Celebrating our landholder partners

We cannot do any of our work without the support of landholder partners. So each year we present the Chris Jones Environmental Stewardship Award to one of our exceptional landholders, as nominated by Greening Australia team members across the country.

The award is designed to recognise landholders who have given outstanding or meritorious contribution, service or assistance to advancing the mission and vision of Greening Australia.

It gives us great pleasure to share that the winners of this year’s award are Mike and Sue O’Shaughnessy.

This year’s landholder award winners, Mike and Sue O’Shaughnessy. Photo supplied.

In 2023, Greening Australia and Canopy implemented an environmental planting project on Mike and Sue’s property in Nyabing in Western Australia. What is particularly unique about this project is that Mike and Sue no longer live and farm on the property, but lease it to local farmers Clint and Jenny Dolan.

Mike and Sue have a great relationship with the Dolans and together they have proactively sought opportunities to improve the land. They have been passionate about the project’s ability to have positive impacts on landscape regeneration through the management of salinity, improvements to biodiversity and increased production benefits.

Mike said: “Our only wish was to get out of the way and clear any impediments that prevented the regeneration of the land. The process of excising the land from the lease agreement and the general legals was easy. We’re happy to talk to anyone in relation to this particular process that we used.”

“The necessity of regeneration and integration with carbon offsets is quite a remarkable opportunity in Western Australia, and we’ll make great gains in future productivity if people adopt this process.”

Badgebup Rangers adding seedlings into direct seeding lines as part of the environmental planting project at the O’Shaughnessy’s property. Credit: Badgebup Aborigional Corporation.

Other recent winners of this award include Julian and Annabel von Bibra (Tasmania), Stephen Burgun (New South Wales), and Lenny Parisi (Queensland).

We’d like to express our thanks to all nominated landholders this year, and past years. Your nomination is a testament to your commitment to go above and beyond in partnering with us to create healthy and productive landscapes where people and nature thrive.

 
We work with landholders around the country. Hear from more of them about how Greening Australia is helping to integrate native plantings into their farm plans.

Interested in a no-obligation chat about planting with us on your property? Register your interest here.