Biorch plantations blog - Biorich plantations – mimicking nature to integrate conservation & production

Melbourne Uni Forest Systems field trip back again

23/2/2023

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.

Melbourne and Federation uni students are first to visit in 2022

13/3/2022

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!

Return of Melbourne University's Forest Systems field trip

2/3/2021

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.

Site visit by Forest Sciences students

2/3/2020

We now have two lots of students visiting ImLal from the University of Melbourne. Dr Antanas Spokevicius included ImLal on a Forest Systems field trip comparing different sorts of forestry management. Some 30 Forest Sciences students listened to Steve Murphy present on the design principles behind a biorich plantation on 27 February, 2020.

Melbourne Uni environmental and forestry students ponder to prune or not

29/9/2016

Over 20 students from Melbourne University's School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences heard differing viewpoints from Phil Kinghorn and Gib Wettenhall on high or low silviculture of the biorich plantings. Senior Research Fellow Dr Lauren Bennett said later: "There was lively discussion on the return bus about the various issues that were raised, including comments on how instructive it was to see the reality of restoration practices, and how enjoyable the visit had been overall."

We just fled the hilltop in time as the wind rose and the rain fell. It was the day an extreme weather event caused massive outages in South Australia. Lauren concluded: "there were also comments on how well you (we) managed the weather (these admittedly made later as the rain set in)."

MU hopes to repeat the visit in coming years.

Gordon TAFE students try their hand at pruning

5/9/2016

Some 40 Gordon TAFE students from Geelong visited the ImLal site in August. After background from Stephen Murphy, Phil Kinghorn handed out pruning tools so the Conservation and Land Management students could gain some practical experience of an essential silvicultural skill. And it proved good vigorous exercise for a typically cold winter's day at ImLal.

New crop of FU students visit ImLal for plot monitoring

30/4/2016

It was certainly a beautiful autumn day for the Federation University student visit in April, with the majority of the 32 students doing their final year of the Land Restoration and Rehabilitation course.

BRT President Phil Kinghorn spoke to them at the entrance about the history of ImLal and the birth of the idea of biorich plantations at the BRT conference nine years ago. They then followed biorich designer Stephen Murphy into a sunny spot beside the shining gums where he could point out the layering that has developed and the five different plant families that could be seen from this one location. We had a good interactive session with the students participating in some role plays of the four native animals have relevance to ImLal and in recreating woodland layering, with students becoming canopy trees, understorey, shrubs and a log on the green shade cloth stage.

Course leader, Singarayer "Florry" Florentine then asked the students to survey the plants in the study quadrats. The BRT crew checked out the survival rates on the biolink (which were not too bad considering the recent dry spell – at least 70% from what we saw at the southern end).

Site visit by professional restoration ecologists

27/2/2016

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).

Royal forester likes how the biorich model breaks down fences

18/4/2015

A number of the overseas foresters who recently visited the Ballarat AFG’s biorich plantation demonstration site on a field trip commented on its uniqueness in attempting to bring forestry and environmental plantings together.

In April, the well-attended ANZIF conference field trip of 25 foresters from Australia, New Zealand and overseas visited ImLal. In particular, Geraint Richards, Head Forester for the Duchy of Cornwall (i.e. forests owned by Prince Charles) told Ballarat Region Treegrowers (BRT) President, Phil Kinghorn, that he saw the biorich model as a way of “breaking down the fence” between farmers and foresters. He said he intended to draw what BRT was doing to the attention of Prince Charles.

Jean Baptise, a CSIRO researcher working in Queensland, made a similar comment: he’d been trying without success to get collaboration between farmers and foresters in bringing agroforestry and environmental reveg together. Like Geraint, he saw the biorich model as a means of breaking the deadlock. Clumping farm forestry woodlots around the perimeter to bulk out a biodiverse core not only scales up habitat biodiversity, but also offers income diversification potential for landholders.

The ANZIF 2015 conference theme was about Creating Resilient Landscapes. As a means of integrating farm forestry and Landcare-style environmental plantings, the biorich forestry model serves to build resilience into both landholders and landscape.

Biorich designer Steve Murphy and BRT President Phil Kinghorn explain to the ANZIF field trip how the biorich forestry model optimises habitat niches and offers resources to landholders.

President of International Analog Forestry Network visits ImLal

1/5/2014

(L-R) AFG Pres David Fisken; BRT Pres Gib Wettenhall; IAFN Pres Mil Bekin Faries; BRT Sec Ian Penna.

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.