Birds thrive from Wallpolla environmental watering

A story on the results of the Wallpolla environmental watering.

Meet Ivan Robertson.

He is an ordinary farmer making a difference.

Ivan's grazing and cropping property adjoins a new section of the Murray Sunset National Park, about 40 minutes west of Mildura near the Murray River. The property has been in his family for generations but, recently, he's made some big changes.

As part of the Federal Government's innovative Biodiversity Fund, Ivan is putting in place new conservation covenants and agreements; removing stock from 400 hectares; and restricting stock access to a further 1600 hectares. He has also stopped grazing stock on the nearby Wallpolla Creek frontage, protecting over 25 km of creek line, and he has extended native vegetation protection measures to include part of his property.

Over the next five years, Ivan will be working with nearby landholders to deliver a coordinated approach to controlling invasive pest species, particularly rabbits and pigs.

A wetland on his property is now covered by a conservation covenant and early in 2013, a total of 850 ML of environmental water from the Victorian Environmental Water Holder was delivered to the wetland, filling it for the first time since 1993.

View the amazing results here.

(Video produced by Mallee CMA)