Canberra Grammar School visit Mulloon farms

Max Brunswick shows Canberra Grammar students the Mulloon Creek catchment and explains the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative.

Canberra Grammar School year 10 geography students visited Mulloon Creek Natural Farms in August to look at how Mulloon Institute is rehydrating landscapes on farm and catchment scales. The students were particularly interested in how landscape rehydration and regenerative agriculture are contributing to sustainability and helping to mitigate climate change. 

The students and their teachers were hosted by Mulloon Institute’s Penny Cooper and Max Brunswick on a tour of Home Farm and Duralla. On Home Farm, the students were introduced to the concept of landscape rehydration and the many benefits this has on farm productivity, biodiversity and climate change mitigation. They observed the work of the Mulloon Rehydration Initiative pilot project installed in 2006 and considered the multiple aspects of reading a landscape and how this enables a deeper understanding of the health of the surrounding farm and ecological environment. 

 The tour continued on Duralla where students were able to observe the more contemporary leaky weirs installed in 2019. Students were encouraged to imagine the original state of the landscape before farming was introduced to the area and compare this to the work being done by Mulloon Institute to reinstate natural landscape function. Max Brunswick gave a demonstration using a pile of dirt, buckets of water and small scale contours and channels to demonstrate how water moves through a landscape, and how interventions such as leaky weirs and contours slow the movement of water.    

Wrapping up the tour on Duralla hilltop (pictured above), students were able to gain a ‘big picture’ perspective of the Mulloon Creek catchment and the scale of the work being done by Mulloon Institute. They also had the opportunity to explore the landscape rehydration interventions and tree plantings at the top of the hill.  

Canberra Grammar School teachers had spent two lessons with their students preparing for their tour by looking closely at the Mulloon Institute and watching some of the educational videos on the website. The well-mannered students engaged exceptionally well with the tour, asking insightful questions and exploring all the Mulloon Institute had to offer. We wish them all the best.   

The Mulloon Rehydration Initiative is assisted by the NSW Environmental Trust and jointly funded by Mulloon Institute and the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.