IMPORTANT NOTICE “wild dog ground baiting program”

PLEASE PASS THIS NOTICE ON TO ALL FAMILY AND FRIENDS

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will be conducting a “wild dog ground baiting program” in the Worimi Conservation Lands  and Tilligerry State Conservation Area reserves from 26^th Jun 17 to 28^th Jul 17 .

For more information about the coordinated program please contact: Mr Mark Ingram (Area Operations Co-ordinator / Hunter Coast Area NPWS)  Phone: 02 49 848 200 or by email on mark.ingram@environment.nsw.gov.au

All baiting will be done in accordance with legal requirements under the Pesticides Act 1999.  Although not expected, some non-target animals may be affected, particularly domestic dogs.

WARNING:  NPWS strongly advise owners to restrain all pets and working dogs ensuring they DO NOT ENTER the baiting locations during poisoning operations.  (a map will follow once received).

If working dogs are required to work in or near the baiting location they have recommended they be muzzled during and after poisoning.

In the unfortunate event of accidental poisoning you are advised to seek immediate veterinary assistance.

Congratulations to Sharon Edgar-Jones & Jonathan Lilley

Congratulations to our staff & community members Sharon Edgar-Jones & Jonathon Lilley receiving there Cert III for the Gathang Language Course they attended.

Taree based Certificate III in learning an endangered language (Gathang) saw ten students graduate from the course on Wednesday.

Arlene McInherny, Jaycent Davis, Jonathan Lilley, Lynette Walshe, Natalie Stanfield, Rhonda Radley, Roslyn Lowe, Sharon Edgar-Jones and Yeena Robins were on hand at Club Taree where they received certificates for their efforts.

Training/Awareness Courses

We are going to run at Murrook the following training/awareness courses and offer it to our Worimi LALC members:

• Fire Awareness
• Manual Handling
• Snr First Aid

SDA are Finalists in the Australian Tourism Awards

Sand Dune Adventures received a Silver award at the Australian Tourism Awards in Darwin on 24th February 2017. The category we won Silver in was the  ‘Qantas Award for Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’. A great achievement for the Worimi LALC staff & Community.

Chairperson Mr. Leigh Ridgeway recently received a ‘Life Time Membership” to the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group of NSW (AECG).

The Worimi LALC is very proud to announce that our Chairperson Mr. Leigh Ridgeway recently received a ‘Life Time Membership” to the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group of NSW (AECG).

Leigh has been an active member of the AECG for over 15yrs and this Award recognises his support, commitment and contribution to Aboriginal Education and Culture on a Local, Regional and State Wide platform.

Leigh continues to be an active member of the AECG and has participated at both the Muloobinba (Newcastle) & founded the Youyoong AECG (Port Stephens).  He currently spends his time participating with the Maitland Local AECG; where he shares his wealth of knowledge and experience to protect, promote and foster the best interests of all Aboriginal Students currently active within the Educational system.  A huge congratulations to Leigh for this wonderful achievement and we wish him a life time of success in supporting our Youth – Mr. Andrew Smith (Worimi LALC CEO).

Office of the Children’s Guardian

Please see attached flyer for more  information. 

ATSI Brochure

Is it a safe place for our kids?
www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au

A guide for parents, November 2014.
What is a ‘child safe’ place?
Parents have a right to know who is working with their children.
Understanding the Working With Children Check.
How do you know they have a Check?
What parents can do.
As a parent or carer you play an important role in making sure your
kids are spending time in places that are safe. This guide will help you look out for ‘child safe’ places.
Child safe means making sure the place where our kids spend time is safe from neglect, physical, sexual or emotional harm or abuse. A child safe place will have rules that are set up to make sure our kids are kept safe. It is your business to know who is working with your children. Every day kids around NSW spend time with adults outside of their home. This can be at places like a sports club, youth group centre, or a drama studio. As a parent orguardian you need to understand what organisations should be doing to keep your child safe.
It is the law that people who work with your children including many tutors, nannies, coaches and counsellors have a current Working With Children Check. However, there is much more an organisation can do to keep kids safe.
In NSW all people who are working with your children (as well as a number of volunteers) need to have a current NSW
Working With Children Check clearance number.
Some people don’t have to get a Working With Children Check number, such as a parent that volunteers in an activity
that involves their own child e.g. a sports coach. The Check provides either a clearance or a bar to work with children.
It is a crime for a person with a bar to work or volunteer with children.
Parents and guardians are now able to ‘verify’ if the person working with their child (under 18) has a Working With Children Check. When we say ‘verify’, we mean parents can check online.
By checking online you will instantly see if the person is allowed to work with your child. Also, if they become a ‘barred’ person we will let you know. You will however need to know their details, including their name, birth date, application or clearance number.

It is the law for bosses to check or verify online that their workers and volunteers have a current Working With Children Check clearance number. So you don’t need to check a person who is employed but if your child has a coach or tutor that you pay directly you can go online to verify a Working With Children Check.

Worimi Conservation’s Land Lease Agreement

Worimi Conservation’s Land Lease Agreement that was reviewed and varied on 28 February 2013 in accordance with cl.6.8 & 6.9(1) of the Lease.

Please see WCL Website for more information:

http://www.worimiconservationlands.com/

Unveiling of the ‘Worimi’ F/A-18 Hornet

Link to YouTube video of the Unveiling

The Royal Australian Air Force showed its appreciation and commitment to the past service and sacrifices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the unveiling of the ‘Worimi’ F/A-18A Hornet on February 24.

Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Geoff Brown was given the honour of unveiling the aircraft with its new attire in front of the family of WOFF Len Waters – Air Force’s first known Aboriginal fighter pilot – 2 invited Elders of the Worimi and assembled guests and more than 20 students of the Indigenous Pre-Recruitment course.  

Held in a hangar at Avalon during the Australian International Airshow, the aircraft’s unique colour scheme was stencilled with WOFF Water’s pilot markings and the livery was designed by Australian design studio Balarinji.  The artwork depicts a Kilyarr Kilyarr, the Wedgetail Eagle, a powerful bird of prey which dominates the skies over Australia’s land and seascapes.  WOFF Water’s younger brother, Len and Len’s son, Glen, were in attendance on behalf of the Waters family and said how honoured they were to be there.

“It was a privilege and a wonderful occasion,” he said.   “It was a very important day for our family and it meant a lot to have the aircraft named after him. It was unbelievable.”  Mr Waters said Len always loved aircraft and was constantly building them – a foretaste of what was to come.  “He loved flying and always did,” he said.  “His head was always in the clouds. I wished his wife, Gladys, could have been here but she was too ill to travel from Brisbane. I congratulate the Air Force for putting this on for us.”  In unveiling the Worimi Hornet, AIRMSHL Brown said it honoured the traditional owners of the land on which RAAF Base Williamtown now sits.

“This initiative expresses Air Force’s commitment to embracing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and contribution,” he said.  “Air Force values the diversity of all our people, and this aircraft is a way to recognise Indigenous inclusion in a significant way.  “Our people are our greatest asset for delivering air power. If we better understand, value and benefit from our collective diversity, Air Force will be a better organisation where people feel valued for their contribution to air power.”  Director Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs – Air Force Group Captain Lisa Jackson-Pulver, said how personally touched she was with the unveiling.

“I never would have dreamt as a little girl that I would be standing in front of such distinguished people and doing something vitally important to the psyche and spirit of the Air Force,” she said.

Neville Lilley, an elder from the Worimi community at Port Stephens said the Worimi Hornet was a strong indication that Air Force was serious about acknowledging and respecting indigenous history and culture.

“Our people count it as a tremendous honour and privilege,” he said.  “When the story is told about the Worimi aircraft and why it is painted in aboriginal colours, it will not only be a thrill and honour to the Worimi people who hear it but to all Aboriginals.”  The efforts of CO 81WG Wing Commander David Warren and the combined workshops and ancillary maintenance section and RAAF Base Williamtown were acknowledged during the unveiling.

The livery took 400 individual motifs, done by hand-applied stencils.

SDA Wins Tourism Award 2 years in a row

SAND DUNE ADVENTURES TAKES OUT GOLD

 QANTASLINK HUNTER AND CENTRAL COAST AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN TOURISM – INDIGNEOUS TOURISM CATEGORY

Sand Dune Adventures is grinning at winning 2 years in a row, having received the Gold Award for Excellence in Tourism in the “Indigenous Tourism Category” at the prestigious 2014 QantasLink Hunter/Central Coast Awards.    The award recognises excellence in tourism in the given category.

Providing a variety of quad bike tours; Sand Dune Adventures showcases the richness of Aboriginal culture and heritage contained within the Worimi Sand Dunes which; are recorded as being the largest coastal dune system in the Southern Hemisphere.  Led by experienced Aboriginal guides; this breath taking experience offers 360 degree picturesque views of the Stockton Bight, Tasman Sea and the surrounding Blue Mountain Ranges; along with the exhilaration of riding across this desert-like landscape, this Award Winning experience should definitely be on everyone’s ‘Bucket List’ of things to do.

Andrew Smith CEO comments,

“Winning the first time around was a great honour but; to go back to back – two years in a row, is incredibly humbling. Tourism is a rich and dynamic industry and thanks to the commitment and passion of our Board Members, Staff and community members, we’ve gone from being a small modest not-for-profit enterprise to marketing on an International Platform. We’re also very thankful for our inclusion in the ‘Indigenous Tourism Champions Program’ administered by Tourism Australia, as well as the huge support we’ve continued to receive from Destination NSW , Destination Port Stephens and certainly our experienced counterparts.  We still have so much to learn and offer and we will continue to grow from strength to strength.

All of the winners now go on to become finalists in the State Tourism Awards to be held in Sydney on Thursday, 27 November 2014.

SDA wins awards

Sand Dune Adventures “Tourist Attraction Winners”

2013 & 2014  Port Stephens Examiner Annual Business Awards
GOLD WINNERS – Best Tourist Attraction
Winners were announced across over 30 categories at the  Port Stephens Annual Business Awards held at Wests Nelson Bay. The night was attended by more than 550 of Port Stephens community.
Sand Dune Adventures were nominated in the Tourist Attraction Category. SDA were so surprised to get a phone call telling us that we had been nominated and then voted in by the public.

For the staff that attended on the night we were very surprised & happy to win the Tourist Attraction category..