Event Type
Landcare Region
BCT Region
Join us on a tour of a 3-decade old riparian restoration and revegetation program at Dingo Bend Angus Stud, where Ross and Elissa manage a 27Ha conservation zone on Dingo Creek alongside a successful Angus Stud. They will share the story of their land, spanning 3 decades and display the result of 1000's of rainforest plantings along a once degraded and barren creek bed. Ross and Elissa's journey has included many trials and tribulations, but also much success and triumph in the face of adversity. Their property is a shining star in the realm of sustainable agriculture, which demonstrates, first hand, the benefits of enhancing biodiversity for primary production and biodiversity conservation. We will hear from Chris Scott on the complexity of riparian restoration in a weedy catchment, and Peter Beale (LLS) about pasture management and productivity capacity.
This event is possible thanks to the shared work of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust and Landcare NSW under the Private Land Conservation Matters project, supported locally by MidCoast Council.
Event Topics
Event Outcomes
Growth in learning measure (Scale 1 - 100)
All of my networking events are very focused, local neighbourhood events. The Bobin Event was coordinated by me in collaboration with the landholder, who also personally invited his neighbours.
Conservation and Farming at Bobin
You may recall previous articles about the beautiful Dingo Bend Angus Stud, where owners, Ross and Elissa have been breeding first class Angus cattle whilst taking care of over 1km of Dingo Creek in a voluntary conservation agreement?
Their property is a perfect example of how conservation on private land can be married to primary production. It is an oasis of rainforest plantings and exemplary creek restoration that has been in train since the 1990’s. Photos from the early 1900’s show a treeless landscape and degraded creekline.
Ross and Elissa rotate their stock regularly, keep them out of the creek and utilise the Biodiversity Conservation Trust grant program to employ bush regenerators to manage weeds along the conservation zones of the creek. It is a highly productive property with high conservation value riparian vegetation and habitats along the Dingo Creek.
In late April, Ross and Elissa were excited to record their first ever sighting of a Manning River Helmeted Turtle. Although their section of Dingo Creek has prime habitat with deep pools, the Endangered MRHT has been elusively absent. Researchers have been monitoring their section of Dingo Creek for several years with cameras, traps and divers, to no avail. Ross and Elissa have observed the brutal effects of a changing climate in recent years. Devastation from drought and fire in 2019 depleted the creek to a pebble bed with rank, shallow pools where there was once clear and dependable water. This was then followed by ravaging floods in 2021. All of which would have negatively impacted aquatic species, such as the MRHT and platypus.
This recent sighting has been reported to the River Revival team at Council, who have had no previous documentation of the species in the Dingo, which makes the observation even more exciting!
If you have any similarly exciting records of unusual and rare species at your own property, get online and upload observations and images to inaturalist - a citizen science platform for nature observations.
Event Feedback
Willing landowners with helpful perspective on their experience with combining conservation and agriculture and having an intact BCT agreement
Would help to have everyone move as a group so that all could benefit from the expertise of Chris Scott and Peter Beale in their respective fields. Perhaps by having designated stopping points and when all assembled then start talking
Host landholder was proactive in promoting the event locally and inviting neighbours which gave MC2T access to a new range of landholders for promotion of PLCM