Natural Resource Management Facilitator Network
Australian Government, March 2005
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In 1986 Andrew and Carolyn bought ‘Redbanks’, a 380 hectare farm on productive land at Sisters Creek with gently undulating volcanic soils and an average rainfall of 1,036 millimetres a year.
Part of Rocky Cape National Park borders the property, which also contains some 80 hectares of native bush including White Gum and Blackwood forests and valuable old habitat trees as well as a stream inhabited by the rare Giant Tasmanian Freshwater Crayfish. The Nichols’ approach to farming is reflected in aiming to retain this uncleared bush and only farm on already cleared land. They began developing a Nature Conservation Management Plan when they brought the property and set it in place across the entire farm in 1998.
In his acceptance speech at the Landcare Awards Andrew Nichols said: “We still have a chance in Tassie to keep ourselves unique, but only if we fence off these remnant areas of bush and only if we make sure we go through time with all these creatures along with us. If you don’t get a thrill when you see a wedge tailed eagle or a flock of black cockatoos flying over then you are taking living in this wonderful country very much for granted.“
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