Koala-friendly beef
Through careful grazing management, the Hidden Vale team has integrated beef cattle farming and wildlife conservation. Techniques include rotational grazing to reduce fire burden and a koala-friendly approach to land clearing. As well as improving Hidden Vale, this approach is being used to educate farmers about the future opportunities in “koala-friendly beef”.
Microchip automation
Our research team is integrating technological advances with established wildlife management techniques to deliver more effective conservation strategies. Microchip-automated technology can provide captive wildlife with an extensive and unpredictable variety of food, enrichment and access to space designed for the individual animal. This more accurately replicates the natural environment.
The
Billabong
The Billabong is a rehabilitated farm dam designed to support a diverse, healthy, thriving ecosystem for native wildlife. Earthworks have created both permanent deep ponds and shallow wading areas that fluctuate naturally with the seasons. Annual birdwatching activities have already noted an increase in diversity of wetland birds since the reconstruction and planting.
Seed
bombs
University of Queensland research students at Hidden Vale developed seed bombs, or seed cookies, that have essential ingredients to help germination and growth of Australian natives.
We hope to learn information valuable to revegetation and restoration on our properties, that can also be used by other landholders.
WWF- Australia Partnership
Our commitment to land restoration led to a partnership with WWF-Australia to undertake corridor plantings to reconnect known koala populations across cleared grazing flats. Work also included road fencing and culvert (road underpass) modifications to assist safe crossing.
Feral
animals
With the help of University of Queensland research students, fox abundance and their impact is under annual investigation across all Turner Family Foundation properties. This is part of a long-term initiative to understand the distribution, abundance and impact of feral species and develop target-specific control methods.
Biocondition
monitoring
As part of our ongoing commitment to improving the land and habitat condition on our properties, biocondition monitoring sites were set up on our nature refuges and cattle properties.
Regional ecosystem mapping
We worked with the Queensland Herbarium to map current and precleared Regional Ecosystems across our nature refuges. This forms the basis of our sustainable property management approach.
Threatened species and their habitat
Our land restoration work has included habitat for threatened wildlife species. One species likely to benefit from this work is the Spotted-tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus maculatus).
