cockatoo sponge rebuild

January 2018 Dad/Grosspapa (Bob Henggeler Senior) passed away and family happenings have since taken precedence.

Shortly thereafter KPC’s use of managed wild donkeys came under fire!

Environmental work on Kachana has been considerably constrained since.

This project was conceived around 2017 and remains IMPORTANT but NOT URGENT.

It is a project that requires some form of community commitment.

The corona-years and the weaponisation of certain climate-issues has not helped the cause.

Public interest has however been mounting and, finally, in 2025 we plan to set things in motion. 

Wanted: LAND-DOCTORS!

In a 22-minute TED-talk, Antonio Donato Nobre points out how

forests not only function as a lung, but also as a heart:

More grass, more water   -   Healthy wetlands and sponges, more reliable micro-climate

The former we can now measure. This remains core-business of Kachana Pastoral Company.

The latter we intend to demonstrate in a ten-year project.

We plan to rebuild a wooded sponge in the upper catchment of Cockatoo Creek.

(1985, when we first saw this area, it was already ecologically dysfunctional.)

Our ambitious challenge lies beyond the obligations of any pastoral operation.

This is a challenge of custodianship and regeneration of eco-system function in order to benefit future generations.

Such a challenge lies beyond the typical life-span of government programs which is why we require support from members of the public. 

We are looking for collaborators!

We have access to natural capital: sunshine, water and a promising location.

A critical portion of social capital is already at our disposal: knowledge, skills, tools and leadership.

An additional commitment of social capital is required to make up fully functional teams each year.

And yes, we require financial capital to enable things to run safely and smoothly during the start-up years.

Global challenges, natural solutions    -    We address water-security and microclimate 

Offset your private environmental foot-print by participating in broader landscape regeneration and proactive eco-system management. Book now or please email us for further enquiries.

Based on over 30 years of local knowledge we anticipate a ten-year horizon, after which this project should be self-funding.

Project-steps:

• Mark perimeters; g.p.s. coordinates of key points
• Fire-proof project area each year during the late wet-season
• Create internal fire contingency measures
• Identify and map key areas within project site where leverage could be applied
• Identify and commence ongoing carbon trapping activities
• Determine and manage monitor sites and invite external monitoring
• Biological inoculations
• Workshops, field-days and research
• Management of a self-sustaining entity
• Integration into broader Landscape Management Plan

Dr Walter Jehne reminds us that time for implementing solutions is running out.

We invite and welcome rigorous scientific analysis of work we do.

In the balance of theory and practice, we favour a steady increase of practical implementation.

Project foci:

• Generating and maintaining effective eco-system function
• Treatment of at-risk landscapes with managed human and/or animal-impact
• Accumulating experience, knowledge and skills
• Sharing experience, knowledge and skills with others
• The design of a replicable model of community-driven sub-catchment regeneration

This is an invitation to actively participate with Kachana Pastoral Company in this endeavour.

Ways in which to participate:

• Hands-on participation
• Paying guest participating in the learning experience
• Contributions towards costs
• Sponsorship by ethical commercial or corporate entities is always welcome
• Political and departmental endorsement and/or partnerships

We invite everybody and anybody to take up this challenge!

(Maintaining the environmental integrity of the area remains a priority. This means that not all contributors can be on-site at one time. We therefore limit the numbers of people present at any particular time.)

By restoring the ecosystem function of an area in line with what nature had there in the first place, we address all three challenges: stabilised climate, water security and good healthy food.

The Cockatoo Sponge Project is a not-for-profit project and all costs shall be transparently accounted for.

This project is to serve as a pilot-project that can be replicated in other inaccessible water-sheds and sub-catchment areas.

Access to the area is granted by Kachana Pastoral Company and the project is initially to be led by Chris Henggeler until such time as it becomes self-sustaining. 

As a pilot project seed-funding will be required.

Given the “learning-site” nature of the project, training opportunities and the unique setting, it is envisaged that the project can become self-funding within a three-year time frame.

Annual commitment required:

10 working days over a 14-day period commencing the second week after Easter each year

2025: Monday 28th April to Friday 09th May

2026: Monday 13th April to Friday 24th April

2027: Monday 05th April to Friday 16th April

2028: Monday 24th April to Friday 05th May

2029: Monday 09th April to Friday 20th April

2030: Monday 29th April to Friday 10th May

Six people and two team-leaders per group.

2025 – anticipated costs

Travel costs:             Include Aus $850 for the RETURN- flight Kununurra – Kachana

Eco-contribution:     Not applicable for those making hands-on contributions

Camping:                   $45 per person per day – Not applicable if you bring your own equipment

Food:                          $100 per person per day (all meals but no alcohol)

Offset your private environmental foot-print by participating in broader landscape regeneration and proactive eco-system management.

Book now or please email us for further enquiries.

In a key-note presentation, Chris Henggeler outlined the ‘re-hydration challenge’ of remote catchments to delegates at a “FIRE FORUM” hosted by DFES, Broome 2017:

“Custodianship is core business.”  (For a PFD version of the slides and text please CLICK HERE )

We are all in this together, and when we rehydrate landscapes, everybody wins!

“Key to writing a better water story, is how we influence the behaviour of ultimately all herbivores in a landscape. Processes that nature uses to build wealth have been around forever. We see an opportunity here for old and new Australians (people, animals and plants) to support each other to reinstate such processes.” Chris Henggeler, Kachana Station -  How to Heal Country?

Kachana Station: A Home for Donkey-Led Restoration, a post by Tania Roa of ‘Biodiversity for a Livable Climate’ delves into the roles that large herbivores can, do or should play in certain contexts.

Kachana Pastoral Company Uncensored  - As custodians we remain committed to accountability.