Tam Connor, Lance Mudgway, Nat and Brett Ridley presenting their property using the table-top model

What do you get when you put two farmers, a hydrologist and science communicator in front of an audience of knowledgeable drought resilience practitioners? You get an ‘out of the box’ interactive presentation and great conversations!

Last week Mulloon’s Tam Connor and Lance Mudgway along with Mentoring recipients Brett and Nat Ridley shared our journey of the Communities of Practice Project in WA at the South-West WA Drought Hub Showcase led by Grower Group Alliance.

The event and field day showcased 19 projects that received FDF Drought Resilience funding with an incredible array of innovations and initiatives that support WA farmers in adapting to a drying climate.

Tam shared the joys of witnessing communities coming together and the strength of the mentoring program and the professionals' course in building capabilities and skills in adoption. Key achievements of this project so far include 350+ people participating in over 12 Field Days & Bootcamps, 36 mentoring properties with several on-ground projects completed, and two Boots on Ground events in 2024 with another three planned in early 2025. Community and catchment-scale projects are the goal, and this project brings us one step closer to achieving.

Lance described the underlying principles of how landscapes function, symptoms of broken small water cycles, and the range of strategies that can be used in the saline landscapes of WA with water management and plants key catalysts for success.

Demonstrating a fun learning activity used in Bootcamps, Lance, Nat and Brett built a table-top model of their property using craft materials, pillows and sheets. They shared the property issues they intend on resolving and the types of strategies they’re considering using as part of their Mentoring Program project.

We left the audience (and Brett!) with the new award winning Landscape Kit to play with in the foyer.

Thank you for the opportunity to share our project with the WA community. We can’t wait to share the next stage of the project with the Boots on Ground events in VIC, WA and NT in 2025!

This program is funded through the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund