Southern Queensland Landscapes

Why are landholders becoming more curious about carbon and what could it mean on farm? 

Southern Queensland Landscapes was proud to attend and present at the Maranoa and South West Indigenous Business Expo in Roma last month, an event that brings together businesses, community organisations and First Nations business leaders to share knowledge, build connections, and explore opportunities across the region. A key focus of our involvement at the Expo was reinforcing our commitment to working alongside First Nations people as a priority. Strong partnerships with Traditional Owners and Indigenous businesses are essential to achieving sustainable land management outcomes across southern Queensland. We recognise that meaningful collaboration is about building long-term relationships, supporting capability development, and ensuring First Nations voices are central to project planning and delivery. Showcasing Regional Projects Our Projects Officer, Jackson Shillingsworth, presented on a range of our project initiatives that are creating real impact across the region, with a strong emphasis on funding opportunities, partnerships and innovation. One of the highlights was the success of our Brigalow Project which focuses on reducing threats to the Brigalow Belt, one of Queensland’s most ecologically significant and endangered habitats. Through targeted land management practices and collaboration with landholders and communities, the project is helping to preserve biodiversity and improve landscape resilience. We also shared insights into the Wandhala Drone Project , a project that supports First Nations business participants to explore how drone technology can be used for land management, cultural heritage monitoring and small business ventures. Events like the Indigenous Business Expo are critical in helping organisations better understand and address barriers to engagement. We are committed to ensuring that our projects and funding opportunities are inclusive, accessible and responsive to the needs of First Nations communities and businesses. Our Commitment: Reconciliation in Action Our participation in the Expo reflects our broader commitment to reconciliation. We invite you to explore our newly launched Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), which outlines the practical steps we will be taking to strengthen relationships, respect cultural knowledge and create meaningful opportunities for First Nations people. 👉 View the RAP here: www.sqlandscapes.org.au/reconciliation-action-plan We thank the organisers of the Maranoa and South West Indigenous Business Expo for the opportunity to be part of such a valuable event. We look forward to continuing to build partnerships, support innovation and work collaboratively with First Nations communities across southern Queensland.

With our team working alongside landholders to turn planning into practical, lasting outcomes on the ground, our project,Protecting the Brigalow Belt in Southern Queensland , is well underway. This project supports landholders to protect remnant and fragmented Brigalow vegetation, while strengthening the long-term sustainability and productivity of agricultural systems across the region. By aligning conservation outcomes with grazing enterprise needs, the project recognises that healthy landscapes and productive businesses go hand in hand. Across southern Queensland, we are currently partnering with around 50 landholders to address priority challenges such as weeds and pest animals, alongside targeted property improvements that benefit both production and nature. Supported on-ground activities include both weed and pest management, fencing to improve grazing control and protect remnant vegetation, and infrastructure such as alternative watering points to better manage livestock access and reduce pressure on the Brigalow scrub. A key focus of the project is improving the condition and connectivity of Brigalow habitats, particularly along important corridors and remnant patches. These areas can provide critical habitat for nationally significant species including koalas, the Yakka Skink and the Northern Quoll. Strengthening these systems helps conserve threatened Brigalow Belt ecosystems while maintaining the shade, shelter, soil health and water retention benefits that are so valuable to grazing. We sincerely thank every landholder who is partnering with us on this project. Your stewardship, local knowledge and commitment are central to the success of this work. Collaboration between landholders, First Nations people, government and local communities remains at the heart of achieving lasting improvements for the Brigalow Belt, now and into the future. This project is funded by the Australian Government under Saving Native Species and delivered by Southern Queensland Landscapes, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners Panel.

West of Augathella, along the winding Nive River, sitsBiddenham , a family-owned cattle property run by Guy Newell and his wife Natalie. The river forms a defining feature of the property, supporting riparian landscapes and providing important habitat for native wildlife alongside productive grazing land. In early 2025, we approached Guy to explore opportunities to work together on landscape and biodiversity projects. At the time, our Western Koala Project was underway, alongside the Coolibah–Black Box and Poplar Box Project, both of which strongly aligned with the natural values present atBiddenham . With extensive areas of Coolibah–Black Box and Poplar Box Grassy Woodland threatened ecological communities (TEC's), particularly along the Nive River corridor, the property was well placed to support these initiatives. These TEC's also provide important habitat for native fauna including Koalas and Rufus Bettongs, with existing records and on-ground evidence confirming their presence in the area. As part of the project activities, we collected an environmental DNA (eDNA) water sample from a local waterhole to investigate the presence and abundance of native fauna, as well as potential pest species. An acoustic recorder was also deployed to help monitor wildlife activity across the site, providing valuable data to inform ongoing conservation and management efforts. A key focus of our support atBiddenhamhas been weed management, particularly targeting Mother of Millions and Tiger Pear, invasive species that can significantly impact native fauna and degrade threatened ecological communities. Through a combination of biological control and targeted herbicide treatments, we have worked alongside Guy to reduce these weed pressures and protect the health of the riparian corridor. Guy has also actively participated in pest management programs, taking part in the initial aerial pest control operation in May 2025, followed by a second program in November 2025. These efforts targeted feral pigs and feral cats, helping to reduce threats to native species and safeguard the ecological integrity of the TEC's along the river. Building strong relationships with landholders is central to Southern Queensland Landscapes’ work, and it has been a pleasure to collaborate with Guy and Natalie atBiddenham . Their willingness to engage in conservation projects while continuing productive land management demonstrates the value of partnership in achieving positive outcomes for landscapes, wildlife and rural communities. This project is funded by the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by Southern Queensland Landscapes, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.

Members of the Southern Queensland Landscapes team recently spent time on Bunya Country with the Bunya People’s Aboriginal Corporation, whose work involves Healing Country and strengthening Songlines through on-Country projects and partnerships. We were grateful to be welcomed onto Country to listen, yarn and learn, and to introduce the Growing Climate Smart Grazing in the Condamine River Basin project, which forms part of the national Climate Smart Agriculture Program. Spending time together on Country created space for open conversations, allowing shared priorities to emerge naturally and respectfully. These early discussions explored healthy Country, cultural burning practices and caring for landscapes in ways that honour First Nations knowledge systems that have guided land stewardship for tens of thousands of years. By walking gently alongside Traditional Custodians, these conversations are helping shape the Growing Climate Smart Grazing program so that works will: Respect and align with First Nations land management knowledge Support cultural aspirations and practices Strengthen connections to Country Build genuine partnerships We recognise that First Nations peoples are the original land managers of southern Queensland, and their knowledge, cultural obligations and connection to Country remain vital to how we care for landscapes today and into the future.  Southern Queensland Landscapes sincerely thanks Bunya People’s Aboriginal Corporation for welcoming our team and sharing wisdom and perspectives that will help guide this work.