In this edition:
GeoCatch celebrates 20 Years in the catchment; Bay OK Sustainable Garden competition; Schools Planting for possum habitat; Possum Tally update; Upcoming school holiday nightstalks; Habitat friendly garden displays; New demonstration gardens in the pipeline; Soil testing program success; Dairy Walk n Talk; and Funding incentives for landholders to install stock exclusion fencing in wetland areas;  and GeoCatch welcomes a new/old GeoCatch staff member.
GeoCatch Celebrates 20 years in the catchment

July 2017 marked an exciting time for GeoCatch – our 20 th birthday. The Geographe Catchment Council was officially launched on 10 th July 1997 in response to the need for a coordinated, community-based approach to managing the natural resources of the Geographe Bay catchment.
Twenty years on, GeoCatch continues to have a strong role in engaging with the community about protecting Geographe Bay and its catchment, and working with the community to implement on-ground projects to conserve the environment.

There are a number of exciting events and promotions planned in coming months that will celebrate GeoCatch’s 20th birthday. Community members and stakeholders will be invited to join GeoCatch in celebrating 20 years in the catchment at our birthday event in October. GeoCatch will showcase the unique environmental values of the Geographe catchment and its work in protecting these values through its partnerships with the community. People will also have opportunity to have their say on how GeoCatch moves forward into the future, and their views will help inform GeoCatch’s review of the Geographe Catchment Management Strategy.

GeoCatch will also be hosting a number of exciting workshops and catchment tours, which will aim to bring the community together to create awareness about the unique and special environment that we live in, and how we can protect it. We will keep you informed about these upcoming events via email and on our Facebook page .

Please also keep an eye out for GeoCatch’s displays at two fantastic local festivals - the Busselton Wildflower Exhibition 28-29 September and the Busselton Community Gardens Festival 11 November.
We have a great photo collection from the last 20 years of past projects, members, staff and the community – all getting involved in protecting the Geographe catchment. We will be posting a selection of our favourite photos weekly on Facebook for the remainder of the year. If you have any photos or memories of GeoCatch’s work in the catchment over the past 20 years, please do share them with us.
Who remembers the grassy banks on both sides of the Vasse River where it flows through Busselton’s CBD? Amazing to think how the river has changed in this location, with native trees and shrubs now providing habitat and shelter for the myriad waterbirds that live there. This is the result of one of GeoCatch’s early big projects, the Lower Vasse River Clean Up program.
Win a sustainable Bay OK Garden! 
Planning a garden for your newly built home? Enter the GeoCatch Bay OK Garden Competition and you could win a fully landscaped, water wise and nutrient wise front garden installed in a single day by Chris Ferreira and The Forever Project team.
GeoCatch is looking for a new garden site that will be installed as part of an exciting community workshop event, which will showcase to our community how to create a sustainable Bay OK garden.
For more information and to enter the Bay OK Garden Competition, visit the GeoCatch website While you’re there, check out the Bay OK page where you’ll find a range of sustainable gardening resources to help the home gardener.
Planting for possums
As part of GeoCatch’s Habitat for Possum project this winter 208 school children from Our Lady of the Capes, Capel Primary School, Geographe Primary School and Georgina Molly Anglican School helped plant approximately 1000 native possum friendly plants in the Geographe Catchment.
Students took part in a fun filled GeoCatch presentation on the Western Ringtail Possum before venturing outside to get their hands dirty and plant trees in the ground. The planting sessions were well attended by students, teaching staff and parents, and coincided with ‘National Tree Planting Day’.
Busselton Toyota (a long-term supporter of Planet Ark’s School’s Tree Day) generously donated funds towards the project and have attended each of the 4 schools planting days. Children enjoyed receiving ‘National Tree Day’ giveaways (t-shirts and gloves) provided by Toyota on the day.
GeoCatch’s Habitat for Possums project is funded by the WA Government’s State NRM Program.
Photo: Year one students from Georgiana Molloy Anglican School helped to plant possum habitat
Possum Tally
During March and April this year, members of the local community volunteered their time in surveying the Western Ringtail Possum (WRP) in their backyards and local bushland area. Forty five survey tally sheets were returned and have been added to the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions statewide database. Results from this survey will be reported to survey participants and the community next month.
Thank you to everyone that took part in this survey. It’s a wonderful contribution towards better understanding the WRP population in the Geographe Catchment.

GeoCatch in partnership with Nature Conservation Margaret River will launch a Spring WRP survey tally this September to coincide with Biodiversity Month. This second tally has been made possible through funding from the Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association and the WA Government’s State NRM Program. Anyone wishing to take part in the September tally can contact GeoCatch on 9781 0111.
Photo: Mother and baby Western Ringtail Possums. Photo supplied by Mr Ron Glencross
Save the dates for upcoming possum nightstalks!
During the first week of the next school holidays, GeoCatch will host two possum nightstalks on 27 & 28 September in the Busselton area. Save the dates and stay tuned for the details via the GeoCatch website, Facebook page and local newspapers.
This project is made possible by the WA Government’s State NRM Program.
Habitat Friendly Gardening Displays
Look out for GeoCatch’s habitat friendly gardening displays at the upcoming Busselton Wildflower Exhibition 28-29 th September. This display will provide information and advice on how best to improve the habitat value of your garden and verge and how this can benefit your local environment.
Whether you live in an urban area or on a farm, your garden is an important part of the landscape. Gardens are little ecosystems and contribute to natural processes, such as maintaining drainage, protecting water quality, reducing the effects of strong winds, and providing habitat for native wildlife.
Many wildlife species survive in urban areas, but their success depends on the quality of habitat in gardens and nearby areas. A habitat friendly home garden will be a stepping stone across the urban landscape for fauna such as birds, mammals and frogs. For smaller animals such as insects, such gardens will be the centre of their existence.
In urban areas, gardening to encourage wildlife such as bees, butterflies and bugs is a simple way to encourage biodiversity into your garden.
Photos: Geoff Palmer has been helping us make Bee Hotels for GeoCatch’s upcoming habitat friendly gardening display.  
Demonstrating Sustainable Gardening 
GeoCatch, in partnership with the City of Busselton, will be installing a demonstration low nutrient, waterwise garden in Dunsborough to promote sustainable home gardening practices to local residents.
The garden will showcase the marvellous variety of Western Australian plants and cultivars available to gardeners that also provide food and habitat for fauna. The selected species all have low nutrient requirements, and their use will reduce nutrient run-off into the catchment’s waterways.
The demonstration garden will also feature a number of water saving initiatives such as using soil amendments, soil wetters, coarse mulch and drip-line irrigation. 
Fertilising success starts with understanding soils
The 2017 Soil testing program has achieved excellent uptake from Geographe farmers. The program supports farmers in making informed fertiliser decisions to reduce nutrient loss off farms. Eligble farmers receive whole farm soil testing, nutrient maps and access to personalised agronomic advice to ensure fertiliser and profits stay on the farm and out of waterways and estuaries.
Geographe farmers involved in the project last year were very satisfied with common sense information to improve their fertiliser practices.
Geographe farmers David and Linda Gow found “ the soil testing program was excellent and made a big difference on what our strategy was for the season. It saved us the cost of having to spread lime as our results showed it was not required.”
This sentiment may have spread throughout the catchment and influenced the keen uptake for this year’s program.
Photo: GeoCatch Project Officer Bree Brown captured this great photo as she headed out under stormy skies during farm visits for the 2017 Soil Testing program.
This project is being delivered through the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program
to improve water quality, waterway health and management of Geographe waterways.
Dairy Walk n Talk
Geographe dairy farmers recently had the opportunity to take part in a Dairy Walk ‘n’ Talk event on August 16 with two fascinating farmers from Queensland and New Zealand. The farmers were visiting the catchment as part of the Nutrient Summit on August 15, sponsored by GeoCatch and the Regional Estuaries Initiative .

Farmers shared their experiences in nutrient management and the issues which are faced by both WA farmers and those in other states and countries. The Dairy Walk n Talk was hosted by the Lammie Farm with support from Western Dairy and GeoCatch.

Dairy effluent planning is also underway in the catchment with ten effluent plans under development in partnership with Western Dairy and supported by the Revitalising Geographe Waterways program.
Wetland and waterway funding incentives flowing through to rural landholders
GeoCatch is inviting landholders in the Geographe Catchment to do their bit to Revitalise Geographe Waterways with funding incentives currently available to assist landholders with the installation of stock exclusion fencing.
Below (left) 0.8km of recently completed fencing to protect a remnant wetland vegetation in Ruabon and (right) a section of 1.2km of recently completed fencing on a Vasse River tributary.  
Previous riparian projects have demonstrated benefits for both waterways and the farm.
For waterways, the benefits are many including, preservation of remnant riparian vegetation, protection of aquatic fauna habitat, reduced erosion of stream banks, prevention of direct fouling by stock, and increased nutrient stripping capacity of vegetation reducing nutrients from entering our waterways.
And for the farm, stock exclusion fencing is just as beneficial.  
Fencing waterways maintains the health and vigour of riparian vegetation, provides important shade and shelter for stock, and reduces the occurrence of stream bank erosion (which can protect existing farm infrastructure such as stock crossings, pump sheds and fencing).
Protecting vegetation also improves the visual amenity of the farm.

According to landholders the most recognised benefit for farming is the improved efficiency of stock handling.
Expressions of interest are currently open to all landholders in the Geographe catchment in or around the localities of Gelorup, Capel, Kirup, Cowaramup, Dunsborough and Busselton interested participating in stock exclusion fencing/revegetation projects. Follow the link to view a map of the Geographe catchment here . As part of the stock exclusion fencing project GeoCatch can provide funding incentives to landholders for fencing and/or revegetation materials. For more information contact GeoCatch on   9781 0114 or via email geocatch@dwer.wa.gov.au

This project is supported by both South West Catchments Council through funding from the Australian Governments National Landcare Program and Western Australian Government’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. 
GeoCatch Staff
In July, GeoCatch welcomed Project Officer Nicole Lincoln to the GeoCatch team. Nicole has a history of working in natural resource management in the Geographe catchment, and has even worked for GeoCatch previously (back in 2006!).
Nicole will be implementing GeoCatch’s Peppies for Possums projects, and working with local schools to help raise awareness about protecting the Geographe catchment in our school communities. Welcome to the team Nicole:)