At Richmond Park Estate in the heart of Tasmania’s Coal River Valley wine region, Will Eddington runs about 4,000 merino ewes and is starting to tap into viticulture.<\/p>\n
Beyond the merino pastures, his property also hosts an internationally significant wetland, which after extensive work is quietly bursting with new life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Ramsar-listed wetland’s system spans across Will Eddington’s property, around 20 minutes from Hobart city on the outskirts of Richmond town. (ABC News: Madeleine Rojahn)<\/p>\n
Wetlands have been described as “the Earth’s kidneys” by scientists, or “blue carbon sinks”, as they filter pollutants from the oceans and air.<\/p>\n
They also act as buffer zones during floods and are biodiversity sanctuaries.<\/p>\n
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Mr Eddington said he had enjoyed the interactions with different people through the project. (ABC News: Madeleine Rojahn)<\/p>\n
The Pitt Water-Orielton lagoon on farmer Will Eddington’s property is a declared shark refuge and home to various migratory birds and endemic species.<\/p>\n
Prior to colonisation, the abundant site was enjoyed by Tasmanian Aboriginal people, who gathered there to hunt.<\/p>\n
“Wetlands are really like an Aboriginal supermarket. These spaces where we know we can get plants, birds eggs, fish,” Trawlwoolway woman Emma Lee said.<\/p>\n
“But they’re also a place of beautiful contemplation of our understanding of connection to Country.”<\/p>\n
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The site holds remnants of Aboriginal people who gathered at the site in the past. (ABC News: Madeleine Rojahn)<\/p>\n
The restoration project, coordinated by not-for-profit Natural Resource Management South (NRM South), encouraged the return of the landscape’s natural system through livestock exclusion fencing, planting and weeding over 65 hectares.<\/p>\n
Colonisation, which brought European farming practices, is recognised as the catalyst for the broader demise of wetlands worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Australia has lost an estimated half of its wetlands, and achieving recompense relies on the concerted efforts of many \u2014 including conservationists, First Nations people, scientists, governments and landowners.<\/p>\n
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Richmond Park Estate was bought by Will Eddington’s family in 1986. (ABC News: Madeleine Rojahn)<\/p>\n
Mr Eddington was approached by NRM two decades ago about accessing the Ramsar-listed wetland system stretching across his private property and a number of others.<\/p>\n
The international Ramsar Convention recognises wetlands’ importance to humans, animals and plants.<\/p>\n
At first Mr Eddington said he was uncertain the project was a good idea, but on reflection, he changed his mind.<\/p>\n
“Why be involved? I’ve got a real affiliation with coastal birdlife, and I’m also partial to a bit of fishing,” he said.<\/p>\n
Merino sheep farmer Will Eddington working at his property Richmond Park Estate in Richmond, Tasmania. (ABC News: Madeleine Rojahn)<\/p>\n
“As the project kept going over the years, it’s become more and more obvious to me that it was really the right thing to do.<\/p>\n
“I’ve enjoyed being part of it all the way through and enjoyed the interaction with people.”<\/p>\n
Abundance returns with levee removal<\/p>\n
A decades-old levee had suppressed the wetland’s natural tide in order to convert the marshy land into grazing pastures.<\/p>\n
Its removal about two years ago brought signs the wetland was beginning to function as nature intended it.<\/p>\n
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Various plant and animal species have been recorded returning to the site. (Supplied: NRM South)<\/p>\n
“If you’d have been here five years ago, it was basically covered in algae, flies and really quite smelly,” said Vishnu Prahalad, a geographer in wetland ecology.<\/p>\n
“Since the removal of the levee, the tides have been able to access the site \u2026 and flush the site and remove the algae and \u2014 over time \u2014 improve the condition of the soil, the water quality.<\/p>\n
“That’s brought back the snails, the crabs, and the fish and life back into this flood plain.”<\/p>\n
Juvenile fish show the area is being used as a nursery, which Mr Prahalad says means it could help sustain wild fisheries. (Supplied: G. Isdale)<\/p>\n
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Mr Prahalad said those involved in the project were excited to see baby flounders “as big as your fingernail”. (Supplied: K. Montanaro)<\/p>\n
As for Mr Eddington’s penchant for fishing, tiny baby flounder, mullets, eels and other fish have been recorded at the site \u2014 signs it was being used as a nursery.<\/p>\n
“These little fish need nooks and crannies like this to escape predation from the open sea and to hang out until they get a bit bigger,” Mr Prahalad said.<\/p>\n
“Then we effectively catch them as part of our recreational commercial fisheries.”<\/p>\n
Mr Prahalad said about 100 fish of more than 20 different species were recorded per 100 square metres, which was typically expected for saltmarshes.<\/p>\n
‘Take the economical side out of it’, farmer says<\/p>\n
NRM South chief executive Nepelle Crane said the restoration was occurring “quite rapidly”, and while it did not necessarily provide economic return for landowners, she hoped that could change.<\/p>\n
“We’re trying to demonstrate what might be possible through emerging markets \u2014 so nature, carbon, biodiversity markets \u2014 and maybe other ways to diversify a farm, so looking at agri and ecotourism opportunities,” Ms Crane said.<\/p>\n
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Snails and other critters were not seen before the levee’s removal, Mr Prahalad said. (ABC: Madeleine Rojahn)<\/p>\n
But Mr Eddington has noticed a difference at Richmond Park Estate.<\/p>\n