Annex 5 - Community Engagement Workshop Report

Broader River Context
During the workshop, participants also discussed the wider river management context of the Noosa oyster
project.

The participants made many interesting points. Some of these are captured below:
-   The Noosa River needs a common narrative, a narrative which all people can understand, are familiar with
    and support.
-   The contribution of the oyster restoration project, and associated projects, to the health and resilience of
    the Noosa River, will only be realised once we have all agreed on a clear vision for the river and have
    defined tangible management objectives and targets against which the contribution of projects can be
    measured.
-   The oyster project is but one of a number of projects which contribute to river health and resilience. Work
    on sediment management in the catchment, riparian zone protection and restoration works along the
    shorelines and water quality/stormwater management actions, for example, also contribute.
-   Oyster ecosystems are important but so are seagrass and mangrove ecosystems. The health and
    functioning of the estuarine ecosystem in its entirety should be considered. Oyster ecosystem restoration is
    but one component that should be addressed.
-   The river needs to be biodiverse, productive and our uses of it, sustainable.
-   The project provides an opportunity to further reconciliation efforts with Traditional Owners, this is
    particularly so at the Tewantin restoration site, which is of deep cultural significance to the Kabi Kabi
    people.

Participant feedback:

“Some of these people haven’t spoken for 20 years…amazing!”

“How did you ever get this particular group of people to meet. Great effort?”

“Good to see things slowly coming for the project and seeing some shared views on river management staring
to come through.”




                Figure 3: Workshop participants enjoy a paparazzi moment during the workshop

  From left to right (facing): Chris Masoud (Commercial Fisher), Craig Bohm (Project Manager), Ben Broadfoot
                                   (Ozfish), Bryan Walsh (Noosa Parks Association)