Tailoring Earth Works: presenting the course to people from rural communities
'Rural' is an all-encompassing term relating to the country (basically referring to the non-metropolitian areas). However, there are a number of categories of rural:
- farms
- villages and hamlets such as Uralla, Geurie and Weethalle
- towns such as Wellington and Tumut
- regional cities such as Tamworth, Wagga Wagga, Armidale and Dubbo.
When conducting a rural Earth Works course, trainers need to be aware that they may not be working with a homogenous group — the group may comprise a mix of people from all four categories. Trainers need to know about the mix of the group because access to waste management facilities and infrastructure may vary between the different locations. For example, regional cities may offer kerb-side recycling, but smaller centres may not.
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- In rural areas the term 'earth works' is associated with structural works such as building dams and contour banks, so the program needs to be promoted as 'Living with Less Waste — Earth Works'.
- There are significant challenges for rural councils in minimising waste. Recycling is less viable in rural areas because of the economics of transporting the waste to a major centre such as Sydney or Newcastle (or in some cases Brisbane and Melbourne) for reprocessing.
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Adapting the course to specific needs
Each Earth Works program should be adapted to suit local conditions and to meet the specific needs and interests of the course participants. The appropriate mode, duration, time and place will vary with each individual rural community (ie. farms, hamlets, town and cities).
The full Earth Works course does not necessarily suit everyone, and this may particularly apply to rural areas. Shorter courses will capture another audience and diversity in course length is desirable. However, you do need to meet all the required components of the course (ie. waste minimisation, composting and outreach) even if this is delivered in separate modules or in a non-standard way.
Earth Works trainers and organisers should look at how they might target specific groups. You could develop marketing strategies, employ existing networks and modify the duration and number of courses to reach a wider group of potential participants. For example, in rural communities it might be a good idea to run a targeted short course on worm farming or composting as an introduction and invitation to a longer course.
Incorporation into existing activities
Earth Works courses in rural areas work best when they are incorporated into existing group activities such as Landcare. This could mean that the Earth Works program is delivered over a greater time frame, such as six months to a year, rather than just a few weeks.
Determining the group profile
Organisers and trainers should get a background profile of participants to establish their needs and interests. For example, people in the community who belong to an environmental or Landcare group may exhibit a high level of environmental awareness and be more receptive to environmental type messages. Other rural participants may not be as receptive to this approach, given the various reforms to vegetation (SEPP46) and water that have direct impact on their activities. If you have information about the profile of the group you will be able to pitch the delivery of the course at the correct level.
Timing and travel requirements
Most rural communities do not have access to good public transport systems, so the mode of transport to the course is most likely to be private. It is likely that most rural groups will want to fit as much as possible into each day, to minimise the amount of travel involved in attending the course. For example, you might need to conduct two full days rather than four half days.
Provide short meal breaks of around 30 minutes (maximum) otherwise participants may leave the venue to run errands etc. and then arrive back late.
Participants want to stick to time, especially to finishing time. If the course does not start on time because people have arrived late, people will still expect it to finish on time.
Recruiting participants
Every rural community will have its own unique formal and informal opportunities to promote Earth Works and recruit course participants. There are a variety of approaches you can use to recruit participants:
- local newspapers: media releases, photos, council column
- articles in the Landcare, adult education, council or other local newsletters
- direct mail: rates notices; schools and other training institutions
- an introductory Earth Works evening at the local pub, community centre or group meeting
- displays at the local shopping centre, show, pub or field day
- addressing the local Landcare, gardening, or environmental group
- local radio: community service announcement, Landcare update or country hour
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Adapting the course content
Where possible use relevant local examples, for example:
Waste minimisation
- Address the issue of ecologically sustainable development and the waste hierarchy (as defined in the Waste Minimisation and Management Act 1995) and use rural examples (e.g. sustainability of recycling, packaging requirements and benefits of avoidance). Examples connected to farm tips, water management and the environment are useful.
- Costs of reprocessing (e.g. the lifecycle analysis model in Earth Works) could be redeveloped using a rural example such as chicken processing rather than glass.
- Transport cost (environmental as well as economic) is an important consideration for rural councils when embarking on recycling and source separation schemes.
- When training on waste avoidance with farmers, hazardous waste (chemical fertilizers etc. rather than the impact of landfill) can be used as a good example as this is more of an issue in country areas.
- When training on the issue of waste disposal, it is important to note that rural communities own landfills (through their local council). Significant changes to the ways in which landfills are managed have occurred in recent times and these need to be addressed. In addition, the legislative aspects of environmental protection under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 need to be addressed, as well as those within the Waste Minimisation and Management Act 1995.
Composting
Rural communities, especially farmers, are generally conversant with the ideology behind composting. In rural communities the course could draw out participant's existing knowledge and issues, e.g. the benefits of composting in increasing nutrient values, carbon sinks and water retention. The course needs to focus on the land and environmental benefits of compost rather than simply the waste/landfill minimisation benefits.
- Up to 50%1 of the rural domestic solid waste stream is organic waste (ie. paper, cardboard, garden material, tree cuttings etc.)
- Collectively green waste accounts for approximately 45%2 of domestic waste and about 30%3 of all waste sent to landfill.
- The majority of councils in rural areas have no green waste collection system. However, some councils have drop-off points for green waste at their landfill sites and some councils chip and mulch this waste for a variety of uses such as mulch for their parks and gardens or day cover at the landfill4. The trainer could ask participants to find out what green waste facilities are in place in their area.
- The organic resource hierarchy for rural areas involves:
- avoidance
- choosing low-growth grasses (source reduction)
- on-site and home composting (reuse)
- community garden waste composting programs (recycling)
- source-separated organics (recycling)
- municipal solid waste composting programs (recycling).
- Many of the products that can be used for composting can be found on-site in rural areas. Focus on the use of at-source products e.g. ash instead of shop-bought dolomite.
- Focus on the type of soils for the ingredients for the compost. For example, the red soil in the Lismore highlands works better with dolomite whereas clays found on the flood plains work better with lime.
- With the compost practical session, try to introduce a compost bin into a local preschool, business, or an elderly person's backyard because these people often have a strong sense of community, and could reinforce the composting message over time.
No-dig garden
Many rural people are familiar with the benefits of composting and mulching gardens, so the concept of the no-dig garden is also familiar. This may be because many rural people have a vegetable patch or garden. Many people may not understand how the no-dig garden works or what its environmental benefits are. This may mean focusing on the local aspects while still enforcing the Earth Works model of composting. Issues such as flats and high-density housing are not relevant in the country.
Excursion to landfill site
Most people in rural communities make regular trips (at least every six months) to their local landfill site. However, most people don't understand how the landfill works. They don't have a sense of the costs associated with running a landfill, the life of a landfill, the costs to develop new landfills, and why the landfills are closing down for transfer stations. They also wonder why you can't burn material or scavenge on landfills now ('you could in my day'), or why they now have to pay to use that landfill. Ask the local council waste officer to talk at the landfill site to explain all these issues.
Communication
Rural areas have different community structures to those in the city and these should be tapped into when developing the communication issue within the Earth Works programs. Rural communities often revolve around places like school and church services, rural bushfire groups and community organisations such as the Country Women's Association, indigenous or Landcare groups. For example, get the group to pretend to present to a school group, a Landcare group, or the local agricultural show as part of the training.
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The key tip here is to get the participants to complete and hand in the evaluation at the end of the course. Don't ask participants to post the evaluation back, as the response rate will be low.
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The opportunities for outreach are not as great as in more populated areas because there are fewer groups seeking information about waste minimisation and management strategies. Therefore, the outreach component may take longer in rural communities. Trainers need to remember that outreach is not limited to the formal, large-scale presentation or demonstration. It is meant to be conducted in ways that best suit the participants and their own communities. In rural areas it may be worth developing outreach in a less formal way by teaching the participants the principles and power of outreach and explaining how this could be as small as being a model for others.
In rural areas outreach activities could include:
- conversations with a neighbour
- composting demonstration days in conjunction with the local council or Landcare group
- demonstrations at the local shopping centre, school, show or fete
- distributing information about green cleaning options
- media articles
- talks on the local radio station
- talks to local clubs such as Rotary or Apex.
The Earth Works trainer or organiser may need to provide a list of contact people such as local Landcare coordinators, Rotary Club members, members of the Field Naturalist Society, environmental contacts, community contacts or local government.
It is also important to provide the group (on consent) with each other's contact details as they can then support each other after the Earth Works course is completed.
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For further information about conducting an Earth Works course in a rural area contact:
- Western Regions
NSW Environment Protection Authority
Phone (02) 61223100 - Local Government & Shires Association
Phone (02) 9242 4081 - Netwaste Coordinator
Phone 0418 230 449
- Earth Works - Organisers Guide NSW Environment Protection Authority 1996
- Green Waste Action Plan - NSW Environment Protection Authority 1996
- Green Waste Action Plan - NSW Environment Protection Authority 1996
- Decision Makers Guide to Green Waste - report prepared for NSW Environment Protection Authority by Maunsell 1998.
Page last updated: 27 February 2011
