More and more farmers have taken up the opportunity to protect areas of their property through the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT), a landmark program for farm conservation.
Tom Gordon and Martina (Marty) Shelley were successful in the snow gum woodlands and grasslands conservation tender for their mixed use property near Bungendore.
"The annual payments will give us a feeling of security, and spread out the risk involved in managing land. We're thrilled that the BCT can reward landholders who care for their country," they said.
"We heard about the program through other local landholders," Marty Shelley said.
"Our property is historically a sheep and cattle operation, on land that has been farmed continuously by the Gordon family since 1886. 'Birkenburn' is 1400 hectares, 730ha of which is natural bushland on the Great Dividing Range.
"Tom's brother ran Merino sheep on our property up until about five years ago, and we continue to run cattle here, trading steers.
"We are currently de-stocked while planning a holistic rotational grazing set-up. We decided to diversify our farm income nearly three years ago, by opening the property up to visitors. We renovated the old manager's house into an AirBnB that sleeps 17 guests, created a campground, and we've hosted numerous workshops. We have plans underway to provide additional accommodation options and new workshops in 2022."
The Land asked Marty and Tom a number of questions about the BCT Trust and why they were keen to be involved.
What is the landscape?
Martina Shelley said the western edge of the property lay along the 'Sandhills' section of the Great Dividing Range, "with trig point 'Twynam' the highest point at 950m (higher than Jindabyne!). This steep area of the farm features granite outcrops and dry sclerophyll forest. The centre and eastern edge of the property is a landscape of rolling hills, with mixed native and introduced grasslands and open woodlands. Sandhills Creek runs the length of the property, feeding into the Mulloon Creek catchment. The BCT-identified snow-gums community lies along this creek line. Our soils are generally sandy loam with a clay base".
The aims you have with this agreement and how important it is in the context of farm environmentalism, if you could call it that. Also how it will synch with your farm operations and are there interesting ways you run your farm ?
"By entering into this agreement with the BCT, it enables us to protect and enhance our existing Snowgum woodland areas, which in turn contribute to wildlife corridors linking mountain and creek zones. The project will also add to the continuing the conservation and ongoing management of our riparian zones, where we have worked with various environmental groups on plantings, erosion control and fencing. (Most notably, we are part of the landholders group for the Mulloon Institute's Mulloon Rehydration Initiative, a whole-of-catchment project which has been recognised for its scale by the UNSECO World Heritage Organisation.) Our plans to shift to regenerative grazing practices will work well with the new BCT project, as the Snowgum areas will now be protected by fencing and grazed infrequently, for short periods only. We have been implementing an Aboriginal Cultural burning program since March 2020, with Cultural fire practitioners from Yarrabin Cultural Connections and Koori Country Cultural Fire. This has been mainly in the mountain forest areas, and we are now trialling burning in conjunction with grazing in grasslands areas."
Could you describe the animals and or flora you may be protecting ?
"We are lucky enough to have Glossy Black cockatoos on our property; like the endangered Snowgum ecological communities, they have been affected by land clearing for grazing and cropping and are listed as vulnerable in NSW due to loss of food source and habitat. We have numerous native grass and wildflower species currently being identified, and recently completed a frog survey with The Mulloon Institute in which 8 species of frog were recorded along our creek line. Echidnas, wallabies, kangaroos, wombats, and various smaller animals like lizards, birds and snakes will be further protected by the conservation of these woodland areas."
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John Ellicott
journalist and author
journalist and author
