First apologies for not getting a Sustainability Group report into last month's newsletter. All my own forgetful self's fault!
In April the group had only one session due to the Good Friday holiday. However, Tom Crocker bravely volunteered to take our session on Friday April 1. No April fooling involved as Tom gave a terrific account of his family moving their farming properties to a more sustainable footing over the generations.
Tom showed us some great of maps of the area south west of Benalla and explained how management issues and their treatment varied between the eastern slopes of their properties to the adjacent plains and the lessons learnt along the way.
He also talked about how the area was described by the first Europeans surveying the area as being an almost 'park like' environment created by thousands of years of Aboriginal land management practices.
Additionally Tom provided some fascinating soil mapping undertaken by Dookie College produced by students under guidance who undertook what sounded like a 'line search' across the landscape taking soil samples at short regular intervals. The resulting soil maps have been used by many farmers since to plan their operations.
Finally, Tom pulled, not out of a hat, but out of a steel bucket, some really interesting Aboriginal artifacts picked up while ploughing. He showed beautiful examples of grinding and milling stones, as well as cutting stones. It was a great session. Thanks Tom.
John Lane
In April the group had only one session due to the Good Friday holiday. However, Tom Crocker bravely volunteered to take our session on Friday April 1. No April fooling involved as Tom gave a terrific account of his family moving their farming properties to a more sustainable footing over the generations.
Tom showed us some great of maps of the area south west of Benalla and explained how management issues and their treatment varied between the eastern slopes of their properties to the adjacent plains and the lessons learnt along the way.
He also talked about how the area was described by the first Europeans surveying the area as being an almost 'park like' environment created by thousands of years of Aboriginal land management practices.
Additionally Tom provided some fascinating soil mapping undertaken by Dookie College produced by students under guidance who undertook what sounded like a 'line search' across the landscape taking soil samples at short regular intervals. The resulting soil maps have been used by many farmers since to plan their operations.
Finally, Tom pulled, not out of a hat, but out of a steel bucket, some really interesting Aboriginal artifacts picked up while ploughing. He showed beautiful examples of grinding and milling stones, as well as cutting stones. It was a great session. Thanks Tom.
John Lane
