OUR WORK

With the support of Gulf Savannah NRM’s Indigenous Cultural Broker, Natarsha Bell, our organisation has established a Traditional Custodian Led Advisory Group. Its purpose is to strengthen relationships with Traditional Custodians across the region. It provides expert advice on Indigenous interests, responsibilities, and connections to land, freshwater, and sea country, and plays a vital role in shaping culturally appropriate engagement approaches.

Enhancing wetland values at Wetherby station is a community-focused wetland conservation project aiming to restore the diverse values and ecological character of the Wetherby wetlands ecosystem. In April this year, 1,300 native trees were planted with help from the landholder John Colless, TREAT volunteers, children, teachers and parents from Mt Molloy State School, Kuku Djungan Murtiki rangers and Gulf Savannah NRM staff. 

This year, Gulf Savannah NRM partnered with the Department of Environment, Science, Tourism and Innovation to host Soil Graduate, Mali Eagle. The program provided opportunities for field work, laboratory placement and desktop analysis, contributing to the development of core soil science skills. One focal area has been soil sampling to build skills in property characterisation and profile classification.

The Eastern Forests of Far North Queensland are home to a wealth of threatened species impacted by invasive pests, such as feral animals (e.g., cats and pigs), weeds (e.g., lantana) and changed fire regimes. This project will form a partnership between government departments, non-profits and First Nations peoples to improve the condition of habitat for these native species by reducing key threats.

This project seeks to empower farmers in the Mareeba-Dimbulah Irrigation Area (MDIA) to promote agricultural growth while adopting sustainable natural resource management practices. Key focus areas include soil carbon, erosion control, and sustainable farming techniques. The project will establish demonstration sites, host workshops, and conduct regular soil testing to monitor changes resulting from management actions.

The Australian Government has invested $40.7 million in a national network of Sustainable Agriculture Facilitators under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program, funded through the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT). 

 As Gulf Savannah NRM’s SAF, Mandy Pickering connects farmers, landholders, community groups and agriculture industries to relevant information and programs on climate-smart, sustainable agriculture practices. 

Northern quolls have experienced large declines in their distribution and abundance, associated with multiple threatening processes including the invasion of cane toads, feral cats, and reduced habitat quality/suitability caused by changed fire regimes, over-grazing and weeds.  The contraction of their distribution has largely restricted them to areas experiencing high rainfall and with topographic ruggedness, as more complex habitats can likely buffer the effects of changed fire regimes and predation pressures.

Climate Mates is part of the Northern Australia Climate Program, helping graziers better manage drought and climate risks. We help graziers use forecasts and adopt new climate tools to make informed management decisions. Supported by the Queensland Government Drought and Climate Adaptation Program and Meat and Livestock Australia.