Organisational Profile
The Meander Valley Weed Management Group (MVWMG) is a community organisation that evolved out of the need for the broader community to be involved in the complex issues of weed management and weed education. To many people, weeds are simply a problem for farmers or other land owners. There is a need for widespread recognition and acceptance of the fact that weeds can and do affect everyone.
In response, the MVWMG developed a strategy for the long term management of weeds in the Meander Valley Municipality. This strategy is based on input from the Meander Valley Community through a wide range of Government departments and agencies, Meander Valley Council, private forest companies, Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, industry, Tasmanian Women in Agriculture, Landcare groups and other concerned community organisations, bringing the total number of volunteers in the MVWMG to 39. This strategy is complimentary to and consistent with the Tasmanian "Weedplan" and the National Weeds Strategy.
The Meander Valley Weed Strategy goal is for the:
- containment of the spread of weeds within the municipality;
- prevention of ingress of new weeds within the municipality;
- elimination of weeds within the municipality where possible and ractical.
This strategy has been established with the following priorities:
- Strategic planning
- Funding/Sponsorship
- On ground actions
- Education, training and communication
The MVWMG employs a Project Co-ordinator on a full-time basis to administer and co-ordinate community weed actions, together with a seasonally contracted Consultant Entomologist to undertake the weed biological control program. Both of these positions are funded through the support of the Landcare component of the National Heritage Trust (NHT). The Meander Valley Council supplies in kind administrative support for the Project Co-ordinator. Apart from these two employed staff, the MVWMG operates entirely by community volunteers.
Program/Project Summary
The Meander Valley Weed Strategy aims to co-ordinate the individual efforts of many people involved in weed management in order to minimise the deleterious effects of weeds on the sustainability of the Meander Valley Municipality’s productive capacity and natural ecosystems. It is designed around the need for the use of integrated weed management techniques which lead to on-ground actions resulting in long term weed management within the municipality, through the facilitation of a co-operative, co-ordinated community approach.
Ragwort (Senacio jacobaea) is one of the major weeds invading the Meander Valley Municipality. Over the past three years, the main on ground action for ragwort management was the collection and redistribution of the biological control agent ragwort flea beetle. During the triennial 1995-98, the MVWMG collected and redistributed 662,500 beetles to 259 sites. This amounted to 80% of all releases undertaken within Tasmania over this period.
This biological control agent has now established over approx. 160 sq. kms. of ragwort infested pasture in the municipality, it is expected that the beetle will have spread throughout the municipality during the next 10 years thus reducing the status of ragwort as a weed of major importance.
Volunteer Involvement
The MVWMG was formed in February 1996. The MVWMG meets quarterly, acts as a reference body, reviews planning and gives direction to the Steering Committee which was set up to manage the day to day activities of the MVWMG. This Steering Committee consists of eight members of the MVWMG and is chaired by the MVWMG Chairperson.
With directions from the MVWMG the Steering Committee developed a constitution for the group and a strategy for weed management in the region.
This approach taken to weed management within this municipality is both innovative and unique within Tasmania, whereby weed management is undertaken by and self managed by the community, creating the ethos where the community wants to manage weeds as opposed to past practices where the community had weed control measures thrust upon them by Government.
Successful weed management requires a co-operative approach which involves land/resource managers, industry and the community working in partnership with all levels of government in establishing co-ordinated frameworks. The MVWMG has successfully achieved this unique interface in which all stakeholders within this community recognise, accept and support the Meander Valley Weed Strategy (MVWS).
Community Impact and Benefit
The MVWS was the first comprehensive weed strategy developed in Tasmania, completed in December 1996, it results from 1000 hours of community input, contains realistic goals, objectives and action plans, which are annually reviewed. This strategy has resulted in significant changes in attitude and weed management practices by land managers, Government Agencies and the Meander Valley Council resulting in a range of benefits to the community.
A fundamental aim of the MVWS has been to provide co-ordination for on ground actions against specific weeds. If there is any chance of lasting control of weeds in a specific region it is necessary to, wherever possible, integrate the on ground activities of individual landholders and local and State government agencies.
For example the Meander Valley Council recognises that it is a significant land manager within the municipality and a key stakeholder of the weed strategy. As a result of lobbying and in consultation with the MVWMG, the Council developed a policy for roadside weed spraying together with a budget allocation of $10,000 per annum. A Council weed policy and budget did not previously exist, weed management was undertaken on an ad-hoc basis.
The MVWMG has achieved a unique credibility with the Meander Valley Council in which the Council has confidence in the management group, through its co-ordinator, to co-ordinate management of weeds on council owned land and roadsides throughout the municipality.
The MVWMG Co-ordinator provides a communication link/network between the community, Meander Valley Council, landcare groups and the DPIF in relation to landcare and weed control.
With a trend to larger & larger councils and greater devolvement of government responsibility to councils, there is a significant risk of the community becoming more alienated from local government. The innovative management structure between the MVWMG and Meander Valley Council is not only proving to be a highly effective way of addressing weed management, it is also providing inspiration throughout Tasmania for improved community involvement in local government.
Indeed the experience to date has been that this model is now being adopted by other councils and community groups throughout the State and in the National context.
A significant benefit to the community has also arisen from the MVWMG’s promotion of Integrated Weed Management. Central to this has been the instigation and promotion of Biological Control Programs as a means of both reducing the total use of herbicides and in improving the economic performance of the region.
The Biological Control Program is combined with the promotion of managerial practices which incorporate the proactive use of preventative, managerial, physical, biological and/or chemical methods of weed control. Combined with this is the promotion of managerial practises that actually prevent weed seed dispersal but maintain rosette plants to provide food, shelter and egg laying sites for the adult biological agents, thus ensuring optimum conditions for their survival
The MVWMG is at the forefront of innovative community based weed management in this State. It has pioneered many successful and unique approaches to weed management, and is playing a significant role in the expansion of community based weed management in Tasmania.
Another example of the benefits arising in the local community is the success that the MVWMG has achieved in improving the actions of relevant government departments. In the case of the Department of Transport and Tasrail, new vegetation management practices by these two significant large scale landholders have arisen largely as a result of the MVWMG existence and actions.
 
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