Graziers rise to challenge of generating ideas to fix gully erosion
“The idea of introducing graziers into the thought process of grant development is refreshing”.
That’s the view of Jessie Gooding, a young grazier from Mount Aberdeen Station, near Collinsville, who attended one of four NQ Dry Tropics workshops around Bowen and Collinsville last week.The workshops aimed to capture local knowledge by exploring graziers’ thoughts and ideas around how to achieve long-term sustainable land management on grazing properties.
The events were part of a multi-million dollar Queensland Government project aimed at addressing gully erosion to reduce the impacts of sediment runoff on water quality in the Great Barrier Reef.
Jessie was referring to the fact that this government funding program is the first to proactively ask graziers to help design on-ground projects to improve land condition and water quality.
“It is great to think that someone up there has actually thought hey, these guys are the ones on their land, they do this every day, maybe they might know something”, she said.
“The government has put this trust in us, which is a great step. Ï absolutely think graziers have solutions to fix gully erosion. They have been doing it for generations”, she said.
“There’s been some great ideas thrown around today, and I really hope that following these workshops, we can come up with some innovations and strategies to help graziers find better solutions”, she said.
A total of 63 graziers took part in the workshops, representing more than 50 per cent of all properties within the priority Bowen, Broken and Bogie River catchments,
NQ Dry Tropics Project Manager, Donna Turner, said that the events had been very well received by local graziers..
“This project is giving graziers the opportunity to drive investment in their industry and influence its future”, she said.
“The sessions were extremely productive, and we now have some great ideas that will be refined during the next few months of the design process”, she said.
Main photo: Graziers Jessie Gooding from Mt Aberdeen and Bristow Hughes of Strathalbyn at the Bowen Workshop. Photo credit: Marie Roman.