Neglected, drought-hardened and overgrazed, the land lay like a desert for decades until we took possession in 2007.
Our strategy is a holistic approach that respects the natural inputs and outputs of the land. It actively encourages regeneration of the flora such as the mulga tree, Eucalyptus and Yapunyah, which in turn creates favourable conditions for migrating birds and native animals, improves the microclimate, sequesters carbon from the atmosphere, and provides food for our honey bees.
In order to bring the native flora back, the feral goat and brumby horse populations need to be kept under control. Rather than shooting or other unsavoury methods, we humanely muster and transport selected animals to our free-range farm and ranching facilities in northern Victoria.
Over the last fifteen years the impact has been enormous. The floral biomass is consistently growing, and we are continuing to invest in projects including further reforestation, rotational farming, horse-rearing, geothermal energy possibilities, and creating ecology education resources. We want Urisino to be a destination for eco-tourism in the future.
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This tree is native to the Australian outback and has a long life-span of around 200-300 years.
It is well adapted for the desert with a low rate of water loss and high oil content.
The proliferation of this hardy tree shrub means less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as it is capable of storing about 30 to 150 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare.
Keeping the free range goat population controlled requires continuous intervention. Using passive and active mustering we select young goats (chevon) to be taken to our Shepparton free-range farm in Northern Victoria.
Urisino has hundreds of wild brumby horses. We humanely control their population and select some for relocation.
The flowers along the banks of Paroo nourish our honey bees, making for excellent natural honey. The bees feast on the flowers of the Yapunyah tree which only grows in the channel country of far west NSW and southern Queensland. It is a much sought after honey for its flavour and uniqueness.
With no insecticides in use, and the nearest urban center is over 300km away, we are confident that our honey will soon be certified as organic.
Often described as the most beautiful of cockatoos, with a white and salmon-pink plumage and bright red and yellow crest.
Due to man-made changes to the arid and semi-arid interior of Australia where this cockatoo is found, populations have declined. An extensive woodland habitat is required for these birds to thrive and the Urisino project now protects a lot of this prime woodland.
This wetland bird is in the one of Australia's largest flying birds and is in the crane family. It's well-known for it's elaborate mating dance and nests most commonly on islands in marshland. You may recognise it as the official emblem of the state of Queensland.
Although not endangered, populations are in decline and some local action plans to increase populations are in force in some areas of southern Australia.
This bird of prey, also known as the black-breasted kite (but is neither kite nor buzzard!) is considered to be a type of eagle. It prefers a desert, grassland, watercourse or woodland habitat and is found in northern and central parts of Australia.
Although not a threatened species in Australia, this bird is considered to be vulnerable in New South Wales.
Stimson's python or 'antaresia stimsoni' is a desert snake species that spends most of the day burrowing deep in rock crevices. It emerges at night to feed on lizards and mammals and averages around 1m in length.
This snake is found mostly in central and western Australia living in dry, inland rocky areas but also in woodland and arid shrubland. Its docile nature means it is often kept as a pet.
