2022-10-24 General Committee Meeting- Item 7 - Attachment 1 - Noosa Oyster Ecosystem Restoration Project - Final Report (1)

 Noosa Community Biodiversity              Community outreach - Junior schools engagement project                     31,500
 Association

 Noosa Integrated Catchment                Community outreach - Oyster gardening project (design,                     31,500
 Association                               gardener sign ups and trials: Phase 1)

 Prolegis                                  Legal review of draft Fisheries Allocation Authority - permit               6,340
                                           conditions

 TOTAL                                                                                                               914,989

* Expenditures are exclusive of GST

Finance summary

The total project budget was spent with a slight overspend of $1,456.

Some 40 percent of the budget was spent through partnerships with the private sector. $914,989 was directly invested in
contracts with major partners (e.g., for technical assessments, construction, monitoring and partnerships).

A considerable saving was made under the Reef Integrity and Performance Assessment activity ($310,504). This was mainly
because the major monitoring costs (staff time and independent contractor charges) will be incurred by TNC beyond the life
of the project but was budgeted for within the project timeframe.

The total savings were transferred to Reef building activity and spent wisely on Noosa’s complex reef design, permitting report
development and high construction costs (driven partly by COVID19 impacts on material and transport costs, which were
much lower when the project was originally budgeted). The Reef Building budget line required an additional $330,497.

TNC also made considerable savings under the Hatchery and Seeding activity ($94,596). This was possible through securing
significant in-kind contributions from Mooloolaba Fish Markets (who supplied the bulk of the oyster shells), Resource
Recovery Australia (who supported shell curing, washing and storage) and by the extensive help of volunteers throughout the
Shuck Don’t Chuck project. The oyster reseeding costs will also be absorbed under the Reef Builder budget as the main activity
occurs outside of the Agreement period.

Some $72,668 of savings were transferred to the Community Engagement, Volunteering and Media activity, which required
significantly more budget than originally forecast. Community Engagement demanded significant time investment from staff
for one-on-one and group meetings (an impact of COVID 19), extensive public consultation activities and the design and
facilitation of volunteer opportunities and partnerships not originally budgeted for. Partnership projects were particularly
affective but demanded resourcing and extensive liaison and involvement of staff time to service.

Of the remaining $21,830, $19,993 was moved into the Reef Building activity and $1,837 to the Project Management activity,
which was slightly overspent. The remaining $1,456 overspend under Project Management will be absorbed directly by TNC.

Contribution of Reef Builder funding

Additional funds secured under the TNC-Australian Government Reef Builder project allowed TNC to engage an additional
project coordinator. TNC had to develop a significant list of unique Noosa-targeted products to support effective community
engagement. These products were not originally forecast in the Agreement and included special information brochures (e.g.,
biosecurity, rock oyster fact sheet), special reports (e.g., reef designs, reef construction), specific communication plans and
materials for the construction phase (e.g., letterbox drops, face-to-face meetings, public notices and briefing notes,
complaints/feedback mechanisms) and an oyster gardening manual to support the oyster gardening partnership. TNC also
produced four editions of the stakeholder-focused publication, the Noosa Oyster Chronicle, which was well-received by not
forecast in the original budget. The project coordinator helped ensure these actions were resourced and delivered effectively.



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