SAAL region in the world spotlight
The South Australian rangelands were showcased on world stage at the recent International Rangelands Congress (IRC) in Adelaide in June.
This included a strong attendance from land managers and NRM practitioners in the region, tours through the region, presentations and networking.
Twenty land managers and community members from the SA Arid Lands region were supported to attend the event by the SAAL Landscape Board, the Pastoral Board and the SA Drought Hub. Several staff and board members also attended and presented papers and conference sessions, and presentations.
The event offered an opportunity for the board to showcase its work on a global stage with SAAL hosting a booth at the event, presenting three presentations and one poster, and supporting further presentations.
Projects cast into the international spotlight were:
- Protection of sacred springs in South Australia’s Rangelands presentation – Aaron Smith with Frank Warren and Kirsty Dadleh from The Dieri Aboriginal Corporation – an overview of the spring fencing project on Murnpeowie Station that highlighted the importance of partnerships and community engagement with volunteers, pastoralists and traditional owners.
- Managing groundwater in South Australia’s Rangelands – Aaron Smith about the work underway in partnership with pastoralists to monitor and measure groundwater take as part of the water accounting trials.
- Empowering pastoral landowners through soil understanding and land management strategy – Andrea Tschirner. This presentation summarised the work undertaken in the From the Ground Up Project.
Senior Biosecurity Officer Charlie Eager presented a poster titled ‘Cacti biocontrol in the SA Arid Lands’ showcasing the board’s work with cochineal while General Manager Jodie Gregg-Smith facilitated and moderated a panel session ‘Resilient Rangelands – adapting to change and harnessing future opportunities in South Australia’s Rangelands’.
Panellists for this session included Dr Ellen Litchfield, Dr John Read, Ross Sawers, and Darren Ray, Principal Climate Change Analyst with the Department for Environment and Water.
Two pre-congress tours traversed the region in the week prior to the event. The first, travelling from Alice Springs to Adelaide was joined by Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator Andrea Tschirner and Marla Oodnadatta Community Landscape Officer Tori Love. This event included a pastoral networking dinner at Marla with stops at Wintinna Station, Pootnoura Channel, Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park, Umoona Opal Mine, Mount Barry Station, the Moon Plain land system, Lake Hart and Arid Recovery.
The second tour travelled from Perth to Adelaide and was supported by the board’s former Gawler Ranges Community Landscape Officer Chris Fulton who provided an overview of conservation projects at Secret Rocks during a tour stop.
Both tours finished at the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens and groups were given a guided tour by the Friends group.
