Time to tell our sustainability story
By Ella Henson ABA Sustainability Officer
AS the Australian Almond Board continues its sustainability journey , it is important for us to understand , document , share and celebrate the great work some of our growers are doing in the sustainability space . The ABA is producing a Sustainability Media Library to illustrate and explore Australian almonds orchards and what is being done to create a sustainable and accountable industry . Last year we looked to production company , Safari Global to help us begin documenting our industry ’ s sustainability journey . In November , I was lucky enough to travel with a photographer and videographer to visit some of our growers in the Riverland and Sunraysia and capture their sustainability stories . Safari Global were a pleasure to work with and captured some amazing content . However , for me the highlight of
this experience was hearing the stories of such a diverse range of people from our industry , all with different life experiences , motivations , and connections to industry . We were unfortunately not able to make it to the Riverina due to flooding and road closures . However , I look forward to visiting the Riverina soon to capture the sustainability stories of some of our NSW growers . Watch this space !
Drew Martin at Omega Orchards , his property just north of Paringa . Drew does his bit for honey bees by planting a flowering cover crop in the lead up to pollination .
Mark Davis , Project Manager for Advanced Processes and Project Engineering gives Sustainability Officer Ella Henson a tour of Select Harvests ’ Carina West Processing Facility .
Neale Bennett at his orchard in Merbein , where he has been growing almonds for over 30 years and now hosts Australia ’ s first Whole Orchard Recycling trial .
Compost guru Nick , shows us Select Harvest ’ s compost produced from almond waste