A walk on the wild side
A walk on the wild side
Exploring on-farm biodiversity in the Narromine area
Reaching Out -
LLCI009-003
The issue
Conserving biodiversity can often be challenging in agricultural landscapes. Early 2016, Macquarie 2100 developed an Annual Action Plan where it was identified that we wanted to improve the health of local natural resources, particularly biodiversity for future generations.
Consequently we were keen to showcase how productive agricultural farming can occur alongside biodiversity conservation.
The solution
A non-confrontational way to look at biodiversity is to take a walk on a farm to explore and witness what is around. We were excited when Central West Local Land Services provided us with the opportunity to host environmental expert Mikla Lewis on a local property.
A small field day was held on 24th June 2016 on Jon Elders farm half an hour from Narromine. On the day Mikla led us around a woodland talking about various local plants and animals we saw.
We also heard about the operations of the farm, had a biosecurity update as well as heard about the economic benefits of biodiversity.
The impact
Despite the wet conditions and threat of rain on the day we had over 20 locals from all walks of life, including farmers, town people including children.
A number of the attendees had not previously attended a field day hosted by Macquarie 2100 so the landcare group appears to be extending its community outreach.
Mikla’s passion for native plants and animals was contagious with the group enthusiastically walking and talking around the woodland. Feedback from the event meant another biodiversity walk is being planned in the future.
Key facts
- Farm walks are a non-confrontational way to explore biodiversity alongside agriculture.
- Field day led by an knowledgeable biodiversity expert
- Building and maintaining partnerships between Landcare and Local Land Services