A Holistic approach to managing our most precious resource is a land management tool we know very well!
The best place to start is your soil, the most efficient medium at holding water! Good quality soil can hold up to 17 litres of water in every square metre of top soil. The deeper your top soil the more water is available to your plants, whether you grow trees, crops or grass. Rich in organic matter and soil life, nutrient dense soil holds moisture for longer.
If you must irrigate then please consider other options and not just the latest and greatest from your local supplier. Water efficiency is more about maximising every drop that comes onto your land in the most appropriate way possible at minimum expense. Sometimes this can be in the shape of earth moving, gravity fed systems if the landscape is suitable or strategically placed leaky dams, ponds or tanks.
The yellow arrow in the first image shows a contour swale feeding the dam that continued all the way across that paddock, increasing the catchment by 300%!
The yellow in the second image shows a swale built along the fenceline to prevent road water coming into the dam but positioned to rehydrate below the dam which had previously been almost bare soil!
Contour swales prevent surface water erosion, they slow the water down & rehydrate the soil. Excess water is then channelled where you need it most, for more grass growth and dams for future use & fish farming.
create surface water damage prevention plans
Plan for a suburban property
Each property has it’s own surface water issues & must be addressed on site, above is one plan to prevent water damage to the house slab. Wet slabs creates damp timber floor plates and that attracts termites!
Water you do harvest, you should store.
Whenever you have the opportunity to store rain water and surface water run off on your land, make the most of it! The higher in your landscape you can store water the more cost effective it is to distribute.
Aquaponics is integrated aquaculture that is all about using nutrient rich aquaculture water to feed plants through efficient delivery systems. It must remain organic otherwise you kill the fish! Images below are a commercial test system we set up in 2009. Our preference now, is to use wicking beds in this system for maximum water efficiency and nutrient distribution.
10 day old seedlings in
27 days later in our test facility!
Australian Perch Fingerlings
All we do is add some minerals to what these little guys produce as waste and you can grow all the food you want, all year round! You will however want to use a renewable power source as the electricity required can be quite expensive using mains power.
Community development can be as simple as a few neighbours sharing produce, compost and ideas to become more friendly and resilient as a group. Community development is a large undertaking for individuals without experience or connections to the right people to bring your environmentally friendly village together. For this to work, you need to remain flexible!
Within our alliance of quality service providers, we have the right developers, architects, co-ordinators, urban planners, project managers and builders. We are currently working on some exciting projects on the East Coast of Australia.
Contact us any time to discuss your options.