Last month, we provided Members with an update on our Sustainable Industries Unit. This month, Steve McDermott, our Programs Manager provides an update. Steve manages a number of Team Leaders who look after Water, Biodiversity, People and Country, Coasts and Wetlands and Waterways.

With a background in Landcare and natural resource management, Steve has now been working with Terrain for five years. Prior to that he was involved with Greening Australia in the Burdekin and was an active member of Landcare and an NRM volunteer in the Townsville. When he's not working for Terrain, you can usually find Steve paddling a river with his partner Felicity.

In March Steve coordinated Terrain's eight Caring for our Country competitive bids. Applications were lodged for pest, plant and animal control, coastal management, habitat restoration at Mission Beach, innovation in sustainable agriculture and the continuation of Landcare support in the region. Steve also contributed to our region's core funding proposals for submission to State and Australian governments.

Four indigenous proposals were also assisted; three related to indigenous protected areas where traditional owners look at developing co-management agreements with existing land managers such as the Department of Environment and Resource Managements (DERM), Qld Parks and Wildlife Service, Wet Tropics Management Authority and Cairns Regional Council.

Steve commented that "an exciting and major outcome in April/May was seeing the Mandingalbay Yindinji people implement their land and sea program."