Dairy Farmer Joins Dots to Create a Vision
Getting Involved
Claire Masters runs a 69Â hectare dairy farm in the Border Ranges region of the Great Eastern Ranges.
The Border Ranges is among Australia’s richest biological landscapes – perhaps explaining why Claire is so passionate about her local environment.
Some time ago she approached the Nature Conservation Trust of New South Wales to arrange a conservation covenant on 18 hectares of her property. Specifically she wanted to protect Worendo Creek and Hopping Dicks Creek, both of which run through her property.
Covenants are Trust Agreements that protect environmental integrity and biodiversity on a property. They legally bind a landowner, and as they are registered on a property's title they protect land forever.
'Working with the Nature Conservation Trust was straightforward. From the time I first contacted the Trust they were very helpful. They sent out Ecologists to assess the areas we wanted to protect and then provided help with surveying and drawing up the legal documents. Now the covenants are signed they are there to help me manage for the long term.'
Claire sees a clear connection between the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative and her own efforts.
'So much of our biodiversity and threatened species are on private land. In many ways properties like mine act as links between National Parks and other protected areas. We are part of the corridor through which animals and plants can move and adapt.'
She believes large-scale connectivity programs put individual farm efforts into a bigger more powerful picture.
'It gives me heart to think there are landholders all up and down the Great Eastern Ranges who are doing the same thing. I’d like to see us all join the dots and if everyone does their bit we can bring about one great big important vision.'
