Federation University held a site visit of around 40 restoration ecologists from around the world. They were attending a workshop in February on the 'Theory and Practice of Rehabilitation and Restoration,' organised by FU lecturer Singarayer Florentine. BRT President Phil Kinghorn met them on site and explained how we used silvicultural principles to manage the plantation. Apparently, the 'theory and practice of rehabilitation and restoration' does not include either pruning or thinning. Once you plant it, don't touch it, so their theory goes. They were particularly challenged by our plans to eventually introduce mosaic burning. Fire should be minimised, they said. They're obviously not fans of Stephen Pyne or Bill Gammage. Present were Andre Clewell, the US founder and President of the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER) and Tein McDonald from the Australasian branch (SERA). |
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Milo Bekin Faries, President of the International Analog Forestry Network visited the ImLal biorich site on a chilly day at the end of April. While he saw the plantation as a good example of analogue forestry principles, he found the cold hard to deal with. Milo hails from tropical Costa Rica, and his week of AF workshops with farmers associated with the Moorabool Landcare Network proved unrelentingly cold and wet. Next time!
Milo's AF farm in Costa Rica applies a ratio of 50% biodiversity to 50% productive plants. He makes much of his income from producing and marketing essential oil products. Diana Lloyd, a Southern Cross University lecturer is running a sustainable forestry unit and one fine April morning she brought a group of students to visit. A number of the students work with such forestry 'heavy hitters' as Australian Paper, and the Victorian government agencies of DSE and DPI. Two employees from Australian Paper bought copies of Recreating the Country and said they could see how such plantations might suit mining site rehabilitation. Diana Lloyd reported the students thought the biorich plantation concept was "impressive." They commented on the importance of maintaining the purity of the biorich design. "Some would have preferred that species like the redwood weren’t part of the plan," she said. |
AuthorGib Wettenhall is interested in how we carry out large scale landscape restoration that involves the people who live in those landscapes. That, he believes, would build truly resilient landscapes. Categories
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