The Ginninderra Catchment Group is an incorporated umbrella group of community volunteers working in the water catchment of the Ginninderra Creek.
The primary focus of the Group is advancing the health of the Ginninderra Catchment, through effective engagement with government, agencies, business, schools and the catchment community.
We have a strong commitment to community education and capacity building, and seek to create diverse opportunities for people to become involved in catchment management, decision-making, and on-ground action.
Goals:
The Ginninderra Catchment Group works with all catchment stakeholders to:
- Create ecosystems that accommodate human settlement, but reduce the impacts and their effects on environmental systems;
- Restore and maintain as much of the natural setting as possible, within an urban environment; and
- Ensure more systematic, catchment wide sustainable environmental outcomes from the activities of volunteers.
To achieve these goals, and the wise investment of funding, expertise and volunteer effort, the Group has developed clear strategic priorities. These are progressively revised in line with changes in policy, planning frameworks, knowledge and practice, and significant externalities such as climate change.
Programs:
The catchment group has three main programs:
Landcare / Parkcare
GCG’s members work in partnership with the ACT and Australian Governments to deal with issues ranging from weed control, revegetation, reporting vandalism, environmental education, and the collection of data. These activities are guided by the 2000 Ginninderra Catchment Group Strategy, the ACT Natural Resource Management Plan and the Murrumbidgee Catchment Blueprint.
Waterwatch
Waterwatch is a community water quality monitoring program that encourages active involvement in the protection and management of waterways and catchments. Volunteers are trained to undertake a range of Waterwatch activities, such as regular testing of physical and chemical water quality, macro-invertebrate (bug) surveys, and recording a range of other observations about the health of our waterways and catchments. Data collected by our Waterwatch volunteers, forms the basis of the Group’s Catchment Health Indicators (CHI) Program, which is used to measure catchment health and direct future activities. This information contributes to regional environment reporting.
Frogwatch
The ACT and Region National Water Week Community Frogwatch Census is implemented by the Group in October each year. It involves over 200 volunteers monitoring frog species at close to
140 sites. The information collected is used to identify important frog breeding sites for protection, and to guide recovery actions that will create a more frog friendly ACT and Region.
This program contributes to the development of future protection programs.
How do I Get Involved ?
- Receive Regular Email Updates
- You can sign up to receive our regular email updates. These come out about once a fortnight or month, and let you know about various events, working bees, and current news that is happening across the catchment, and in the wider region.
- Email: landcare@ginninderralandcare.org.au and ask to be added to the email update list.
- Speak to us
- Contact one of our Coordinators to discuss activities that you might like to get involved in, to suit your interests and skills.
- Sign Up Now
- To become a member of the Ginninderra Catchment Group, just download the
- GCG Membership Application Form (348 kb), fill in the details and fax or post it to the Ginninderra Catchment Group.
Contact Details:
Ginninderra Catchment Group
Phone:
(02) 6278 3309
Fax:
(02) 6278 3926
Post:
PO Box 446
Holt ACT 2615
Office location:
Kippax Health Centre, Kippax Place, Holt.
Catchment Coordinator
Waterwatch Coordinator / ACT Frogwatch Coordinator
Funding:
The Group receives funding from the Australian and ACT Governments, for the employment of professional support staff, and the implementation of various projects. Funding programs include the Natural Heritage Trust, National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, and Envirofund.
Group coordinators support local community activity, as well as implementing catchment-scale improvement, education and monitoring programs.
