Hi All,
I would like to add my bit on this subject, from a slightly different
perspective. I have been dealing with a developer for three years, and we
have achieved together an outcome, which neither the developer nor the
Queensland Wader Study Group could have achieved alone.
Our relationship with the developer, QM properties (developer of Pacific
Harbour residential canal estate on Bribie Island in SEQld) grew out of
conflict. QM asserted that it could go ahead and destroy a major wader high
tide roost in the Pumicestone Passage without detriment to the birds. I
failed to see how they could be so certain of this, and challenged the
science. I was their pain in the neck, and my bottom line was that the birds
could be relocated, as long as there was no loss of diversity or abundance.
I didn't advocate retention of the old roost, and on that basis we found
common ground for negotiations.
Since that mutually suspicious beginning, we have together examined all
wader habitat in the southern part of the Passage, produced a management
plan for waders, identified suitable alternative sites for artificially
constructed roosts, built a roost on their absolute beachfront land, built
an interpretive centre and two bird hides, won the Prime Minister's Award
for Community Business Partnerships for Qld, 2001, won a UDIA (Urban
Development Institute of Aust) award, and now I am heavily into educating
the public about waders, their needs and how the roost can only succeed with
community support. Waders have benefited from this partnership, I have grown
hugely from the experience, and QM is reaping untold brownie points from the
wonderful PR which continues to flow to them. But they didn't desert me when
it was all built. I produced a Powerpoint presentation about the whole
deal, and they have continued to support me in all my public education with
materials and their presence at events. Over the past fortnight I have
addressed 270 school kids, and each kid has left with a collection of A4
colour copies of the shorebird material I wrote for the interp centre, all
paid for by QM, and I didn't even ask for it. They genuinely care now about
shorebirds, and really appreciate not having to creep around Bribie
concealing the fact that they work for QM.
QWSG couldn't have done any of this without QM. I am really proud of QM, and
proud to be working with the individuals involved. I just want to share one
more little thing with you. Last week when I gathered up 150 questionnaires
from the kids, I sighed, and said to the Site Manager that I had a killer
week ahead of me, and wouldn't be able to mark the sheets for at least a
week. He then said he would be happy to take them home and mark them and
drop them back to the various classes. That just blew me away - this guy,
who three years ago said that the waders all leave at 5pm every day, is now
so abreast of shorebird matters that he can competently mark papers that no
average community member would have a clue about.
So my message is that with the right individuals in the team, you can
achieve what might seem unachievable. Don't give up on business, just keep
nudging them, and above all, encourage rather than criticise. They have a
lot to offer conservation. You just have to give them a good reason to get
involved.
Cheers,
Jill
Margaret Cameron 9/6/02 9:16 AM
> Actually no Bill, and in the interests of fairness to BP, they were
> sponsors of one of the RAOU's national monitoring projects, the Australian
> Bird Count I think it was - we actuallly appeared on TV wearing our BP hats
> Margaret
>
>
> At 08:51 AM 6/09/02 +1000, Bill Stent wrote:
>> I think that's the first time in the history of the universe that "BP" and
>> "conservation" have been used in the same sentence.
>>
>> Have the BP spin doctors been at work or am I getting cynical in my old age?
Jill Dening
Sunshine Coast, Qld
26º 51' 152º 56'
Ph (07) 5494 0994
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