north east regional extra | August 5 - 11, 2020
nemedia.com.au
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August 5 - 11, 2020
By BELINDA HARRISON
A LOVE for and care of the land has been in Tom Croft’s blood since his birth on a wool-growing property south of Armidale near Uralla on the Northern Tablelands of NSW. The passionate land lover retired from full-time work and his position as regional Landcare coordinator for North East Catchment Management Authority in June this year, having held the role for the past 18 years. “I grew up on a farm so I think I was always destined for a life on the land,” Tom said. “After school and some travel, I met and married my wife, Cathy, and we established a farm revegetation contracting business in the late 1980s. “Unfortunately, our business was severely affected by the drought of the early 1990s and that resulted in us moving to the North East of Victoria for work.” While Tom was still working part-time on his family’s farm, he and Cathy joined a new Landcare group which was focused on revegetation dealing with the extensive dieback across the Tablelands. Put simply: dieback is when a tree or shrub starts to die from the tip of its leaves or roots backward and can be caused by disease or unfavourable conditions. Landcare, or as it was then called Land Care, was established in Victoria in 1986 by Joan Kirner, who was then Minister for Conservation, Forests and Lands, and Heather Mitchell, then president of the Victorian Farmers Federation. With the farming background still firmly entrenched in Tom’s soul, he began studying environmental management and completed his degree in 1994, gaining a job as Landcare coordinator for groups in the Mitta and Upper Murray catchments the same year. “Through my involvement in Landcare, I applied for a role with the North East Catchment Management Authority in 1998 to administer the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) grants,” Tom said.
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A lifetime of caring for the land
◆ RETIREMENT BECKONS: After 18 years as regional Landcare coordinator for North East Catchment Management Authority, Tom Croft has recently retired, but he certainly won’t be idle.
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YOUR GARDEN
ANIMAL CARE
WINE TALK
YOUR HEALTH
with NATALIE
with ZIGGY
with ANITA
with SOPHIE & BELINDA
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