In 2019, I was managing a cattle station in Western Australia. After hearing the owner at the time mention that they were intrigued by regenerative agriculture and conservation – due to the many upcoming studies showing the benefits on the land and cattle, and thus the production and financial advantages – I decided to take action and manage the station in a more sustainable fashion.
During my time working there, I:
- introduced off-the-grid solar power and batteries to the homestead, which was formerly only run on off-the-grid diesel-generated power;
- conducted land surveys, identifying and recording the species of plants in many revegetation monitoring sites that were spread throughout the 340,000acre property;
- communicated with the public and the community via use of social media, sharing the day-to-day tasks of living a sustainable lifestyle;
- developed relationships and worked with people throughout Australia who would share their knowledge and ideas, and provide their time or items to assist with regeneration, such as plants; or host training sessions on the station
- such as the Twilight Forum, which was on the following themes;
- Climate and weather,
- Forage budgeting and decision dates,
- Using satellite imagery;
- such as the Twilight Forum, which was on the following themes;
- assisted the Bureau of Meteorology with running a weather station, reporting the daily:
- rainfall,
- minimum and maximum temperatures, using wet and dry thermometers,
- for some amusing information: This particular weather station has recorded some of Australia’s highest temperatures – I have many memories of listing the temperature over 45°c at 0900hrs,
- cloud coverage and type,
- wind,
- visibility,
- pressure, using a barograph barometer,
- weather phenomena;
- added nutritional value to the soil in the homestead gardens by using permaculture methods and Korean Natural Farming practices, as well as water-saving techniques and drought-tolerant plants;
- invited the public to partake in the awareness of native flora and fauna by coming up with activities for visitors (such as campers), which included a “Can you spot …?” checklist of birds and other wildlife;
- reduced the overall waste of the homestead by purchasing as little as possible in plastic, and buying in bulk, as well as encouraging visitors to do the same; disposed of waste in an appropriate manner, such as establishing a compost system – which included the use of livestock such as chooks and pigs to eat scraps before using the remainder to compost and use in the gardens;
- and many more scenarios.
Since I left the station, it has been sold to Australian billionaire, Andrew Forrest, to build a renewable energy hub with wind and solar power.
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