Tim Jarvis AM is well-known for his treacherous polar expeditions, now, he embarks on his most intense mission yet: restoring 133 acres of degraded South Australian farmland to its original form. He’s called it: The Forktree Project.

 

 

In this episode of Act Local, Cameron Doyle joins the prolific adventurer, Tim Jarvis, who’s also an environmental scientist, author, filmmaker, and public speaker with Masters degrees in environmental science and environmental law. It’s a lot.

While refraining from diving down rabbit holes, like what the hell retracing Shackleton’s journey across Antarctica truly entailed, Cam got a tour of the Fleurieu Peninsula property that Tim purchased for restoration in 2019.

The goal is to restore the land as closely as possible to the way it was before it was cleared for pastoral use, by planting tens of thousands of native trees, shrubs, and grasses and encouraging natural regeneration to occur.

Tim hopes to provide valuable habitat for native flora and fauna while sequestering tens of thousands of tonnes of CO2 to help combat climate change.

‘We’re not going to change the world with only 133 acres, but you can show everybody what can be done with 133 acres, and that’s the key message.’

To watch more cool local projects that are combatting climate change or protecting the natural world, check out Act Local.

 

Feature photo by Cameron Doyle

This article is part of Act Local, our project to champion grassroots conservationists who are getting their hands dirty and having a positive environmental impact in their local communities. Check it out!