Working partnership enhances field studies for students
From the Winter 2006 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.
Forests NSW protection officer, Kath Bray, and teacher, John McQueen, in the grounds of the Cascade Environmental Education Centre.
The existence of the tiny town of Cascade, north of Dorrigo, has always been tied to the timber industry.
While there is no longer a sawmill there, the area is still home to native forest, plantation hardwood and not far from softwood plantations at Wild Cattle Creek.
It is also home to the Department of Education and Training’s Cascade Environmental Education Centre where teacher John McQueen encourages students and visitors to understand sustainability while appreciating the historical links to timber production.
The Cascade Centre is one of 22 similar centres throughout New South Wales administered by the NSW Department of Education and Training. Its role is to support school excursions and field work and to produce resources to assist this agenda.
Forests NSW has had a long presence in the town, and it is now entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Cascade Environmental Education Centre which will continue that association.
“The centre and townspeople will be looking after the area that includes the helicopter landing ground for forest emergencies,” says Forests NSW protection officer, Kath Bray.
“We have undertaken a clean-up of the area and will remove pine trees that are quite old and dropping branches near the road.
“Part of our work would have been to clear the area surrounding the helipad and periodically burn it as a hazard reduction operation to reduce risk of fire in the village area, or fire spreading from the village area to our forests nearby.”
Instead, Forests NSW and the Department of Education and Training have teamed-up so that the centre and its partners will replant the area with native species and look after its maintenance.
“This will mean we won’t have to burn it and there will be a demonstration area available to show off the various species of local timbers that have been a mainstay of the village and district for many years,” Kath said.
Public Affairs & Media, Coffs Harbour
