Rotary Adopt a Tree Planting Canowindra

Belubula Park is located on the Belubula River near Canowindra, about 4 hours west of Sydney and 2.5 hrs north of Canberra. This 400ha (960 acres) property has about 3.5km of river frontage, with ownership on both sides. There are two platypus dens (with platypus) in the river and many native animal species, including the threatened Superb Parrot.

Robin Aitken & Jonathan Sanders manage the property for their brother-in-law, Rick Arnheim, who bought it about two years ago. Jonathan is an ecologist and Robin an archaeologist and they have both have worked in the National Parks and Wildlife Service for most of their careers.

The property was quite run down and neglected when they arrived, with almost no ground cover due to overstocking and set stocking, especially during the three year drought up to early 2020. After the change of ownership, lower stocking numbers, rotational grazing and good rainfall over the last two years has allowed the native ground cover across the property to regenerate well. However the rain also brought the challenge of enormous numbers of weeds and this has been an important focus of management.

Rick’s vision, which Robin and Jonathan are working to achieve, is to improve the ecology and biodiversity of the property, and especially the soil health, while running a sustainable meat sheep enterprise, with regenerative farming as the basis for management.

Environmental improvements over the last two years have included:

· Fencing the riparian zone to keep stock off the banks.

· Planting a mixed riparian forest of 1000 plants with river red gum, yellow box and river oak and a range of understorey and ground cover plants

• Fencing off an area for conservation of Grassy Box Gum Woodland Critically Endangered Ecological Community and planting more White and Yellow Box and understorey plants in it.
• Buying about 40 nest boxes for different species, though they are yet to be put up
• Several ecological burns in the native grasslands (predominantly red grass) followed by seeding with other native grasses in a sawdust matrix to improve soil carbon
• Planting the beginning of a small native forest along the driveway
• Fencing a tree lot along the southern boundary of the property with room for several thousand trees

Robin and Jonathan are very pleased and excited to be selected by Rotary so they can achieve Rick’s and their goals and begin nurturing the landscape back to full health.