Christie de Mestre (left) and Landcare co-ordinator Julie Roberts have been planting new trees. Photos: Lukas Coch/AAP
An innovative women-only Landcare group has raised interest in biodiversity and the environment amongst farmers across their region in NSW.
As a mother, farmer and small business owner, Christie de Mestre is used to juggling, but taking a toddler to farming events to reskill sometimes felt like an intrusion.
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So when the opportunity came to join a female-led “ladies on the land” group, she signed up with all prams blazing.
“It was great I could take my baby somewhere where it wasn’t going to be an inconvenience,” the mother-of-two said.
“When you have a child you take the time off, and I swear to God, your brain shrinks and ... it’s good to just keep your toe in,” Christie said.
The family-friendly environment of the women-only Landcare group meant that while she got on with it, her youngster was often cared for by other attendees.
“Some of the stuff I already knew, but it’s just a refresher, so it’s just motivating and it re-enthuses you,” she said.
A female-led Landcare group is proving that a family-friendly environment delivers results.
The group was started by long-term Landcare volunteer Louise Hufton, who noticed women weren’t turning up to events run by the local Harden Murrumburrah group, in the Hilltops Region in the NSW South West Slopes.
“They weren’t coming and the feedback started to be they were feeling a little intimidated if they asked questions,” Louise said.
“It was about providing a safe space for women to exchange ideas and if you need childcare, you just bring your children.
“If you can only come for half an hour, it doesn’t matter.”
As well as teaching farm management techniques, the group was also educated about new land regeneration methods.
And just like the seedlings its members have planted, the ladies’ group has grown since it started in 2017.
“We’ve had babies in prams and grandmothers and aunties come along and feel comfortable to have their littlies there,” Julie Roberts, who now runs the program, said.
In August, Christie and Julie began planting thousands of trees across their two properties to increase biodiversity and regenerate land.
More than 10,000 trees will be planted across 10 properties as part of a local mine’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Many of the landholders taking part are from the ladies on the land group.
While the seedlings were donated, everything else, from planting to fencing, is organised by the landowner.
“We have been planting over the years on other blocks that we own and the benefits are just enormous when you see the biodiversity happening,” Louise said.
“We did it on our farm to try and get vegetation back, because we’ve got next to none on the blocks that we are planting.”
It has been 30 years since the last mass planting on Christie’s family’s property.
Two thousand trees will be planted on land deemed unsuitable for cropping.
“We can't do anything with it, so you might as well put trees there and make it a beautiful, biodiverse area,” Christie said.
“I only wish Landcare had more trees to offer.
“It’s certainly time-consuming ... but if you had to buy those trees, it would be very expensive.”
The group’s success has been recognised by men in the community as well.
“Sometimes the men sabotage us,” Julie joked.
“We organise something and think it’s a great topic we’re all keen to learn about ... and then the men say ‘don’t leave us out, we want to do that too’.
“Now that we’ve been doing the group for several years, the ladies are now much more engaged in all the activities that we offer.”
With numbers increasing, the women hope they have planted the seed for other female groups to sprout up elsewhere.
Landcare volunteer Louise Hufton (second from left) started the group for women in the Harden area.
