Forestry minister announces $5m injection into South West businesses and community groups

A $5 million funding boost has been shared by 65 South West organisations as the State Government looks to support community groups and businesses in former timber towns. Forestry Minister Jackie Jarvis announced the second and final round of the Community Small Grants Fund at the Nannup Men’s Shed last week, part of the Native Forest Transition Plan. Nannup Men’s Shed president Mike Pickup said the group was excited to host the announcement, with their $100,000 grant to go towards expanding the facilities to open for workshops and to include a metalworking station. “It’s been on the cards for two or three years, and what’s led to that is that we can only do woodwork in the shed we’ve got,” he said. “We’ve got a few guys who are skilled in metalwork, so we should utilise them and open it up to the community to do metalwork.” The Manjimup Historical Society also received $100,000, which will help establish a reflection space in the Manjimup Timber Museum to recognise the former timber workers who lost their lives at work. “There’s been a memorial board created many years ago and it’s for the people who lost their lives, and it only shows the bare minimum,” president Ian Wilson said. “What we’re trying to do is to list people who lost their lives but also what the impact of loss of life within the timber industry has had on families and other information. “You can do it better these days with touchscreens, rather than just a plaque sitting on a wall. “Sixty years ago, there was a push to start a historical society and one of the drives was to have a community museum. Over time what’s happened with that after getting some money, the timber museum that we’ve known came to be.” Pemberton Tramway Company received $97,000 to help upgrade the station platform and railway line allowing the tram to stop at the station, and making it more accessible. Tramway co-owner Sarah Gibellini said it was a priority project because trams weren’t able to stop at the station, only trains. “It has to be restored because the platform is deteriorating, and it has been a priority which we haven’t been able to do off our own back,” she said. Artistic director and general manager Fiona Sinclair said the project was “born out of frustration at the inconsistent food supply” in the area. “We work hand-and-glove with the Northcliffe Visitor Centre and there are many times when there’s no food available for people either coming into town or living in town,” she said. “We decided to take matters into our own hands and look at a way we could support the community, because all communities need a place where they can gather.” Boyup Brook Community Mental Health Action Team (CoMHAT) received $31,162 to help implement a community wellbeing plan, with chair Renee Knapp focused on education-based programs and targeted support. “In the past, we’ve had youth as a priority, but when we did our recent data collection, our rural men were coming out as an area that we needed to target,” she said. “It’s not to say our women aren’t important as well, it just means we need to put some targeted support around rural men.” The Bridgetown Hub received a $18,960 grant to help fund the first stage of restoring the 103-year-old building for long-term use. Hub manager Jenni Oliver said the grant would go towards receiving engineering reports and estimates for the restoration. “It will mean that we’ll continue to have a significant heritage building in use, rather than in disrepair, and it will mean that we’ll continue to be able to have the only day care in town available, because that’s where it’s housed,” she said. “It currently houses our playgroup and the Stepping Stones day care, it will continue to do so, but the roof is going to fail, and the foundations need to be upgraded. “We need to make sure we have a day care in town. If not, people can’t work. The workforce will be impacted because there won’t be child care available.” Announcing the funding on behalf of the Government, Ms Jarvis said the funding would allow businesses and groups to evolve. “The WA Government remains committed to supporting community groups and small businesses in the South West who have been impacted by the end to commercial native forest logging,” she said. Warren-Blackwood MLA Jane Kelsbie said the funding helped bring “new energy” to the South West. “These projects make our regional towns better places to live, visit and importantly they diversify the local economy,” she said.