SENSING PLACE POST-CONFERENCE TOUR

The Sense of Place Symposium presenters have been invited to participate in the celebration of 15 years of restoration work with the Gillamii Centre. The Gillamii Centre is 320 kms south of Perth, just north of the Stirling Ranges (Albany is the nearest large settlement) in the Shire of Cranbrook.

The aim of this tour is to share knowledge and practices with a cross-generational group of dynamic and innovative farmers and land-mangers in a region of high biodiversity and conservation significance. This will provide important opportunities to explore the role of application in local context. We will discuss how our knowledge and experience might be applied by people managing land and ecological restoration on-the-ground. We will also, in turn, learn some new ways of looking at sustainability and transforming some of our cultural perceptions in land management.

This centre promotes ecologically sustainable farming practices based on an awareness of natural biodiversity and innovative landcare practices. The Centre was opened in November 1994 in response to the community's concern with land degradation and an increasing interest in Natural Resource Management.

The Centre coordinates events, workshops, field days and forums that play an integral role in all aspects of Natural Resource Management and sustainable farming practices in these iconic ecological landscapes. Catchment groups, land conservation districts, schools, special interest groups, landholders, government agencies and independent consultants are active collaborators with this Centre. Traditional broad scale agriculture, wineries and vineyards, national parkland and rolling hills form the backdrop to our Sensing Place Post-Conference Tour.

Tour Leaders:	Dr Angela Wardell-Johnson (Curtin University), Wendy Bradshaw, Megan Jones and Jenny Adams (Gillamii Centre)
Dates:	Friday 28 August to Sunday 30 August 2009
Meeting Place:	Perth Convention Exhibition Centre, Main Entrance on Level 1
Meeting Time:	8.00-8.15am for 8.30am departure
Availability:	11 people in addition to Angela

Day 1 (Friday, 28 August 2009) - Perth to Cranbrook
We will be traveling along the Brookton Hwy and Great Southern Hwy to Cranbrook where we will spend two nights in Kendeup Lodge near Cranbrook.

Our first stop will be shared with the official SERI Post Conference Tour (led by Grant Wardell-Johnson) at Boulder Rock, a large granite outcrop in the jarrah forest in remnant upland lateritic plateau. This is a good place to get to know the local flora.

Lunch will be in Dryandra Forest where we will look at Powder Bark Wandoo Woodland and Upland remnants.

We arrive in Cranbrook in time for late afternoon tea and introductions with the Gillamii Centre. Sundowners will be held on a small hill at Red Gum Springs, Stirling Range National Park (10 mins drive from lodge). Dinner and chat around the fire at Kendenup Lodge.

Perth Convention Centre to Brookton:	162.4 kms
Brookton to Narrogin:	71.9 kms
Narrogin to Cranbrook:	182.2 kms
Total	416.5 kms

Day 2 (Saturday, 29 August 2009) - Sharing a day with the Gillamii Centre
We will be visiting ecological restoration sites with the Gillamii members for the morning and will be joined for morning tea and lunch by the SER International official post-conference field trip.

8.30-9.00am	Cranbrook Federation Wildflower Walk 2km walk located on outskirts of Cranbrook townsite, through Yate and Wandoo woodlands. Also features recently updated educational signage.
9.00-11.00am	Farm visit and morning tea - Ian Walsh's, Cranbrook. Ian's family property has extensive remnant and revegetation and one of Ian's goals is to connect up all of the bushland on his property as well as with adjoining bushland. Ian and family have a focus on integrating perennial production systems such as saltbush into his farming enterprise.
11.00-1.00pm	Farm visit - Mark Jeffries - next door to Ian's. Mark and his family have many wetlands on the property, which they are currently protecting. A bird's eye view can be seen from the top of Sukey Hill, a bushland area on the edge of Cranbrook. We are hoping to drive or walk to the top of the hill prior to visiting this property. Mark is also integrating perennial systems into his production enterprises.
Lunch	A guest speaker from the tour will provide a short overview of restoration over lunch.
Farm visit	John & Sheryn Howard's property - west Kendenup. John and Sheryn manage their property by Holistic Management principles and their production systems are a shining example of using sustainable production principles by working with nature to increase productivity.
Afternoon tea	at Kendenup Lodge. Discussion between Gillamii Centre members and Sensing Place group - an evening sharing insights and knowledge.
BBQ tea	at Kendenup Lodge.

Day 3 (Sunday 30 August 2009) - Stirling Ranges and return to Perth (about 6pm)
We will be visiting the Stirling Ranges (Bluff Knoll and Talyuberlup Peak on the Stirling Range Drive). For those who intent to 'scale the peaks' we will allow a time for the fit and enthusiastic.

Following this we will visit an Indigenous managed nature reserve and salt lake system where we will have lunch.

The return to Perth will include a short stop in a nature reserve for afternoon tea.

Kendenup via Stirling Ranges to Perth

About 400 kms