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Noojee celebrates successful year of forestry transition project with Christmas dinner, music, and community support

Noojee locals celebrated a successful year for the Forestry Transition Project with a Christmas dinner, live music, and community updates, marking progress in the shift away from native timber harvesting.

By news@gippsland - 12th December 2024 - Back to News

Noojee locals got together earlier this month to celebrate a very successful year for the project dedicated to helping the region continue its transition away from native timber harvesting. On Sunday 1 December, the Noojee community came together for an end of year Christmas celebration held as part of the Noojee Forestry Transition Project.

Noojee locals enjoyed a Christmas dinner, festive pudding, live music, and updates on the quarterly Forestry Transition Project events

Noojee celebrates transition

Attendees enjoyed a Christmas dinner, complete with festive pudding and live music from local musician Liam Aghan, with a special appearance by Santa. The Noojee Forestry Transition Project runs quarterly community events, with an average attendance of more than 80 community members who receive updates on the progress of the project while building and supporting their social networks.

Baw Baw Shire Council Mayor Cr Danny Goss said the Noojee Forestry Transition was a milestone project for Baw Baw and said there was much to celebrate this year, with more than half a million dollars in grants received. "The cessation of native timber harvesting at the beginning of this year marked the beginning of a big transition for areas in regional Victoria, such as Noojee."

"Since the announcement in 2023, council has been committed to working with the community, as well as with the state government, to identify other economic opportunities and areas for growth, to ensure the town can cope with this change," Cr Goss said.

Noojee groups thrive

The forestry transition project includes five working groups that feed into the strategic direction of Noojee. These working groups are:

• Eco Tourism Working Group
• Specialised Agricultural Industry Development Working Group
• Multipurpose Community Hub and Education Centre Working Group
• Ethical Hunting and Game Processing Working Group, and
• Power and Connectivity Reliability Working Group

East Ward Cr Adam Sheehan added that the working groups have welcomed new members and proved to be extremely beneficial. "We have observed strong business to business partnerships taking shape and community members obtaining work through conversation with other attendees, which is a fantastic outcome," Cr Sheehan said.

"The regularly conducted meetings and community engagement events have also provided a strong foundation to support the community in developing improved cohesiveness, transparency and networking," said Cr Sheehan.

Noojee project funded

The Noojee Forestry Transition Project is supported by the Victorian government's Local Development Strategy Grants Program and Community Development Fund. Through the Community Development Fund, approximately $548,000 was awarded to the project in 2024 alone.

You can read more about these grants by visiting Council welcomes $510,000 of funding for Noojee page. To find out more about the forestry transition project, visit Baw Baw Connect website.

Pictures from Baw Baw Shire Council website.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com