A Love Story with the Land
Newlyweds Chris and Laura Gaschk have faced their fair share of challenges – arranging a wedding in the middle of a global pandemic and then taking on a 378 acre property during a drought.
But in “Marbehvale” they found a love for the land and a vision for the future.
“We actually first inspected the place on the way home from our honeymoon. We really loved the place, so crunched the numbers, made an offer and a few months later we had the keys.”
Nestled in the the foothills of the Bunya Mountains, around 70% of the property is productive grass country while the rest is made up of six different vegetation communities, the most distinct being a semi evergreen vine thicket featuring massive Queensland Bottle Trees that dominate the landscape with their presence.
Using Outdoor Australia trail cameras fixed on their water trough, Chris and Laura are monitoring the fauna at Marbehvale to get a baseline of their native and introduced species.
You renamed Marbehvale to mean “Abundant Valley”. What are your plans for the place?
Our main goals are to restore the landscape function and improve soil health to hopefully increase both our productivity and the health of the ecosystem. The country has been pushed pretty hard particularly through the last few years of drought.
What are some of the challenges you have faced this year?
It isn’t exactly farm related but trying to get married in the middle of a global pandemic was a nightmare…We ended up having a ceremony with our immediate family and few close friends just eight hours before restrictions to just 5 people came in. .
On our farm, the challenge been to get things up and running as we have limited time with both of us working off the farm. Trying to get fencing and water sorted so we can graze appropriately while also trying to earn an income has been difficult. And of course, we wouldn’t be farmers if we didn’t complain about the weather.
What do you love most about being on the land?
For each of us it is probably the fact that we both have an opportunity to appreciate and experience the ever-changing landscape. It also gives us a deep sense of fulfilment to know we are stewards of something and are making a positive impact on it.
How are you using Outdoor Cameras on your property?
We currently use them for monitoring biodiversity and pest activity, and for security on certain assets. In future, we will use them to monitor livestock and water points which will allow us to evaluate our management.
They may look cute now, but these dingo pups could wreck havoc later. “Monitoring will help us see how different landscape management influences the abundance and activity of the different species on our property.”
Why is monitoring the biodiversity important?
Long term we want to have enough information to properly evaluate our management. Biodiversity is a key indicator to whether you are restoring your landscape or not. If you don’t have a standardised approach to monitoring that then your results will be pretty useless. The cameras mean we can have this standardised approach to monitoring and implement it long term.
Also, it helps us to visually monitor livestock numbers, health, and access to water each day. This is important as we live and work off the farm. It gives us peace of mind outside our regular physical checks on them.
Would you recommend Outdoor Cameras Australia?
We already have on numerous occasions – all their products are competitively priced but what really sets them apart was their customer service.
We have found Damo and the team at OCA always go above and beyond to help with after sale support.
Images courtesy of Chris and Laura Gaschk.
Questions about anything in this story? Call us on 1300 544 249.
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