Grand ambitions

Wayne Chaffey and his wife Nell have five “grandies” living close-by who like nothing better that an “expedition” on their mixed property Naours, west of Tamworth. The dedicated Landcarers and retired educators are often (willingly) co-opted into a hunt for fossils or search for the resident echidna.

“We always point out the different species of animals and plants,” said Wayne, a 2023 UNE Alumni Community Award winner. “We try to build their knowledge of the relationships between species, to help them develop a deep appreciation of nature. We show them how the way we graze our animals helps to look after our grasslands, and the importance of healthy plants and animals to healthy people.”

The subtle lessons are entirely consistent with the education Wayne delivers to much older audiences locally, regionally and nationally as a Landcare volunteer of almost 40 years’ experience.

“We are influencing the state of the planet in profound ways and I worry what it will be like for our children’s children and their children,” said Wayne, who is soon to be appointed a board member of Landcare NSW. “We have to look after what we’ve got, not for short-term gain and profit, but to ensure we have sustainable environments in 20, 40, 50 or 100 years’ time and beyond.”

In recently nominating for the Landcare NSW board position, Wayne was blunt in his assessment of planetary health: “This is a challenging time in the history of the Earth. We are experiencing, in the Anthropocene, unprecedented global warming; changing weather patterns, extinctions and reduction in biodiversity, all stimulated by the actions of humans. Landcare, as an organisation, is in the ‘box seat’ to spread the word, around an array of ideas and activities, to all communities, to adopt to help combat these changes and attempt to heal our changing world”.

That healing is taking many forms – from regenerative agriculture to respect for First Nations cultural knowledge – and Wayne is heartened by the number of people committed to making a difference.

“We have seen a revolution in thinking,” he said. “Landcare has a growing membership and a growing list of achievements. We are broadening its role and capturing more people from different walks of life, including people from urban and peri-urban areas, and that’s a great thing. It’s touching lots of different people, which is just as well because we have a lot of repair work to do.”

He and Nell have, themselves, “transitioned from old paradigms to new ways of understanding and working with the natural world”. They are regenerative farmers and enjoy welcoming people to Naours to see the progress they’ve made in improving grazing practices, biodiversity and water infiltration, and restoring degraded landscapes.

Wayne traces his dedication to evidence-based solutions back to his Bachelor of Science studies at UNE in the 1970s. “I believe in good science; it will guide the directions we take in the future and we have some pretty big decisions to make,” he said. “Unfortunately, science is not always heeded by politicians and law-makers.”

Concerned about the viability of a career in biomedical research after completing an Honours year in physiology, Wayne (like Nell) completed a Diploma of Education at UNE in 1976. For the next 40 years he taught secondary science and agriculture, first in metropolitan Sydney and then across the New England and North West, rising to the position of Tamworth High School Principal and Principal Education Officer for the New England region.

It's hardly surprising that the leadership skills Wayne honed during his professional life were soon attractive to community organisations when he retired in 2014. Over the years his volunteering has spanned childcare, P&C associations, the Rural Fire Service, the Somerton War Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground Committee, Manilla Renewable Energy Hub, chairing the Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC PHN) Community Advisory Committee (CAC), and Water in the Landscape Initiative (WiLI).

Volunteering with Landcare began as an “opportunity to get together with some likeminded people” and make improvements on Naours, including restoring gullies and establishing wildlife corridors. “Then we got involved at the regional and state level and are now involved in some national programs,” said Wayne, who is past-president of the Bubbogullion 100 Landcare Group and President of the Tamworth Regional Landcare Association, as well as a member of the Landcare NSW State Advisory Committee. “Landcare just has to keep spreading the word about maintaining diversity and abundance, for all our sakes.”