The judges of the CWA Oxley Public Speaking competition at the back were (L-R) Roxanne Gallacher, Bill Jayet and Sue Baxter. The winners of the Year 5 & 6 division in front are (L-R) reserves Catalina Elias (St Joseph’s, Condobolin) and Heidi Barker (Parkes Christian School), highly commended students Grace Mayo (Parkes Christian School), Saxon Guess (Parkes Public School) and Rhys Hutchins (Parkes Public School) and the winner Layla Kupkee (Holy Family).

Parkes students have won three of the four divisions of the annual CWA Oxley Public Speaking event held in Forbes last week.

The organisers were very impressed with the participation of 84 students from 20 schools in the region.

Marcus Skinner from Middleton Public School won the Years 3 & 4 division with his topic Funny Things. Two more Parkes students, Samara Wood from Parkes East and Chelsea Ray from Parkes Christian School received highly commended, and Matthew Thompson from Parkes Christian School was a reserve.

The Years 5 & 6 division was won by Layla Kupkee from Holy Family with her topic Rain, Rain. Rhys Hutchins and Saxon Guess from Parkes Public, and Grace Mayo from Parkes Christian School received highly commended, while Heidi Barker from Parkes Christian School was a reserve.

Lexi Herden from Parkes Christian School won the Years 7 & 8 division with her topic Something I’m proud of, while her fellow students Hannah McIntyre and  Llewellyn Pepper received highly commended.

In the Years 9 & 10 division two more Parkes Christian School students excelled with Marcus Moss receiving highly commended and Zac Nash was a reserve.

Other schools represented among the winners were Red Bend Catholic College in Forbes, Forbes High School, St Francis Xavier in Lake Cargelligo, Condobolin Public School and St Joseph’s, Condobolin.

The winners of the four divisions will move to the next level of the competition to be held in Cowra.

“All students are to be congratulated on their outstanding efforts. It is a great learning experience,” said Ros Edwards of the organising committee. “Oxley Group CWA would like to thank the judges, teachers and parents who without their support this experience for the students would not happen.”

The competition was sponsored by Lachlan Shire, Parkes Shire, Jelbart Dawson of Forbes, Evolution Mines and Michael McCormack MP.

Collecting firewood from roadsides and reserves is illegal, but also from national and state parks, natural reserves and crown lands. For more information, contact Parkes Shire Council on 6861 2333.

As winter sets in residents need to remember that the collection of wood on all public land, including roadsides, is an offence under the Local Government Act 1993 and carries a fine of up to $2,200. 

“As temperatures begin to drop, Council is calling on residents to help conserve biodiversity, by leaving deadwood along roadsides and reserves in situ,” said Parkes Shire Council’s Environment and Sustainability Coordinator, Michael Chambers.

Each year, a small number of residents collect deadwood for use as a low-cost source of heating. While this activity may seem harmless, standing dead trees and woody debris are vital components of healthy ecosystems. 

Michael said dead trees were not an indication of poor ecosystem health. “In fact, deadwood is vital for sustaining forest productivity, stabilising ecosystems, storing carbon and providing food and habitat for countless species.”

The removal of deadwood has been recognised as a key factor driving Australia’s biodiversity loss. Standing dead trees contain tree hollows that provide nesting opportunities for insects, birds, reptiles, and mammals.

Similarly, woody debris is an important resource for many organisms and ecosystem processes.

The forests and woodlands of the Western Slopes and Tablelands contain popular firewood species and have been most affected by firewood collection. This has adversely impacted several species including the Swift Parrot, Superb Parrot, Squirrel Glider, Crimson Rosella, Rainbow Lorikeet and Sacred Kingfisher. 

More than 18,000 individual plants comprising 30 different native species were planted in the Kokoda Biodiversity Offset Project and are now thriving.

A project that resulted in the planting of thousands of native species of trees is the Parkes nominee for the NSW Environmental Citizen of the Year Award to be announced on World Environment Day on Sunday, 5th June. 

The Kokoda Biodiversity Offset Project at Northparkes Mines won this year’s Environmental Award on Australia Day and became our shire’s nominee for the prestigious state award that recognises the incredible efforts from NSW citizens working towards creating a more sustainable environment in their local region for the benefit of the whole community. 

Northparkes Mines bought the Kokoda Biodiversity Offset in 2014 to establish a conservation area to transform degraded farmland into a functioning woodland, protected in perpetuity under a voluntary conservation agreement. 

In 2019 the mine engaged local labour provider Skillset Landworks as a partner in the delivery of the project to train and employ local Land Works crews that provided the opportunity for local people to gain valuable skills and experience for their future career. 

The crews rehabilitated the conservation area with tree planting and revegetation management plans. The 350-hectare area consists of open grassland and dense woodland and was targeted for its connectivity between national parks within the Mandagery landscape. 

The project set out to restore 37.3 hectares of degraded grassland to a Grey Box Grassy Woodland community, reflective of the surrounding plant community types. 

Over a period of 18 months, more than 18,000 individual plants comprising 30 different native species were planted in the area and are now thriving. The work also supported the local community, with recruitment acknowledging Australian traditional owners who received TAFE accredited qualifications and employment. 

The Environmental Citizen of the Year Awards was started four years ago and is an initiative of The Australia Day Council of NSW in partnership with Return and Earn.