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Rocky's Back in Rockhampton
After about six months' rest, Southern Queensland Landscapes’ conservation detector dog ‘Rocky’ has hit the ground running for his first project of the season together with handler Senior Project Officer Tom Garrett.
The pair headed off for some fox detection work at a restricted military training area on Shoalwater Bay near Rockhampton with Tom saying Rocky was eager for his first day on the job; wasting no time getting started.
“He knew straight away when he was in the vehicle on the way to the job that he was heading to work. He reacts when we put his coat and GPS collar on; his nose goes down to the ground and his tail wags a million miles an hour,” Tom Garrett said.
“The only way into Shoalwater is via helicopter and although Rocky had never been in a helicopter before, he handled it like a champ,” Tom said.
“It was a first for the pilot too, because he had never had a detection dog on his chopper before either,” Tom chuckled.
Across the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef, Shoalwater Bay has the biggest roosting site for some 32,000 migratory shore birds as well as a significant population of green sea turtles.
“Rocky’s job was to identify the presence of pests including rabbits, foxes, wild dogs and cats, and assist in streamlining their eradication. His work is paramount to the protection of these migratory shore birds and green sea turtles during their breeding cycles and ultimately the biodiversity of the entire region,” Tom said.
“Our clients, the Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) and Australian Defence Force wanted to see if foxes were impacting these birds as they were nesting,” he said.
“While Rocky didn’t find any active signs of foxes on this occasion, he did discover an abandoned fox den. The FBA will now go into the area on the back of Rocky’s sweep and search and conduct further investigations to confirm Rocky’s assessment.”
Rocky skills are particularly valuable in areas where control methods have been applied and there are few pests remaining; and where the terrain makes it difficult for pest technicians to operate alone, such as at Shoalwater Bay.
“With his work at Shoalwater complete for now, Rocky has been looking forward to the season ahead and for some time has been telling me he’s ready for work,” Tom said.
“He does some funny things if he's not working,” he shared.
“I taught him to find my keys and mobile phone so that if I lose them on a job, Rocky can help me find them. And sometimes I forget where I've put them so Rocky comes in super handy then. But every now and then if I leave my shoes or keys out, Rocky will pick them up and take them outside to hide them; showing me he’s keen to work,” he said.
SQ Landscapes’ Conservation Detector Dog Program is set to expand with Tom preparing to take charge of a new dog in the coming months.
“We’re investigating the possibility to train the new dog on honey bees and diseases on honey bees from overseas,” Tom said
“Our new dog is currently undergoing preliminary training and we’re hoping to announce his or her arrival in the coming months,” he said.
As for Rocky, it’s on to the next job!
To learn more about Tom and Rocky’s story, click here.
Rocky walking to the helicopter used to transport him and Senior Project Officer Tom Garrett around the beaches at Shoalwater Bay.
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The Condamine Headwaters, a critical ecosystem in Southern Queensland, has long faced threats from sedimentation, habitat degradation, and thermal regime changes. The Blackfish Project, dedicated to reversing these impacts, unites scientists, landowners, and the community in a shared mission to restore and protect this vital environment. At its core lies the river blackfish, a sensitive indicator of the overall ecosystem health. Central to the project's success is the unwavering commitment of landowners like Paul Graham. Inspired by the project's vision, Paul reached out to SQ Landscapes seeking support for a solar pump and tank to divert his cattle away from waterways on his property. Paul's deep-rooted love for his land, captured in his humorous quip "I love my land more than I love my wife," is a testament to the powerful connection between people and place that drives conservation efforts.
The Board of Southern Queensland Landscapes recently met in Toowoomba. In addition to the Board meeting, Board and Executive worked through updating SQ Landscapes’ strategy. Company Secretary Pam Murphy highlighted the importance of the latest Board meeting and what it means for the company’s future. “The updated strategy will help SQ Landscapes deliver sustainable natural resource management (NRM) outcomes that improve the lives of people in regional communities now and for the future,” Pam Murphy said. “We’re excited to continue delivering value for our region and build Flourishing Landscapes and Healthy Communities across Southern Queensland under the guidance of the Board,” Mrs Murphy said.
Annual General Meeting When: Wednesday, 13 December 2023 Where: Online via Zoom Time : 9.00am for 9.30am start
When Sophie and Adrian McInnerney began adopting their “paddock to plate” experiment into their lambing business, they quickly discovered how a new and exciting approach to running their enterprise transformed their resilience and soil health. Multi-species cover cropping was the answer, and now their business has become a diverse enterprise that has embraced variations in livestock feed and crop rotation, building riparian fencing, and investing in healthier soils. This has opened the young couple to new opportunities to create new revenue streams, protect their business against natural disasters, drought, and prepare for economic hardships. Their property, “Bellhaven Brook”, located just an hour east of Goondiwindi, was the site of Macintyre Ag Alliance’s latest Multi-Species Cropping Field Day. With the support of Southern Queensland Landscapes (SQ Landscapes), the event aimed to promote the McInnerney family’s new land practices, offering an opportunity to educate land managers in the region of new ways to strengthen their property and enterprise. SQ Landscapes’ Goondiwindi-based Project Delivery Officer Keith Walker joined land managers for the workshop and highlighted how multi-species cover cropping could pave the way to rebuilding healthy soils and farming enterprises. “What was great about visiting ‘Bellhaven Brook’ is that you don’t have to be a scientist to understand this stuff. The idea is to just try and experiment like the McInnerneys did,” Keith Walker said. “These cover cropping systems are all about building your experience, experimenting and slowly developing a healthier and richer soil profile; which is the basis of all businesses; cropping and grazing alike.” Mr Walker said. “It was interesting to see the range of people, the ages from young and old, and the differences in enterprises. It’s a reminder that this genre of agriculture is starting conversations,” he said. “It’s all about implementation on the ground and getting the results for less money and experimenting with what people are doing.”
Cool burns, camels, and funding for local farmers were on the agenda at 'Risdon Stud' as land managers Nick and Liz Suduk hosted the Southern Queensland Landscapes and Department of Resources site visit to showcase the success of the Natural Resources Investment Program 2018-2022 (NRIP). Risdon Stud, south of Warwick, was primarily a high-intensity horse stud, but under new ownership with the Suduk family, the focus has been on restoring productivity and landscape health. “The Suduks participated in the NRIP project, where they received on-site guidance from First Nations fire practitioner Robbie Williams from Fire Lore, for cool burning in native vegetation areas,” Project Delivery Lead Natasha Mylonas said. “This was their first exposure to this type of burning and they have since embarked on a journey towards building their confidence in applying it elsewhere on the property,” Ms Mylonas said. “The NRIP project also supported livestock fencing, largely to exclude cattle from a large patch of remnant vegetation, combined with weed management in that remnant vegetation,” she said. “It is really difficult to muster out of the remnant vegetation, so the fencing has meant easier mustering of the cattle, as well as reduced weed spread and damage to the native vegetation in the patch.” “Outside of the NRIP project, they maintain a herd of agisted camels as part of their weed management strategy and experimented with fire to manage wattle regrowth,” Natasha Mylonas said.