ANN ADAMS

and the other is not harmed or helped, such as when barnacles use whales as transportation. Parasitism is where the host is harmed but not killed such as a flea on a dog. Predation includes the killing of another animal.

However, we know that the predator-prey relationship is not only a predation relationship but a mutualistic relationship. The predator keeps the herd moving so that the grassland remains healthy for the benefit of both species as well as numerous other species. The wolf kills the old or sick deer, but the riparian area is improved as is the deer herd genetics. All the other species that rely on the health of that riparian area reap the rewards as well. In this way, predation moves toward mutualism whether the wolf and deer are conscious of this dynamic or not. It is how nature functions and balances.

Actor Joaquin Phoenix used his Oscar speech to encourage the audience to “end speciesism.” He is part of a PETA PR campaign using billboards which state “We are ALL Animals.” Indeed, we are all animals, and we are part of a natural system that has certain realities in which we must engage regardless of the amount of technology we have at our disposal.

I believe it is our technology that sometimes makes us think we can control nature or avoid defiling it when in reality our every action

Many farmers and ranchers are aware of the incredible beauty of the landscapes they manage. For many of those producers, agri-tourism is a profitable enterprise as they invite consumers on to the land to share that beauty as well as the realities of farm and ranch life. Gillian Sanbrook has taken this concept one step further in developing the concept of the Earth Canvas at the 990-ha (2,475-acres) Bibbaringa Station in New South

Wales, Australia and other surrounding Holistic

Management farms.

Bibbaringa Station— Developing An Earth Canvas

BY ANN ADAMS

Healing a Landscape

Gillian originally trained under Certified Educator Bruce Ward back in 1990 when she and her husband, David, were running Pooginook Merino Stud Farm in Jerilderie. After they sold that business in 2007, she invested in Bibbaringa and focused on improving ground touches the spider web of life around us and causes reverberations locally and thousands of miles away. We struggle to even begin to understand the complexity of this world while we also resist the human systems that we know are broken and offend our values.

Again, the argument is that because we are humans and have a higher consciousness, we should not act like other animals and should hold ourselves to higher standards. I would agree that as a higher successional species, we have the potential to recognize the impact of our species on the planet and make decisions that will result in an increased biodiversity and healthy ecosystem processes that feed all life, rather than continue to evolve as a parasitic specie. It also requires decisions that recognize we are not the only species that need access to these resources. If we don’t change course, then nature will self-correct this progression for us (as it has done already on numerous occasions).

For this reason, our choice of diet must be focused on increasing biodiversity, not trying to limit our damage to the planet. I believe integrating livestock into agriculture is a key component of that increased biodiversity effort. We can’t leave nature alone given the amount of impact we have had on the planet. We need

cover and strategically planting trees to slow the flow of water across the landscape. She also focused on rebuilding the soil fertility using mostly stocker cattle (approximately 300–500 cows and adult cattle) based on the amount of rain she thought she’d be getting as well as looking at the amount of forage she had and how well the land was recovering from the to be an active partner in the reclamation of the planet. If we are the predators in this mutualistic relationship, we must make conscious choices that increase community and planetary health rather than decisions that suppose us to be the most important species.

I think that vegans are trying to make those kinds of decisions. As a community that cares about planetary health, the Holistic Management community must find ways to communicate across dietary lines so that we can all better understand the short-term and long-term ramifications of our dietary decisions. Together we need to better inform the much larger portion of the population in developed countries who are making dietary choices based on what is cheap and convenient, not what is good for human and planetary health. We must do this work on a market level and at a policy level to make changes to our food system so it feeds our community and our planet.

Our consciousness, awareness, and ethics provide us with the opportunity to partner with nature rather than attempt to create dominion over nature. The first rule we have to truly accept is that the cycle of life is the cycle of death. All die and are eaten. The choice is how we do our killing and our living and how it serves the greater community.

previous season’s graze.

“In 2007 Bibbaringa was run down due to the 1,500 sheep and 700 cattle grazing the property before we bought,” says Gillian. “We had to let it rest to get it going. We gave it nine months of recovery. Now there is so much grass, but we had lots of weeds at first. I buy and sell cattle

Gillian Taylor

to create a flexible stocking rate. In March and November I make a call about what we are going to stock. I can always buy and I can always sell. In June 2019 the soil moisture was so low I only bought 200 steers. I’ve got a lot of grass, but I don’t have the water. Right now I have a 52,800-gallon (200,000-liter) tank and 10 new troughs to better manage the water. Being able to give the land more recovery during the summer is critical if I want to keep the land covered 100% of the time. Bibbaringa has to pay its own way. But, I can see the production is definitely increasing per mm rainfall or the DSE per ha (SAU/acre) because we have increased the organic matter and soil carbon of the soil and the resilience of the land to capture moisture when it comes and store it.

“I’ve also been using Natural Sequence Farming which is about slowing the water through the landscape. It provides a wonderful observation of the landscape. We look at ground cover, how to get fertility up to the top of the hill, and moving water around the landscape rather than through the landscape. It does require serious excavation as we created 10 contour banks to build soil. In our situation, the granite soils don’t hold water, but these improvements help to slow it down.

“The focus at Bibbaringa has been to build soil and have 100% ground cover throughout the year. I have used the principles of Holistic Management whereby we graze cattle strategically and allow adequate recovery for plants before we graze again. I have also planted over 70,000 trees on 300 acres (120ha). “We plant trees to help with ground cover. I have used the Holistic Land Planning process and I had government funding or grants to put back into the land. In the first two years. With that we created 65 paddocks of six-wire permanent fencing. I now build permanent three-wire fence. I travel a lot and feel confident the fences will hold the stock. “When I’m home we move the cattle every day or second day. When I’m travelling, I leave the spreadsheet and the relief worker knows which gate to open. I don’t get sick cattle with our program so I don’t have that concern when I’m away. I need to keep it simple now but my plan is to get back to breeding when and if the season ever feel more stable again. The first step was to focus on building resilience in the property. In the meantime, trading cattle gives me the income I need. “The trees are also building resilience in the landscape because they provide habitat for birds and insects and help to build the soil carbon. It’s working as the organic matter on Bibbaringa is up to 3.5–5% at the 10 cm depth when it used to average one percent.”

It takes about six hours of work a week for Gillian to run the cattle operation which gives her more time for looking at market opportunities. She uses the Sell-Buy method developed by Bud Williams. Any infrastructure projects she hires out because she can afford to through business profit which allows her time for other enterprises on which she enjoys working, including her mentor and education efforts.

“I enjoy sharing my experiences of rebuilding Bibbaringa,” says Gillian. “I want people to understand the food chain from farm to end consumer. I want them to hear another perspective and understand the power of the food dollar in encouraging good land management.”

Gillian grew up in Melbourne and her parents created a successful manufacturing business. She always dreamed of being a farmer and land manager and enjoyed being outdoors. “My first job was jillarooing in the Riverina of New South Wales and in New Zealand,” says Gillian. “After studying at Glenormiston Agriculture College I pursued a career in Rural Journalism in Western Australia and South Africa and then got married and joined my then husband in the family business, Pooginook Merino Stud.”

Gillian purchased Bibbaringa Station in March 2007. The photo on top was the condition of the land at the time of purchase. The photo on the bottom is the same landscape 12 years later after drought and challenging weather as well as planned grazing implemented and 60 paddock infrastructure development and the planting of 60,000 trees to create a more resilient landscape. Earth Canvas

The sale of Pooginook Merino Stud company in 2007 provided Gillian the capital to purchase Bibbaringa as one landscape canvas upon which to create, but she also wanted to engage in other art projects. To that end she started an art investment group called Artstream with 20 unitholders involving 40 people who wanted to learn about Australian art. “We purchased $40,000 per year in art work, and then shared it among the group,” says Gillian. “We later auctioned the art within the group. The company was only ever to last for 10 years, finishing in 2019. We purchased art we wanted to hang in our houses. I love group dynamics and learning from and with people. Through Artstream I made connections with all these artists that we had purchased art from. From there I decided to connect top Australian artists with the top regenerative farms in southern New South Wales between the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers.

“Many of these artists have been on these farms and the farmers and artists have great relationships. Both parties are realizing the

synergies that come from these relationships. The farmer can look at the landscape from a creative perspective as part of their management. Meanwhile the artists are talking about the landscape like a body with a liver and kidneys and providing that perspective. Anyone working with the land has to work with intuition. Holistic Management, in particular, has a focus on synergy that is attractive to both these farmers and artists. Through the Earth Canvas project we have learnt that indigenous Australian artists and regenerative farmers talk the same language but use different words.

“I also converted my woolshed into a studio space. Now it’s being used for workshops of all kinds every couple of weeks, including writers. I have two sons that are artists so that is an additional motivation to integrate art into the farm. This journey has been an evolution. When I first came to Bibbaringa I was focused on environmental management and I am only just understanding what I was doing. Now that I’m focused on the larger picture, I’m creating a space for us all to learn from each other, whether we are artists, musicians, regenerative farmers or ecologists.”

The concept for Earth Canvas is that artists each work with a regenerative farmer situated between the Murray and the Murrumbidgee rivers in southern New South Wales. The aim of this project is share the vision of creativity of the farmer and his/her working palate in the landscape with the artist’s impression of the landscape.

Gillian has engaged such artists as painters John Wolseley, Jo Davenport, Idris Murphy, and Jenny Bell as well as printmaker Rosalind atkins, installation artist Janet Laurence, and art photographer Tony Nott. The farms involved include Bibbaringa, Eurimbla, Mt Narra Narra, Yammacoona, Yabtree West, and Mundarlo all in the Holbrook region of New South Wales.

“There has been an outstanding response to Open Days (field days) on these farms with up to 100 people coming to each place,” says Gillian. “This is only the first stage of the project. In 2020–2022 there will be 10 traveling exhibitions to the Australian National Museum (ANM), with stories and videos about the farmers as well as the art developed. We’ve been approached by ANM about travelling to four states. We will also have a writers’ festival in April to get writers to come and offer a workshop and get writers and readers to learn about regenerative agriculture.”

Earth Canvas is an educational non-profit and schools are coming to the farms involved in the project as the interest grows in regenerative farming and agriculture. Likewise, the program includes the artists and farmers going to the school to talk to the classes. All of this programming is paid for either by the user or through grant- or schoolfunded programing.

While artists and farmers are not getting paid directly for providing this education, they feel it is important to use their skills to empower people to see there are some solutions to climate change. People can make choices about how they buy their food.

“I have to thank Holistic Management for this opportunity,” says Gillian. “In 1990, our business (Pooginook Merino Stud) was in the depth of drought, too much debt, and a wool depression. We needed a white line to follow. I went to see Allan Savory present and I thought this was the way to change the way we think. That gave us the capabilities change the way we made decisions and eventually sell our business which was a fourth generation business. I doubt we could have made that decision. And, we made that a win-win decision for the family. It empowered us to move forward because our children were not interested in the business.

“When we started on the path of Holistic Management and thinking we changed our grazing, land planning, staff training. So many aspects of our business were changed to make it a vibrant modern day business. We used holistic thinking in our marketing strategies and did some downstream manufacturing of wool into garments. We established a client education company called Pooginook Wool Initiative and wool manufacturing business called Natural Instinct wool company. By refocusing the company we were able to reduce debt and build the business during the Australian millennium drought.

Management Group Support

Another activity that Gillian has become involved in is Management Group support

In these pictures (left) 2007 and (right) 2018, you again see the contrast in land health and ecosystem function that has occurred over the 11 years since Gillian purchased the property and has given adequate recovery for perennial native grasses. working with Certified Educator Brian Wehlburg who offers this type of support the agricultural producers who have completed his Holistic Management training. After having had numerous years in various management groups as well as practicing Holistic Management on two different properties, Gillian has a lot of experience to bring to the conversation and finds this work rewarding. “I facilitate the meetings as we follow an agenda which includes reviewing a chapter in Savory’s book and look around the farm where we are having the meeting,” says Gillian. “We have a meeting every six to eight weeks. I help to get the groups up and running when they first start out. So much depends on the leadership that comes from the group. We use Whats App for each group for participants to communicate between meeting. Someone might ring me as well and ask me to be a sounding board. We usually have four to five meetings to get them CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

up and running and then they need to move forward with the leadership within the group. “I’ve been a member of four different management groups over the years since the 1990’s. The group I’m in now is called 8 families www.8families.com. We are all within

100 km (60 miles) with a spread of experience. We’ve being going for about eight years now. 8 Families is so important to my business and my personal life.

“One of the key things that come out of support groups is the reluctance to make a holistic context (goal) because after trainings many producers don’t understand the concept and the commitment and positive communication that results from building a holistic context. You actually need a holistic context to make holistic decisions. The process is so important in so many aspects. It’s only when you engage in the process that you actually understand the true outcomes. “For example in initial meetings in support groups there are people who are often loggerjams with each other. They were trying to make major decisions but didn’t have a holistic context. Then the group discussed how this was an issue and said they couldn’t make holistic decisions. Now they are ready to create a holistic context. “I think people really underestimate the value of the holistic context. I think of it as a holistic intention. If it’s not part

of you, you can’t make holistic decisions. In a management group people hold each other accountable, but different people are on different journeys and time schedules. Some people take more time to pick it up and run with it. “I can’t believe the power of these groups. People see the value of them and more people are wanting to get in the group once they start functioning. I tell these groups to be careful who they invite in. I think it’s best to have no more than 10–15 people or businesses in a support group. With only four people in the group, it isn’t diverse enough. You need diversity of enterprises and ages. We always get children to our meetings and those meetings have such strong community dynamics, love, and caring. When you’re living in rural communities, you live in isolation. These meetings provide real community and bonding, which can happen very quickly. They can really help with the isolation especially during drought, fire, and flood.”

Whether running all the various enterprises at Bibbaringa or developing new Earth Canvas workshops and fields days or supporting a management club group, Gillian lives and breathes the Holistic Management process. She has found the value of using it whether to help her develop her grazing plan, determine when to destock or buy cattle, and how to create a landscape of great beauty, value, and resilience in a time of great weather extremes and changing markets. Lastly, she has used this process to evolve her business model in many

creative ways over the years as her life and priorities have changed, improving her quality of life and providing new opportunities for her family.

Trees provide many ecosystem benefits for Bibbaringa including helping to drought proof the landscape, cycle nutrients, add biodiversity, and provide shade for cattle.

Open Days at Bibbaringa and other regenerative farms bring crowds of up to 100 people to learn about art, the Australian landscape, and regenerative agriculture.

To read a full case study on Bibbaringa’s ecosystem health go to: https://www. bibbaringa.com/media/pdf/Communities-inLandscapes-project-21Nov2015.pdf Note the biodiversity now apparent on Bibbaringa’s landscape because of land management practices, infrastructure investments, and restoration projects. Despite an average of 30 inches of rain, this Mediterranean climate means there can be long periods of dry which requires a landscape that can hold moisture when it comes.

Natural Sequence Farming is an approach to creating resilient landscapes by moving the water more effectively through a landscape. This includes the installation of contouring and creating leaky weirs in riparian areas.