Mulloon Institute landscape planners Lance Mudgway and Mitch Lennon hit the road through South Australia’s arid lands on a mission, bringing hands-on education about landscape rehydration to an enthusiastic new audience. Across two events, pastoralists, extension officers and land managers came together to build practical skills for restoring natural landscape function in some of Australia’s driest, most erosion-prone country.
Learning to read the land
The first stop was a field day in the Kingoonya Pastoral District, where fifteen participants from eleven pastoral leases spent a day exploring how water interacts with rangeland terrain, for better and for worse.
The highlight was a visit to Bon Bon Station, where sediment control structures have been installed to slow water flow. Visible signs of sediment build-up and vegetation recovery showed the group something powerful: low-tech interventions using readily available materials can genuinely begin to rebuild a landscape’s natural function. Sometimes, small changes make a big difference.
Bootcamp in the North East
The second event stepped things up with a two-day bootcamp at Mt Victor Station in the North East Pastoral District. Participants from seven pastoral leases and two properties rolled up their sleeves for interactive sessions covering catchment mapping, soil sampling, site surveying and ecological monitoring.
Field visits brought the theory to life, showcasing techniques already being used on the ground, including ‘whoa-boys’ on station tracks and grader blade ‘scallops’ to revegetate scalded areas. Practical, local and already working.
Why arid landscapes need a different approach
In country where rainfall is infrequent and unpredictable, every drop counts. When rain does arrive, the goal is simple: slow it down, keep it in the landscape and give it time to infiltrate. Rehydration techniques do exactly that, reducing erosion, improving soil health and supporting long-term productivity in conditions that leave little room for error.
By pairing practical demonstrations with peer learning, both events built something that technical workshops alone can’t always achieve: local confidence. Confidence in reading a landscape, planning works, and knowing that what you’re doing is grounded in both science and the lived experience of neighbours facing the same challenges.
Building resilience, one landscape at a time
This is what Mulloon Institute’s education work looks like in practice: meeting land managers where they live, in the landscapes they know, and equipping them with the skills and knowledge to make lasting change.
If you’re working in a similar landscape and want to connect with our team, we’d love to hear from you.