Oyster Harbour Catchment Group to look back on 30 years and into the future at celebration event

The Oyster Harbour Catchment Group will reflect on the importance of land care and efforts to protect waterways as the organisation celebrates its 30th anniversary.

The not-for-profit Mount Barker group has been coordinating several native and agricultural projects since 1992 across the catchment which covers 3000sqkm stretching from Albany in the south to Tenterden in the north.

OHCG will celebrate and acknowledge three decades of environmental achievements at the Upper Kalgan Hall on Thursday.

A Kalgan tour will start at 9:30am followed by an anniversary lunch at 12:30pm.

At 2pm, the group’s annual general meeting and an afternoon tea will take place.

Over the years, the organisation has played an integral role to protect waterways and improve management of the larger catchment which has led to an increased improvement in the health of the catchment, rivers and Oyster Harbour.

Mostly all the river and main streams have been fenced with soil testing in place to help reduce fertiliser loss.

Many bushland areas are also fenced, protected from livestock and have been extended with revegetation.

Looking downstream, the seagrass beds in Oyster Harbour have recovered and the damaging microalgae present during the 1980s has diminished greatly.

In September, more than 500 rushes were planted in the shape of a walitj, or wedge-tailed eagle, on a Redmond property.

Students from North Albany Senior High School’s Clontarf and Deadly Sista Girlz programs helped Southern Aboriginal Corporation rangers plant the rushes as part of the Noongar Kaartdijin school program.

OHCG also hosted a screening of Breathing Life into Boodja earlier this year, a film celebrating conservation efforts of the Noongar community, farmers, scientists and other groups in the region.

In 2008, it was awarded the prestigious Alcoa National Landcare Community Group Award for adopting outstanding land management practices.

About 15 years prior, the group was in favour of fencing the entire length of the Kalgan River to keep livestock off sensitive riverbanks, and allow the revegetation of eroded areas.

The catchment group works with a large range of other organisations and individuals to enable successful environmental outcomes.

This is done through the efforts of some paid staff as well as dedicated volunteers within the committee and members on the ground.