Contact your Project Officer for site suggestions or you may already have selected an area that may be suitable in which case find out if the area is already a ‘Patch’. You may be able to join their group instead of forming your own.
If the area you are interested in is not already a ‘Patch’:
Contact the Project Officer for that area.
Talk to the property owner or local Council to discuss their plans for the area and any possible restrictions which may apply.
Think about who else may wish to be involved? Find out if there are any other Patches close by, or other groups who may be conducting similar activities. Contact schools, clubs, residents and other groups who may be interested.
Set up a meeting with all the interested parties to discuss what area to adopt, what activities could be undertaken in your Patch and the degree of commitment each individual or group is prepared to give to the Patch (It has been shown that volunteers need to spend about three hours per month at their Patch and great improvements can happen and don’t forget your groups members will also need to be prepared to spend time in meetings and on administrative chores). Note: when defining the boundaries of your Patch, it is better to start small - you can enlarge the area once your group is more established.
If you feel you have a core group of individuals who are prepared to make a long term, regular commitment to the Patch move onto the next step.
Organise your group.
Give your group a name (this usually correlates with the Patch name).
Determine just how much time your group members are willing to devote to your Patch. As mentioned above volunteers need to spend about three hours per month at their Patch and don’t forget your group will also need to be prepared to allocate time to meetings and for administrative activities.
Conduct a site assessment of your Patch. Think about what should or should not be there and how you can make changes. Your Project Officer will be able to assist you here, if required.
Prepare an Action Plan for your Patch. In this you need to outline your group's aims and objectives, goals, other interested parties, a timeline and the resources needed to achieve your aims (There are ideas for activities to include in your plan below). Again you are welcome to contact your Project Officer for assistance in this process.
Contact your Our Patch Project Officer for help obtaining the resources you need. They will be able to provide information on potential funding to support your group's activities, suggest equipment or training you might need, and provide technical information relevant to your site.
Top
Activity ideas for groups developing an Action Plan
Activities conducted by your group will depend on the needs of your Patch, your group, its aims and number of members. Below are some examples of activities however that your group may consider undertaking:
Find out any relevant history of the area (local residents and local libraries are often a wealth of information).
Survey the vegetation (with your Project Officer), to establish what native and exotic plants are present, make recommendations for revegetation and find out what would have been there originally.
Start a revegetation program, involving identification and removal of introduced species and replacing them with locally indigenous vegetation (using appropriate provenance seed, approved by your Project Officer).
Have regular litter collection days, monitor what type and amount of litter is being collected and publicise this information in the local press.
Establish a photographic record (different seasons and before/after activities). Ask your Project Officer for advice on setting up photo-monitoring points.
Regularly observe and record the changes in your Patch (may include water quality changes Waterwatch can help with this - Your local schools may also be involved in water quality monitoring, perhaps you can work together), vegetation and birds and animals attracted to your site).
Keep the local community informed about your actions through the local press or radio, organise for local schools to visit your Patch or prepare information leaflets about your activities or catchment issues such as water quality, flora and fauna and impacts on the marine and coastal environment.
Back to Our Patch / Catchment Care
Top