Skip to main content

Understanding how, where and why water moves in the landscape is key to building resilience, wherever we are. Adding to our existing series of animations, we’ve created three new ones to bring this idea to life. This time we teamed up with Dr. Laura Norman (US Geological Survey – see her extraordinary bio here), a scientist studying the benefits of natural infrastructure and deeply committed to community and effective science communication.

 

Natural infrastructure and farm system solutions are key themes in these animations. These tools and strategies help land managers work with the landscape to restore function, slow, store and cycle water, and build long-term resilience.

Each animation explores: 

  • how water behaves around natural infrastructure, both above and below the surface– slowing down, spreading out and soaking in
  • how landscapes transform over time in response to these changes – building soil carbon, restoring wetlands and rebuilding biodiversity
  • how farm systems can adapt to the land’s natural hydrology – by rethinking land use, livestock management, relocating infrastructure, and working with the land’s mosaic of features. 

Natural infrastructure involves using natural materials such as logs, rocks, vegetation, soil and existing features like wetlands to manage water and restore landscape function. It’s a practical, low-impact approach that supports both productivity and environmental health. 

We hope these animations convey this simple but powerful idea: when we understand how landscapes function, we can become more insightful and effective as stewards of land and water.  

Thanks again to animators Timothy Lee (juunelee.com) and David Lobb, and sound designer Justin Hewitson for coming on this journey with us.  

Let us know your feedback!  

This project has received funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.  

This animation is one of a series developed to support public understanding of the principles of landscape rehydration and restoration.

Esta animación forma parte de una serie desarrollada para apoyar la comprensión pública de los principios de la rehidratación y restauración del paisaje.

Click on the images to view our Spanish animations below.

 

View our animation series in Spanish!