Hello Members, Staff, Board and Associate Members,
It’s great to be back after a month off. I am going to admit that I throughly enjoyed being in the fresh air from dawn to dusk but its time to get back to the desk! There is plenty going on and I’m getting my head back in the game. I want to thank all the people who picked up the slack while I took time off. The Board and particularly executive members, staff who worked through long task lists, Sharon our book keeper and all of the group coordinators who have assisted with many tasks, but also cooled their heels with queries while I took a break! A big shout out to you all!
A special thank you to Simon Fisher from Friends of Federation Hill. Simon has previously donated IT equipment after the closure of his business. Last week, Simon popped into the office with a further extremely generous donation of IT items to assist us in setting up hot desks for staff and volunteers as well items which will assist as the Baranduda Fields Ecohub expands to incorporate the Our Native Garden nursery at its new site.
Welcome to Alex Knight who has kindly volunteered to coordinate news articles for the WULN bulletin which at this stage we plan to disseminate to the broader community quarterly highlighting our achievements. Beck Humphreys our previous bulletin coordinator has done a fabulous job in years gone past, but is now fully occupied with volunteering at Our Native Garden Nursery. Thanks Beck for all your work in the past on the WULN bulletin! If you have a story or news article relating to your patch that you would like to share then please get in touch with Alex here.
The final designs for the expanded Our Native Garden Nursery have been completed by Urban Fields Consulting and Head and Humphreys Land Consultants and a planning permit for the works has been submitted to Council. This work is the culmination of input from a variety of people and I want to thank you all for your assistance. Dom and I will be briefing Our Native Garden Community, the Board and WULN coordinators on the plans and next steps.
In sad news, Parklands Albury Wodonga ceased trading on the 15th April 2026 after 27 years of operation. Parklands was a founding member of our Network and trading as a Company Limited by Guarantee, they employed a number of staff and were responsible for maintaining 2300 ha of crown land and a large network of bush parks and popular trails, including the High Country Rail Trail. Parklands worked closely in Wodonga with the Bhutanese and Community Multicultural Farm, Friends of Wodonga Rail Trail, Bonegilla and Tallangatta Rail Trail Advisory Groups and a huge number of volunteers and stakeholders. Our thoughts are with the PAW Board and Ant, Danny, Veronica and Tilak and all those who have come before, who have been instrumental in PAW’s many achievements. WULN has been working closely with Ant Packer to review how we can support PAW’s activities in the future. More information will be provided for Coordinators at the upcoming operational meeting and in future network updates.
Since returning from leave, I have received a number of queries over various issues in what I would broadly describe as the “advocacy” space. WULN regularly responds to formal calls for comment, particularly through the community engagement portals of government departments and Albury and Wodonga Councils, and we always welcome input from our members when compiling these responses. We work to align our submissions with our vision and mission, strategic plan, and other relevant planning documents, aiming to deliver constructive and considered feedback. In some cases, we may choose not to formally comment and instead offer to work alongside an organisation collaboratively to help build a plan or resolve an issue.
Please also be aware that all WULN member groups (whether incorporated or unincorporated) are welcome to provide comment in their own right, either as a collective response through their Group Coordinators or as individual members of the Wodonga community.
When communicating with other organisations, businesses or external stakeholders on behalf of a WULN member group, please be mindful of our broader reputation as a Network. WULN and its member groups have built strong relationships with many organisations, businesses and stakeholders over time. If you are unsure how to frame a response then please check in with the Facilitator so that a consistent and considered approach can be maintained.
Jo
Reminder for Group Coordinators.
Operations Meeting- Sunday 17th May (This Sunday) 10.30-12.30 @ Baranduda Fields
Agenda will include Project SPROUT final planning, new monitoring opportunities info and discussion, training needs, equipment needs, safety, final plans for Our Native Garden Nursery at Baranduda Fields, draft working alone policy, update re Parklands Albury Wodonga and WULN.
Survey of Volunteer recognition: Your opinion matters!
WULN’s volunteers are the heartbeat of Landcare in our region, and we want to make sure you feel genuinely valued for the incredible work you do. This short, anonymous survey helps us understand what recognition means to you — so we can make sure our appreciation lands in ways that actually count.
There are no right or wrong answers, just your honest experience. It takes around 5–10 minutes and your responses will directly shape how we (WULN, group coordinators and partners) recognise and celebrate volunteers going forward.
Thank you — your feedback is important!
Safety
A number of sample risk assessment forms have been added to our website to help groups with their legislative safety obligations.
New Policies
The Board recently approved three new policies which can be found along with our suite of other policy documents here.
The Gift Fund Policy which relates to the management of funds received as part of our Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status . A Sourcing Funds Policy and Profit Reinvestment and Reserves Policy have also been developed.