On 4-5th May, Southern New England Landcare hosted the biggest event on the landcare calendar for 2017.
The two-day event was themed ‘Farming Smarter Communities’ and showcased a number of initiatives that Southern New England Landcare sees as key to facilitating thriving, sustainable communities.
Karen Zirkler, Executive Officer at Southern New England Landcare, was excited by the way the program came together.
"Regenerative farming was the first topic on the program presented by Colin Seis, a farmer from the Gulgong area who has been experimenting on his own place for 30 years," Karen said.
"Participants had the opportunity to discuss and question the science behind Colin Seis’ work with Dr Maarten Stapper from BioLogic AgFood," Karen said.
At the University of New England’s ‘Kirby’ Smart Farm, scientists and local landholders held sessions on how they are working smarter together, to achieve sustainable outcomes. Topics included soil health, ground layer biodiversity under different grazing systems, fire-stick farming at ‘Wattleridge’, weed technologies for farms and mobile sprouted feeding systems.
"UNE researchers are a real asset to our farming community," said Sara Schmude, Landcare Coordinator with Southern New England Landcare.
"I’m really passionate about finding pathways for building relationships and creating more experimentation opportunities between farmers and researchers," Sara said, "so these sessions were designed to be interactive and pro-active."
Evaluations of the Day 1 program were positive, with 50% of the 50 survey respondents saying they would be reviewing their management practices when returning home, and 50% of the 50 survey respondents saying they would implement some of these ideas in the near future.
“Good balance, great program and presentation, information rich. Thank you,” said one respondent.
Day one wrapped up with the Regional Landcare Awards Dinner, where winners were announced in seven categories, across the two regions involved. The Awards Dinner was held at UNE’s historic Robb College Dining Hall, with entertainment by local jazz band Ash Hall Trio.
On day two, Uralla businesses and community groups had a chance to showcase their stories including the Alternate Root Café, New England Brewery, Uralla’s Z-Net Energy group, and the New England Foodie Trail.
David Henderson, President of Southern New England Landcare, was keen to hear participant’s views on how to ‘farm smarter communities’, the topic of a facilitated session in Uralla.
"It’s important that we recognize and duplicate, wherever possible, the initiatives that make regional Australia stronger, and I believe we have some of those great initiatives right here on our doorstep," David said.
The event concluded with lunch in Uralla and a stroll along Dumaresq Creek in Armidale, to view the great work being done by Armidale’s Urban Landcare Groups.
On evaluating the program for Day 2, one survey respondent said, “The enthusiasm of the Uralla people to encourage start-ups and then support them is outstanding.”
When asked what they liked most about the day, participants said:
- It was great as usual
- A well presented day with many varied enterprises
- Well put together
- It was perfect pitch.
This was the 18th New England North West Landcare Adventure, an event that attracts between 100-150 farmers and community members. Landcare networks of the region take turns to host the event. This year, it was hosted by Southern New Landcare Ltd with funding and support from NENW Landcare Network Chairs Inc, the RLF Program, the National Landcare Programme, NSW Environmental Trust and Landcare NSW.
