Evangeline Drinnan
I grew up on a non-regenerative horse and sheep farm in Wahring, Victoria, before attending boarding school in Hobart. I'm currently in my final year of a Bachelor of Science majoring in Geography and minoring in Plant Science at the University of Tasmania. I have always wanted to go into a career in sustainable agriculture, as I have a passion for agriculture, conservation (fuelled by walking in Tasmania's wilderness), supporting local businesses (I work for a successful Tasmanian family-owned grocer which stocks high quality local produce), and helping others out. Hopefully after my degree I can work on some sustainable farms around Australia to learn as much as I can before running my own and being involved in local community work with conservation and agriculture.
Around 1.5 years ago, my parents started practising regenerative agriculture on the farm, without much direction until attending Brian Wehlberg's Holistic Management Course last year, which they couldn't stop talking about. It's been brilliant to see the changes that have occurred - huge flocks of birds feeding in our paddocks, diverse grasses that are allowed to seed and reproduce each season, fodder that can be reasonably predicted to last until April, and more content-looking livestock. I'm really excited to see what happens in the long term, as we have only just started, and it was only last summer when we had absolutely no food for stock and topsoil was being blown off the property in dust storms.
Personally, I don't know a lot about regenerative agriculture or holistic management. I have read a few articles in between work and uni, volunteered at the 25th Annual Tasmanian Landcare Conference where people couldn't stop talking about holistic management, and joined the Regenerative Agriculture Network Tasmania. I would really like an opportunity to listen to a range of people who have started doing holistic management on their own farms and to hear about how it works. I know there's a lot more to it than cell grazing, especially when it comes to the farm and family as a whole, but I really don't feel like I know much as I haven't attended any courses or conferences.
I'm definitely someone who will put my knowledge to good use. At the moment, I am starting a UTAS Landcare Society to get more young people involved in Landcare and to achieve tangible actions locally, which along with protests and our studies, help look after our future in the face of climate change. I want to dedicate my life to looking after the land and our ecosystems while producing high quality food efficiently. I think being involved in the regenerative agriculture movement could be a significant way to do this, but I need to learn a lot more about it first.