Welcome to our Autumn Resilience newsletter. Since deciding to name our regular newsletters ‘Resilience’, I’ve noticed an increase in the use of that word for many circumstances but particularly so when related to the land and agriculture. That is a good thing for The Mulloon Institute (TMI) as we are all about helping make the farmers of Australia much more resilient to the challenges they face with respect to a changing climate.
Along with ‘resilience’, there has been a substantial lifting of the public debate with respect to the role of soil organic carbon can play in sequestering CO2 emissions. It is as if the penny has dropped and suddenly the opportunity for farmers has been realised in various quarters including governments. It has been a no brainer for TMI for many years that with the rehydration of landscapes combined with regenerative agricultural practices, carbon dioxide is being dragged out of the atmosphere and put into the soil where it belongs.
[Image: Overhead shot of structure DM8 at Duralla]
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A visit to Mulloon Creek Natural Farms |
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Staff from the National Drought and Flood Agency visited Mulloon Creek Natural Farms near Bungendore in NSW to see regenerative land management practices and drought-proofing innovations in action. Coordinator-General Shane Stone and the Agency are strong supporters of the Institute and its vision of creating resilient, productive and profitable farms where agriculture and the environment are working in unison.
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A new paradigm to cool the planet |
TMI Chairman Gary Nairn AO and CEO Carolyn Hall were invited to speak at a Farm Writer’s Association of NSW luncheon in Sydney during February, on the Institute’s work supporting farmers across the country to rehydrate and restore their land by building soil carbon, increasing vegetation cover and boosting biodiversity.
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Since my ‘Summer Resilience’, TMI Board Directors Diana Cavanagh and Martin Royds have decided to move on and resigned from our Board.
Diana has been a Director since replacing her father, our Founder, the late Tony Coote AM in 2018. Martin has been involved with the Institute over many years and was a member of our former Advisory Council before joining the Board.
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Mulloon Rehydration Initiative |
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The continuing theme of the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative is' 'Plant, Plant, Plant'! Conditions are perfect for plant growth so our field officer, Max Brunswick has been busy planting out creek structures and their surrounds with a range of vegetation.
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Work experience at Mulloon |
Krishna Nagarajan is a first-year student at the University of New England studying a Bachelor of Rural Science. In late 2020, he undertook seven weeks of practical experience with The Mulloon Institute to learn about landscape rehydration and regenerative agriculture.
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Several TMI staff members assisted Dr Sam Patmore in conducting a frog survey at several properties in the Mulloon catchment in mid-December, across 38 monitoring sites.
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Integrated monitoring program |
HydroTerra has been working with TMI’s MRI on a project that aims to rebuild the natural landscape function of the Mulloon catchment (near Canberra) and boost its resilience to climatic extremes.
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Mulloon Creek Natural Farms |
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Regen partners with Harris Farm Markets |
Mulloon Creek Natural Farms and The Mulloon Institute are two stories with a common plotline. We both follow nature to grow resilient rural communities. At TMI, we wear an education-advocate hat. We test Regen agricultural practices and collect the data to grow sustainable Australian farming. Set between Canberra and the coast is MCNF – the productive ‘living campus’ of the Institute; a demo of Regen land management.
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Molongolo Floodplain Rehydration Initiative |
The extensive Molonglo Floodplain Rehydration Initiative in Carwoola, NSW will help to re-establish habitat for the Green and Golden Bell Frog through in-stream and floodplain structures, rehabilitated wetlands, revegetation and regenerative land management. |
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A series of small wetlands have been implemented under Cam Wilson’s supervision at Greenhills in the Southern Highlands of NSW, to complement the existing landform.
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What is landscape rehydration? |
The ‘Landscape Rehydration Capacity Building’ project intends to develop learning resources and professional training programs suited to students, landowners and professionals. It has been made possible by an Environmental Education grant from the NSW Environmental Trust.
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In Northern Queensland, Sam Skeat has been presenting workshops in Charters Towers and visiting landholders in the Bowen Broken Bogie, to promote the values of landscape rehydration and landscape function in the region and to give land managers tools to achieve this.
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Workshops + presentations |
Mulloon Institute staff have been presenting to a variety of audiences recently, from students to farmers, and people who care about how their food is produced.
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* These are privately organised workshops and tours. If your Landcare group, organisation or school is interested in a similar workshop or a tour of Mulloon Creek, please contact us via info@themullooninstitute.org
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The increased call on our work is covered in various articles in this issue of ‘Resilience’, and I hope that you find them interesting and help you understand the extent of what is needed and what is possible. We are making great steps and with your ongoing support those steps will be even greater.
While we have been successful with some modest government support in various locations, we hope to attract more corporate, philanthropic and individual financial support between now and the end of the financial year. A reminder that all donations to TMI to get this work done are fully tax deductible.
Cheers,
Gary Nairn AO
The Mulloon Institute, Chairman
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