Image credit: ‘Mitre Rock. Mount Arapiles. Victoria‘ by Ed Dunens, licensed under cc-by-2.0.
Background
Parks Victoria drafted an amendment to the Dyurrite Cultural Landscape (Mount Arapiles – Tooan State Park) Management Plan, with the aim of supporting access to nature and recreation, while protecting the Dyurrite landscape’s cultural and environmental values for current and future generations. The draft Management Plan reflected the discovery, through cultural and environmental surveys, of:
The draft amendment outlined where recreational activities, including rock climbing, could take place, so as to protect cultural heritage and the environment.
Wider community and stakeholder engagement, inviting feedback on the draft amendment, occurred from November 2024 to February 2025. There was a high level of community interest in the engagement due to the complex nature of the management required in response to cultural heritage values.
Parks Victoria received more than 1,000 survey responses, 500 written submissions, and 365 attendees at the online information session held on 13 November.
Engagement approach
Capire provided engagement support for the online information session, liaising with the Project Team to understand their requirements and building that into the approach. We also developed a run sheet and provided guidance for the presentation.
Capire facilitated the session in webinar format, working collaboratively with the Project Team to deliver presentations and answer questions submitted before and during the session.
Upon completion of the wider community and stakeholder engagement, Capire was engaged to independently review the findings to ensure the fairness and accuracy of Parks Victoria’s draft Engagement Summary Report. This included an assessment of the data management and analysis approach, as well as the accuracy and consistency of reporting.
Outcomes
Capire’s desktop peer review determined that the draft Engagement Summary Report for the Dyurrite Cultural Landscape Management Plan Amendment was well-structured and broadly aligned with the underlying data. It confirmed that the report provided an overview of the project context and engagement activities, and appropriately captured the key sentiments expressed by participants.
The report demonstrated consistency between the findings and engagement data, with accurate use of figures and consideration of qualitative analysis. Some codes were integrated or refined to improve clarity and consistency. While a considerable amount of feedback extended beyond the project scope, its inclusion was encouraged, since it offered important contextual insights to the project.
Parks Victoria will consider community feedback, and work closely with Traditional Owner partners to refine the Management Plan, in discussion with climbing groups, other user groups, councils, business owners and stakeholders.
