Australian National Botanic Gardens Canberra

Keyline, Soil Health, Carbon, Water and the Family Farm

Crosbie Morrison Building, Australian National Botanic Gardens

Saturday 11 th August, 2007

This workshop is intended for interested members of rural communities, landowners, farmers and gardeners in Canberra and the surrounding area. It will provide information on the potential of P A Yeomans’ keyline system, to improve the health and water holding capacity of the soil, increase biodiversity and productivity, and lower input costs. The focus of keyline is to work with nature, holding rainfall in the soil, then using simple, low cost methods such as the addition of minerals, compost and microbes to maximise soil health and fertility. The workshop will also discuss ways of raising the level of organic matter in the soil by sequestrating carbon, for example via the ‘grass shock’ technique.

This will be a three-hour workshop, in which a short video will be shown on the keyline system, followed by a short presentation by John Sweet, and open discussion with participants concerning water and soil issues on their properties.

The cost of the workshop is $50 per person.

The facilitator

John Sweet was brought up on the land in Miles and at Blackall in Queensland. His experience of land management dates from 1956 when the Keyline system was applied to his father’s property, ‘Cameby Downs’ near Miles, with spectacular results. In 1980, John began drought proofing and the sustainable development of his property, ‘Rugby Run’, near Clermont, with PA Yeomans acting as mentor and advisor on the project. John is a member of the Central Region Rural Innovation and Support Group in Queensland and is actively involved in projects to work against the declining water quality of run-off from Queensland rivers into the ocean and the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon. John’s vision is to help rejuvenate the health and fertility of Australia’s soils, and in this way to improve the health and wealth of rural communities.