Case Studies

Sturt Vale Station is located in the beautiful north-eastern pastoral district of South Australia. Covering some 137,255 hectares, Sturt Vale comprises five separate properties: Sturt Vale, Wyndale, Alexandrina, Fordes Lagoon, and Aldermans. The properties are owned and run by Sturt Vale Pastoral, third generation pastoralists who manage sheep, goats and cattle at the station.

Merluna Station is home to the MacLean family, who run a beef cattle enterprise and provide tourist accommodation and camping facilities. Located on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Merluna was purchased by Michelle and Cameron MacLean in 2004, and their three children have grown up on the property. Like many parts of Cape York, much of the 169,000 hectare property remains undeveloped, with only the areas close to their homestead being fenced. Today, the MacLeans run roughly 500 head of cattle in fenced paddocks and have others running free at Merluna.

For over twenty years, Helen and Waldo Ponder have been operating a merino sheep enterprise at their Avondale property. Located in Bourke, NSW, the Ponders describe it as “a beautiful part of the world”, home to a wealth of native flora, including strands of large gidgee trees, huge supplejack trees and leopardwood trees with their spotted bark. The native vegetation attracts a host of birdlife and the Ponders have enjoyed spotting willie wagtails, bee-eaters, wrens, galahs, cockatoos, budgies, ringneck and mulga parrots, as well as brolgas and black swans during wet seasons.

The Witherspoon family have been active in the Cape York cattle industry since the 1960s. Today, Iain and Kate Witherspoon manage York Downs Station on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland. Covering 130,000 hectares, it is home to Iain, Kate and their young children. The Witherspoons manage a herd of Brahman cattle at York Downs, focusing on breeding before moving the cattle south for fattening. As with many properties in Cape York, the cattle are able to freely graze the property, tending to follow green pasture in the wake of storms and rainfall.

Darling River Eco Corridor 32 is situated near Bourke, in the north-west of New South Wales. In 2017, Kevin Whelan and his family partnered with GreenCollar on a carbon project, establishing a steady income stream for the family, facilitating improvements for the property and helping to regenerate native vegetation.

Income from the carbon project has enabled the Whelans to improve property infrastructure, including fencing and trap yards, allowing them to better control feral animals. It has also allowed them to diversify their business and reduce stocking levels, which make them less reliant on weather and seasonal conditions.

For the Whelans, the carbon project provides financial security, helping to maintain the property and keep their business viable.

Robin and Keryl Thorpe have run Lynwood, near Cobar in New South Wales, since 2006. The pair decided to partner with GreenCollar after attending a carbon farming seminar, appreciating that such projects would allow them to be kinder to the land while diversifying their income and reducing the need to rely so heavily on livestock.

Pauline and Barry Oliver now have three carbon projects across two properties. They are protecting and regenerating native forest in NSW, and have taken their learnings to a run-down property purchased more recently in WA.

Peter is responsible for the management of over 6,500 hectares of established native forest, and is now regenerating and additional 12,000 hectares alongside his livestock, which he rotates on and off the project areas to manage grazing pressure.

Taking it’s name from the uniquely Australian tree that seems to ooze blood instead of sap, Bloodwood is host to a lake system that has the richest array of fairy shrimps, clam shrimps and shield shrimps in the world. As lifetime environmental advocates, it obviously held great appeal for Sue Hanson and her family, who took it over in 2008.