ACT Heritage Library Manuscript Collections

HMSS 0370 Val Wiseman Papers

Scope and Content Notes

Val Wiseman (13 May 1945 - 24 February 2018) has a background in botany and education. She has a Bachelor of Science and Diploma of Education from the University of New England. After teaching high school science she moved to teaching botany at the Canberra School of Horticulture, Australian National University and University of Canberra.

In 1989 she joined the ACT and SE NSW branch of Greening Australia where she was Executive Officer for the 7 years of the One Billion Trees (OBT) programme, part of the Hawke Government’s Our Country, Our Future environmental initiative. Those years were stimulating and challenging as Val and her staff worked with farmers, landcare groups, schools and individuals from across the ACT and SE NSW to re-establish native vegetation.

Many aspects of revegetation had to be put into place very quickly. A small plant nursery producing tubestock became an ongoing key activity utilising the energy and enthusiasm of many volunteers. However tree establishment techniques more suited to broadscale planting were required. This need was addressed when the first direct seeding machine in the area was brought into operation by Greening Australia  in about 1990/91. The successful development of direct seeding in turn highlighted the need for an assured supply of quality seed from locally grown species. As well as organising seed collection by paid staff and volunteers, training in seed collection techniques was provided to farmers, some of whom went on to establish successful seed collection businesses, including seed orchards.

Although planting native trees was the main objective of the OBT it quickly became apparent that understorey and native grasses were essential components of revegetation  initiatives, and these aspects were incorporated into the team’s activities. Weed control was also essential to ensure that newly planted tubestock or seeds would survive and thrive, and this focus on weeds eventually extended to the management of environmental weeds. A key project initiated about 1993/4 was to understand and eventually address the status, reproduction and management of the many species of introduced and hybrid willows in the region. This work eventually extended to have regional and even national ramifications, culminating in a declaration of willows as an environmental weed and the development of a national willow management plan. In the ACT/SE NSW region funding was obtained in 1997 for a major project to address riparian rehabilitation in the upper and middle Murrumbidgee. Key initiatives included the stabilisation and revegetation of eroded river and stream banks, and the removal of seeding willows. This project commenced in 1999 and was run by Greening Australia under the guidance of an independent Steering Committee which Val. chaired.

The 1990s were also the time when landcare became established and Greening Australia helped to establish some of the early landcare groups in the region. Val. was one of a small group tasked to develop the first ACT Decade of Landcare Plan in 1990/91. When the plan was finalised it soon became apparent that a community based forum would be necessary to encourage potential landcare participants to become involved in the implementation of the plan. Accordingly the ACT Catchment and Landcare Subcommittee ( ACTCLS) was established as a subcommittee of the then ACT Environment Advisory Committee. Val became the second Chair of that committee during the mid 1990s, a position she held for several years. During those early years the CLS had a role in assessing funding applications for landcare projects.

When ACT advisory committee structures were aligned to meet the needs of catchment management and natural resource management, Val. became a member of the ACT Natural Resource Advisory Committee. This body was responsible for the development of on ACT Natural Resource Management Plan and the recommendation of funding for work to address the plan.

Simultaneously catchment management was beginning to develop in NSW where the value of organising and harnessing  landcare efforts on a catchment basis was starting to be realised. A group of landholders, local government and state government agency representatives began to meet to explore ways to address to particular environmental issues in the upper Murrumbidgee Catchment. This area is unique in that it contains the ACT as a separately governed area of high population. Val was invited to join this group to represent Greening Australia. In about 1991 the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment Coordinating Committee (UMCCC) was formed as an umbrella group bringing together representatives of community  groups, NGOs, NSW, ACT and local government. Val chaired the UMCCC from 1996/7 until 2008.

The UMCCC developed as an effective voice for coordinated environmental action, using education, awareness raising and advocacy to achieve its objectives. It made submissions on many topics, including an inquiry into the state of the Snowy River, and into the amalgamation of local government areas. It acted as a preliminary panel to assess funding applications for landcare grants. It was instrumental in developing the first catchment plan for the  upper Murrumbidgee catchment, a major piece of work that was of considerable value as subsequent more formal catchment planning was implemented.

With the establishment of catchment management across NSW, Val was selected to join some of the early bodies tasked with the management of the entire Murrumbidgee Catchment, and the development of a formal Murrumbidgee Catchment Plan. Allied with this work Val was also involved in the assessment of funding applications for landcare and catchment projects across NSW, and participation in the National Assessment panel that made final recommendations to the Federal Ministers for Environment and Agriculture.

Val’s experience in landcare and catchment management saw her nominated as the ACT representative on the Australian Landcare Council where she was a member from several years. The ALC advised the Federal Ministers for Environment and Agriculture, and gathered information via briefings and field trips in all parts of Australia.

Val. was always keen to stay grounded by pursuing on-ground as well as committee based activities. She undertook extensive revegetation with native species  on her own small property, learning much about the practical problems faced by landholders as they undertook their individual landcare projects. She also undertook, via the Hall Landcare Group, a riparian rehabilitation project along a section of Halls Creek adjacent to Hall Village where, with the muscle power of a GreenCorps group and local volunteers she organised the removal of  huge quantities of woody weeds growing along the creek. She also wrote regular landcare articles for the Hall newsletter. These activities saw Val recognised as the ACT Individual Landcarer in 1999.

This collection comprises papers kept by Val as a member of

Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment Coordinating Committee

The Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment Coordinating Committee (UMCCC) is a community based organisation made up of agencies and groups that are responsible for natural resource management in the upper Murrumbidgee catchment. The UMCCC operates as a regional cross border network to enhance communication between agencies and groups in NSW and the Australian Capital Territory which lie wholly within the upper catchment of the Murrumbidgee River.

The upper catchment of the Murrumbidgee River is above the Burrinjuck Dam wall.

‘Bidgee Banks Steering Group

Channelling community action to address problems of nutrient loading and vegetation decline in the riparian zones of the Murrumbidgee Catchment the 'Bidgee Banks project has two clear objectives: 1) to conserve known remnant vegetation in the riparian zone, and 2) to target known streambank erosion 'hot spots' for urgent on-ground structural and revegetation activities. Riparian surveys and recent studies recognise bank stabilisation and restoration of riparian environment as critical for protecting the biodiversity of the aquatic and terrestrial systems of the river. The 'Bidgee Banks project operated as a closely targeted financial incentive scheme in the Upper and Mid Murrumbidgee Catchments to harness community action.

The group operated under Greening Australia ACT and S/E NSW Inc in partnership with the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation and was funded under the National Heritage Trust.

ACT Natural Resource Management Advisory Committee

A non-statutory advisory committee to the ACT Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development. Since 1997, when the Natural Heritage Trust commenced there have been a number of significant achievements in natural resource management in the ACT. This was added to by the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality in 2001, was replaced by the Caring for our Country initiative in 2008 and complemented by the Clean Energy Futures Land Package in 2011.

Box List