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.

Sturt Vale measures an average annual rainfall of only 208mm, making water one of the most precious and vital resources in the area. With a keen interest in developing a robust business while improving the land and preserving its resources, Sturt Vale Pastoral committed to a carbon project in 2021.

As a result of the carbon project, Sturt Vale Pastoral has been able to make infrastructure improvements and adopt rotational grazing practices at the station. They have installed 200 km of fencing to manage total grazing pressure, as well as 15 dam yards/goat traps and 40 km of piping for new water points. The group has been able to source materials from local suppliers as well as employ people from the local community. The landholders also have a long-term station manager, a station hand and various contractors for fencing and mustering.

While the carbon project is still in its infancy, Sturt Vale Pastoral has already seen improvements on the property. New rotational grazing practices coupled with the additional fencing, have already resulted in better vegetation regrowth. The landholders have also observed improvements to soil condition and groundcover, as well as an increase in insect and bird populations.

Sturt Vale Pastoral has plans to completely fence the project area in order to better control total grazing pressure. They also plan to increase water reticulation across the station and upgrade their working yards. Sturt Vale Pastoral is using the carbon project as an opportunity to improve infrastructure and facilitate regrowth and regeneration at the station.

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.

Since 2011, the Witherspoons have been improving fire management practices at York Downs as part of a Savanna Burning carbon project. Early in the dry season, they conduct controlled ‘mosaic’ burns that will help to manage any wildfires occurring later in the season. These early burns decrease the size and intensity of wildfires by removing much of their fuel, making them easier to contain. With early season burns, the Witherspoons are able to protect their pasture and infrastructure.

Using the additional income from the carbon project, the Witherspoons have upgraded their grader to assist with forming fire breaks. They are planning to install a solar system for the property, allowing them to decommission the diesel generator that currently serves as the only source of power at York Downs.

The Witherspoons have seen an increase in native fauna as a result of their new fire management practices. Without the devastation of uncontrollable wildfires, there are now healthy populations of lizards, echidnas, kangaroos, wallabies and snakes at York Downs.

Tropical savannas across northern Australia are some of the most intact and biodiverse landscapes in Australia, encompassing areas of significant global biodiversity. Within its 145,570 hectares, Southwell Station holds 32 hectares of threatened regional ecosystems – home to one Federally listed and two State listed threatened fauna species, and one State listed threatened flora species.

Stations across the Cape York Peninsula are hard to manage, which in some cases has led to low levels of fire, weed and feral animal management which threaten biodiversity. Under the right conditions, savanna burning can play an important role in enhancing and restoring biodiversity in the region.

Wildfires that occur in the late dry season, burn at high intensity, producing excess carbon emissions and are a major threat to biodiversity. Unlike controlled cool burns, animals can’t survive these intense fires.

Through their carbon project with GreenCollar, the land managers at Southwell Station are using fire management methods to reduce emissions from intense wildfires and protect the biodiversity of the land.

By applying patchwork burns, early in the dry season when fires are cooler, they are able to break up the landscape and fuel load for dangerous wildfires. This limits the spread of wildfires, reduces invasive weeds, and ensures the landscape maintains patches of ‘old’ vegetation that wildlife can find refuge in while burned areas regenerate.

“The carbon project encourages us to look after our country better,” they said. “The money we get from carbon credits helps us to stop hot, late season fires and allows us to put fire breaks in to manage our fire risk better.”