WICC recently caught up with Kevin Marshall, Farm Manager at the West Australian College of Agriculture, Denmark (WaCoA).  WACoA is a 560 hectare working farm and educational facility. 

WICC: Tell us a bit about the history of WACoA?

Kevin: "The “Denmark School of Agriculture” began in 1942 when students were moved from Narrogin School of Agriculture as it was used as a war convalescent hostel for returned servicemen. In 1953, the school was amalgamated with the High school and became known as the “agricultural wing of the Denmark Agricultural Junior High School”. In 1972 it became the “Denmark Agricultural District High School”. Then in 1991 the agricultural wing separated from the high school and became the Denmark Agricultural College for Years 11 and 12."

WICC: How do you manage to fit in the required school curriculum on top of the agricultural training on offer?

Kevin: "The challenge of combining an ATAR and general curriculum along with an Agricultural Training Course does not come without great hurdles. The time taken to deliver and assess these courses is very tight and this is where coordination between management and trainers becomes critical. A reliable rostering system to get the students either into the classroom or onto the farm is also very important especially when the number of students is increased to capacity. Additional hurdles such as annual public holidays, out of school activities and world health pandemics definitely increase these challenges."

Denmark Ag Students Lily Gianatti and Josh Crook

WICC: The students at the college come across as very confident, capable and respectful. What is the secret?

Kevin: "The secret to WACoA students being confident and respectful is developed from a whole team approach from boarding, classroom, farm and staff. It starts at the top with senior management leading by example and developing a culture of positive learning accompanied with strong values and discipline. These values flow down through the teaching and training staff and working on the farm and workshops in real working environments builds skills and confidence. Students enjoying their training contributes to participation and work ethic and also success and achievement."

WICC: There has been an increased emphasis on the need for sustainable agriculture. Has there been a shift in the curriculumn to address this need? 

Kevin: "The agricultural curriculum now includes significant content relating to sustainability. This includes environmental, economic and social sustainability. In the Agricultural training package there is a large core unit called “Participate in environmentally sustainable work practices” which students are required to complete. Also on every daily work record sheet is a section to complete identifying what impacts on the environment we as farmers may have contributed to. One example is the modern effluent catchment system at the dairy attempting to reduce run off into natural waterways."

Samantha Williams - Aboriginal Ranger Coordinator with Rangers Errol Eades, Shawn Colbung and Jackson Toovey (L to R)

Samantha Williams is co-ordinator and participant in the Southern Aboriginal Corporation’s Moorditj Noongar & Yorgas Ranger Team.  WICC has the good fortune to work with Sam and the team on several project sites within the City of Albany portion of our catchment. This includes camera trapping on the Nullaki Peninsula, flora surveys on Wilson Inlet Foreshore and revegetation in the Redmond area. Opportunity knocked when Sam had returned home to the region for a while and the ranger placements came up. With a background in admin, some land management as well as other working life experience, Sam was perfect for the role.

WICC: So how are you settling in?

Sam: "We’ve had a lot of training since we started.  A highlight being a three day Aboriginal Heritage training with archaeologist and anthropologist Robert Reynolds. We visited a few sites in the Albany area and now know what to look for."

The team has been given permission from Elders to be entrusted with management works, for example weed control at Aboriginal Sites.  They are undertaking a Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management.  TAFE have managed to tailor the training around the team’s external activities, including the recent Wilson Inlet Foreshore Flora Survey led by local revegetation specialist Mark Parré. 

Sam: "From the science side of things, we are keen to learn as much as we can. Mark is a wonderful teacher. He takes time, it doesn’t matter what kind of questions are asked. I think the best thing is how passionate he is. It’s really nice to be taught by someone as knowledgeable and passionate as he is.” 

Sam’s family and cultural connections are strongly tied to fire, and much less so to water.

Sam: "The southwestern part of Australia is the only place in Australia where we didn’t go out diving, we didn’t go out onto the ocean to catch fish. They’re not traditional to this area. That’s why you see so many fish traps around. I think maybe some of the whalers took two of the local aboriginal people over to one of the islands and they were trapped there. Until someone was able to come in to rescue them and bring them back to land.  We didn’t have boats or anything like that.” 

WICC: So the connection to Wilson Inlet is about the edges?

Sam: “Yeah its more form the shoreline rather than going out diving or whatever. As far as the inlet goes, you just look around the place and you know it would have been a meeting place. It wouldn’t have just been a few people here and there. With the fish traps especially set up there, who knows, it could have been a trading place.  Where people came and traded for fish or whatever. That’s what happened at the Oyster Harbour fish traps, you’d get lots of people there trading food and material from other parts, so it could very well have been the same there. (The recording of this) would have had a lot to do with Mokare and Collet Barker and their relationship. It doesn’t necessarily mean it didn’t happen (at Wilson Inlet) because it wasn’t recorded. Its not just that place – you go to other places – one of the mountains at the Porongorup – it feels special – you get a feeling inside – you know your ancestors were there – it makes you feel like you were able to connect with them, with their spirit.”​

WICC: Is the ranger program fulfilling any dreams of yours?

Sam: "Absolutely. I think it’s wonderful Noongars taking care of country. There is so much the Ranger team looks forward to working on. I know that my Dad would have been proud of the work we are doing now. I wish he was around to see this. Being out in the bush is so peaceful. It soothes the soul. It’s a healing, just being out in the bush. Clears your mind.” ​

Land use map for model

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) are modelling the Wilson Inlet catchment in order to better quantify nutrient sources and runoff.  WICC recently caught up with Karl Hennig from DWER to find out more about the model and how it can be used.

WICC: What is your role with DWER?

Karl: "My work title in DWER is an environmental officer and my role is to develop rainfall-runoff and nutrient models of catchments that drain to estuaries and inlets."

WICC: What is a catchment model?  What data is used in the model?

Karl: "A catchment model brings together a range of data and is used to quantify the rainfall-runoff (i.e river flow) and nutrient from land-uses and sub-catchments. The data used by the model includes daily climate data, catchment boundary and stream network mapping, measurements of river flow and nutrient concentrations, land-use mapping, point sources of nutrients, soil properties such as phosphorus retention, nutrient-use surveys of agricultural and urban land-uses, dam and water supply data, wetland mapping and plantation harvesting history."

WICC: Wow.  That is a mouthful.  How can the model be used to help better manage Wilson Inlet?

Karl: "The main use of a catchment model is to quantify current rainfall-runoff and nutrient loss, and also to test the effect of various scenarios. These scenarios can look at actions that reduce nutrient loss, such as improved farm nutrient use efficacy through soil testing and informed fertiliser decisions. Other examples of scenarios include land-use changes in the catchment of the effect of future climate."​

Despite our recent rains there has been little movement in inlet height.  The catchment has a lot of recharging to do following the low rainfalls we experienced last year.

Water level at old railway bridge since 2018 - Source: kumina.water.wa.gov.au 

We experienced a warm and dry April and followed by a wet and soggy May (at least in the lower catchment).  A strong cold front in early May delivered over half of our monthly rainfall.  The much anticipated rain from the late season ex cyclone Mangga proved to be a bit of a fizzler for our catchment.  Looking ahead, BOM is predicting an average rainfall for our area which would be a welcome relief to growers given our last couple years of below average falls.

Allowing livestock to access our waterways for a drink would appear to be a simple solution to watering your stock.  However, observant farmers are realising the consequences of this traditional approach.  

The stock (especially cattle) erode the banks of their streams.   This widens the creek, making it shallower.  As the stock destroy the understory of vegetation, the remaining trees begin to die, which results in the ’now muddy shallow creek’ drying out from evaporation earlier in the year, meaning the stock lose access to water.  It also means the farmer loses productive pasture area due to the widened, eroded waterway.  Unfenced streams are also a major vector for nutrient export into the Wilson Inlet.  

Clever farmers are fencing off their creeks and revegetating with native trees.  By selectively planting the lower, mid and overstorey natives within the fenced area of the creek we shade the creek, minimise evaporation and prevent further erosion.  This results in the farmers having access to clean water that stays in the landscape longer.  Alternative water points can be installed well away from the stream bank.  Solar powered pumps now provide an inexpensive, low maintenance option to feed these water points.  Once the stock are kicked out however weed management is essential, at least until the natives dominate.

WICC has been working with the Denmark Ag College to do just this.  A solar powered pump has recently been installed in the paddock adjacent to the Wetland Centre on Atkinson Road.  Cattle will be excluded from a low lying wetland which will be revegetated by Ag College student in 2021.

Denmark Ag Students Lily Gianatti and Josh Crook in front of newly installed solar powered pump 

One of the sites we will be revegetating this winter

WICC is revegetating a number of ‘on farm’ waterways across the lower catchment over the next couple of months.  We need your assistance.   Come join us to plant a few seedlings grown by our friends at Habitat Tree Farm.  If you would like to take part you can learn more below and click the 'Sign Up' button.

Sydney Golden Wattle - Acacia longifolia

Acacia longifolia, or Sydney Golden Wattle, continues to be a pest throughout the region. The time of year is approaching when it starts making a showy yellow statement in the landscape. A perfect time for locating and removing these woody weeds. WICC has made significant progress in controlling this wattle in the upper catchment in collaboration with Pardelup Prison. Denmark Weed Action Group has consistently worked on its removal in the lower catchment, while Green Skills currently have funding for weedy wattle removal across the Great Southern.

Because it fixes nitrogen in the soil, it is a pathway to weedy grasses moving into farmed and bushland areas. The ideal control time is before seed sets. Fell as close to ground level as possible to prevent resprouting and remove material from site to prevent vegetative regrowth. Small plants can be hand pulled, loosening the soil if need. An annual follow up seedling check is required. 

Chemical controls can be applied depending on the situation of the infestation. Eg a thick area of seedlings could be sprayed with a 10% glyphosate solution. Contact WICC for further info. 

Previous editions of WICC News can be found HERE​