Guest speakers will be Julie Amos (General Manager and Co CEO) and Lyn Wallis (Artistic Director and Co CEO) of Hothouse Theatre spoke to us about what is coming up in the 2018 season. Hothouse Theatre has recently celebrated their 20^th year of bringing original Australian works here to the Border for our enjoyment and they have eight shows booked in for 2018 including 2 shows suitable for the kids (in my case the grand kids). We are lucky to have such a theatre company in our area and I’m proud to say that I have been a regular subscriber since moving to the area in 2001.

Kylie Doherty from Delta Therapy Dogs spoke about Our world class program is the largest of its kind in Australia with over 1000+ volunteers and their special dogs making regular visits to health care facilities to offer the wonderful benefits of pet therapy, spend time with patients and offer a chat, a floppy ear to listen and a paw to shake.There are currently over 850 facilities involved nationally ranging from aged care through to acute care hospitals for children and adults as well mental health, prisons and dementia                                                     specific facilities.

James Jenkins is the Director of the Community and Recreation at AlburyCity. His responsibilities include community development and services, children’s services, cultural services, parks, recreation and leisure facilities. James has qualifications in horticulture and arboriculture and has significant local government and governance experience.He has also been a Director of Parks & Leisure Australia for over ten years; four of those as Finance Director. He is currently the Chairperson of the Wonga Wetlands Conservation Association Board; and Public Officer and Director of the Albury Conservation Company. James is passionate about integrating the social and cultural aspects of our lives, with the natural and built environment. James has overseen the development and implementation of the Murray River Experience Master Plan and believes this key Council project is core to achieving the community’s vision for its relationship to the Murray River environment. Delivering Experiences on the Murray River and Lake Hume. The community and Council’s vision is to create better connections between the community and its greatest natural resources, the Murray River and Lake Hume. James will outline how better connections can be achieved including the Wagirra Trail and associated works which are being built and managed under AlburyCity’s Aboriginal Employment and Training Program. The Wagirra Trail crew is working on construction and land conservation tasks and has completed significant projects including the Kremur Street Boat Ramp and Oddies Creek Adventure Playground. Unlike many short-term employment initiatives, the Wagirra Trail traineeships are three years in duration and aim to develop future leaders and mentors in the Aboriginal community. The presence of an Aboriginal workforce within Albury City Council has far reaching benefits for the whole community and is a tangible step towards Reconciliation.

Guest Speaker Paul Childs, is the Senior Environmental Water Management Officer with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and is based in Albury. He is part of a small team that helps plan and coordinate the delivery of environmental water in the Murray and Lower Darling valleys. Paul has worked in Natural Resource Management for the past 20 years, as a trained forester with the NSW Forestry Commission, with the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, and now with the OEH. OEH works with a range of stakeholders (including farmers, irrigation corporations, Aboriginal groups, Commonwealth and state government agencies, river operators, recreational fishers, non-government organisations, etc) to develop and implement environmental watering strategies across NSW. OEH is also responsible for developing Long Term Environmental Watering Plans for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in NSW.

The Murray Darling Basin Plan provides a rare opportunity to achieve balanced social, cultural, economic and environmental outcomes for our connected river systems.Native fish populations across the Murray Darling Basin are in decline due to a number of impacts including regulation, changed flow patterns, reduced habitat, barriers to movement and water quality issues. The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) is looking at opportunities of how environmental water management can help address some of these impacts and focus on improving flow, habitat and connectivity requirements for native fish. This presentation outlines some of the opportunities that are available to improve native fish populations and how through collaboration and partnerships positive outcomes can be achieved at a Basin scale.