To celebrate Biodiversity Month this September, Country Road and Landcare Australia have announced a fifth project site in The Biodiversity Project in the Namoi Valley on the Schwager family farm, 'Wentworth', where 4000 native seedlings on 43 hectares have been planted along 2.8km of riparian and floodplain habitat on the Namoi River.
The Biodiversity Project is a collaboration between Landcare Australia and Country Road, supported by the Australian cotton industry via Cotton Australia, CRDC and CottonInfo. The project was established to work with cotton farmers to restore and enhance biodiversity on properties in the Namoi Valley.
Landcare Australia CEO Dr Shane Norrish said the partnership with Country Road is enabling funding for five Australian farming families to be involved in The Biodiversity Project, and the impact to date includes 18,300 seedlings planted along 14.4 km of riverbank in the Namoi Valley, rehabilitating a total of 102.6 hectares of native vegetation.
"Together with Country Road, and with the support of the cotton industry, our work on The Biodiversity Project is achieving our shared vision to improve biodiversity and habitat connectivity, support threatened, vulnerable and iconic fauna species while also providing farming co-benefits," he said.
Kevin and Mary-Ellen Schwager's 550-hectare dryland farming property along the Namoi River will be the fifth site restored through the program and will involve planting shrubs, understory, and canopy species to protect natural habitats and threatened species.
Kevin, pictured here with his daughter and grandchildren, says being a part of The Biodiversity Project enables his family to play a part in making a meaningful, responsible impact on both the environment and community.
"Through The Biodiversity Project, we wish to demonstrate that we are responsible custodians of our land. We want to show that farming and the environment and young families can and do coexist," Kevin said.
"Consumers are becoming more interested and discerning about where their food and clothes are coming from. As farmers, we wish to be outward looking and thinking, we need to respond to a changing marketplace. Being involved with The Biodiversity Project allows us to play a part in societal change."
The site was identified as an area of interest for biodiversity enhancement for a range of threatened species in research findings from the report, Management of Biodiversity in the Cotton Landscape: Iconic and Threatened Species, developed by CRDC with support from the Australian Government's National Landcare Smart Farming Partnerships Initiative.
In the Namoi project area, the research identified iconic species that are threatened, including the koala, brush-tailed rock wallaby, eastern grass owl, superb parrot, painted snipe and black-striped wallaby, along with plant species including Belson's panic, ooline and Coolabah Bertya.
In total, the report found that Australia's cotton farmlands are home to 138 threatened plant and animal species. It identifies and maps areas for further biodiversity enhancements required throughout cotton growing regions, in line with the Australian cotton industry's sustainability framework PLANET. PEOPLE. PADDOCK.
CRDC Innovation Broker and CottonInfo Natural Resources Technical Lead Stacey Vogel confirmed the benefits that The Biodiversity Project brings to growers and the environment.
"These projects are restoring regionally important threatened species habitats and improving native vegetation connectivity within the Namoi catchment," Stacey said.
"We know from our research that well-managed areas of native vegetation on farm bring benefits not only for iconic and threatened species but also to the farm by providing natural pest control, improving soil health and storing and sequestering carbon."
Cotton Australia CEO Adam Kay says the key benefits of the project are the ongoing funding provided by Country Road, and the sharing of knowledge with other cotton growers.
"Biodiversity enhancement can be expensive and time consuming for farmers. The Biodiversity Project is a great model for how we can bring a range of expertise together to get positive outcomes for our farmers and the natural environment," he said.
"It's exciting to see brands like Country Road, that are sourcing Australian cotton fibres in their products, invest in issues that we all care about.
"An important part of the project for the cotton industry will be to capture the lessons learned by the farmers participating and use these to further enhance our biodiversity work across the industry."
The five Namoi Valley families involved in The Biodiversity Project to date are the Kahls of Wee Waa, the Watsons of Boggabri, the Hamparsums of Gunnedah, the Pursehouses of Breeza, and the Schwagers of Narrabri. For more, visit Country Road.
