AN eastern Riverina farmer is looking to an ancient form of conservation to improve native plant and wildlife populations.
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Louise Freckelton, Highland Farm and Woodland at Mount Adrah, grazes Dorper sheep and Dexler cattle between Tarcutta and Gundagai hopes traditional burning methods will boost native plants and wildlife at the property, which is partly under a conservation covenant to protect box gum grassy woodlands.
The idea came after a recent visit to the property by Local Land Services officers and Wiradjuri elders to look at a scar tree Ms Freckelton identified under her due diligence obligations.
“One of the men who came out from Wagga has been learning lots about indigenous burning and he's quite keen to work with us on how we can use firing to restore some of the plant life that is really suppressed by the introduced grasses, particularly in the conservation areas,” she said.
"So over time we'll work to do that.”
Highland Farm, which sells only at farmers markets throughout the Riverina, runs Dorper sheep and Dexter cattle, with plans to begin free-range egg production.
“The thing is, indigenous people managed grazing land in our part of the world for at least 40,000 years,” she said, “and we're grazing, we're just using different animals.
"It will be really interesting to learn from them good practices that maintain pastures and maintains native vegetation."
Riverina LLS has trialled traditional burning along travelling stock routes with great success in terms of native plant regeneration.
"I see it as a fantastic tool where you've got remnant vegetation, or a native grass base, to freshen it up and get new growth and stimulate the soil, knocking over fire sensitive weeds,” LLS project manager Leanna Moerkerken said. "Where you've remnant vegetation it would be a really great tool for landholder to use.
"There's been a lot of interest looking at that Travelling Stock Route trial, landholders have shown a lot of interest in trialling it on their land.”
Ms Freckelton is planning a follow-up visit to her farm and protected woodland next month.
"They had a quick look at the property and could see indigenous people would have cleared this … through firestick farming.
"They looked at a scar tree and what they saw was clear evidence to them of possibly the last indigenous firing of the valley.”
"We're going to be working more and more with the Wiradjuri elders to identify areas of indigenous heritage that we should be looking after as well.”
