HLN have been fortunate enough to be one of only 9 recipients, Australia wide, to receive funding through the Australian Government’s Climate-Smart Agriculture Program under the Natural Heritage Trust for a significant new project addressing dryland salinity in the Eastern Murray Catchment.
The three-year project, titled “Linking land management, dryland salinity and soil health in the Eastern Murray Catchment,” is a collaborative initiative lead by West Hume Landcare (WHL), and involves Holbrook Landcare Network, Charles Sturt University, Murray Local Land Services and NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) – Basin Salinity Program.
The project is an expansion of WHL’s recent and successful salinity project, allowing the research to apply more across the Eastern Murray Catchment, including higher rainfall areas.
The project will combine research, on-ground monitoring and practical demonstrations to improve understanding of:
- How land use changes influence groundwater movement and salinity expression;
- The impact of salinity on soil health and productivity;
- Practical land management actions that can mitigate salinity’s effects.
HLN will be involved in the monitoring of 10 groundwater monitoring sites, collecting soil health samples from 5 salinity sites, and establishing a salinity rehabilitation demonstration site. The project kicks off in late 2025.
