Congratulations to Ruby Davies, Ali Mencshelyi and Tilda Blackbourn-Rooney who recently received the Craft + Design Canberra Emerging Contemporaries Exhibition Award!

Their prizewinning work was an educational Landscape Kit they developed for Mulloon Institute in their ANU Design Studio course. Read more about it here.

We’re so thrilled that their hard work and ingenuity has been recognised. And lucky us, we get to incorporate this magnetised, modular, portable and very elegant textile and timber kit into our education programs – wins all round!

As the end of year races towards us at breakneck speed, it’s time to hit the brakes, grab a favourite beverage and enjoy our summer edition of Resilience from your favourite garden spot listening to the cicadas.

There’s been a very high level of activity across the Mulloon group over the past few months, and we’ve packaged it all up for your enjoyment.

The seasonal conditions for this Spring have been mild to warm with below average rainfall being recorded. Our rolling average rainfall dropped below 900mm in November for the first time in over 12 months. The last five months has seen significant rainfall deficits, and this combined with our falling rolling average may be an early indicator of dry times ahead.

The cows and calves have enjoyed the spring conditions and longer grazing days. The ideal paddock conditions have the cows milking well and in prime condition with very sappy calves at foot.

The heifers have had an easy run through Winter and Spring and now are rotationally grazing the lush creek flats on Mulloon Creek.

The poultry enterprise has enjoyed a steady increase in egg production since late Winter and during Spring. Paddocks have at long last dried up after four years of well above average rainfall and now more resemble chook pastures than duck ponds.

After much planning and design work, the first batch of our new poultry sheds are under construction. It is planned to have these state of the art sheds ready for the next batch of pullets to move into next February. These sheds have been designed with the highest level of animal welfare in mind and will assist in our biosecurity.

The bird flu outbreak that occurred in parts of Victoria, NSW and the ACT earlier this year has fortunately been contained with no further outbreaks occurring to date. Its very pleasing that the Government is taking the potential of bird flu seriously and has set up an extensive wild bird monitoring program. Here’s hoping that nothing will occur.

The Learning Programs team with Peter Hazell, Erin Healy and Tam Connor recently spent time on Bandjalang Country at Minyumai Indigenous Protected Area exchanging skills and knowledge with the Minyumai Rangers and Jagun Alliance team in a 2-day Bootcamp. The project forms part of the Nature Glenelg Trust wetland restoration project at Minyumai.

Immersed in a broad valley of several hundred hectares, amongst the Swamp Casuarina and Paperbark forests, the group explored this vibrant cultural landscape, and its relationship with energy, the water cycle, life, and the lie of the land. The group were encouraged to tune their senses to the shape of the surface as they walked and note the transition from steeper country to gentle slopes and flats.

We found a large headcut and significant gully erosion at the transition between what Peter termed ‘the old country and the new country’. In geological terms, this is where old parent material on the steeper slopes, under the force of gravity, slowly erodes and deposits minerals on the gentle slopes that form the much younger alluvial flats.

Minyumai Rangers and Nature Glenelg Trust highlighted the legacy of the drainage channels cut into the floodplain in the 1970s, which increased the speed of surface flows and subsequently caused significant erosion. A key outcome of the Bootcamp was to build water stewardship skills that reduce erosion using simple nature-based solutions to slow water flow and to encourage the retention of sediment. Together we demonstrated how simple brush log and rock structures in flowlines can kickstart this healing process benefitting the wetlands and the broader landscape.

The knowledge shared on culture and scientific principles while we walked and worked together speaks to the sense of community and collaboration that we are eager to grow together through future Country-centred projects.

This program is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, Jagun Alliance Aboriginal Corporation, Nature Glenelg Trust and Minyumai IPA.

On Friday 22 November 2024, a State Memorial Service was held for our late Chairman, The Hon Gary Nairn AO on the Home Farm at Mulloon Creek Natural Farms.

Reflections on Gary, and this very special day, have been shared in published articles by our Chair, Matt Egerton-Warburton (here) and our CEO Managing Director, Carolyn Hall (here).

Here, due to popular request from many who were unable to travel for this event, we share memories and resources from the day.

Click to watch the ABC News story.

Gary, Rose, Matt’s wife Mary Byrne and their son Jude Egerton-Warburton, from their first meeting at Mulloon in 2019

I first met The Hon. Gary Nairn AO and his wife Rose when I first visited the Mulloon homestead with my family in the 2019 Easter school holidays. There was six of us (and a dog) in a Honda Odyssey heading south as part of an Easter holiday trip from Sydney to Melbourne.

I was there to show my kids the famous Mulloon farm (that I had been watching incessantly on YouTube) but more importantly to conduct due diligence in my role assisting a charitable trust that wanted to donate funds to an environmental charity. I was there to ‘kick the tyres’ and decide whether to recommend a donation to Mulloon Institute. I was impressed by the vision, education programs and the ambition of the Institute, and I was hoping to make a ‘multiplier donation’ – a donation that teaches a man to fish rather than gives a man a fish.

When I contacted the Institute to arrange a visit, I was surprised the Chairman, Gary, decided to personally conduct the tour. Gary was a former Howard Government Minister who had recently retired from a stellar political and business career. I was just a humble Sydney lawyer.

I remember vividly Gary waiting patiently for us in jeans next to the dusty Kings Highway on a beautiful autumn afternoon, not phased at all that we were 15 minutes late. He patiently took us on a tour of the property (Peter’s Pond, the Home Farm, Duralla and the egg operation) and we talked non-stop for hours. We connected instantly – he was humble, wise, intelligent and humorous. At the end of the tour I was convinced (and a little bit star struck) and mentioned to Gary I was going to recommend the donation.

His eyes instantly twinkled (as his did) and he said (with more than a hint of cheek), “Matt, we’ll take your money but I also need your legal help – pro bono of course!” And so it began…

Inspired by Gary and wanting to do everything I could to help the Institute, I formed the Mulloon Law Committee and, with some of the best environmental and water lawyers in Australia, we worked diligently for years to study the regulatory problems Mulloon Institute was having, debate potential solutions (a room full of lawyers – herding cats anyone?) and coming up with our proposed solution for a Landscape Rehydration Code (downloadable here). Off the back of this, in 2023 I was asked to assist as a director and as Gary became ill, I took over as Chair early 2024.

My last visit with Gary was on a wet, stormy January day in a Gold Coast hospital. It was a very different couple of hours than when I first met him but equally as memorable. He was frustrated to lose his health – he was desperate to stay with his beloved Rose and his family, to build out his new home on the Gold Coast (he proudly showed me pictures of his new pool deck) and help raise Rose’s granddaughter. His thoughts were with his political and personal legacy and the future of Mulloon Institute. We talk for hours and shed a few tears.

I think as an organisation we have been in mourning for the last six months. He was so involved. We all miss his wisdom and guidance.

So, to last Friday – a brilliant, warm, late spring day down at the shed below the homestead. I had a cold, early swim in the creek behind the homestead with a couple of bright-eyed University of Sydney environmental engineering students I had brought down to see our works on Mulloon Creek. The team from the Prime Minister and Cabinet Office arrived at 6.30am and by 9.30am, 300 guests were seated in and around the Barn. There were politicians, media, family, friends, community groups and current and former staff and directors from Mulloon Institute. We listened to a heartfelt Respect for Country, a stirring rendition of the Australian anthem (both verses), a fantastic eulogy from Rose, and stories of Gary from our own CEO Carolyn Hall, Tom Mould – Chair of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and others. It was a wonderful day and our guests hung around until late in the day to swap stories and catch up with old friends. As one guest quipped to me as we looked around, “Gary would have loved to have been here.”

So how do we reflect on his legacy? And where did he want Mulloon Institute to go? A few thoughts…

Character matters. The fact that there was a wide swathe of representatives from all walks of Gary’s life is testament to what we all thought of him – a popular local Member, a determined Minister, a brilliant surveyor, a diligent Chairman, a strong family man and a good husband. As Tom Mould said, “He was just a damn good bloke.”

A steady hand. Gary believed in the long game and the reward that comes from consistent, determined effort. Slow and steady wins the race. He would counsel that we spend time to make good decisions and then put the building blocks in place for long term success.

A mentor. Both Carolyn and I (and I’m sure others) have learned much from his leadership and he took the time to counsel and inspire us.

A lifelong student. Gary excelled at everything he touched – his studies, his surveying career, his political career and later in life, his community service. He wasn’t a dabbler – he was an expert and his insatiable curiosity was his guide.

A shrewd strategist and a canny politician. Gary always had his eye on where Mulloon Institute was positioned and how it was perceived. He knew our success relies upon maintaining the goodwill of a broad group of stakeholders – politicians (of all persuasions), regulators, philanthropists, First Nations groups, environmentalists, farmers, academics, the media and others. We need to be both true to our values and smart (and occasionally shrewd) in our messaging. If we do our job properly, we can, and should, bring everyone along for the ride.

Bold. Gary was fearless – he would write to Prime Ministers, Premiers, Billionaires, Royalty and major public figures. He never let perfect be the enemy of the good. If he had an idea, he would act on it. He was an optimist who thought ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’. As a result, Mulloon Institute is nothing if not bold with our plans. Our stated aim is to rehydrate and repair 2.5 million hectares of agricultural land.

And finally, a visionary. When I was bedside, Gary spoke of a vision of an Australian continent that was rehydrated and repaired. He spoke of the significant contribution Australia could make to combat climate change if we were able to rehydrate our great, dry continent. Australia’s soils are 50% more dehydrated than before Europeans arrived. If we can return our continent to it’s former glory, we will make a significant contribution to repairing our planet.

Now wouldn’t that be a legacy.

So, thank you Gary.

Rest in peace.

Matt Egerton-Warburton
Chair, Mulloon Institute & Chair, Mulloon Law Committee

A fitting farewell at the Barn on Home Farm for a beloved leader and colleague, The Hon. Gary Nairn AO.

As we welcome the summer season we bid a very fond farewell to our late chairman The Hon. Gary Nairn AO. It was with sadness but also the deepest gratitude that Mulloon Institute hosted the State Memorial that provided a fitting farewell to a man held in such high regard by so many. We were supported by Gary’s widow Rose Nairn and his children Ben Nairn and Deb Thomas and the capable team at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet led by Garry Mills in our efforts to provide a State Memorial for Gary.

A great big thank you must go to Jim Steele and the team at Mulloon Creek Natural Farms and to Mark McPherson for getting the Home Farm ready. Thank you also to members of the Mulloon team particularly Kathy Kelly, Tam Connor, Chris Inskeep and Max Brunswick. The Queanbeyan Rotary Club were just outstanding we could not have done it without them, thank you John and Chris and the team. Thank you as well to all of you who were able to attend.

There were many speakers at the Memorial sharing recollections of their time with Gary. We learned about his humble beginnings and his stellar career in politics and his continued life of service post his political career. As I remarked in my speech “the Mulloon Institute is a stronger organisation because of Gary’s involvement. He trusted me and in living up to that trust he taught me how to be a better person, and a better leader”. Vale The Hon Gary Nairn AO.

The summer has brought success to Mulloon Institute with the outstanding dedication and work of the team seeing significant grant wins. Our grant team including Dr Laura Fisher, Jono Forrest, Nolani McColl, Peter Hazell and I have worked diligently earlier in the year to secure a remarkable range of collaborators and submit outstanding applications directly relating to the grant funding criteria.

We have had success via the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.  The successful projects include the First Nations co-created Water Stewardship Certificate and the Landscape Function Monitoring Toolkit. We have also been successful with a grant from the Ian Potter Foundation for a project that will support expanding the work we are doing with WaterNSW to deliver landscape rehydration works across the Sydney drinking water catchment. It is titled ‘Growing Communities of Practice for landscape-scale Water Stewardship – a new funding pathway.’  The first workshop for the grants was a resounding success and saw training of our team and celebration, learning and ceremony with our First Nations partners.

Success has come also for the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative (MRI) in the Banksia Foundation’s NSW Sustainability Awards, winning the Biodiversity Award. It was an emotional moment accepting this award on behalf of Mulloon Institute and knowing that our late Chairman would have been very proud of this win. The MRI has been the centrepiece of Mulloon’s work since 2011 and this recognition reflects the incredible hard work and perseverance of our founders Toni and Tony Coote, Project Coordinator Peter Hazell, the Mulloon landholders, the Science Advisory Committee, industry partners HydroTerra and Cibo Labs and the entire Mulloon team who work on and celebrate this project with local, national and international stakeholders. The MRI really is a model that can be scaled up and rolled out across the nation.

We have continued to raise the profile of Mulloon Institute with the Australian public and to deepen our connection to our corporate sponsors Vitasoy Australia.  A Vitasoy campaign titled Buy a litre restore a metre2 has had our work featured in radio interviews and even television coverage from the east to the west coast of Australia.  The interest in our work for drought resilience and farm productivity from radio stations across the country was clear from the interviews I participated in that were secured by Porter Novelli on behalf of Vitasoy. Our close farming partners including Gerry Carroll, Mulloon Farm NSW and Warren Pensini, Paraway WA and Joel Geoghegan, Bass Coast Landcare Vic, were sought out by their local media outlets to talk about our work. Purchasing Vitasoy milk in November and December from IGA and Foodland stores will see a portion of those profits donated to Mulloon Institute.

In late October we joined fellow regenerative agriculture fans at the Palace Electric Cinemas in Canberra for the screening of Regenerating Life, a film by John Feldman, produced by Susan Davies at Hummingbird Films. The theatre was at capacity and the crowd thoroughly enjoyed the film. There was a very lively question and answer time that followed, that I facilitated and featuring regenerative farmer Gillian Sandbrook from Bibbaringa, James Diack – Farmer Engagement Manager at Soils for Life and Environmental Engineer and Educational Educator, Erin Healy from Mulloon. We were so happy to welcome one of the stars of the film, Walter Jehne to the screening and participation in the Q&A panel. Discussion focused on how people could develop skills themselves and across their communities and particularly school students to help heal and restore landscapes. Thanks again Susan and John for making this Australian filming possible, it was wonderful to see the film on the big screen.

Our planning for delivering on our grant wins continues now at pace as we head toward the Christmas break. Chris Inskeep, our Science Officer, Remote Sensing and Spatial Specialist, and I, with the help of a philanthropic donation care of the Illawong Foundation (Rebecca Gorman and John Sevior) head off to COP 16 of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. So far we have secured three speaking engagements for side events at COP 16; The Economics of Land Degradation Initiative, who are featuring the MRI as the Australian case study in the UN commissioned Global Drought Resilience Report; The Nature Conservancy on Nature-based Solutions and drought resilience; and with long term partners Commonland on the launch of the 4 Returns Framework in Practice: a guidebook for holistic landscape restoration.

Please accept our deepest gratitude for your ongoing support and interest and our best wishes for a safe and happy Christmas.

Carolyn Hall – CEO Managing Director GAICD

Photo by Lance Mudgway on his trip to Kachana Station in the Kimberly

It’s been an exciting few months since our last update. Our team have been busy with design work, construction projects and delivery of our Learning Programs, and we’ve also been notified of our success with a couple of Australian Government Climate Smart Agriculture grants and a partnership with WaterNSW for work in the Sydney Drinking Water Catchment. We welcome three new members to the team, Mitch Lennon, Sharni Pike and Brooke Cunningham. We’re also delighted to have Penny Cooper increasing to a part-time role working in the consulting team. Sophie Drew is another welcome addition who will assist with administrative support.

While Peter Hazell’s focus has been on the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative and a report for WaterNSW, he’s also delivered some of our Learning Programs with Erin Healy for the Minyumai landholders near Evans Head, and for landholders in the Coolumbooka River district at Cathcart. Tony Wells has been up in Emerald, Queensland, with Sam Skeat for our Boots on Ground Day under the Communities of Practice Program (CoPP) and has continued mentoring work with landholders in the region. Peter also joined Jack Smart for some construction work in the Hovells Creek catchment (Central West NSW). Erin and Annabel Manning have been very busy with CoPP mentoring (wrapping up NSW and getting Victoria underway), as well as a number of other consulting design visits. Henry Burt has been finding his feet and working under Jack’s guidance. Max Brunswick recently travelled to Townsville in Northern Queensland to complete some maintenance work on a project in the region with NQ Dry Tropics.  Nolani McColl and GM Jono Forrest have been busy with the coordination of all of this, speaking with new clients, etc., as has Tam Connor managing all the Learning Programs.

In the West, Lance Mudgway has been busy delivering a number of Learning Programs, as well as finalising a project with Wheatbelt NRM for multiple landholders in the Gabby Quoi Quoi catchment, and finishing off the activities associated with the WA State NRM Community Stewardship Grant.  He also had a trip to Kachana Station in the Kimberley with Rangelands NRM.

At the start of December, we will be commencing construction work on a project along the Molonglo River.  This has taken a while to come to fruition; the project is related to the NSW Saving our Species program and involves interventions to help with the habitat of the last known Southern Tablelands population of the Green and Golden Bell Frog.  We’ll be sure to keep you updated as to the progress of construction work. Jack has worked tirelessly over the last few years to get to this point and will be joined by Max throughout the construction phase.

We recently had a wonderful staff training event at Mulloon’s Home Farm that was coordinated and led by Dr Laura Fisher. We were joined by a number of artists and First Nations partners to address different approaches to systems thinking and design, creative ways to deliver components of our Learning Programs and share experiences and knowledge.

As the year comes to a rapid close, we wish all of our clients a wonderful festive season and, hopefully, some time to relax and enjoy their natural surroundings. Thanks to Carolyn and the Board for your ongoing support and the wonderful team I work with – I’m excited for what we can deliver in 2025.

Jono Forrest
General Manager
Mulloon Consulting