Current Projects - under construction
Northern Hub is investing in Pastoralists and Farmers
Building resilience…
Our support is through:
Building connections | Funding training, workshops, forums & field days | local representation via our node managers
Tailored projects to build further resilience - see below
Spinifex Pastures… prominent in the north but lacking research until now
Despite their widespread presence on pastoral leases across northern Australia, Spinifex pastures are rarely featured in workshops or publications.
To help address this, a collaborative project was undertaken to bring together relevant mapping data, existing publications and resources, and knowledge held by experienced land managers and stakeholders in the Gascoyne, Pilbara, Kimberley regions as well as into the NT.
How? A series of face-to-face interviews were conducted to obtain knowledge from land managers and researchers in these regions.
Led by the Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association and jointly funded by the Northern Hub, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, this project has commissioned two reports to capture current knowledge and highlight knowledge gaps around spinifex pastures.
The final two Reports are now available:
Insights into Spinifex (Triodia species) pastures and their Management
Fletcher M (2024) Information and knowledge about spinifex pastures captured through interviews with experienced stakeholders.
Spinifex Pastures – Characteristics and Management. Alchin B (2025).
A summary of publications and resources for land managers, pastoralists, extension officers, and researchers.
Access both reports here
Meet Mat Fletcher and hear why he studies Spinifex and other pastures! watch here!
Workshops for Financial Literacy & Planning
Interpreting Weather Forecasts
Landscape
Demonstrate Increasing Legumes in native pastures
Delivered by: WA Dept of Primary Industries, Regional Development; Funded by Northern Hub
‘Stylo’ is an introduced legume that can extend protein availability of native pastures into the dry season.
This project has been built on 9 demonstrations sites in WA and in small plot field trials on Kidman Springs in the NT and Mt Sandford. Approximately 500 kg seed provided and now monitoring continue of the stylo establishment. Stations involved are Spring Creek, Springvale Aggregation, Larrawa, Jubilee Downs, Dampier & Country Downs and Limestone.
watch videos here….
This project will build extension materials relevant for both states.
watch videos Stylo establishment in QLD here
Delivered by: NTCA, Funded by Northern Hub
Natural capital markets are a potential diversification opportunity for pastoralists and an income and employment source for First Nations, that can provide critical financial support/incentive to increase ecological health and resilience to drought, especially in degraded rangelands.
Meanwhile, land managers are faced with conflicting policy settings across the layers of government. In the north, most pastoralists are lease holders rather than landowners, creating further complexity in their rights and opportunities to participate in projects on Native Title-determined lands.
Under Commonwealth regulatory frameworks applying both to Carbon and Nature Repair projects, formal agreements must first be reached with Native Title holders, and the State/Territory government.
Project objectives:
To identify supportive and conflicting policies that affect the take-up of natural capital markets in the northern rangelands
To raise awareness of the opportunities available to land managers,
Building Skills
Delivered by: KPCA, NTCA & DAF, Funded by Northern Hub
Delivered by: NACP - Northern Australia Climate Program & University of Southern Queensland
First Nations
Understanding Natural Capital: opportunities and barriers
Rehydration workshops & Field Days
Yarning with peers – knowledge exchange among First Nations Forestry Corporations
Exchange visits were arranged between two indigenous-owned forestry enterprises; Tiwi Plantations Corporation (TPC) and Gumatj Corporation.
The two corporations have different histories, business models and regional contexts, but they share a commitment to managing their forests for preserving culture, their environment and simultaneously achieving economic outcomes.
In the 15+ year history of the corporations, none of the directors had ever visited the other corporation.
Elders told stories of links between Yolngu and Tiwi people and identified deep-rooted kinship ties that could be strengthened through forestry.
The project aimed to strengthen business capability, explore diversification, and build partnerships between the two corporations.