Chapman Catchment – Collaborative Landscape Scale Regeneration

This project aims to demonstrate a range of practices that can increase farm productivity and profit while also protecting the landscapes natural assets.

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Callum Love

Sustainable Agriculture Program Coordinator

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Home 🞂 Our Work 🞂 Projects 🞂 Chapman Catchment – Collaborative Landscape Scale Regeneration

NACC NRM and our project partners, Tierra Australia, are pleased to have established the Chapman Catchment – Collaborative Landscape Scale Regeneration project with co-contributions from eight champion landholders in the catchment and supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program. From this cohort, six sites will be developed as demonstration sites, and the lessons learnt, as a result, will be shared more broadly.

The Chapman Catchment is a long-established, well managed, and highly productive dryland farming area (crops and pastures) that also incorporates some intensive diversification activities. This catchment presents a unique opportunity to demonstrate a broad range of regenerative practices across varying properties. Together, these properties will showcase the potential for ‘catchment scale’ agricultural systems change and landscape regeneration.

 

This project aims to demonstrate a range of practices that can increase farm productivity and profit while also protecting the landscapes natural assets. The activities achieved in this project will set the foundations for a long-term objective of landscape scale regeneration within the catchment, established in partnership with landholders. This project supports landholders to engage with the concepts of regenerative agriculture and sustainable farming, assess their environmental footprint, and take action.

Stage 1

Complete farm management plans across the participating properties.

These plans will focus on surface hydrology for landscape rehydration, restoring wetlands to improve water quality, remediation of local-scale problems, increasing on-farm biodiversity and creating opportunities for community participation. This will be done with landholders to prioritise on-ground works that support the conservation of natural resources. Farm plans will incorporate long-term transition pathways for on-farm practice change, directly linked to the triple bottom line, reinvigorating the social license of landholders, and operating sustainable agricultural enterprise.   

Stage 2

Implement on-ground works that are high priority within each property.

These works will be undertaken largely by landholders, with incentives available to landholders for revegetation works. At this stage of the project, the practical outcomes delivered with landholders will be used to promote and inform the broader community through participation, training and practical demonstration events.  

Stage 1

Communicate outcomes, striving for farming system change in the broader catchment. 

This is expected to continue beyond the life of this three-year project. With effective promotion and opportunity for landholder training, the project outcomes can then be extended to other catchments where landholders and grower groups are driven to participate.  

This foundational project focuses on establishing ‘demonstration’ properties that represent functional components of the whole catchment. Mapping out a farm transition plan for these key farms will support landholders to evolve their existing practices based on sustainable and regenerative agriculture principles. The project aims to demonstrate a range of techniques supporting on-farm production whilst protecting and enhancing natural assets. 

 

This project will demonstrate a path forward. For farmers, this is an opportunity to test and evaluate innovative practices that can address their challenges. For the general population and other industries which rely on the health of ecosystems and our natural assets, this project will demonstrate that our local farmers can address issues that the broader community is concerned about.  

 

This project is supported by funding from the Western Australian Government’s State NRM Program. 

Landscape Scale Regeneration

NACC NRM and our project partners, Tierra Australia, are pleased to have established the Chapman Catchment – Collaborative Landscape Scale Regeneration project with co-contributions from

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For more information, please contact NACC Personnel

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CEO’s Report

In 2020-21 I talked about ‘raising the bar’. In 2021-22 we worked on setting the bar on fire. Over the last 12 months, the team at NACC NRM has not stopped.

The Sustainable Agriculture team has extended the program’s reach through collaborations with grower groups in the regions. Specifically, the Beyond Reasonable Drought project and Grower Group Alliance – South West WA Drought Innovation Hub – Geraldton Node project. The Beyond Reasonable Drought partnership with grower groups supported farmers across the region to improve the environmental sustainability of their agricultural production and drought resilience. The outcomes of this project have been consolidated through our successful Expression of Interest to the South West WA Drought Innovation Hub, with support from grower groups across the region, to host the Geraldton Node of the Hub. The program continues to focus on working with agricultural networks to share technical expertise and provide opportunities that will improve land management practices in agriculture across the region.

The conservation outcomes of ranger teams have expanded through work on several land tenures. Maintaining Heritage sites such as Willi Gulli, Racecourse Paddock and Buller River has long been a priority. During 2021-22, the teams have increasingly focused on threatened species and ecosystems.

To this end, Western Mulga rangers have improved management across 19,000 ha for the conservation of Malleefowl through firebreak and access management. They completed the maintenance of water holes and supported the monitoring of over 90 Malleefowl mounds.

Similarly, the Kwelena Mambakort Aboriginal Corporate ranger team have contributed positively to Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo populations by installing artificial hollows and habitat restoration.

All ranger teams have collected native seed, propagated native plants for restoration, and planted native vegetation in key locations across the NAR. Seed collection provides valuable industry experience and has facilitated the planting of over 100,000 seedlings during the year.   

In September 2021, the NACC NRM team delivered the WA Threatened Species Forum, held in tandem with the National Malleefowl Forum. Given the impact of COVID and the timing of this event, having more than 100 delegates from all over Australia was a significant achievement. The two Forums brought together 12 events over five days and featured 14 local artists, 25 businesses and 36 youth participants.

Following the successful relaunch of our updated NARvis, NACC NRM was invited to help lead a significant piece of strategic planning work for the region with Mid West Development Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. With funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, the consortia delivered a Regional Drought Resilience Plan covering the shires of Northampton and Chapman Valley and the City of Greater Geraldton, along with significant technical analysis of drought vulnerability for the South West land division. The development of this plan also included extensive community consultation to ensure that local knowledge and technical advice guided the development of priorities for action.

This planning work links to existing NACC NRM on-ground projects, including Beyond Reasonable Drought and the Chapman Catchment Collaborative regeneration project.

It was a busy year for events with face-to-face events becoming commonplace again. During 2021-22 we hosted events in Gingin, Moora, Dalwallinu, Cervantes, Jurien Bay, Walkaway, Nabawa, Perenjori, Kalannie and Morawa. We supported events in Karakin, Thundellara, Perenjori, Paynes Find, Wubin, Cataby, Warradarge, Northampton, Yuna, Dalwallinu and Dandaragan.

We also supported on-ground works throughout the region, including at the following locations Yuna, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Merkanooka, Goodlands, Kalannie, Bunjil, Yardarino, Canna, Kondut, Latham, Kadathinni, Nabawa, Red Gully, Sandy Gully, Waddy Forrest, Devils Creek, Perenjori, Bowgada, Ellendale, Wandana, Namban, Hill River, Warradarge, Gillingarra, Regans Ford and Moonyanooka.

Our region is vast – slightly larger than Tasmania, which for comparison, is serviced by three separate NRM organisations. Covering the NAR region and its many environmental threats is challenging. We continue to focus on partnerships and collaboration to address this challenge. We know that by working with our community through passionate delivery of collaborative on-ground projects and education, the community will value and actively protect our region’s natural capital.

This year we have launched a new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The RAP Working Group consulted widely and developed an Innovate RAP which Reconciliation Australia approved in March 2022. The activities to fulfil these commitments are now in full swing.

Sadly, at the end of 2021, we farewelled former NACC NRM CEO Shelley Spriggs, who lost a long battle with cancer. Shelley was an inaugural inductee to the NRM Leadership Honour Roll. I will always be grateful for her guidance and no-nonsense approach, not to mention her passion for life.

While we have said farewell to some, we have welcomed many new faces across all programs, including our Administration team. We have also hosted a school-based trainee from Nagle Catholic College who has been working towards a Certificate II in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. This trial position has been very successful, and we look forward to making this opportunity available again in 2023.

During 2022 we have taken on new projects that align with our organisational and program objectives, and we have successfully completed some great initiatives that support continued conservation and sustainability outcomes. I want to thank the whole team who continue to go above and beyond for the organisation and each other proving their ongoing commitment to our purpose and our values.