“It’s a buffer zone between the semi-arid area and the coastline, and between tropical and temperate climates. The bluegrass grassland is an important ecosystem within Carnarvon for species such as the Narrow-nosed Planigale which makes its home within the cracks of the clay soil, and the Rufous Bettong which digs up fungi and tubers from the fertile soil.”
Yet this vital habitat has been under attack across the Brigalow Belt for hundreds of years, with only fragments surviving. “Because bluegrass typically grows on fertile country, it’s usually turned into cropping country or intensive agriculture,” says Chris.
Carnarvon itself was a cattle station for 150 years before Bush Heritage bought it in 2001, and although it was managed sustainably, dealing with the legacies of that land-use still keeps Chris busy.
His day-to-day tasks include everything from weed and erosion control to feral animal removal and fire management. And, as of April 2020, he’s got a new task to add to that list: bluegrass seed harvesting.
The idea came about because of climate change: specifically, the need to create climate resilience. “Across Australia wildfires are becoming more frequent,” says Miranda. “We’re going to have more hot and dry days which will increase the risk of really harmful, high-intensity wild fire.”
This means that very soon, the areas currently perfect for bluegrass will shrink and change. So Bush Heritage is working on a plan to save the grasslands and establish them in new locations.
To do this, Chris is harvesting bluegrass seeds to sell to local landowners, graziers looking for native grasses, and mines undertaking rehabilitation and offset work. He’s using a brush harvester specially made to work with native seeds, which has minimal impact on the plants.
“It’s like a street sweeper that spins at about 600RPM,” he explains. “Native seeds don’t all ripen at once, so we never take too much seed... ”
"We’re probably only getting between 10% and 15% off the plant. It doesn’t cut or damage the plant; the beaters just tickle the ripe seed off, leaving the unripe seed.”
It’s tricky work. Some patches of grassland can’t be harvested at all because of weed problems, and even the weed-free areas are scattered around the reserve. “It’s a juggling act to be at the right place at the right time with just enough ripe seed, but not having let the plant drop too much seed,” says Chris
Additionally, he says, “The harvest season is at the end of the wet season, so it’s humid. We get dews at night, so we can’t start harvesting until the dew has dried. Then the humidity starts picking up again in the afternoon, so the harvesting window is pretty short.”
Once the seed – which is actually not just one species, but a blend of several native grasses – has been harvested, it must be laid out on tarps to dry, so it doesn’t go mouldy when it’s bagged.
“That’s every afternoon’s job,” says Chris, “to lay the seed out, and turn it every day for a week.”
To add to the challenges, harvest also comes at a particularly busy time of the year that coincides with other seasonal tasks like weed-spraying and burning.
The April 2020 trial run was a success, but there were still plenty of lessons learned for next time. Chris is keen to invest in a bigger harvester, which must be specifically made for the job, and will yield more seed with less impact on the ground.