It's pretty bare on the ground at the ImLal biorich plantation – a combination of winter cold and kangaroo grazing. But there were still some surprises. Some of the trees planted with Rowan Reid's fibreglass poles to escape roo damage are now well and truly established. And the few sequoias left are finally getting up there after almost 15 years growth! As for the hakeas on the mullock heap, they're in glorious full bloom and emitting a strong honey smell. Sweet!
 Steve Murphy presented at our two university visits that fell in the first part of 2025. Federation University has come for 15 years straight as lecturer Singarayer Florentine noted (and he's been with them all that time!). Florry remarked that it gives his mine and land rehabilitation students a totally different perspective than the 'economic' driver behind most forestry plantations. Both field days had about 20-30 students. Steve played his animist game again, where he shanghais students into playing a range of animals declaring what sort of habitat they like. Most of the students are enthusiastic, getting into their role by deploying funny voices. Lachie presented at his drop slab hut. He has developed a range of props now that demonstrate the mortise and tenon process used. The site is very dry but holding up well. The Lal Lal Falls have dried up as you can see below.  The Mongolian Industry Forestry group that visited the biorich plantation enjoyed a ‘democracy’ sausage sizzle, which my wife Gayl and I hosted. They almost didn't get beyond the clearing, tucking into their sausages and warm beer with relish. The Magnificent Seven on the delegation weren’t actually Mongolian – I wanted them to teach me a couple of words, but they admitted to only speaking Mandarin. They’d been to Melbourne University and to see the penguins at Phillip Island and out to the Dandenongs, but as far as we could make out from their interpreter, they’d visited few actual forestry plantations here. Despite the 'Industry' in their title, the Mongolian Industry Forestry group were not involved in any logging or commercial harvesting. Their forests are mainly conifer and their group has a large government-paid staff throughout the country, which is dedicated solely to conservation and fire protection. It seems that it was our ecological restoration focus, which had attracted their attention in the first instance. They were puzzled that we were only a volunteer group, lacking either government funding input or management control. The President of the group (he’s the one holding the books I gave him), was an earnest fellow and exclaimed that their government had oversight over every activity. I gave them copies of 'Recreating the Country' and Digby Race's book on Pacific Rim agroforestry, 'Raising trees and livelihoods.' They were principally interested in how we prevented bushfire (again they were staggered it was mainly volunteer run); and showed more interest in the case studies on agroforestry for smallholders in Asia than the design principles of a biorich plantation. Field tour as part of Forestry Australia's Ballarat symposium, which visited ImLal to look at ecological restoration options. Thirty-two practising foresters turned up (without hard hats!) to hear Gary, Roger and Lachie spruiking the wares of the biorich plantation. How we would handle the fire problem was a hot topic. ABC Rural Features Reporter, Rhiannon Stevens, visits ImLal in search of a good news story23/8/2024
This was one of the most enthusiastic student groups we've ever had. Lots of questions and even a volunteer for our next bird survey. One of the students asked if she could revisit – Roger is going to take that on. Another student suggested we explore boring holes into trees to make artificial hollows, which solves insulation problems. Steve's animist game was taken up with gusto. It engages the students and the performers make a real attempt to channel their animal whether a pardelote or an antechinus. One 'lizard' chose a slow, Texan drawl.
Forest Systems field trip organiser, Dr Antanas Spokevicius, has brought 30 Melbourne University students back yet again to our unique site in terms of planation models. Only ImLal prioritises biodiversity over economic and social values, he continues to assert. Johann Van Der Merwe, the new GM of SUVO Minerals for its Victorian operations, welcomed the students at the gate. He is keen for us to look at ways of expanding beyond our 15ha to take up more of the 147ha kaolin mining buffer zone. Biorich site designer, Steve Murphy, added a dash of animism into his presentation. He even included some role playing where four students were called on to channel the 'wants' of a lizard, pardalote and antechinus, so the students might empathise with the needs of other than humans. The students seemed more engaged than they usually are, so it's a strategy worth pursuing. Lachie Park had some new props for explaining how he built the drop slab hut. As we completed our short tour of the site, one student remarked to me that if she was animal, she'd like to live at ImLal. Steve seems to have struck a chord.  Antanas brought 20 students to ImLal as part of his annual Forest Systems Field Trip on 24 February, 2022. A few weeks later, 'Florry' Florentine from Federation University led his annual trip of land rehab and ecological restoration students to ImLal. Both remarked on how "unique" our site remains, marrying both conservation and production. We noted that three of the sequoia are now topping their guards!   Lecturer, Antanas Spokevicius, brought another 31 students back to ImLal in March 20121. He said of last year's visit: "This was a real highlight for the class and they absolutely loved it. Some have even been inspired to undertake careers in forest management – I know of one students who is now on fire crew for the summer purely based on this experience." This year the students were able to hear craftsman Lachie Park explain the process of building the 21C drop slab hut. He revealed how for him as a woodworker it had been a real eye-opener. "Most woodworkers are disconnected from the source of the wood they use. I've learnt the importance of provenance, of taking a more place-based approach." Some students were puzzled at the high-tech upgrades as though the approach ought to totally retrieve lost arts of the past. But this not a "hippy hut." As the '21C' in its title implies, this is a 21st century reframing of the traditional drop slab hut, making it fit-for-purpose for a more sustainable future. |
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