Gulf Croaker Winter 2024

Bush Business Success pg. 6–9

Measure Biodiversity At Home pg. 18–20

Get Bushfire Smart pg. 22–23

We were at Whitewater Station for the DAF Improved Pasture Field Day.

Training from N A Fire Forum. Mor FI at our FNQ e on page 22.

Natarsha and Ed at P Mareeba’s Youth W CYC eek Career Expo.

Word Attendees at our Microsoft .

Workshop in Georgetown

We had a great Neighbour Day in Gilberton in April.

a CEO Zoe in Brisbane discussing four-year plan to improve s.

Queensland’s natural resource Keerah with her ha Week 2024 in Rnds full at Beef ockhampton.

GOOD TIMES IN THE GULF

Thank you to everyone who has joined Gulf Savannah NRM for events, workshops and field days in the last few months — here are a few of our favourite highlights!

06 A WARM HELLO FROM THE CEO In our second Gulf Croaker of 2024, we’re looking at how Gulf Savannah NRM is supporting communities in the Northern Gulf.

NRM stands for natural resource management, but we take a broad view of our work and always consider a project’s social and economic impact.

The Bush Business Program is a prime example of this and we’re proud to have helped so many rural women set up their own business, as well as establishing lasting networks to provide emotional support when times are tough.

We hope this edition shows the positive impact we are having in the region — from supporting our primary producers to become more profitable and sustainable, to building our community’s resilience and preparedness for natural disasters.

Backing Bush Businesses

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Zoe Williams CEO Gulf Savannah NRM

ABOUT GULF SAVANNAH NRM We're a not-for-profit organisation working to promote healthy landscapes while supporting local people and enterprise. Come say hi at our offices in Georgetown, Croydon and Mareeba.

Prickly Acacia

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gulfsavannahnrm.org 4092 1088 admin@gulfsavannahnrm.org

Boosting Herd Profitability

GREAT WHEELBARROW RACE National media were out in force to cover the 2024 Great Wheelbarrow Race. Both Channel 7’s Sunrise program and ABC Back Roads were on hand to cover the event that attracted 34 teams this year. The race, from Mareeba to Chillagoe, raised more than $93,000 for charity.

More on page 11.

KOWANYAMA MINE COULD REOPEN

MAREEBA KARUMBA NORMANTON GEORGETOWN

G'DAY GULF: ABOUT OUR REGION 04

Plans have been accelerated to recommission the Dianne Copper Mine, 260 kilometres north west of Cairns.

Queensland Government funding will contribute towards technical studies with a view to have the mine fully operational in the next 18 months. Source: Queensland Government.

9,660 people live in the Northern Gulf

GULF SAVANNAH

ROUND UP JASPER STORIES Mareeba Shire Council has launched a 'Stories of Jasper' video series to shed light on the impact of Tropical Cyclone Jasper and associated flooding. Council received over 900 calls, with 185 requests for emergency assistance. Watch on Council's YouTube channel.

CRITICAL MINERALS A $20 million investment from the Queensland Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund will allow EQ Resources to commence drill testing and trial mining through a reopening of the historic underground mining operations at Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine.

Tungsten is a key component in solar cells, wind turbines and batteries. Source: Queensland Government.

MULTICULTURAL MAREEBA Mareeba’s Multicultural Festival is on Saturday 31 August in Arnold Park with the free event featuring non-stop entertainment and fabulous food from more than 20 stalls. Mareeba Shire is home to people from 75 different nationalities and cultural backgrounds.

88% land use is grazing on native pasture

The area is 196,100 square kilometres

Over 196 reptile, 455 bird and 118 mammal species live here 05

Symbols courtesy NESP Resilient Landscapes Hub, nesplandscapes.edu.au

The Bush Business Program was born out of Gulf Savannah NRM’s drought assistance activity in 2017 with the aim of providing emotional and economic resilience to farming households doing it tough. Supporting rural women to build small businesses, the program created networks that have a lasting legacy for their remote communities.

‘The program was about helping to turn hobbies into businesses — creating another source of income for primary production households,’ said Zoe Williams, CEO at Gulf Savannah NRM.

entrepreneurs how to establish and run their own business as well as providing a safe, collaborative space to discuss ideas with each other.

‘At that time there were financial pressures across agricultural industries in our region and the Bush Business Program also provided much needed emotional support for those involved.’

Over three years the program supported 20 rural women to set up their own business.

‘It wasn’t aimed at just women in the beginning, but only women took it up,’ said Zoe. The Bush Business Program taught these remote The Bush Business Program back in 2018

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Support was provided on topics such as applying for an ABN, how to sell, and marketing — giving participants the knowledge, and confidence, to turn their ideas into money-making businesses to support their households.

For Gulf Savannah NRM, a measure of success was to support predominately farm businesses to create an alternative income stream — providing participants the opportunity to de-risk their main primary production enterprises. It was also part of an approach to allow people to manage their land more sustainably.

‘It’s hard to be green if you are in the red,’ said Zoe. ‘People who are financially stressed cannot make good decisions about the long-term management of their land as they need to pay their bills today — which means they are going to push their land harder than they otherwise might do.’

Looking great! One of the rooms at the Grey Galah BnB

‘It’s been a big learning curve!’

After a basic renovation turned into ‘pretty much gutting the place’, the doors opened to the Grey Galah BnB in April 2023 with a target market of corporate and tourism clients paying $170 per night.

‘I’ve learnt I’m only as successful as my connections to the community — having marmalade in my fridge from the local fruit and veg store — raving about the pizzas at the pub or the rump at the butchers to our clientele — and that also encourages those businesses to send customers our way.’

Bekky Haase

Bekky Haase — Grey Galah BnB, Georgetown

Find out more www.greygalah.com.au 0400 279 664 Grey Galah BnB is on Facebook

‘I had no idea how to set up a business,’ said Bekky, ‘but I’d been doing some catering, and I knew I had the gumption to get something going.’

Tamara Nofz — Wrapt In String and The White Label Collection

Bekky joined the Bush Business Program during the second round of the initiative in 2020.

‘It all started as a hobby to deal with the death of my father in 2017,’ said Tamara.

‘The exercises at the workshops provided clarity to my decision-making on what to pursue as a business. But the most important aspect was having a group of local women who were a safe sounding board for my ideas.’

‘We lived and worked on a cattle property in Cape York and my mental and physical health were being affected and I was not being the best version of myself for my family — something had to change and making Kokedamas was an outlet.’

She made the decision with husband Joe and their young family to pursue accommodation and purchased a property in Georgetown in 2021 to turn into a BnB.

A Kokedama is a ball of soil, covered with moss and wrapped in string, on which a plant grows. It gave Tamara the best of both worlds; being 07

creative and tapping into her passion for gardening. She started making Kokedamas as gifts for her boys, their teachers and family and friends.

‘I started posting my creations on Facebook and people kept asking where I’d got them from and how cool they were, and I thought I need a business name — Wrapt in String.’

A stunning Kokedama from Wrapt In String

Over the past seven years her business has continued to flourish, and Tamara is holding workshops, attending field days and markets, and with her fellow Bush Business ladies even had a pop-up shop.

Tamara Nofz

Tragically, Tamara lost her husband in 2018.

Kathy Rowling was the officer at Gulf Savannah NRM leading the program and she encouraged Tamara to continue with Bush Business.

She has also branched out from Kokedamas. ‘One of my proudest achievements is creating The White Label Scent Collection in loving memory of my husband and our time on the land,’ said Tamara.

Find out more Wrapt In String is on Facebook and Instagram.

‘I told her she should give someone my spot, but she wasn’t having it. She said we will work it out and to get to the workshop,’ said Tamara ‘I can’t thank Kathy enough for my Bush Business experience. I learnt how to take my business further and created new friendships.’

The business kept growing and growing. ‘I thought how am I meant to do this and hold down a full-time job and on the way to a Bush Business event I made the decision to become a full-time business.’

‘A network of like-minded ladies was instrumental to my business success.’

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The White Label Collection

Kaila Kingsley — Outback Orchids ‘No matter where you live you can build a business and do something great. No matter what your limitations are there are always ways around it and people out there to support you,’ said Kaila who runs Outback Orchids — the only licensed supplier of the protected Wild Australian Black Orchid.

Kaila was a local agronomist on the Atherton Tablelands when she fell in love with her husband, Luke, who ran a large cattle property in Chillagoe. She left her agronomy career to be with Luke on the station with the idea of starting her own consulting business … but something else caught her eye.

‘Luke introduced me to the Wild Australian Black Orchid when we were out mustering. Even though I knew a lot about plants I had never owned an orchid in my life and didn’t know such things existed in the wild.’

Kaila was applying for the exclusive orchid license when she joined the Bush Business Program.

Making a statement — a feature by Outback Orchids

Kaila explains there are challenges being based in a remote location especially the logistics working with such large items — but she says it’s a great business and the skills she learnt on the program were fundamental to her success.

‘Where there’s a will there’s a way. It was a distant dream and now we have a commercial nursery on a remote cattle station,’ said Kaila.

Find out more www.outbackorchids.com.au Outback Orchids is on Facebook and Instagram

Do you want to create your own bush business?

Kaila and Luke Kingsley

‘It was so encouraging to have that group to bounce ideas off and get their feedback about how unique it was. Then after two years, I got the license and since then it has been hell for leather.’

We are seeking expressions of interest from people to be part of a group, run by Gulf Savannah NRM, to undertake TAFE’s fee-free Business and Entrepreneur course. Contact us on 4092 1088 or kasmin.brotherton@gulfsavannahnrm.org.

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Carpentaria Shire Outback by the Sea Festival returns to Normanton and Karumba from 13–21 September. The weeklong annual event celebrates the legendary barramundi, seafood, live music, Indigenous culture, and arts and crafts.

The closing concert stars Fanny Lumsden, Shane Howard and local band Split Image on Saturday 21 September at the Karumba Recreation Centre.

Tickets are on sale now via Oztix, head to bit.ly/OutbackbytheSeaFestival-Oztix.

This year's festival also introduces a new highlight – the Outback and Ocean Film Festival, showcasing Australia's latest short films. Immerse yourself in the diverse and vibrant atmosphere of the Gulf community.

Etheridge Shire The communities of Georgetown and Forsayth have recently come under attack from feral pig infestations impacting on footpaths and community parklands. Herds of up to 30 animals are wandering throughout the town wreaking havoc and causing grief to town maintenance staff who do an excellent job.

Council is working closely with locals to help eradicate this feral pest problem and has held discussions with the local police officer to ensure protocols are being followed.

Etheridge Shire has secured $8.2 million through the Building Our Regions Fund to instigate projects across the Shire. The centrepiece of this funding package is the stage 2 development of the Terrestrial Centre and the rehousing of the Ted Elliot Mineral Collection that will also include the Elders Walk connecting the Centre to Peace Park.

YOUR LOCAL COUNCIL

Cumberland Dam will be developed to include bird watching facilities in the form of elevated towers for greater scope and boardwalks to assist access. Conservation benefits and values are at the forefront of this project ensuring sustainable management of this fragile asset is being attended to.

Copperfield Gorge (pictured) is also going to benefit with enhanced access to and along the forefront of the attraction whilst keeping in tune with the natural attributes of the area.

Mareeba Shire Residents and visitors were wowed in early May with the return of the Great Wheelbarrow Race. The road to Chillagoe was as gruelling as ever, but the competitors fought hard, and four records were broken.

The race went extremely well, with a new race record of 6 hours 22 minutes and 28 seconds by the reigning champions, Tune Squad.

That's an average of around 22 kilometres per hour!

The race sees teams travelling 140km from Mareeba to Chillagoe over three days, with an overnight stop in Dimbulah on the Friday evening and a stop at Almaden on the Saturday.

This year over 350 competitors took part along Wheelbarrow Way with the race marking its 21st anniversary. Wheelbarrow Way is one small part of the Savannah Way, a 3700kilometre route linking Cairns to Broome.

The race brings together people from all walks of life, and this year the youngest runner was 13 years old and the oldest runner 87 years old. Most teams use the race to fundraise for a charity of their choice and $93,342 was raised, bringing the total amount raised over the years to $2,636,943.

The 2025 race is from 9 to 11 May, visit www.greatwheelbarrowrace.com.au.

Croydon Shire

There was a great turnout at the 2024 Croydon Heritage Festival in June with highlights including a 1980’s themed dance with live music at the heritage-listed Town Hall. The festival was followed by the Croydon Rodeo & Campdraft Festival. Thanks to Council staff for their hard work behind the scenes.

Back in April, Croydon Shire Council hosted a very well attended Anzac Day Parade and Service. Some 80 people were on hand at 6:30am to pay respects to the many Croydon soldiers to have served. The stories of several World War I era Diggers were shared by Croydon State School students.

Meanwhile, refurbishment works have begun at the Croydon Chinese Temple Archaeological site — this is a major investment by Council to bring more life to this site and realign the entry to reflect the historic and culturally appropriate approach more accurately. The grand opening of this redevelopment will be the centrepiece of the next Heritage Festival in June 2025.

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Not all weeds need a helicopter to deal with them … but prickly acacia does!

How to spot prickly acacia

Recognised as a weed of national significance, prickly acacia was introduced into Queensland for shade and fodder. But as the plant increases in size, it outcompetes pasture for water — while its thorny thickets interfere with mustering, movement of stock and access to water.

Gulf Savannah NRM has been identifying, mapping and controlling new and isolated prickly acacia incursions throughout the Northern Gulf region for the past several years. The management program, supported by funding from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, has continued to gain ground in addressing this emerging threat.

‘We’re relatively lucky in our region compared to the spread of prickly acacia in the Southern Gulf,’ said Marcus Mulholland, Gulf Savannah NRM’s Environment Team Leader.

Feathery leaves

Yellow/golden flowers

An awareness campaign resulted in 13 landholder reports of possible incursions — but as it is easily confused with other prickle bushes — only six properties were confirmed to have prickly acacia.

‘Identification was usually carried out on the ground, but we also conducted aerial surveys, including downstream from the sites where there was a positive identification.’

Extensive expert aerial reconnaissance was carried out along the Einasleigh and Gilbert rivers, downstream of known incursions, but no new populations were identified.

‘The project has significantly increased data on the locations of incursions in our region. There

Pods of fruit

Thorns

are two larger pockets of pricky acacia as well as a small number of minor incursions — these were all treated as part of this program and we’ve made substantial inroads into addressing the spread,’ explained Marcus.

‘Prickly acacia remains a threat and Gulf Savannah NRM, with the help of landholders, is committed to tackling this invasive weed.’

Aerial treatment of prickly acacia

Turn the page for our helpful identification guide for prickle bushes. If you suspect you have prickly acacia on your property report it to your local council or Gulf Savannah NRM. 13

MESQUITE Prosopis spp.

Occurs as a multi-stemmed shrub around 3-5m high, or as a single stemmed tree with spreading canopy growing to 15m. Small greenish-cream flowers grow near the ends of branches in wattlelike spikes. Paired thorns are usually just above each leaf axil. When ripe the pods are straw coloured.

MIMOSA BUSH Vachellia farnesiana A rounded shrub or small tree between 1.5 and 5m tall. Branches are usually greyish-brown with prominent white spots. Leaves are pure green or sometimes yellowish green — with thorns paired at the base of each leaf. Flowers are ball-shaped, about 1cm wide, golden yellow to orange and grow on stalks. Pods are dark brown or black.

PARKINSONIA Parkinsonia aculeata A small tree growing up to 10m tall. Branches are slender, zigzag shaped with sharp spines. Leaves have a short, spine-tipped stalk. Flowers are yellow, fragrant, five-petalled each on a long drooping stalk. Seed pods are pencil-like, 5–10cm long and constricted between seeds. Seeds are oval, about 15mm long with a thick, hard coat.

PRICKLY ACACIA Vachellia nilotica Thorny shrub or small tree between 5 and 10m tall. Thorns are paired, stout and up to 5cm long.

Flowers are golden-yellow and ball-shaped.

Leaves are fern-like with 4–10 pairs of leaf branches, 10–20 pairs of narrow green leaflets on each branch. Pods are flat with narrow constrictions between seeds, greyish when ripe.

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All images © The State of Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, 2024. CC BY 4.0.

Breeding Bruce Arnold is a young cattleman who takes the reins of his parents’ cattle station in north Queensland’s dry tropics.

He needs to juggle a large debt, the expenses of a station in unpredictable conditions and still derive a comfortable living. It’s a roller coaster ride both for the business and his personal life.

Read our interview with Geoffry on pages 16–17.

My Octopus Teacher DOCUMENTARY | FIND IT ON NETFLIX

Filmmaker Craig Foster forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest. The film shows Foster's growing relationship with the octopus as he follows her around for nearly a year. He eventually wins her trust, and they develop a deep bond that allows him into her world to see how she sleeps, lives and eats.

The Hidden Lives of Trees PETER WOHLLEBEN | AUDIOBOOK

In this international best seller, forester and author Peter Wohlleben makes the case that the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families, and shares his deep love of trees and forests, explaining the processes of life, death and regeneration he has observed.

LISTEN WATCH READ

GEOFFRY FORDYCE

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BOOSTING HERD PROFITABILITY After studying the northern Australian cattle industry for more than 40 years, Dr Geoffry Fordyce is a leading expert in grazing management and fertility. In May, Gulf Savannah NRM held a herd profitability workshop with Dr Fordyce, and we caught up with him for his top tips.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My ‘first trade’ was a small animal vet, but pandering to non-productive city folk with spoiled pets was not my style so I steered back to my roots and have spent a lifetime researching and working in beef cattle systems, particularly in reproducing cattle in tropical environments and how to improve the profitability of beef systems.

Are producers missing out on easy wins to improve profitability?

Practical change equals behaviour change and that’s a challenge. So, the changes won’t be easy, even if they’re technically simple in principle.

A beef business is a feed production system where you transform available feed into live weight. Your earnings are the kilos you produce by the market value of those kilos — so the focus needs to be on how many kilos you are producing and how much it costs to produce those kilos.

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What are the first steps to refreshing your business strategy?

Like every business in the world, cattle business operators wanting to analyse what they are doing, need to do an accurate annual pasture budget and stock take plus describe transactions using the same simple categories. Tax figures are not enough to make decisions with.

From there you can calculate kilos of pasture you have for cattle, kilos of cattle you should have, kilos of live weight you can produce, dollars of income, and dollars it will cost per kilo of live weight produced.

In your experience, should producers spend more time on their business strategy?

Cattlemen first and business owners second tends to be the default in beef production systems, but we need to flip that script and be business owners first.

You can distil the system’s key elements into: Kilos of grass, used to produce Kilos of cattle, to derive Dollars of income, at Dollars of cost

The best bang for buck is usually sorting bull power out, that is, ensuring your mating team are all fertile and disease free with no suboptimal genetics and then mate only what is needed, easily done in a modern world.

Every decision you make should be through evaluation of those four elements, seeking best business impacts. If you’re using percentages to evaluate a strategy, you’ll know there’s something wrong; the percentages are used to fix something when you find something wrong or an opportunity to shift the four key elements.

A relaxed breeder workshop in Georgetown

Dr Geoffry Fordyce

What’s your advice to producers to increase profit margins?

Feed, water and control are the basic fundamentals. You can’t effectively apply potentially better management unless you have these basics in place.

Count your kilos of grass and kilos of live weight. It provides the basics of knowing what’s achievable and whether you’re operating at an achievable level.

Your country will determine how many kilos you can produce. For example, you could be in 90 kilos per year country. That’s what steers and cows can produce. Understanding the feedbase and improving it through the likes of stocking rates, spelling, improved pastures and supplementation, underpins live weight production capacity, thus sales and income.

Your business product is live weight. Every animal in the herd produces weight, which is annual growth plus the weight of a calf weaned. Think this way when making the kilo, kilo, dollar, dollar decisions.

You've written your first novel, Breeding, how did that come about?

After a life writing hundreds of dry science-based papers, I harboured an urge to get into the enjoyable writing zone. I embarked on writing Breeding as a different way of presenting and preserving some of what research and industry leaders have developed over my lifetime by incorporating it in the context of an NQ cattle station story. Find out more about Breeding in our Read, Watch, Listen feature on page 15.

This project is funded by TNQ Drought Hub, through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund. Read our winter grazing checklist on page 27.

Need some more of Geoffry's wisdom?

Head over to gulfsavannahnrm.org/resources and download a copy of Dr Fordyce's guide to Improving Cow Fertility and Reducing Cow and Calf Losses in the North.

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Swamp wallaby with joey taken with a camera trap at Talaroo

BIODIVERSITY AT HOME The Resilient Landscapes for Better Biodiversity project looked at the effect cattle grazing intensity has on biodiversity. Previous studies had shown that paddocks stocked with high cattle numbers had reduced land condition and drought resilience — leading to lower profits over time compared with paddocks containing more 18

moderate numbers of cattle. Moderately stocked paddocks were also highlighted as having greater biodiversity.

Another key part of the project was to research ways landowners could more easily conduct their own biodiversity surveys using low-labour

methods on their own properties — and avoid the need for a team of specialists.

Working with researchers from James Cook University we set out to collect four rounds of data at eight properties in the Einasleigh Uplands bioregion, including Undara, Oolarat Station and Mount Surprise. The remote survey methods used were acoustic recording, camera traps and pitfall traps. So, what did we find out?

Marcus and Ed setting up a camera trap and bait station

Acoustic recordings were analysed using BirdNet — an AI-powered system that identifies birds by their song.

The BirdNET analysis tool identified between 63 and 83 bird species in the different survey periods, including apostlebirds, rainbow bee-eaters, magpielarks, olive-backed orioles, pale-headed rosellas, pied butcherbirds and red-backed fairywrens.

BirdNET is available as an app and can identify around 3000 of the world’s most common species.

Camera traps were also used across the study period and captured almost 40 species (not including cattle!). The camera traps were securely attached to a tree and then trained on a bait station used to attract animals to the location.

Pitfall traps are just as they sound and consist of a container buried in the ground with its rim at surface level used to trap, in this case, invertebrates that fall into it.

Overall, BirdNET provided the best results to show differences in biodiversity associated with grazing intensity — and this is just one of the methods you can use to measure biodiversity in your own backyard. Let’s look at a few more …

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Frog ID There are many frog species that call our region home. While you might be able to identify a few, many are tricky to ID. Step forward the Frog ID app from the Australian Museum.

This simple-to-use app allows you to record frog calls and match them to ones on Frog ID. Then upload your records to the Museum's frog experts for verification. Recordings also help to document the distribution of Australian frog species.

The app contains an ID guide for frog species — showing you the most likely to be in your area based on your phone's GPS. This is your chance to become a froggy citizen scientist!

Merlin Bird ID This app offers quick identification help for all levels of bird watchers. It includes a Sound ID feature that listens to the birds around you and shows suggestions for who's singing — like BirdNET. You can then compare your recording to the songs and calls on Merlin to confirm what you heard. Sound ID works offline so you can identify birds no matter how bad your reception is!

Snap a photo of a bird, and answer a couple of quick questions, and the Photo ID feature will also offer a short list of possible matches. With so much help on offer it won't be long until you can identify all your backyard birds.

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iNaturalist This is more than an app! It's an online social network and citizen science project where users upload their observations of plants, animals, fungi and other organisms — and then crowdsource identifications by connecting with experts.

All observations submitted are added to their global database and shared with the Atlas of Living Australia to help scientists and researchers find and use your information.

Simply get an account and submit what you saw, when and where, alongside a photo or sound, and the community can help confirm your identifications.

It’s a great way to build your knowledge by talking to naturalists - and who knows you might be able to help with an ID or two!

There are also some great low-tech methods to measure your property’s biodiversity, one of our favourites is light trapping moths and other insects.

You do this every time you leave your outside light on at night — light trapping is just one step further.

Simply put an old bedsheet over something like the clothesline and shine a light on it. Fluorescent lights work best, but any light will do. Now just wait for the insects to land and be sure to take photos and upload them to iNaturalist for an ID. Good luck!

This project received funding from the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority and the Australian Government.

Using light to measure biodiversity in your backyard

Sarah Reynolds is our Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator at Gulf Savannah NRM. Tell us a bit about where you come from.

to be a farmer, and I’d like to bring more attention to the good that farmers do.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

I’d love to be able to fly. It’s much nicer than walking, and I’d save so much money on fuel!

I grew up in cold, wet Millaa Millaa on a dairy farm. When I finished high school, I took the first opportunity to get away and experience city life.

But four years at uni showed me that life in the city wasn’t really for me and after a bit of time travelling, I realised the Atherton Tablelands was actually where I wanted to be.

Where did you go on holiday as a kid?

What made you want to work with Gulf Savannah NRM?

If you had the time?

I wanted to work in a job that could help farmers in our region as much as possible, especially to improve their sustainability and profitability. I grew up on a dairy farm that went out of operation due to the deregulation of milk pricing. I struggle to understand why farmers don’t get more support when they provide such an essential service. You have to love what you do

We went to Germany every few years because my mum’s family is over there. I was really lucky. I like to blame her for not teaching German to my sister and I, but at this stage I guess it's my own fault for not finally learning.

I’d learn to play the piano, and to speak German.

What are your hobbies?

I love to crochet and I’m trying to get into painting. I get really into hobbies and then forget about them completely. Crocheting is the only one I’ve stuck with!

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Gulf Savannah NRM’s three-year Fire Smart Mareeba Shire project successfully built local capacity and resilience in responding to and mitigating bushfire risk to our region. Participants took part in training and developed their own fire management plans and community events were held across the Shire. Let’s take a look back at the project to find out how you can build your own bushfire preparedness.

‘In these more remote country towns, it’s important for neighbours to work together.

Everyone has to do their bit … keeping an eye out, helping to back burn … I just think it’s a given that everyone is helping each other,’ said Norman, a member of the project’s Leafgold cluster, based around Dimbulah.

The importance of neighbouring property owners working together for bushfire planning and mitigation can’t be overstated and was a major focus of the project. It led to six cluster groups of neighbours being formed, which helped to

strengthen relationships and allowed members to learn from each other.

‘The people who have been here a long time know what to do better than I would,’ explained Theuns who was also part of the Leafgold cluster, ‘so I follow their lead and learn from that. They know when to back burn — and when not to.’

The cluster groups were trained in risk mitigation, pasture assessment and developed fire management plans for their properties.

Project Facts

Participants gained remote first aid accreditation

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75 people trained in remote first aid.

120 people trained in fire management and mitigation.

Fire smart neighbour days in Koah, Emerald Heights, Irvinebank, Watsonville and Biboohra.

Fire forums and field days in Mareeba, Mount Molloy and Mutchilba.

Comprehensive shire-wide analysis of actual on-ground fire risk.

Attendees at the FNQ Fire Forum in Mareeba

‘If we can work together and burn off beforehand to alleviate any dangers that come on during the fire season,’ said Walter, a life-long Dimbulah resident. ‘We do burn offs every year with our neighbours to reduce the fire hazard risk.’

Fire Smart Mareeba Shire was a whole-ofcommunity project with support from fire and land management agencies and groups, Indigenous ranger groups, property managers and local residents.

The project identified key areas of bushfire risk to communities and training was provided in bushfire preparedness, remote first aid, risk mitigation and fire management at both a property and community level.

As well as working with property owners, the project provided opportunities for the broader community to improve their bushfire planning, including neighbour days, workshops and field days.

Gulf Savannah NRM is always working to increase preparedness to natural disasters in our region — and is leading the Resilient Futures for Queensland’s Gulf Savannah initiative.

The project covers Etheridge, Croydon and Carpentaria Shire and is currently providing free disaster risk planning to extensive grazing properties — find out more at gulfsavannahnrm.org/free-disaster-planning.

Ensure your house/ru ral number is clearly displayed Mow your lawn regula rly Remove dry vegetati on (e.g. dry grass, dead leaves and branches) Move any flammable from your yard items (e.g. wood, pape r, boxes and crates) aw infrastructure ay from Trim low-lying branche s (those under 2m in height) away from inf Keep gutters clear of rastructure leaf litter Make sure any gas cyl inders are upright an d relief valves are po the house inted away from Check that pumps, gen erators and water sys tems are working Keep water tanks full Have hoses that will rea ch all areas around yo ur house and sheds Maintain firebreaks aro und infrastructure Ensure clear property access for fire brigad e (including fire trucks Check your insurance ) cover and details Complete a Bushfire Plan at qfes.qld.gov.a u/prepare/bushfires

This project received

The project concluded with the FNQ Fire Forum in March with more than 60 people attending the event in Mareeba.

What’s next?

grant funding from the Australian Government.

Take five for fire: Your bushfire preparedness checklist

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PROJECT & NEWS UPDATES Gulf Savannah NRM is delivering a range of projects in regenerative agriculture, biodiversity, fire and drought management, community resilience, and more. Stay up to date with our monthly online newsletter: bit.ly/gsnrm-news

LITTLETON TURTLE TIME We've been back to Littleton National Park to help carry out more freshwater turtle surveys.

Working alongside the Tagalaka Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC and the Tagalaka Rangers, the Turtles in Trouble project is investigating if feral pigs are behind a declining northern snake-necked turtle population at the national park near Croydon.

HOW’S THE RECEPTION AT YOUR PLACE? In rural and regional Australia, people experience frustratingly weak or unstable internet and mobile phone connections. But many connection issues can be solved by using additional equipment.

As part of our Building Digital Capacity project, we can provide eligible households up to $1000 towards hardware costs to help turn that barelythere reception into full bars of connectivity — giving you improved mobile and internet access.

Submit an expression of interest by Sunday 28 July at gulfsavannahnrm.org/connectivity. We’ll be in touch to get some additional information from you about your connection issues to check your eligibility for the project. To be eligible you must live in Mareeba, Etheridge or Croydon Shire.

This project is supported by the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

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In addition to getting more information on turtle numbers, the survey also identified water holes suitable for the installation of turtle-friendly fencing — an innovative barrier enabling turtle movement while safeguarding their habitat from the detrimental impacts of feral pigs.

This project was funded by donations to the Gulf Savannah Future Fund. Read more at gulfsavannahnrm.org/turtles-in-trouble.

BUILDING DIGITAL CAPACITY Residents, businesses and community organisations have boosted their digital skills at a series of workshops in Mareeba and Georgetown.

The one-day Building Digital Capacity sessions have helped attendees (pictured) master software including Xero and Microsoft Word and Excel.

Register for upcoming workshops at https://bit.ly/digital-workshops.

‘These hands-on workshops aim to improve confidence so participants can be better prepared to combat stresses caused by drought and other disasters,’ said Community Resilience Project Officer Deb Schedue.

This project is supported by the Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

WE LOVE DIRT We’ve just finished up our Soil Extension project where we’ve been working with grazing, broadacre and horticulture properties in our region to build soil health through sustainable practices.

Graziers attended workshops and field days on how soil influences pasture growth, carrying capacity, and livestock supplementation — and broadacre and horticultural land managers learnt how soil influences crop yield and to manage limiting nutrients.

Find out more by watching the project video at gulfsavannahnrm.org/soil-extension-project.

This project is supported by Gulf Savannah NRM, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

NEW ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS We’ve welcomed two Associate Directors to Gulf Savannah NRM’s board.

Shannon Rae and Donald Murray joined as part of our Emerging Leaders Program.

Our board members are Ellen Weber (Chair), Emeritus Professor Chris Cocklin (Director), Kate Eden (Director), Nick Hardy (Director) and Anne Clarke (Director).

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Looking dry There is between a 25% and 45% chance of rainfall totals exceeding the median for July– September. However, as rainfall is usually low until the start of the wet season, a drier than median forecast won't be noticeable for most in northern Australia.

Get the latest climate info

Higher temperatures The forecast for July– September shows a 75– 80% chance of above median temperatures for our region. For the same period, there is also an 80% probability temperatures will exceed median minimum temperatures.

Want to stay up to date with weather and climate forecasts? Sign up for updates from the Northern Australia Climate Program and you'll get a monthly climate information update delivered straight to your inbox!

CliMate app Register for this great free program where you can access heaps of climate information about your area, including how the season is going compared to average, when it is likely to rain, what the trends are, and much more.

Visit https://climateapp.net.au.

La Niña Watch The Bureau of Meteorology's ENSO (El Niño–Southern Oscillation) Outlook has shifted to La Niña Watch, meaning there are some signs a La Niña might form later in 2024.

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Gulf Savannah NRM is proud to be collaborating on this project with the University of Southern Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology, the UK Met Office, state governments in QLD, NT and WA, and other NRM groups.

WINTER 2024

CHECK IN WITH YOUR GRAZING BUSINESS THIS SEASON Reviewing your whole business at once can be a daunting and overwhelming task, but biting off a few things consistently each quarter can lead to big improvements over 12 months ... with the benefits compounding for years to come. Here’s four things to get started between musters:

Double-check stocking rates Forage production and stocking rate records are critical in making timely management decisions.

Using your first-round numbers, double-check your stocking rates and forage budgets. Here are a few tools to help you get started or call for a personalised walk through: etools.mla.com.au — head to the stocking rate calculator. youtube.com/@FutureBeefAu — search for forage budgeting and pasture utilisation.

Support herd performance Keep up the dry season supplementation for improved herd performance! Try this editable lick intake calculator from FutureBeef: futurebeef.com.au/resources/phosphorus-lick-intake-calculator.

Be climate informed Prepare for the seasons ahead! Stay updated and informed by keeping watch on the indicators.

Sign up for updates from the Northern Australia Climate Program at https://bit.ly/gulf-savannah-climate.

Business savvy It’s tax season again! While you’ve got those figures out, it’s good practice to review key financial measures to see how your business is tracking over time. There are a couple of great worksheets in the Farm Business Resilience Planning workbook that walk you through these.

Contact Mandy Pickering on 0429 672 058 or email mandy.pickering@gulfsavannahnrm.org to complete your Business Resilience Planning and look into the funding and grants available to improve infrastructure in preparation for dry periods.

Grazing Futures is a Drought and Climate Adaptation Program (DCAP) funded project aimed at helping producers better manage drought and other risks 29 associated with extensive livestock businesses.

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REMOTE FIRST AID TRAINING

FRIDAY 16 AUGUST Normanton Shire Hall SATURDAY 17 AUGUST Doris Casey Hall, Croydon SUNDAY 18 AUGUST Georgetown Sports Centre

Remote First Aid training is delivered by Kim Cardwell from Far North Queensland First Aid Training. The day provides attendees with the skills required to provide first aid response to a casualty in a situation where medical assistance is likely to be delayed. Participants receive accreditation for completion. All training 8am–4pm.

REGISTER NOW

https://bit.ly/remote-firstaid

For more information, contact Vickie: 4092 1088 or vickie.mylrea@gulfsavannahnrm.org

This project received grant funding from the Australian Government