management agencies.

We have extended an invitation to BEC, BEACON, CONOS and other interested environmental and community groups to attend one of our site visits and/or our environmental forum to be hosted on the 4th of June 2007. We are actively seeking input into mechanisms to restore ecological values attributed to this site.

We believe that the programs proposed for the NBSP site will significantly increase the environmental integrity of the site and improve NBSP’s ability to play an important role in the provision and conservation of habitat in the immediate region.

The proof of course will be in the pudding and it is with this in mind that we look to Woodford for inspiration. Regeneration on this sort of scale takes time, money and enthusiasm and it is our hope that the shire’s cultural activity will help provide all the necessary impetus to achieve a positive outcome for the community and the environment.