Kerrod Trott 
John Campbell remembers the founding of the Willunga Hillsface Landcare Group.
It was 1995, our Group was four years old. We had a strong committee with a balance of practical, science and management skills and most importantly, enthusiasm. We had already worked with Adelaide University Geography Department to produce a landmark research document ‘The Environmental History of the Willunga Basin’. This had indicated that vegetation not only increases above ground biodiversity, but also soil biodiversity, improving soil structure, increasing water absorption and potentially leading to less flooding and an increase in aquifer recharge. These are important considerations for irrigators, both grape and vegetable.
At that time we were also on the cusp of being funded to begin our ‘Regreen the Range’ project, the vegetation of 3000ha of barren, denuded Willunga- Sellicks hillsface. These were exciting times and our group needed to share widely our enthusiasm with the community.
However also within our Group there was an awareness that even though planting trees plays a vital and critical role in the healing of our lands, it is only a band aid unless there is a fundamental change in the thinking and actions of our communities. Our thoughts were that we needed to bring people together face to face perhaps even over a cup of tea, to share experiences and to grow a deeper understanding of the area they live and work in. A Shop front, accessible, open at convenient times, access to information and friendly knowledgeable local staff seemed to go some way towards growing this. The following is some of the steps that took a community environment centre thought bubble from a vision to reality. This all happened over thirty years ago and has been recognised as the first in SA and Australia.
Our Group first discussed the idea with the other local Landcare group’s Presidents, Richard Bennet of Hope Forest and the late Sue Regioni of the Port Willunga Group. They were enthusiastic and agreed to be partners in the project but were aware that there would be challenges ahead. We were then fortunate that Russell Jeavons offered us the two small front rooms of his busy celebrated wood-fired Pizza-oven Restaurant at 13 High St., Willunga. These rooms were of low rent and close to the Bank and the Bakery, both busy, with many passer-by customers. We jumped at the opportunity, but there was a problem. We had no money to spend on rents and accessories needed to operate an office. This is where our Treasurer/secretary John Carey, a very experienced manager in an earlier life, understood that this office facility could be used economically as a strong promoter for all of our Landcare project activities and thus a portion of our grant’s promotion funds could contribute to its cost budget. John played a significant role in helping to drive this venture as he also did when we were collaborating with the universities. He then calculated a total year’s budget, covering all costs including office staffing valued at $10 per hour. In the planning stages it was envisaged that each group would contribute the number of volunteer hours according to their ability to pay cash for items such as rent, electricity, telephone, etc.. We intended that our opening hours would be 6hrs/day 5 days a week and 3hrs on Saturday morning. The total annual budget’s ranged between $6,000 to $12,000pa. over most of the period of operation. We were fortunate that L.E.T.S. South, a Community Goods and Service Exchange group, still in the early stage of development, chaired by Will Heidt were keen to be a partner in this land mark environment office venture. In those early years they played a significant role in helping to staff the centre. I have happy memories of working with Will to set up the office displays.
In this same time period we held a meeting where most of the environment groups of our Willunga Basin area attended and all were enthusiastic about the formation of this environment centre. The Groups involved in the establishing of the centre were the Willunga Hillsface, Hope Forest and Port Willunga Landcare groups, the LETS group, Trees for Life, Friends of the Aldinga Scrub, Friends of the Earth, Southern Environment Group and the Friends of the Willunga Basin. The old Willunga Council were strong supporters, as was the Onkaparinga council later on.
The Office was christened ‘Willunga Community Landcare Centre’ and opened in early May 1995. It was strategic to adopt the Landcare name not only because it was widely accepted by farmers and the wider community but also because the Centre’s budget was to come out of the Hillsface grant ‘promotion funds’ and it was important to recognise the Funding organisations contribution. The total annual budget’s ranged between $6,000 and $12,000pa over most of our period of operation. Those early years were difficult, especially in the organising of staffing rosters. However we were very fortunate in having the support of the LETS group and the hard working efforts of our Office Manager, Karin Edwards. Karin was manager for at least six years. She nurtured the volunteers and gave the Centre a sense of stability. Similarly, we had the late Shirley Worsfold another wonderful person and Office Manager who continued in the same role in the Office after it became Incorporated and renamed as the Willunga Environment Centre. Shirley also played a critical role in those early teething years after incorporation.
One of the highlights of the old Landcare Centre was the recognition of our ‘Willunga Centre Model’ by other groups and the formation of at least six other environment centres across the Mt Lofty Ranges. Another was in August 2003, when the office moved across the road, to a larger shop front premises in an even better position, with even an increase in people traffic. It was here that we won a community grant that allowed John Edemedes to paint a wonderful mural on our front entrance wall, reflecting the history and geography of our area. These were interesting times. We had several visits each by the Federal Minister of Environment, Ian Campbell and later the next Federal Minister for Environment, Greg Hunt. One particular memorable visit, was when taking the honourable Minister, Ian Campbell on a tour from the Centre around the ‘Regreen the Range’ sites, we were held up on a lonely track, buy a posse of community people masquerading as an ‘indigenous’ war party. I remember that I was quite worried but he took it in good spirit.
Over the eleven years there were many interesting times. After ten years in May 2004 the ‘Willunga Community Landcare Centre’ was included in the Mt Lofty Zone and its funding increased from $12,000 to close to $60,000. This precipitated the need for the Centre to have its own incorporation, separating from the Landcare Group and needing its own committee. They chose a new name, ‘Willunga Environment Centre’. This occurred on the 1st October 2005.
This was a difficult time for our Landcare Group almost overnight we lost half of our committee to the Centre and had the onerous task of rebuilding. I had some mixed feelings at the time, but was pleased that the Environment Centre got the strong support of community and Government after all these years.
Operating the Centre and organising our large re-vegetation project was a significant task and being able to concentrate only on “Regreen the Range’ was most valuable.
I am thrilled to see how the Willunga Environment Centre has gone from strength to strength.
John Campbell
President
Willunga Hillsface Landcare Group
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