Media releases

Southern Gippsland farmers will hear about practical ways to improve their farming practices through carbon farming in a changing environment at a local field day tomorrow.

The ‘Becoming a Carbon Cocky’ field day will feature information on a range of topics including soil carbon sequestration, integrating trees and pasture, as well as emissions auditing.

It is part of a two-year, collaborative research project Growing Southern Gippsland which aims to harness local knowledge in order to respond and adapt to changing climate.

The project is highlighting the work of 12 farmers from southern Gippsland as case studies in adapting to climate change and will establish an online portal with farming resources for others to respond to the shifting conditions. 

The Growing Southern Gippsland project is funded by The Victorian Centre for Climate Change Innovation and is being led by the Bass Coast Landcare Network with support from Federation University, RMIT University, Bass Coast Shire Council and the South Gippsland Landcare Network.

The ‘Becoming a Carbon Cocky’ field day will be held on Thursday, 28 November from 10am to 2.30pm at Prom Country Cheese, 275 Andersons Inlet Road, Moyarra.

Quotes attributable to Federation University environmental scientist Dr Jess Reeves:

“We want to empower farmers to be able to take small steps on their property to improve the productivity and sustainability of the region in response to climate adaptation.” 

“Many farmers already have amazing practices and this project can help them quantify and share that knowledge.” 

Quotes attributable to Bass Coast Landcare Network project manager Joel Geoghegan

“The online portal will be a fantastic resource farmers can use to make informed decisions about their own responses to a changing climate, in particular they will be able to develop their own Climate Adaptation Plan to help them plan and prioritise into the future”.

“The field days are designed to expose landowners to new ideas and pathways and hopefully they go away and start their journeys to more climate resilient farms”.