Biodiversity underpins the health of our planet and informs everything down to the taste of a grain, the strand of a cloth and a sip of water. All things we as humnans rely on to support our most basic needs. Yet, nature and wildlife are declining around the world at an unprecedented rate.
Together we can stop it. But only if we join together and chose the most important thing to each of us to protect.
What is the most important element – animal, bird, plant or place – that would you protect if you could?
If you find injured or sick wildlife, be sure to call your local wildlife rescue organisation. Do not handle them before you call, as experts can tell you if it is safe for you to touch them and if it is how you can help them.
To search online for a wildlife rescue group near you, visit the Australian Fauna Care Network at www.fauna.org.au or call the Wildlife Rescue Australia 24-hour call centre on 1300 596 457.
State and territory contact details for injured wildlife are:
This article, just published in a special issue of the global publication Sustainability Science, is based on research into the experiences of beef and sheep farmers in NSW Australia. It’s about how farmers’ negative experiences with agrochemicals and their positive experiences with the microbiome motivated them to transition from conventional to regenerative agriculture
Dr. Hannah Gosnell, Ph.D., Professor of Geography, College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University focused her research on understanding what motivates farmers to adopt ‘climate-smart’ regenerative practices. She aimed to support the development of the right policies, incentives, outreach, and support mechanisms.
With a little help from her Aussie Regenerating Agriculture friends (see ‘Changing Paradigms‘) who provided their time and input ,and as she writes: ‘encouraged me to get this finished!’, Dr. Gosnell takes a holistic approach into what influenced farmers individually and communally to regenerate soil and soul alike.
Regenerating soil, regenerating soul: an integral approach to understanding agricultural transformation Here’s a link to the PDF. Please share with anyone who might be interested: https://rdcu.be/cnhkB
Abstract
A key finding is that negative experiences with agrochemicals associated with increasing costs and declining results were an important driver of change. And the positive experiences when learning about the microbiome and practicing ecological approaches to fertilisation and pest control, engendered enthusiasm and a commitment to transition away from high-input agriculture. Also a conviviality associated with communities of practice, e.g. microscope groups, played an important role in the transition process, as farmers solidified new identities and participated in ongoing social learning.
Based on these results, Dr Gosnell argues that farmers’ feelings of kinship with nature (animals, plants, microbes) resulting from learning about and working with soil are under appreciated drivers of behavioural change and powerful leverage points for larger-scale social-ecological transformation and the emergence of institutional and systemic change.
In the first of a series of brief clips shared from the Australia and New Zealand Holistic Management news site we share some of veteran regenerative famers, Charlie Massy and Norm Smith short documentary, ‘Changing Paradigms – The Power of Regenerative Agriculture’. And alert you to some great new courses starting around Mullumbimby, Wauchope, Berry and Braidwood NSW, Macedon Ranges VIC, Albany and Gascoyne WA. Check out the Holistic Management Courses webpage.
How one simple idea helped Australia map its biodiversity.
Australia is leading the world in the measurement of its natural capital thanks to a simple idea hatched by a group of scientists more than 13 years ago.
A brilliant idea that emerged during a brainstorming session in Sydney more than 13 years ago is finally being put to work on a beef cattle property in the Burnett region of Queensland.
The property, owned by Robert and Nadia Campbell, is at the forefront of a unique initiative that will ultimately allow Australia to map its natural assets – soils, water, vegetation and fauna – and track how they change over time.
The development of an accounting system for Australia’s natural capital is as profound as the first use of financial accounts in business and the introduction of reliable statistical measures for economic activity.
It is fitting that the first comprehensive, independent measurement of the natural assets on the Campbells’ Goondicum Station – a beef-grazing property – is being undertaken by a not-for-profit called Accounting for Nature.
Accounting for Nature is chaired by Peter Cosier, a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, which first proposed the idea of a model for building the national environmental accounts of Australia.
Cosier says the Wentworth Group was doing a lot of work on water resources and climate change about 13 years ago when it became clear there was a fundamental global problem of ecological illiteracy.
Economists and governments were familiar with, and reliant upon, the collection of reliable statistics for measuring health, the economy and social metrics. But no one had really put their mind to measuring the impact of billions of dollars of government funding for the environment.
Around this same time in the mid-2000s, Cosier had been focusing his mind on measuring natural resources because of his work with then-senator Robert Hill in developing the Australian State of the Environment Report, which was first published in 2006 and every five years thereafter.
“The problem with the State of the Environment Report is that it can’t show you changes in conditions or the changes of trend,” Cosier says. “Also, it relies on expert opinions.”
Cosier says a turning point in the evolution of the idea of tracking the country’s natural capital came when he met then-Treasury secretary Ken Henry, who threw his intellectual and policy weight behind it.
“Ken introduced us [the Wentworth Group] to Peter Harper, who was the deputy Australian statistician at the Australian Bureau of Statistics,” Cosier says.
The Wentworth Group got together with Harper and, with the support of Henry, the political class was engaged and became involved. Under prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, there was suddenly momentum for measuring Australia’s environmental assets.
There was even a Council of Australian Governments meeting that resulted in all the state environment ministers giving their support to the idea. Unfortunately, the idea withered on the vine.
Cosier says the only reason the idea is being implemented at various locations around Australia in 2021 is that the corporate sector and institutional investors have recognised the importance of protecting biodiversity.
They want to measure the outcomes of their capital investments in nature and track how they are performing over time, which is possible using the methodologies pioneered by Accounting for Nature.
Nadia Campbell from Goondicum Station says there is a commercial imperative to the implementation of nature-friendly measures such as increased native vegetation, the planting of trees and the protection of water resources.
Goondicum Station has been in the Campbell family for five generations and its history holds some stark lessons for those practising short-sighted land management.
The property was originally leased from the Crown, which imposed a condition that all trees be cleared and handed over to the government.
Robert Campbell’s father, Bruce, recognised the folly of this and implemented a tree-planting program when the property was freehold. Bruce Campbell was a fan of Richard St Barbe Baker, the English forester, environmental activist and author who supported worldwide reforestation efforts.
Nadia Campbell says Goondicum is an example of “co-existence grazing and regenerative agriculture”.
She says paddocks with trees grow better-quality feed grasses than land that has been cleared, and better natural grass means improved nutrition, healthier cattle and increased profit margins.
She says Goondicum station is carrying far less cattle than it did five to 10 years ago but generating a higher profit, and she attributes this to the reinvestment in land and conservation.
“In a nutshell, we are currently undertaking a full property environmental condition index assessment with Accounting for Nature,” she says.
“Understanding the environmental condition of our property is important to us to enable us to measure, monitor and manage what is on our land, especially Australian native flora and fauna.
“We consider ourselves to be very responsible land managers with a genuine commitment to the environment.
“The concept of accounting for the environmental condition of the land we use to make a living ties in with our operational ethos.”
One enormously positive side effect of higher profitability from sound environmental management is that Goondicum Station has been rated a lower credit risk by National Australia Bank, which charged a lower interest rate.
This fits with research conducted in China a couple of years ago showing that companies with greener operational policies carry a lower credit risk.
The Campbells’ Accounting for Nature project is in partnership with the local resource management organisation Burnett Mary Regional Group.
Its chief executive, Sheila Charlesworth, says the Campbells are part of a much broader environmental mapping project that has the support of many other local graziers. See more
