The Cooks River environmental assessment and education project
The Cooks River Environmental Assessment and Education Project was conducted from July 1999 to August 2000. Along with its immediate environmental objectives of improving small business site management practices, the project was also designed to develop resources that would be of benefit to councils implementing small business assessment programs.
The purpose of this case study and review is to:
- assess the Cooks River project's success in achieving both its immediate and long-term objectives
- identify the lessons learnt from the project and select the ones that could be used by other councils when planning similar activities.
From a project management perspective, the targets set for the Cooks River team (2000 formal assessments in 10 months) were too ambitious. The project planners learnt in the early stages of the project that an effective small business assessment was more complicated than originally anticipated and it involved a multi-stage process which included:
- initial contact with the premises to be assessed
- completion of the assessment
- processing data from the assessments
- preparation and despatch of follow-up letters and a schedule of works (a schedule of works is issued when an unsatisfactory work practice is found. The schedule lists the problem, what needs to be done and the penalties for not rectifying the problem).
- revisiting the premises if required.
For councils contemplating similar programs, some of the lessons learnt from this exercise were that:
- an effective assessment requires far more than just a friendly visit to the premises
- the professional development opportunities available to permanent council officers were not fully utilised
- the officers who participated in the training and partnered some of the Cooks River Project team during their industry visits, now have a better understanding of the job.
The lesson here is to ensure that any assessment program, even when funded through grant support, is seen as a professional development opportunity for permanent officers as well as the project officers, rather than just an 'add on' to the council's everyday business.
The excellent resources and tools developed by the Cooks River Project team, such as the staff information material, have been well received by industry. They are available in a number of community languages and should continue to be used.
Mobile billboard - educational campaign for the Cooks River |
The assessment tool and database is also an excellent resource from which councils can develop a training package that will meet the needs of their programs.
The Cooks River team learnt some valuable lessons on how to effectively encourage small businesses to participate in training/information events. These are lessons that should be applied by other councils.
The Cooks River Project was successful in making the protection of the Cooks River a more important issue for large sections of the small business and general community throughout the catchment. The project developed resources, tools and professional development programs that, when applied across the state, will ensure the success of future small business assessment programs.
The following is a summary of the project and what it achieved, an outline of the review process and its outcomes.
A series of recommendations for councils or other agencies who are considering offering similar programs is also included.
Summary
The Cooks River Catchment is one of the most urbanised and degraded river systems in Australia. The catchment is home to almost 400,000 people with 130,000 dwellings and around 20,000 businesses. Stormwater has been identified as a key contributing factor to the water quality and quantity problems in the catchment. Present levels of pollutants make it unsafe for swimming, unsuitable for many aquatic species and a health risk for commercial fishing.
The 13 councils within the Cooks River Catchment formed the Cooks River Association of Councils to encourage an integrated catchment approach to the implementation of the Cooks River Stormwater Management Plan.
The association received funding from the NSW Government's Stormwater Trust to implement a multi-layered environmental assessment and education project. The project was administered by Canterbury City Council.
The program's achievements
This project was the first catchment-based environmental assessment and education program of this scale ever undertaken in Australia. The project concentrated its efforts on the removal of pollutants at source through non-structural solutions.This was done by raising awareness within the business and general community about stormwater issues and pollutants, and outlining ways to minimise their impact on the environment. It applied a consistent environmental assessment and education process across the catchment. (A full report of the project is available for further reference.)
The project included programs involving different environmental educational strategies for both industry and the general community.
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Assessment officer discussing business operations |
Industry Program
The components for the industry program included:
- Assessment Officer Training – A number of training sessions were run throughout the project. These were offered to both project officers and permanent council officers. The New Environmental Assessment Toolkit (NEAT) (neat.pdf 63kb) developed for the project documents the training methodology.
- Market Research – Surveys and focus group discussions were used to identify the level of industry awareness before and after the program.
- Industry Environmental Assessments – The assessment process involved six steps. They were:
- initial informal contact with the business owner through a letter box drop
- despatch of an introductory letter informing the business owner of the assessment
- face-to-face visit involving the completion of an environmental questionnaire and the assessment
- entry of the assessment data into a database for future use
- despatch of one of the follow-up letters depending on the assessed performance of the business together with a schedule of works(schedule.doc 56 kb) and penalties (penalties.doc 61 kb) for non-compliance
- a revisit to the premises if required and further follow-up letters as necessary.
- Environmental Checklist – A draft checklist was developed for the first round of assessments. This was then modified regularly, based on feedback from the assessment officers.
- Environmental Assessment Database – This was developed by Assessment Officers as a framework to guide the completion of different assessments at different types of premises. The checklist described above was used as the basis for the database.
- Water Quality Monitoring – This was designed to provide data that may have identified basic improvements in industry practice in selected catchments.
- Education Materials – These included staff information sheets, an industry poster and specialist industry information materials in English and four community languages.
- Promotional Activities and Publicity – These included promotional activities for the Industry program and for people from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB), including a 'Business of the Month' program (bomcert.pdf 49kb) and a Business Recognition Certificate program (recogcert.pdf 59 kb).
General Community Program
The components for the General Community program included:
Community mural - Parry Park created by the Muslim Women's Association Youth Group |
- Market Research – Community awareness surveys were completed prior to the commencement of the project and at the conclusion of the project to assess changes in community attitudes to stormwater pollution
- Education Materials – These included a poster, leaflets, banners, static billboards, mobile billboards, postcards and community advertising.
- Promotional Activities and Publicity – This included community advertising, community events, leaflets, banners, brochures and a Key Opinion Makers Forum.
- Promotional Activities and Publicity for the NESB Community – This included participation in community events and the preparation of NESB materials.
- Promotional Activities and Publicity for school students through the Kids, Companies and Creeks Program – This involved students visiting small businesses in three sub catchments within the Cooks River Catchment to discuss stormwater issues as well as to invite industry participation in professional development activities.
- Stormwater Schools Education Kit – This was designed to complement the EPA's generic Stormwater Education Kit.
- Community Mural – This engaged the Arabic community in a meaningful activity designed by the Muslim Women's Association to promote positive stormwater behaviours.
Outcomes
Project outcomes included:
- improved practices in hundreds of businesses in the way they managed their environmental impact
- a significantly improved understanding of the requirements of the environmental laws within industry
- the completion of over 1700 industry assessments in the project's ten-month operation
- the development of a generic set of protocols/checklist for carrying out environmental assessments/audits suitable for ongoing implementation by local government, not just in the Cooks River Catchment but Australia-wide
- the development of a set of industry information resources that can be used Australia-wide
- the development of real-time case studies involving real industries and real achievements which can be used as a basis for future industry training programs
- raising community responsibility for the health of the river and raising awareness about stormwater as an environmental issue
- increasing the skills of council officers in the completion of industry assessments.
Copies of all resources, including sample covering letters and industry assessment tools are provided below.
What worked ...a review of the projectAlong with the traditional indicators of improved water quality and increased industry and community awareness, this project had other indicators of success. They included:
In assessing the performance of this project against these indicators, the following methodology was used: face-to face-interviews, reviews of council's Industry Assessment Program, surveys of local councils in other catchments, interviews with leading Key Opinion Makers and media editors, reviews of other assessment projects being completed in the Cooks River and surveys/interviews with members of the Cooks River project team were all used. Recommendations for other organisations to consider when developing programs with a similar focus to the Cooks River project are outlined below. |
Implications for future projects
Outlined below is a series of recommendations for councils to consider when developing projects with a similar focus to the Cooks River Environmental Assessment and Education project.
1. Project timing and management
Effective assessment projects take time. In planning a small business assessment program councils are encouraged to incorporate time for a revisit to those premises that are required to take further action in order to improve environmental performance. That way people will know that council is serious about encouraging improvement. The Cooks River Project developed a stepped industry environmental assessment process outlined above. This process is recommended.
2. Education resources
It is strongly recommended that any councils contemplating an assessment program look at the assessment tools and letters used by the Cooks River team and use them as a basis for developing their own resources.
3. Enforcement
When councils are preparing for an industry assessment program, it is recommended that a process be put in place that will allow their assessment officers to either apply the clean-up/prevention notice provisions of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 if required, or have access to an officer who can apply those provisions on the assessment officers' behalf.
4. Audit review management process
It is recommended that councils send letters to premises they plan to visit in advance of their visit. Follow-up letters, even those sent to businesses requiring no change, are an essential part of assessment communication.
Following the dispatch of the follow-up letter and the Schedule of Works, it is absolutely critical that those businesses required to complete some type of work, receive a revisit from a council officer within an appropriate time. Those businesses in Cooks River who completed the work as outlined in the Schedule of Works and were not revisited felt quite disappointed that nobody had recognised their efforts.
5. Industry information
General staff information sheets and posters were well received, particularly those that could be displayed on staff notice boards.
The Cooks River resources have been used effectively by many councils throughout NSW.
6. Small business professional development
In planning professional development activities like trade nights, it is strongly recommended that councils consider how small businesses will be invited. Some councils have formed working parties of small business owners. The working party members have taken it on themselves to issue invitations to the trade night. Other councils have had Authorised Officers personally deliver invitations to the small business owners.
7. Capacity building for council officers
It is essential that any grant-funded assessment project be widely promoted within the managing and surrounding councils as a professional development opportunity for council officers.
It is recommended the Assessment Officers organise a presentation at the half-way point of their project, on methods, resources and outcomes to date. All relevant council assessment personnel should be encouraged to attend that presentation. Following on from the presentation individual officers from the host council and surrounding councils should be encouraged to accompany the Assessment Officer in their work for a minimum of a week at a time.
It is also recommended that allowances be made in the budget and project timetable to allow for a formal presentation in the last month of the project to provide updates on processes, procedures and information resources.
9. Media management
When planning an assessment project it is important to contact your local media (newspaper, radio or television). Explain what the project is all about and commit to providing regular updates on all aspects of the project. Photographs, where appropriate are also well regarded by local news editors.
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Examples of community advertising | ||
Resources
Sample letters |
Examples of resources |
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Introductory letter
Environmental assessment follow-up letters
Assessment follow-up letters
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Assessment tools
Staff information sheets
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See related summary case study. For further information see:
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CookNet at Canterbury City Council
- Cooks River Home Page at Oz GREEN
- Phone the Ethnic Communities Council of NSW on (02) 9319 0288
- Stage 2 grants details