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The First Kachana Landscape Management Workshop 2002

Workshop Program

“Animal maintained landscapes”

A three-day bush-experience: informative guest speakers, grass roots problems and practical leading edge options to solve them; demonstrations, field-walks, workshopping, networking and fun.

Wednesday 4th
05:15

Light aircraft departure from Alligator Airways terminal: KUNUNURRA - ALLIGATOR CREEK (Kachana) A 32 minute low level flight to get an impression of the Dunham River Catchment.

Welcome and introductions; cup of tea and snacks.

Introduction of the Keynote Speaker Kester Baines

Visitors advise guest speakers of particular workshop related topics they may have a special interest in.

An introduction to the purpose and the aims of Kachana Pastoral Company.

Break

09:45

Departure for Photo Monitor site No 15 at Goanna Vlei.

Photo monitoring and inspection of an area where an estimated million tons of sandy, peaty soil erodes most years out of an area of about 40 hectares.

Kester Baines: “Food for thought” (15 min)

13:00

Picnic Lunch and discussion

Relocate to Photo Monitor site No 14 at Elephant Rock

Discussion and photo monitoring (15-30 min)

Relocation to Station Camp

Video, Discussion

“Check in” (sort out the sleeping arrangements and get to know the lay-out of the camp)

Early dinner

Wrap-up session

Thursday 5th

05:00 to 06:00 Cup of tea, biscuits
06:15 to 07:00 view the “Landscape Management Tool”
07:00 to 07:30 Discussion
07:45 Breakfast
08:45

Photo Monitoring

“Landscape management tool” on the job (cattle working for a living).

10:30

Break

Kester Baines: Soil Talk

13:00Lunch
14:30 to 15:30 Patrick von Daeniken, a forestry student from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (http://www.ethz.ch) will present: “A Central European View”
15:30

Break

View “Millennium Project”

Biological Monitoring with Brian Marshall, grazier and certified educator in Holistic Management

Sun-down

Wrap-up session

Friday 6th
05:00 to 06:00 Cup of tea, biscuits
06:15 to 07:00 Field Walk
07:00 to 07:30 Discussion
07:45 Breakfast
08:45 Kester Baines - Health Talk
10:30

Break

Monitoring and Workshopping

13:00 Lunch
Afternoon

Time for “the jury” to offer comment: We encourage AGWEST, ATSIC, CALM, DOLA, FESA, KAPA, KDC, KLC, KREAC, PGA, WATER&RIVERS, local farmers and graziers, local mining companies, local shires and other individuals, community groups or departments to send representation. We welcome any Media coverage of the event. Final wrap-up session

Relocation to the Alligator Creek Airstrip will take place mid afternoon.

Kachana Pastoral Company wishes to emphasise that this is event is designed to be a joint learning experience the justification of which has been highlighted by the recent flooding of the Dunham River. Most participants should be able to claim tax-deductibility. We suggest participants apply for farmbiz subsidies. If you are from interstate, we suggest you approach your local departments as the subject matter (“animal maintained landscapes”) is relevant beyond northern Australia.

Kachana Pastoral Company is a privately owned business responding to local environmental challenges: we appreciate donations or sponsorship for this event.

We wish to remind our visitors that September can already be hot, and sometimes it rains. We chose the dates to enable an objective comparison with previous photographic records of our monitor-sites. These were chosen and first photographed at the end of the dry season 1992. An early cut-off of the 2001/2002 wet season and a long dry winter following some very hot April weather makes this year a very relevant comparison to 1992.

This is primarily an out-door event out-back style. Please bring your own Swags and alcoholic beverages. Visitors from interstate and over-seas, if you do not have swags, please let us know so we can make arrangements.

If you wish to stay one more night and wind down, we invite you to do so.

As it is in everybody’s interest to pursue the triple bottom line, an “enviro-levy” is built into the costs. This is to ensure that an annual event like this is sustainable.

The Standard Eco-Contribution of Guests to Kachana is $25.00 per person per day. This revenue is used for regenerative land-care purposes and you will see the “why” and “how” when you get here. Any surplus funds after expenses have been met, go to landcare.

Your non-refundable deposit of $150.00 will ensure your reservation. We appreciate your commitment as soon as possible. This enables us to stage a well planned and coordinated event.

($375.00 will cover the per person cost of travel Kununurra – Kachana return and the costs of relocation from Stock Route ALA to the Station Camp and back. This cost is included in the price. Optional chopper relocation costs [if available] will be advertised closer to the date. The whole package [including travel and relocation] excluding any chopper flights and alcoholic beverages amounts $ 990.00 per person including 10% GST.)