Recreating the Country - a design system to restore wild Australia
A resilient and biodiverse 'wild Australia' is fundamental to our health and well-being as humans living on this remarkable southern continent.
"Nature is the lifeblood of our society, if we simply destroy it when it gets in our way, we will pay the price"
Sir David Attenborough
The long term health and sustainability of our society is maintained by three vital supporting pillars, sometimes called the triple bottom line;
Support for the unsung heroes
Positive environment action is often left to private citizens and grass-roots movements . This website is here to support these unsung heroes and explore ways to keep nature's many incredible & diverse ecologies healthy and thriving for future generations.
A resilient and biodiverse 'wild Australia' is fundamental to our health and well-being as humans living on this remarkable southern continent.
"Nature is the lifeblood of our society, if we simply destroy it when it gets in our way, we will pay the price"
Sir David Attenborough
The long term health and sustainability of our society is maintained by three vital supporting pillars, sometimes called the triple bottom line;
- economic security
- social harmony
- healthy & resilient natural environment
Support for the unsung heroes
Positive environment action is often left to private citizens and grass-roots movements . This website is here to support these unsung heroes and explore ways to keep nature's many incredible & diverse ecologies healthy and thriving for future generations.
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Most of us do what we can and try to reduce our ecological footprint by making lifestyle choices that are softer on our planet. But it's not easy, as each of our daily choices like our morning coffee, the clothes we buy, the food we eat and the houses we build make demands on the natural environment.
And it seems that our thirst for new technology is widening the divide between how we live and our connection with the natural world that underpins and resources our lifestyles. But there's a way back to nature and all the benefits that she provides; |
What value do you put on the enjoyment and the emotional healing gained from an encounter with nature?
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Recreating the Country (RtC), the book and the website, will help you connect with nature through stories about our indigenous plants and animals. RtC will help clear the murky waters of indecision on environmental issues through well researched blogs on designing landscapes with indigenous plants. I also look at current revegetation challenges and offer practical solutions.
RtC will also challenge you to explore a new way of designing landscapes that mimics nature and brings biodiversity back to our gardens and back paddocks. These rural and urban copies of natural environments are called Sustainable Biorich Landscapes>.
Sustainable Biorich Landscapes are biodiverse, resilient and sustainable - click here to read more>.
They can also generate income without decreasing biodiversity. Read more about adding profit to biodiversity in designing for profit>
I hope to entertain, inform and challenge you to take a longer look at the sensational plants and animals that are part of our wonderful heritage. Congratulations on taking this first step to reconnecting with nature.
Your next important step is just a scroll or a click away.
RtC will also challenge you to explore a new way of designing landscapes that mimics nature and brings biodiversity back to our gardens and back paddocks. These rural and urban copies of natural environments are called Sustainable Biorich Landscapes>.
Sustainable Biorich Landscapes are biodiverse, resilient and sustainable - click here to read more>.
They can also generate income without decreasing biodiversity. Read more about adding profit to biodiversity in designing for profit>
I hope to entertain, inform and challenge you to take a longer look at the sensational plants and animals that are part of our wonderful heritage. Congratulations on taking this first step to reconnecting with nature.
Your next important step is just a scroll or a click away.
A new sustainable biorich planting on the Warrambine Ck valley near Shelford, Victoria. There are over 20 species of shrub, understorey and canopy trees in the white tree guards.
Photo taken in July 2014 by Chris Callahan, 'Tree Management Services'.
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The same location showing the emerging woodland. The grass will start thinning because of competition from trees and shrubs in the next few years. Photo taken on May 10th 2017
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About the author
Stephen Murphy
For over thirty years as a Landcare nurseryman I have helped many landholders design plantations and choose plant species for revegetation projects.
As a founding member of three 'Friends groups' I gained valuable experience working as a volunteer in local flora and fauna reserves for over 25 years.
As a committed member of Australian Landcare since 1989 I have been guest speaker and author of many newsletter articles on native plants and ecology.
This combination of volunteering in reserves and consulting on farms has given my university training in Geology, Ecology and Natural Resource Management a practical edge and important insights.
I could see major problems with the traditional approach to revegetation and in 1996 developed a new design system based on modern science, research and my observations. After ten years of putting this design system into practice on farms and with the support of Ballarat Region Treegrowers (BRT), in 2009 'Recreating the Country' was first published. The updated and expanded second edition published in March 2024 and is now available to purchase here.
Many of the ideas in Recreating the Country are available on this website and are explained to make designing sustainable biodiverse and productive landscapes (biorich) easy and straightforward. You could read a great blog on this topic - Revegetation - mimicking nature, or quickly scroll through my past blogs on many fascinating topics: Revegetation, restoring grasslands, propagation, landscape design & ecology and how to reconnect with nature. These are all in my Easy blog finder.
As a founding member of three 'Friends groups' I gained valuable experience working as a volunteer in local flora and fauna reserves for over 25 years.
As a committed member of Australian Landcare since 1989 I have been guest speaker and author of many newsletter articles on native plants and ecology.
This combination of volunteering in reserves and consulting on farms has given my university training in Geology, Ecology and Natural Resource Management a practical edge and important insights.
I could see major problems with the traditional approach to revegetation and in 1996 developed a new design system based on modern science, research and my observations. After ten years of putting this design system into practice on farms and with the support of Ballarat Region Treegrowers (BRT), in 2009 'Recreating the Country' was first published. The updated and expanded second edition published in March 2024 and is now available to purchase here.
Many of the ideas in Recreating the Country are available on this website and are explained to make designing sustainable biodiverse and productive landscapes (biorich) easy and straightforward. You could read a great blog on this topic - Revegetation - mimicking nature, or quickly scroll through my past blogs on many fascinating topics: Revegetation, restoring grasslands, propagation, landscape design & ecology and how to reconnect with nature. These are all in my Easy blog finder.
In 2010 a 15ha 'biorich' demonstration site called ImLal, was planted at Lal Lal near Ballarat to demonstrate the benefits of this new design system. This demonstration site continues to develop and evolve through the hard work of many volunteer supporters from BRT and local Landcare groups.
Both Federation University and Melbourne University have adopted the project, their students making annual visits to learn and discuss sustainable biorich design and environmental management.
BRT members supported by ornithologists Tanya Loos and Grant Palmer have been conducting seasonal bird surveys since 2010. The results of these surveys are described here
For more ideas on sustainable biorich design explore Ballarat Region Treegrowers biorich demonstration site at Lal Lal: www.biorichplantations.com/
You could also watch a short documentary about the development of the Lal Lal biorich demonstration (ImLal)site:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaHa3nioCpQ
For background on this topic view the excellent documentary; “Rediscovering the Country”
- a film journey into landscape restoration: http://www.landscapes.org/watch-starts-forest-comes-farmer/
If you have a question or an interest in consulting send an email to,
[email protected]
Both Federation University and Melbourne University have adopted the project, their students making annual visits to learn and discuss sustainable biorich design and environmental management.
BRT members supported by ornithologists Tanya Loos and Grant Palmer have been conducting seasonal bird surveys since 2010. The results of these surveys are described here
For more ideas on sustainable biorich design explore Ballarat Region Treegrowers biorich demonstration site at Lal Lal: www.biorichplantations.com/
You could also watch a short documentary about the development of the Lal Lal biorich demonstration (ImLal)site:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaHa3nioCpQ
For background on this topic view the excellent documentary; “Rediscovering the Country”
- a film journey into landscape restoration: http://www.landscapes.org/watch-starts-forest-comes-farmer/
If you have a question or an interest in consulting send an email to,
[email protected]
