The research team have had a busy couple of weeks on their final stretch of data collection. On May 9, Ascelin, Jasmine and Sayed facilitated a focus group workshop at our Trust for Nature case study site: Mount Elephant Reserve, Victoria.

Jointly managed by Trust for Nature and local communities, Mt Elephant is a well-preserved scoria cone with a deep crater and high geological value (Kendal et al. 2002). The workshop was a success and the participants expressed that they thoroughly enjoyed discussion that unfolded throughout the activities. One participant described the value they got out of the workshop in the following quotes:

“This cross fertilisation of ideas, thoughts and understandings allowed for even deeper discoveries and understandings which have already allowed the Mount Elephant community members to be inspired to newer levels of vision for Mount Elephants future.”

“Another valuable outcome from participating in this workshop space, was clearly observed two nights later, when we all attended our Mount Elephant monthly committee meeting.  The bonds of friendship had been strengthened and the unity of thought, a stronger common vision was observed.”

From May 13-18, Jasmine and Kylie embarked on a trip to the Bush Heritage case study site: Scottsdale Reserve, New South Wales. They interviewed conservation volunteers in situ, while participating in volunteering activities themselves—removing tree guards and planting new trees around the property. With the collective effort of the group of volunteers, 1,438 trees were planted over one weekend! 

During the trip, 19 in-person interviews were conducted at Scottsdale and Canberra. Jasmine has been leading online interviews with volunteers who couldn’t make it to the tree planting weekend—bringing the total to 26 interviews with Scottsdale volunteers so far. 

With the fieldwork for the project coming to an end, the coming months will be dedicated to analysing the data and writing up the results. 

References

Kendal, L., OíMay, J., Ross, J., 2002. Mount Elephant Management Plan. Prepared for the Mount Elephant Community Management Inc. and Trust for Nature. 1-61.