Eugowra workshop roundup

Eugowra district landholders at the workshop last month.

Our most recent workshop, held at Mandagery in the Central West of NSW, was a fitting location given its Aboriginal origin meaning ‘chain of water holes’.  The event was hosted by the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea, and also supported with funding from South Coast Rural Relief who were keen to support farmers in a flood-affected community.  The Sisters of Mercy's aim is to make a positive and lasting difference in this region at a landscape and community level, following the devastating impact of the floods in November 2022.  A number of the Sisters were present at the workshop.

Erin and Jack presenting at Eugowra

Our team Erin Healy and Jack Smart lead participants at the workshop through water cycle processes; opportunities for reducing runoff and retaining more water in their landscapes to increase crop and pasture production; natural capital benefits associated with landscape restoration; prioritisation processes; and potential landscape rehydration natural infrastructure. 

Thanks to the Dunn family at Reedy Creek and the Wright family at Eugowra we had the opportunity to observe previous restoration work that has been undertaken and is having positive production and ecological benefits, and further apply what had been learned during the workshop. 

Tim Wright also provided a great demonstration during the workshop about the impact of land management practices on soil and geology, which linked nicely to the landscape rehydration presentation.

Erin demonstrated techniques to slow the flow of water with a variety of interventions that can be scaled up to farm and catchment scales

Our heartfelt thanks to Sally Neaves and the rest of the Sisters of Mercy team for making this event possible for this community, and providing the opportunity to build increased awareness of landscape restoration possibilities in the region. It was also great to have representatives from Central West LLS, Landcare and John Fry contributing on the day.