1

TThhee RReevviivvaall ooff TTaammmmiinn:: AA CCaassee SSttuuddyy

by

Neil Coles, Andrea Hammond, Josef Hewber and Garry Scadding

October, 2004

Murdoch Uninversity

2

The Revival of Tammin: A Case Study: Using an integratedapproach to catchment management to ensure sustainable outcomes to the

agricultural industry, farming community and the environment.Prepared by:

Neil ColesPostgraduate student Business and Information Technology,

Murdoch UniversitySenior Research Officer Dept. of Agriculture.

Andrea HammondMasters in Ecological Sustainable Development

Murdoch University;Josef Hewber

Undergraduate student English and Industrial and Organizational Psychology,Murdoch University;

Garry ScaddingUndergraduate student, Environmental Science/Sustainable Development,

Murdoch University.

IntroductionThis is a story about a small wheatbelt town that refused to die and how people mobilisedto turn around their destiny. This feisty small community was faced with disappearingservices and farm amalgamations. With a strong connection to their community and thepioneering spirit, they formed the Farmdale Company, the Tammin Action Group and theTammin Landcare project to save their town and community. The purpose of this casestudy is to identify the underlying contributing factors for Tammin’s success in addressingeconomic, ecological, social and cultural sustainability. The contributing factors werefound to be: community citizenship1; integration of the principles of sustainability;implementation of best farming practices; multiple enduring partnerships; a cultural valuefor Landcare and a historic propensity for community action.BackgroundTammin is a small rural community of about 450 people situated about 175 km east ofPerth on the Great Eastern Highway. Even before settlement, large areas of the TamminShire were naturally saline. After clearing the native vegetation and decades of poor landmanagement practices, large areas of the shire were affected by increasing salinity,waterlogging, soil structural decline and soil acidity, which impacted on the productivity ofthe region and its landholders. By the late 1980’s up to 17 percent of the Shire wasthought to be affected by salinity problems, Tammin was considered to be the most saltaffected Shire in the state, and native or remnant vegetation was estimated to cover only 4percent of the Shire.During this time the Tammin community was in gradual decline (see Appendix 1) due tofarm amalgamations and loss of local jobs. The population of Tammin Shire declined from679 in 1961 to about 450 by 1991. The number of land holdings had declined from 87 in1960 to 49 in 1991. As the recession hit the farmers in the early 1980’s, the problemsassociated with unsustainable land management practices causing loss of productivity

1 Winner, L. 1992. Citizen Virtues in a Technological Order, Inquiry, 35, 341-61

3

became more apparent. The community realized it had to mobilize to counter theseimpacts.How it beganFarmdale the community companyThe community formed an action plan to redress the situation. The Farmdale CommunityCompany was set up in 1987 as an incorporated body with 49 local shareholders.Farmdale was used as a vehicle to manage in-town and regional services and purchasedthe vacant service station.In October of that year, Farmdale negotiated a lease for the Tammin Hotel. By the end of1988, the directors of Farmdale had identified other opportunities for improvement andwanted to effectively involve other members of the community to retain services.The beginnings of Landcare and a shared community visionAt a community ‘Think Tank,' the Community recognized that Tammin had a history ofvery productive farming and this strength could be built upon. The Tammin Action Group(TAG) was formed in April 1989. TAG was the first group in the Wheatbelt to foster thedevelopment and application of innovative farm practices and to adopt Landcareprinciples towards sustainable production methods. The purpose of the group was to setcommunity social, environmental and economic investment priorities and goals and tocreate an environment for community-based-citizenship,2 3consensus decision-makingand a shared vision.Through the Tammin Land Care project the community was able to redress land and waterdegradation issues facing landholders in the district. The Project was based on thecommunity realizing that past land clearing and farming practices had been damaging thefragile environment and sound land care guidelines for the future were necessary. TAGproduced an action plan to build a more environmentally stable and productive ruralcommunity. The project was described by the press of the day as being ‘…Unique in bothits depth and scope in assisting Tammin farmers in their struggle to develop sustainableagricultural systems and also provide resources for use by others throughout the regionwith similar problems…’ 4.The land care project was directly aimed at farmers in the district and those in the SouthTammin Catchment took to the project like ducks to water. The average age of people inthis group at its inception was 32. A generational change in land management andinvestment was possible.The Tammin Development Plan was based on emerging trends, so that the communitycould position itself to take full advantage of these trends as they continued to force thepace of change. The plan consisted of a three-pronged strategy:

1. Development of Tammin as a land conservation and rehabilitation model for theWheatbelt and the whole of Western Australia;

2. Encouragement of the involvement and development of business in the town;3. Provision and encouragement of greater employment opportunities for the

Aboriginal members of our community.5

2 Aristotle, Politics, trans. Jowett, Benjamin, 1984, The complete works of Aristotle, vol. II, ed.Barnes, Jonathan. Princton University Press, Princton. p.19873 Winner, L. 1992. Citizen Virtues in a Technological Order, Inquiry, 35, 341-614 TAG press release 1989 p.1 - Tammin Action Group (TAG), 1989. Strategies for Development.TAG Planning Document.5 Tammin Action Group (TAG), 1989. Strategies for Development. TAG Planning Document.

4

To work on Strategy one, a detailed copy of the development plan was delivered to theRegional Development Minister in May 1989. The plan used the three-pronged strategyembracing the philosophy of sustainability through the integration of social, economic andenvironmental factors. The Plan stated that the ‘…full potential will only be achieved ifeach facet is fully exploited’6.Through the Tammin Development Plan, TAG was able to organize a significant numberof firsts in sustainability and community participation. In 1990, TAG organized and hosteda two day Tammin Land Care Expo in partnership with the Shire, Department ofAgriculture, industry suppliers, academics, politicians, farmers and others.In August 1990, the South Tammin Catchment group, with TAG support, securedsponsorship from Alcoa under the Alcoa Landcare Project. This was a five-year fundinginitiative developed as part of the National Decade of Landcare Program. Additionalsupport was coaxed from CSBP & Farmers Ltd who agreed to spend a proportion of itspledge of $2M to Landcare projects in the Tammin region to help redress potashdeficiency and declining soil nutrition. Greening Australia also funded the purchase of30 000 trees that were planted along the Warrengidging Brook.Educating the broader community in LandcareIn October 1991, the state’s first and only specialist Landcare Educational Centre wasopened in Tammin. This project was the result of partnerships with Alcoa, TAG, Shire ofTammin, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Tammin farmers and theNational Soil Conservation Program. The centre was hailed as bricks and mortor proofthat a small community can do something positive about its environment. The educationcentre was established to:

Provide a facility that would instill a Landcare ethic to local children and thosevisiting from Perth and the region.

Develop land care skills and values in the next generation. Develop a high quality facility that would be used as a model elsewhere. Provide an education centre where practical applications of Landcare methods

could be tried, examined and used as teaching facility. Provide a drop in centre for general public that passed through the township along

the Great Eastern Highway.In its inaugural year of operation one regional and twenty-seven metropolitan schoolsbooked educational training courses at the education centre. In 1991, the Shire ofTammin received the State Landcare Local Government Award in recognition for thedevelopment and support of the Centre.

Sustainability implications (economically, environmentally socially and culturally)Economic AssessmentIn 1996, the Department of Agriculture’s economics unit conducted an evaluation of thestate’s Landcare activities and four catchment groups were chosen, West Dale, GabbyQuoi Quoi, South Tammin and Morbinning, all of whom were sponsored by Alcoa. Thesegroups were chosen because of their accelerated on-ground works program andperceived success at adopting Landcare principles.7

6 ibid7 Campbell, C. and Herbert, A. 1996. Does Landcare pay? : Benefit and cost studies. Farmnote19/96. Department of Agriculture

5

Campbell and Herbert (1996) developed the following assessment structure: Total expenditure and benefit calculated across all farms in the catchments. Individual farms investment - compared with impact on that farm only. The individual strategy on each farm was assessed.

The analysis clearly demonstrated healthy benefit/cost ratio for South Tammin (1.67),Gabby Quoi Quoi (1.81) and Morbinning (2.34) at catchment scales with some externalinfluences causing a lower than expected return for West Dale (0.76). Profitability at farmscales was dependent on the level of investment and the strategies adopted and variedfrom benefit/cost ratios of 4.73 to 0.88 for farms in the South Tammin Catchment.Individual strategies conducted at the farm scale, also demonstrated a wide variation from3.1 for ‘Tagasaste’ to 0.74 for ‘Salt Bush,’ based purely on a dollar for dollar cash flow.These methods do not account for other potential benefits that might accrue from thesestrategies such as aesthetics, habitat creation and biodiversity recovery or reduced landdegradation.While this study was based purely on the manipulation of cash flow, the questions of whopays for Landcare and who benefits were also examined. Landcare activities can alsoprovide benefits to a wider section of the community and environment and thereby a widerrange of people. If this is the case then the following points could be made in terms ofcreating an environment for change:

firstly, if the wider community asks for these environmental and aesthetic benefits;and a user pays principle is applied; then the community through self or throughgovernment should also contribute, and;

secondly, if changed practices are to be adopted and a shift towards sustainablefarm and environmental practices is to be achieved, then issues of equity, cost andbenefit require consideration.

This issue of who should pay and who benefits was one of the fundamentals behind theinitiation of the ‘Decade of Landcare’ which provided an avenue for community tocontribute to change practices. Community involvement was encouraged and state andnational funding was provided. The funding provided a platform from which a communitylike Tammin was able to enhance their prospects of recovery.

Tagasaste planting in South Tammin

6

Contour farming in South TamminEnvironmental implicationsThrough the actions of TAG the Tammin Shire has become a focus for Landcare activitiesthroughout the 1990’s and has provided not only avenues for education, biodiversity and(re)-vegetation enhancement, but the landholders have also continued to invest inmodified or alternative farming practices. This is evidenced by the number of agriculturaltrials that have been conducted and continue to be conducted in the Tammin Shire. Thesetrials are associated with research into improved soil management8 9 10 and productionsystems11 12 13.In late 1991, an international group of scientist headed by Dr. Denis Saunders visitedTammin for an ecological workshop. The group discussed ways in which the Tamminregion could be rehabilitated, what might be required in terms of re-vegetation, remnantprotection, and financial investment. The results of the workshop were expected to bepublished worldwide and provide significant insights into the problems associated withrehabilitation of cleared landscapes and the associated problems of species decline,habitat destruction and land degradation. In conjunction with the economic benefitsgained TAG was successful in encouraging Greening Western Australia in partnershipwith Alcoa to include Tammin in the Living Landscapes Project, which commenced in1998. The project was aimed at helping landholders develop catchment/landscape natureconservation plans, which would:

prevent further loss of native plants and animals from the landscape, and; attract plants and animals back into the catchment to enhance the regions nature

conservation value.14

8 Hamsa, M.A., McConnell, G. and Anderson, W.K. 2002. Economics of improving compact soils.Planfarm. Department of Agriculture. GRDC Project. No. DAW 343.9 Hamsa, M.A. and Penny, S. 2002. Treatment of compacted soils in the eastern wheatbelt.Farmnote 26/2002. Department of Agriculture.10 Penny, S. 2001. Soil Acidity in the Central Region. Western Australian Soil Acidity Researchand Development. Dryland Research Institute Report. Department of Agriculture, Merredin.11 Seymour, M. 2001. Finishing cattle on tagasaste. Farmnote 51/2001. Department of Agriculture12 Kelly, S. and Sharma, S. 2002. Impact of root lesion nematodes on wheat and triticale in WesternAustralia. Department of Agriculture. GRDC Project. No. DAW 623.13 Gethin, C. 1998. TopCrop Kits-media release. Primary Focus. Spring Ed. No. 2 1998.14 Rowley, T. 1998. Integrating nature conservation with our farming landscapes. LivingLandscapes, Issue No. 2. Sep. 1998

7

Saltbush planting in valley floors and salt affected areas

Recovery of native vegetation Bush corridors along roads to connect remnant vegetationPart of these strategies involved developing bush corridors that provided access betweenareas of remnant vegetation. The resumption and extension of road reserves as seen inthe figure in part achieved this. Alley farming techniques and re-vegetation strategiesassisted in replacing some of the habitat lost due to clearing. Tammin still has a way to gowith only a small percentage of the original vegetation remaining in fragmented pockets15

and up to 17 percent affected by salinity.Over 290,000 tree seedlings were delivered and planted, and 240km of fencing installed inthe six Alcoa sponsored catchments in the Avon Valley during 1991. In November 1991,Dennis and Jos Chatfield were presented with the ‘Golden Tree Award’ for innovation infarming and outstanding leadership in Landcare activities. The award recognised thedevelopment of a direct tree-seeding machine and for innovation across a broad spectrumof farm management techniques.Social Processes and Social Capital

15 Hobbs, R.J and Saunders, D.A. 1993. Reintegrating fragmented landscapes: Towardssustainable production and nature conservation. Springer-Verlag NY p332.

8

The projects in Tammin were and are facilitated by strong, committed, consensus-basedlocal leaders and outsiders. Mike Moran stated that ‘A program is only as good as itspeople’ and ‘social dynamics make or break programs.'’16.The constituents of the Tammin community took charge of their community’s demise andexercised their democratic citizenship17. Democratic citizenship is the process whereideas sourced from within the community are floated and then consensus is achieved.This concept fits more precisely for Tammin than consensus decision-making, as the latterhas all too often become a process of imposing an outsider’s preconceived plans and thenfacilitating the process of achieving consensus from the community to gain (reluctant)ownership. Tammin people owned their decision to focus on landcare because thisdecision arose from a community meeting in the town hall. Having decided on the courseof action Tammin people were happy to seek partnerships with others to achieve theirgoals.Two outsiders who helped Tammin achieve goals were Wendy Diamond from theDepartment of Agriculture, and John Collett, Alcoa. Wendy visited each farmer, from eachcatchment, to do personal visioning with each farmer. They both attended the catchmentgroup meetings which enabled some farmers to go from a position of not trusting Alcoa orthe young woman from the Department of Agriculture, to establishing a strong bond whichdeveloped into trust in the integrity of the two. The amount of time spent in one-on-oneconversations with farmers would not please economic rationalists but did work and wasrequired to develop the necessary social capital to bring abut change and the forging ofnew partnerships. It is evident then, that the foundation for developing lasting attitudechange can’t be hurried and are more likely to be effective if a person’s sense of values istouched or altered.John Collett helped the farmers build capacity in their group decision- making andempowered farmers to speak passionately in public about their Landcare successes andvision. This was facilitated by allowing Tammin farmers to listen to Victorian catchmentfarmers speak about their projects. Tammin farmers were able to see how well they weredoing by national standards, which built more confidence and justified pride. Now, thesepublic speaking skills are important for many reasons, including the farmers’ involvementin the Tammin Alcoa Landcare Education centre (TALEC) programs.The development of different projects and strategies through the actions of Farmdale andTAG has enabled the community, both towns' people and farmers to become empoweredand provide opportunities for citizenship18 and self-development. Two external facilitators,Ernesto Sirolli and Harry Martin applauded Tammin’s community processes. Ernesto,amongst other roles, was acting as consultant to the Department of Premier and Cabinet.Harry was a community development officer from Tupelo, Mississippi19. Ralph Goodwin, alocal at the time, also understood the importance of getting everyone involved and wasable to provide the community with much needed skills in information technology. Ralphwas one name among many that assisted in developing the Tammin community andlandcare projects. There appears to have been a critical mass of the right people, at theright place, with the right funding, the right attitude and with heaps of goodwill.The Tammin community decided what they wanted to do, when they wanted to do it andso they owned and developed their own projects. They were incharge of their projects and

16 M. Moran (personal communication 12 Mar. 2004)17 Winner, L. 1992. Citizen Virtues in a Technological Order, Inquiry, 35, 341-6118 Winner, L. 1992. Citizen Virtues in a Technological Order, Inquiry, 35, 341-6119 Harry Martin recently relinquished presidency of Community Development Facilitator (CDF) forTupelo, Mississippi

9

they invited others to invest and establish partnerships with them to achieve their goals.This was a key to their success. Tammin attracted committed people who complimentedtheir own commitment, and important industry and community synergies evolved.Culture – building on existing cultural valuesIn Tammin there are definitely some ingrained cultural values that have arisen from livingin one of the smallest regional shires in the state. There is an accepted assumption thatworking together to create services and a community life is the way it is done and alwayswill be.Value shifts in farmers towards a care of the land ethic, have been noticeable through thedecade of Landcare. Fay Chatfield tells the story of a farmer who fenced off his salt landright to the edge, but the posts went rusty because he was so worried about wasting thesmallest bit of good land. Fay says "you don’t hear stories like this any more. On thecontrary, some farmers are now fencing off good land for wildlife corridors"20.There has also been a cultural shift around the inclusion of women in Landcare projects.Women have bought values that go well with Landcare. In Tammin, this means that thewhole family comes to meetings, Busy Bees and catchment work blurs into social time.Children are growing up with the ethos that civic activity is fun and normal. The annualGreening Australia camp-out, by all descriptions, is definitely fun.Since its inception in 1990 the TALEC has greatly influenced land care values in the state.The TALEC has continued to go from strength to strength, with strong support from theTALEC committee, Tammin community, Local Government, State Government andindustry partners. The centre has developed a nationally recognized and highly regardedLandcare Education Professional Development Course. In September 2000, nearly 10years after the Centre opened, the 1000th Landcare professional completed the program21.By the end of 2002, 1100 teaching professionals had completed the course and over7,000 students had participated in hands on Landcare field study programs at the Centre22.TALEC received the Western Australian Landcare award in 2001.The breadth and depth of impact of these courses is considerable. A very largepercentage of the teachers attending the professional development courses had notpreviously visited the wheatbelt. The teachers gain ideas for integrating sustainabilityeducation into all subject areas and are brought up to speed on their Landcare knowledge,before bringing their students for the residential field study program. One school has beenvisiting every year for 10 years. The children take their experiences home and educateparents and extended family in the principles of Landcare and sustainability.The positive impacts of the Landcare education centre go on and on. An Elders employeeattended the professional development program, was so impressed he encouraged thosein the Elders Australia hierarchy to give funding for TALEC’s proposed Landcareextension program. The program has been offered to adults and children who live longdistances from Tammin, and courses have been run by TALEC in Geraldton, Esperance,Albany, Narrogin and Gnowangerup with programs planned for the Kimberley andGoldfields. The empowerment story goes on too. Mike Moran, the instigator of thisextension program, built the capacity of the local people in these towns, from theenvironment based organizations and the farmers, and they do the sustainabilityeducation for their teachers and children in their own town.

20 F. Chatfield (Personal Communications 9 Mar. 2004)21 Ear to the ground. Landcare Education Newsletter Issue 3: October 200022 Ear to the ground. Landcare Education Newsletter Issue 3: October 2001

10

ConclusionsImportance of the integration of economic, ecological, social and cultural issuesHistorically, Landcare, as the name implies is about Natural Resource Management andenvironmental issues. The Tammin Landcare project however, is an example of thesuccess that can be achieved from the synergies brought about by the integration ofsocio-cultural, economic and environmental factors. In Tammin we saw that the potentialloss of the township was the driver for community action.It could be argued that is was the social and service aspects that the people in the shiredidn’t want to loose. It could be argued that people in the shire could shop in Cunderdin orKellerberrin and children could be bussed to these towns to attend school. There wouldhave been inconveniences and loss of quality of life, however, people could buy in bulkfrom out of town and perhaps buy more cheaply. But, the sense of place, sense of identity,pride and loyalty to the town built on the foundation of Tammin’s one hundred years of verystrong civic tradition23 meant that an enormous amount of community history and servicewould be lost and with it, a marked reduction in quality-of-life.The creation of TAG in 1989 set in chain a series of events that resulted in continuedinvestment in the Tammin Shire and created a framework and ideology that has beenexported to other areas of the Avon and the State. In a review of the Alcoa Catchments,Nabben (1999)24 concluded that there was an appropriate application of incentives in theform of funds, development of group understanding, social cohesion and provision oftechnical support. Our analyses have demonstrated that facilitated actions can build onexisting community pride and there is a fundamental need to build people’s capacity andleadership. True integration of social, economic and ecological factors are necessary forsuccess in Landcare and rural town sustainability. Putnam (2000) researched civictradition and found that communities that have a history of cooperation, spontaneousvolunteerism and trust, have social capital. He states ‘like other forms of capital, socialcapital is productive, making possible the achievement of certain ends that would not beattainable in its absence’25.Importance of PartnershipsFacilitators like Ernesto Sirolli and Harry Martin encouraged the Tammin community tosee that after visioning and planning they need to build partnerships for funding andtechnical support. Tammin was fortunate that Alcoa had earmarked funding for largeprojects as part of its national contribution to the Decade of Landcare. Tammin had tocompete for more than eighteen months with much larger towns and towns that had veryvisible assets like the Avon River before the funds were awarded. John Collett of Alcoachampioned Tammin's case when he saw Tammin’s community spirit. At that time Alcoahad only funded projects that were geographically close to their operations. As thedevelopment of partnerships with the corporate sector was a new experience, somefarmers were suspicious about Alcoa’s motivation. However, John Collett was particularlyskilled in his role as liaison officer and trust was built between Alcoa and farmers.The Tammin projects have all been possible due to multiple partnerships at two levels, thefirst driven by a local support officer that seeks to engage external partners to develop new

23 Repton, D. 1999. Wheat, Wool and Wodjil: A Tribute to the people and events that molded thedistrict of Tammin, Access Press, Bassendean, Western Australia.24 Nabben, T. 1999. Funding to community Landcare groups in Western Australia: A powerful ‘newgeneration’ of soil conservation incentives. In Incentives in soils conservation: from theory topractice. Eds. Sanders, Huszar, Sombatpanit and Enters. Science Publishers, Inc. USA.25 Putnam, R. 2000. Bowling Alone, The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon andSchuster, New York. p.167

11

projects, with the second being driven by the community or farmers that seek newinformation or techniques26. The Tammin group were successful at forming strongpartnerships with industry (Alcoa, CSBP, GRDC), government (NHT, WRC, DAWA) andwithin their community. However, resources in the form of funding and technical adviceare much more difficult to access now (2004) than at the beginning of the Tammin projectsin the later part of the 20th Century. The Department of Agriculture and Water and RiversCommission (WRC) has rationalised services and Alcoa no longer funds catchmentgroups. In the last 18 months to 2 years there has been a hiatus in Landcare funding asthe Federal government restructures funding allocation through the National Action Planfor Salinity and Water Quality (NAP) and National Heritage Trust (NHT2) programs. FayChatfield commented that she doesn’t know how newly established catchment groups willmanage in the current climate27 or how the existing groups can retain their experiencedadvisory networks.Policy ImplicationsThe ecological changes in Tammin were the result of whole of town changes. Landcarecertainly is not about technical advice alone. It is clear that Tammin created their owncommunity development model of which Landcare became one of the goals. In terms ofpolicy and funding we see that land care and community renewal cannot be considered inisolation from each other. Community renewal requires simultaneous economic,ecological, social and cultural development.The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation28 report on Small TownRenewal states that there are five specific process elements that are necessary forsuccessful town renewal. Tammin has all five of the process elements, these being:

an expression of healthy frustration with the status quo and a willingness to exploreand experiment with developing innovative solutions and options;

the demonstration of a positive mindset, passion and opportunism; the use of appropriate community planning and development processes; the implementation of a comprehensive and locally owned and resourced local

economic development agenda; the presence and continuous renewal of local leadership.

The fundamental phenomenon that is Tammin, that which holds the five processingredients together, is the fact that Tammin has a strong foundation of social capital. Alogical conclusion here is that Landcare District Coordinators could be selected for theiraptitude in developing and extending social capital.The Avon Catchment Council is developing the Salinity Investment Framework, inconjunction with government agencies, to explore the issue of how funding could bedistributed. One of the criticisms of the 'Decade of Landcare' and the preceding 5 years ofNational Heritage Trust (NHT) funding is that some locations and projects seemed to begranted unwarranted precedence for funding provision. However, the claim of‘unwarranted precedence of fund allocation’ levelled at Tammin by some catchmentgroups is unsubstantiated when consideration of the abundant social capital evident in

26 Knell, G. 1998. South Tammin Focus Group Catchment Report. SRD Program. Dept. of Agric.p81.27 F. Chatfield (Personal communications, 9 March. 2004). Matt Hocking (PersonalCommunication 2nd Mar. 2004) also confirms this dilemma – there is very little work being done inthe Bungulla catchment due to scarcity of funds.28 Kenyon, P and Black, A. 2001, Small Town Renewal: Overview and Case Studies, A report forthe Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Union Offset, Canberra.

12

Tammin and the significance of social capital to the success of projects is taken intoaccount. Those working on the Salinity Investment Framework are now aware that socialcapital should be a legitimate consideration in the allocation of funds, even though theevaluation of social capital is proving difficult.Burnside (2003)29 concluded that social assets needed to be included as a distinctiveasset class (along with biodiversity, water resources, agricultural land and ruralinfrastructure). These assets were broadly defined as the ‘social wealth’ or ‘social capital’available at state, regional and local scales. Interestingly, the report also referred to theimportance of assessing a community’s cultural values with regard National ResourceManagement (NRM) goals.The Tammin projects had the same objectives, same parameters and same people fortwelve years. John Collett refers to this as 'constancy of purpose' and must be consideredin policy30. The catchment farmers had secured funding for five years and each year wereable to make decisions that benefited the whole catchment in the long term rather thanlobbying for investment on their property in the short term. The decisions around spendingthe funding occurred in a relaxed way in a shearing shed or a hall. There were nobureaucratic contracts. The group also benefited from bulk purchasing of fencingequipment and trees. Each of the above is very significant for policy and enactment ofpolicy.

29 Burnside, D. (2003), The Salinity Investment Framework Interim Report and Recommendationsfrom Phase I, draft report for Avon Catchment Council by URS Australia Limited.30 John Collet (Personal Communication, March 9 2004)

13

Global SignificanceIn 1992 the Tammin Project gained international recognition through the presentation ofthe program and its results to the international conference on Sustainable LandManagement held in Napier, NZ. The Tammin Catchment project and other catchmentssponsored under the Alcoa scheme won praise for:

encouraging co-operative action between local people catchment group organization education and training through farmer group workshops and field day programs providing advisors for catchment and farm planning, technical advice and group

assistance empowering farmers to become agents of their own future by enabling them to

understand their problems and agreeing among themselves to adopt workablesolutions

the principles and methods adopted by TAG and others were considered to beuniversally applicable and transferable to other areas in Australia and globally.

The following events indicate the kind of contribution that Tammin Landcare andTALEC are making to international land sustainability and international education ofcurrent and future generations: 35 agricultural and salinity scientists, leaders in their fields, from 17 countries,

including South Africa, Philippines, the United States, Canada, Thailand, Norway,Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom visited Tammin catchment areas andTALEC as part of a Sustainable Dryland Agriculture Conference in 2003.

The South African National Department of Agriculture is very interested in theLandcare catchment model and delegates have visited several times.

The South African Education system has replicated TALEC’s model of in-servicingteachers in integration of sustainability education into all subject areas. TedRowley, who was involved, was invited to see the program in action in SouthAfrica.

Senior Government officials including the Cabinet Secretary and other members ofthe board who manage the Jamaican bauxite industry and Jamalco employeesvisited TALEC as part of Alcoa’s Landcare Tours.

A group of farmers from Nebraska visited Tammin. A group of teachers from Zimbabwe visited and took copies of the education

programs. David Belamy visited Tammin catchments in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and

made the documentary ‘Wheat today. What tomorrow?’International visitors are interested in the on ground Landcare innovations, the way themany ongoing partnerships were formed and how TALEC is educating futuregenerations in sustainability. Tammin farmers are also visiting international locationsand are sharing information learnt from these visits.

14

Sustainability characteristics Developing and promoting of more sustainable farming practices Replanting local vegetation in corridors for wildlife habitat Sense of place provides motivation for sustainability of that place Maximization of economic, ecological, social and cultural assets in consensus

sustainability planning Education of current and future generations in land care The power and synergistic effects of partnerships between government

departments, local government, conservation groups and local community. People working together to achieve their outcomes from a mutual process The significant role that corporate funding and resources can play

Ingredients for successful sustainability projects Pool of strong local leaders and innovators, willing to engage with partners Enthusiastic community support Right place, right time, right people, right funding State, national and international recognition and promotion Integration of social, cultural economic and environmental assets and issues Cohesive plan and group commitment at time of funding application. Strong industry and government partnerships. Local financial investment Dynamic interactions between community and landholders. Sense of place Civic tradition Democratic citizenship processes Intergenerational interaction, support, trust and openness. tick

Insights and innovations Salinity and soil degradation are technical problems, the solution is sociological The catchment process, aided by partnerships, saw the invention of a process that

empowered farmers. Successful partnerships draw interest from other potential partners. Success

breeds success. Social dynamics make or break community-based programs Social capital like other forms of capital is productive Trust is critical in partnerships Bringing together many partners creates and atmosphere of vitality and diversity Community action is more successful when its fun Community self-determination is critical Community vision is critical

15

Community ownership of vision is critical Economic incentives are necessary and then farmers tend to match grants in time,

resources and money depending on seasonal conditions Technical support from socially skilled, experienced Landcare people is

necessary. An integrated landscape approach does help farmers to envision personal goals

within the catchment goals Community sustainability projects can be an incredibly exciting experience arising

from the mix of committed people working together on one process that deliversoutcomes for each stakeholder group.

Care must be taken to monitor potential burnout of very hard working people.

16

Keywords

Biodiversity Civic Engagement Civic Tradition Civic Trust Community Capacity Community Leadership Economic Diversity Farm System Innovation Greening Australia Indigenous Community Landcare Living Landscapes Partnerships Salinity Salinity Investment Framework Social Capital Spontaneous Volunteerism Sustainability

Websites http://afsa.asn.au/themespeakers.htm http://agspsrv34.agric.wa.gov.au/environment/SOILACIDITY/ http://agspsrv38.agric.wa.gov.au/servlet/page?_pageid=449&_dad=portal30&_sc

hema=PORTAL30 http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/images http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/environment http://www.alcoa.com/global/en/home.asp http://www.avonicm.org.au/PDF/Environmental%20Education%20-%20Tammin

%20Landcare.pdf http://www.cgiar.org/icraf http://www.ci.tupelo.ms.us/ http://www.deh.gov.au/land/publications/wildlife http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/env/2000/mr4jun00.html http://www.drought.unl.edu/pubs/dnn/arch28.pdf http://www.eddept.wa.edu.au/deo/MIDLANDS/ACN/Talec/index1.htm http://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/GA/NAT/

17

http://www.greeningaustralia.org.au/NR/rdonlyres/63014F70-1820-44B9-A126-61C31B0705E4/925/CommunityGrants.pdf

http://wwwistp.murdoch.edu.au/ http://gmr.landfood.unimelb.edu.au/rimmo/LCweb/directory.html http://www.members.iinet.net.au/~mdurcan/landcarevision http://www.ministers.wa.gov.au/Speeches/A03/landcarechance.pdf http://www.monktonwyld.co.uk/david_belamy_gold_award.htm http://www.nda.agric.za/loadme.html http://www.nht.gov.au/nht1/programs/bushcare http://www.nht.gov.au/nht1/programs/bushcare/waproj2.html http://www.rirdc.gov.au/ http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/HCC/01-043sum.htm http://www.salinity.org.au/ http://www.sirolli.com/ http://www.tammin.wa.gov.au

AcknowledgmentsWe gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the Tammin community for their comments,information provided and time spent speaking with us about the Tammin LandcareProjects. We thank people from the following organisations (past and current) that providecomment including, Alcoa (John Collett , Brian Doy), Minsitry of Education (Mike Moran,Micheal Burke, Trish Jansen), Local Government (Joan Button, Barry Leslie, StuartTaylor), and the Department of Agriculture (Harry Lauk, Ted Rowley).

18

ReferencesBurnside, D. (2003), The Salinity Investment Framework Interim Report andRecommendations from Phase I, draft report for Avon Catchment Council by URSAustralia Limited.Campbell, C. and Herbert, A. 1996. Does Landcare pay? : Benefit and cost studies.Farmnote 19/96. Department of AgricultureEar to the ground. Landcare Education Newsletter Issue 2: October 2001.Ear to the ground. Landcare Education Newsletter Issue 3: October 2000.Gethin, C. 1998. TopCrop Kits-media release. Primary Focus. Spring Ed. No. 2 1998.Hamsa, M.A., McConnell, G. and Anderson, W.K. 2002. Economics of improving compactsoils. Planfarm. Department of Agriculture. GRDC Project. No. DAW 343.Hamsa, M.A. and Penny, S. 2002. Treatment of compacted soils in the eastern wheatbelt.Farmnote 26/2002. Department of Agriculture.Hobbs, R.J and Saunders, D.A. 1993. Reintegrating fragmented landscapes: Towardssustainable production and nature conservation. Springer-Verlag NY p.332.Kelly, S. and Sharma, S. 2002. Impact of root lesion nematodes on wheat and triticale inWestern Australia. Department of Agriculture. GRDC Project. No. DAW 623.Kenyon, P and Black, A. 2001, Small Town Renewal: Overview and Case Studies, Areport for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Union Offset,Canberra.Knell, G. 1998. South Tammin Focus Group Catchment Report. Sustainable RuralDevelopment Program Department of Agriculture.Nabben, T. 1999. Funding to community Landcare groups in Western Australia: Apowerful ‘new generation’ of soil conservation incentives. In Incentives in soilsconservation: from theory to practice. Eds. Sanders, Huszar, Sombatpanit and Enters.Science Publishers, Inc. USA.Penny, S. 2001. Soil Acidity in the Central Region. Western Australian Soil AcidityResearch and Development. Dryland Research Institute Report. Department ofAgriculture, Merredin.Putnam, R. 2000. Bowling Alone, The Collapse and Revival of American Community.Simon and Schuster, New York.Repton, D. 1999. Wheat, Wool and Wodjil: A Tribute to the people and events that moldedthe district of Tammin, Access Press, Bassendean, Western Australia.Rowley, T. 1998. Integrating nature conservation with our farming landscapes. LivingLandscapes, Issue No. 2. Sep. 1998.Seymour, M. 2001. Finishing cattle on tagasaste. Farmnote 51/2001. Department ofAgricultureStocker, L. and Pollard, L. 1994. In my backyard: Community-based sustainabilitydevelopment in regional areas. Institute for Science and Technology Policy, MurdochUniversity. WATammin Action Group (TAG), 1989. Strategies for Development. TAG PlanningDocument.Tammin Action Group (TAG), 1992. Tammin Townscape. Report prepared for the TAG.Winner, L. 1992. Citizen Virtues in a Technological Order, Inquiry, 35, pp.341-61

19

Appendix 1. Tammin: A history of consolidation, decline and rebuilding

1960 Period of consolidation of Tammin Shire. New people settling the districtCo-operative Bulk Handling (CBH) grain silos constructed1961 Shire offices opened. Road Boards changed to Shire Councils1963-4 Many areas affected by flooding and waterlogging due to wet seasons.1965-6 Construction of standard gauge railway through Tammin, with new station to westof town site1966 Eastern extension of grain silos constructed by CBH.1968 Fearsons Store, Ampol Agency and Garage closed.1968 Tammin Hotel demolished after being damage by Meckering earthquake.1969 Construction of new Tammin School.1970-1980 Period of farm consolidation and move to larger machinery. Local farm jobsdecline.1969-71 Drought occurred forcing some farmers to leave the district.1975 Russell’s butcher shop closed.1976 Library added to the school.1978 Police and Railways Department closed their offices. More local jobs lost.1979 Tammin Co-op and Drive-In Theatre closed.1980-1990 New wheat varieties, clover (sub & medic) and lupins introduced. Improvedproduction and incomes in latter half of 1980’s.1980-85 Recession and poor seasons with consequent negative impacts on farming, townservices and businesses.1981 Lees Fabrication business closed. Six jobs lost at least.1884 Tammin Land Conservation District Council formed to counter problems associatedwith land degradation in the Shire.1987 Farmdale Pty Ltd formed by residents to counter loss of services and find a way tomanage job losses and people migration to other centers. Farmdale bought the vacant BPservice station. Lees Fabrication business reopened on a smaller scale.1987-88 Ernesto Sirolli enterprise facilitator and consultant to the Department of Premierand Cabinet visited Tammin.1988 Golden Fleece service station and Deli closed. Farmdale bought the lease of thehotel. Stock market crash in October 1988. Town was fast losing population andservices.1989 Tammin Action Group formed following continued loss of services. WheatbeltAdvisory Committee invited community consultant Harry Martin from Tupelo, Mississippi,to visit Tammin Avon Community Development Foundation formed within seven days ofhis visit.1990 Tammin conducted a two day Landcare Expo and South Tammin Catchment Groupsecured funding from Alcoa, $ 400-500,000 over 5 years.1991 South Tammin won best Landcare project in the state Landcare awards. TALECopened and Tammin shire received the state Landcare award for their support of TALEC.Thirty international and local scientists visit Tammin to set guidelines for ecosystemrehabilitation. Jos and Dennis Chatfield receive the Golden Tree Award for innovation andoutstanding leadership in Landcare activities.

20

1992 South Tammin catchment gained international recognition at the InternationalSustainability Land Management Conference.1993 Retirement village established in Tammin.1995 South Tammin catchment farmers visit eastern states and see their progress bynational standards.1996 Department of Agriculture economics unit evaluates economic benefits of Landcare.1998 Greening Australia selects Tammin for the Living Landscapes Program with Alcoasupport.2000 In September 1000 Landcare professionals had completed the professionaldevelopment program at TALEC.2002 TALEC’s Landcare Field Study program boasts 7,000 graduates and 1,100professional development graduates.2003 Thirty five International and Australian scientists visit Tammin as part of the DrylandAgriculture Conference.

21

Appendix 2. Personal Communications 2.3.2004-16-3-2004

Batchelor Glenice 96371221 Community Landcare Coordinator forTammin/Kellerberrin

Brook Josh 96371234 Tammin storeBurke Michael 92780645 Previous Landcare Officer, Ministry of

EducationButton Joan 96371182 Immediate past president and committee

member for TALECCarter Bruce &

Lexie96371027 South Tammin Farmers

Chatfield Fay 96371051 Tammin school; Landcare VisionIncorporated.

Collett John 95350000 Immediate Previous Landcare Manager PRcoordinator Alcoa

Doy Brian 93165111 Landcare Manager and PR for Alcoa.Goulden Denise 96371194 Current TALEC ManagerHerriet Shane 99563328 Immediate Past manager of TALECHenry Cynthia 96371051 Aboriginal Indigenous Education Office

TamminHocking Matt 96371151 North Tammin FarmerJansen Trish 96220200 Landcare Officer Ministry of EducationLauk Harry 96902000 Department of Agriculture NorthamLeslie Barry 96371162 Current Shire PresidentMackin Francis 96371317 North Tammin FarmerMoran Mike 93543451 Previous Landcare Officer, Ministry of

EducationPackham Greg 96371341 Tammin FarmerPackham Lany 96371141 Tammin FarmerRepton Sally 96371001 Bungulla Catchment N/TamminRowley Ted 0400585940 Consultant (previously DAWA)Sax Heather 96460575 Previous TALEC ManagerTaylor Stuart 98381001 Previous CEO Tammin KellerberrinYork Nancy 93842020 Tammin Farmer RetiredMaganini Kevin 96461538 Business Enterprise Centre Beverley and

York