Which city would you be visiting if you were at the Empire State Building?

Naracoorte Lucindale community has its say

After an extensive six-week consultation period Naracoorte Lucindale Council has released the results of a recent survey outlining the community’s vision for the North Parklands.

With almost 400 responses received, the consultation has provided council with an overview of the community’s wishes for the space moving forward.

Engagement activities included signage and QR codes, community drop-in sessions, face-to-face meetings with key stakeholders, emails to key stakeholders, Your Say online engagement platform established with supporting documentation, hard copy and online survey forms, FAQ sheets, Facebook posts, media releases and radio interviews.

Naracoorte Lucindale Council CEO Trevor Smart said he was pleased so many people took the time to share their views.

“We had excellent attendance at the community drop-in sessions, face-to-face meetings and great comments throughout the survey, including ideas for further improvements and new projects for the area,” Mr Smart said.

“Most people would associate the North Parklands as being the Naracoorte Nature Park. However, the Nature Park is located within the North Parklands area and there are other dedicated land use areas including the Naracoorte Swimming Lake, Naracoorte Cemetery, Naracoorte Golf Course, Forestry Land and Naracoorte & District Sports Centre.

“It was really important through this consultation that the community gained a better understanding of the overall area and any potential within each parcel of land.

“As council outlined in its North Parklands Engagement Plan the intent of the community consultation was to raise awareness of the North Parklands, provide an opportunity for issues and ideas to be raised and gauge if there was any appetite for development.

“General comments were invited from respondents, and council received a mix of feedback including some people being open to the idea of development in the right location and the majority not open to any changes to land use at all.”

The majority of the feedback from the community was centred around recreational improvements balanced with conservation activities and the respondents identified the area as an asset for wellbeing, tourism and an attractive value-add for people currently living in Naracoorte or encouraging new people to reside in Naracoorte.

In response to the key survey question “Do you support development in the North Parklands?”, almost 65 per cent of people were against any development, 25% per cent were neutral subject to further information, and just over 10 per cent supported development.

Of the people that supported development, the majority of the support was for additional recreational facilities and open spaces and there was some support for residential development and new tourism opportunities.

The survey canvassed for ideas on the various parcels of land in the North Parklands and there was strong support for conservation in the forestry land, no change to current land use for the sport and recreational land and no change to the current land use in and around the golf course.

In regards to the cemetery land, it was almost a fifty-fifty split across the options of no change to current land dedication and supporting expansion to increase the size of the cemetery.

The survey also revealed what people value most about the North Parklands. Respondents love the open spaces and trails and the proximity of the North Parklands to Naracoorte. They also enjoy the swimming lake, the flora and fauna and overall the natural beauty and tranquillity of the setting. Overwhelming the Naracoorte North Parklands was seen as a significant asset for the community and provides a great balance between natural and urban environments offering residents the best of both.

In regards to changes or future improvements in the North Parklands, a suite of ideas and potential future projects were identified, such as new signage and trails, more rubbish bins, seating and shelter, nature play and overall connectivity of the area. Some respondents commented that they were open to the idea of selling land adjacent to the golf course for a residential development.

In the coming weeks, council will undertake a workshop to consider the survey feedback and general comments in greater detail as well as prepare a response to the Department of Environment and Water outlining its intentions with the North Parklands area.

Jo Spurge is putting her patients first as she becomes a nurse practitioner. As someone who deals with terminally ill patients and their families at their most vulnerable, Ms Spurge says her new abilities and responsibilities will ease the burden on everyone.

“It’s all about patient care,” she said. “At the end of my studies, I will be able to prescribe medication for my patients and write medication charts for nurses. It means I can write the prescriptions and charts and they can have the medication and orders within an hour, which isn’t always possible at the moment. It will provide better patient-centred care and give patients better choices.”

After her original nursing degree, Ms Spurge also completed a Graduate Diploma in Palliative Care and a Diploma of Management. She has worked as a nurse consultant in palliative care for about 15 years at Portland District Health.

She is in the third and last year of her Master’s Degree in Nurse Practitioner through Flinders University and has already been recognised for her high achievements, winning a Chancellor’s letter of commendation for ‘outstanding academic achievement and high GPA’.

Her Grade Point Average (GPA) is 6.75 from a possible score of 7, and all this has been achieved while working full-time and raising children.

The study has been invaluable. “Some of the important areas I’ve learnt about include patient assessment, the importance of looking at drug interactions and allergies, and assessing patients experiencing common palliative care symptoms and pain.”

This year, Ms Spurge will complete 300 hours of supervised placement at Southwest Healthcare Warrnambool with palliative care doctor Emma Greenwood.

PDH Executive Director of Primary Care Services Margaret Cadenhead said PDH was pleased to support Ms Spurge’s training. “We will be able to explore new opportunities with the advantage of Jo’s new skills,” she said. Ms Spurge also thanked PDH for its support of her study.

UPSKILLING: Emma Greenwood & Jo Spurge

Skill development

Respected trainer headed to the Limestone Coast

The Limestone Coast Women in Ag Network will host Jeanette Long, a trainer and coach who is passionate about developing people skills in agriculture, for an Effective Conversations workshop on July 29 at Millicent.

Jeanette will deliver an interactive workshop that gives you insights into why you can communicate with some members of your farm team or family members and not others, exploring strategies to achieve effective communication.

The workshop will examine communication styles, effects of stress on communication, practical tips for working in teams and running meetings, develop your confidence as a team member and identify the skills you bring to a group.

Jeanette Long (pictured) is a director and facilitator, trainer and coach for Ag Consulting Co. She is well known and respected for her focus on developing people skills in agriculture. Jeanette delivers a range of training programs, manages projects as well as coaching individuals across Australia and New Zealand. She assists organisations and farm families with succession and strategic and business planning.

“We’re very excited to host Jeanette Long in the Limestone Coast”, said MacKillop Group CEO, Meg Bell.

“Good communication is one of the key skills for success in life and building resilience, being able to have highly experienced and respected workshop presenter, Jeanette Long, in the region is a great opportunity to improve your communication skills.

“As communication always involves more than one person we’re encouraging women to bring along members of their wider team, such as work colleagues, family members and partners.”

The Limestone Coast Women in Ag Network (LCWiAN) is a network for women in the agriculture industry in the Limestone Coast to communicate with and support each other in both a social and a professional capacity, building strong connectedness in the region.

MacKillop Farm Management Group is coordinating the network and is excited to work with DairySA, Lucerne Australia, the Grassland Society of Southern Australia, Coorong Tatiara Local Action Plan, Women in Business and Regional Development, WoTL (Women Together Learning) and the Limestone Coast Landscape Board to establish the network.

This network is funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and their Networks to Build Drought Resilience program, which is administered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal.

“...good communication is one of the key skills for success in life and building resilience...” Meg Bell (Mackillop Group CEO)

During this year, the network has two more events planned, Financial Awareness (date to be confirmed) and an evening networking event on August 26 at Keith.

For more information, to join the network or to register for a Limestone Coast Women in Ag Network event head to www. mackillopgroup.com.au or contact MFMG communications and events officer Sally Klose on 0427 829 143. You can also contact one of the partner organisations -DairySA, Lucerne Australia, the Grassland Society of Southern Australia, Coorong Tatiara Local Action Plan, Women in Business and Regional Development, WoTL (Women Together Learning) and the Limestone Coast Landscape Board.