Red Hill grazier Kylie Stretton with Healing Country team members Samuel Savage ( left ) and Waylon Sam .
MULTIPLE PROJECTS SUPPORT EROSION CONTROL ON RED HILL
Charters Towers grazier Kylie Stretton believes healthy landscapes make healthy people who build vibrant communities .
Since she and husband Shane acquired Red Hill Station in 2018 , they have been putting that philosophy into practice by tackling erosion on their 4000 hectare property to increase ground cover , productivity , and minimise fine sediment runoff to the Burdekin River .
Advice , funding and on-ground support through four different NQ Dry Tropics projects enabled the Strettons to implement a range of remediation measures guided by the concept of landscape rehydration , which advocates spreading water to promote pasture growth .
“ We get an average of 600 milimetres of rain annually and need to make every drop count , so more pasture cover will hold the water up and retain it in our landscape ,“ Ms Stretton said .
“ The more vegetation we have , the more water we retain , the more water we retain , the more vegetation we have . Having more usable grass for our cattle is a huge benefit for drought resilience and productivity .”
She said a 600 hectare tableland , after which the property was named , was a major cause of gully erosion .
“ When it rains on top of Red Hill , lots of water flows over the edge really quickly , and causes a fair bit of damage ,“ she said .
“ That ’ s why our first priority was to focus on the top of the watershed before moving to the lower areas .”
With a daunting to-do list and a desire for guidance , the Strettons signed up to the Reefwise Grazing of Burdekin Rangelands project , which supports landholders to build resilient and profitable businesses , while reducing sediment runoff .
“ We were supported to gain an overview of our property , and prioritise what we wanted to do ,” she said .
“ It helped us get things straight in our mind because we felt we were coming into it a little bit blind .”
Participating graziers from 12 properties had a chance to meet with and learn from each other , which she found invaluable .
“ Building a network of peers facing similar challenges and circumstances has been really beneficial , because we all farm
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