Story
A natural fit
words Heidi HELBIG
PHOTOGRAPHY sam kroepsch
As sunshine breaks through the cloud cover and tiny birds busy themselves in the hollows of gnarled, ancient gum trees, conservationist Sarah Barrett is playing a waiting game.
“This is the North Para – it’s so grounding having the river right here,” says Sarah. “Every year it’s the same, waiting for it to flow.”
With a passion that’s both professional and deeply personal, Sarah explains how the natural watercourse winding through her 12-acre holding between Angaston and Moculta is actually a vital barometer of catchment health.
“These used to be permanent ponds. We’ve had, how much rain, and it’s still not flowing – the whole catchment needs to saturate,” she says.
The picturesque property where she lives with husband Tim and three daughters, Jemima, Georgie and Tilly, is reminiscent of the mixed farm in southern New South Wales where Sarah was raised.
“I grew up in this idyllic property in my primary school years, all hills and creeks and bush. It was a fabulous, exploring place and I think that was formative,” Sarah says.
Years later, Sarah was exposed to the flip side of the coin, on a desolate, tree-less property near Wagga Wagga named Dhawura, an adaptation of the Wiradjuri name for wind.
The stark contrast in land management was not lost on Sarah, and set her on a course for tertiary studies in environmental science and later, a Masters in environmental management.
However, it was her initiation into the Landcare movement that saw Sarah truly find her calling.
“It was called different names, doing slightly different things, but it was always about getting more biodiversity in agricultural systems, more trees in the landscape,” Sarah says.
“So much of conservation is about the people, and that kind of behaviour change and group dynamic became quite empowering.
“You can have all the technical knowledge, but if you don’t know how to work with people to change practices, it’s a bit pointless.”
“It’s fantastic – just the beautiful sounds of laughter and working together and really lovely community sentiment about wanting to make our whole community better. I was very lucky and blessed to spend time there.”
- Sarah Barrett
When Sarah and Tim lobbied into the Barossa – and more precisely Angaston – the small acreage known locally as the Fechner property was, happily, a natural fit.
“Tim and I are not in the wine game, so we were trying to find a place out of town without vines, and it was a tall order – although now we probably feel like it wouldn’t have mattered, and we keep threatening to plant vines,” laughs Sarah.
Unbeknownst to Sarah, the location was also the homeland of her ancestors on her mother’s side, emigrating from Prussia.
Sarah’s great-great-great grandfather Stanislaus Modistach settled a farm at Parrot Hill (Moculta) in 1856, converting from Catholicism to Lutheran, and is buried in the Gruenberg Lutheran Church cemetery just a few miles from Sarah’s home.
Sarah remains eternally grateful for her introduction to the Barossa, and is firmly ensconced in her local community, holding many and various roles over the years with Angaston Community and Business Alliance, Barossa Triathlon and Reconciliation Barossa.
“Tim and I made a pact that if someone invited us to something, we would say yes, and it kind of worked,” Sarah laughs.
“We were very lucky; James Wark was on the board of Ahrens and he encouraged us to move to Angaston and made introductions. We moved next door to Steve and Bec Falland …near a number of families with kids – so we kind of landed in a pretty good place.
“The Barossa has been good to us. It has a lovely strong community ethic, and I think the little villages do too.
“And it’s a community where you do own the pub and the supermarket and the Mitre 10 – there’s pretty few places like that.”
Sarah’s other great love is Barossa Bushgardens, where she has both volunteered and worked.
Much like Landcare, here Sarah found her tribe, where people as diverse as they are like-minded come together for a common good.
She credits Ray Duance, Bob Modra, Chris Hall and Kate Jenkins, for leaving a tangible legacy of revegetation, returning pockets of the Barossa to its natural state.
“You walk in the door there, and you can never walk out, but it’s so great,” laughs Sarah. “It’s fantastic – just the beautiful sounds of laughter and working together and really lovely community sentiment about wanting to make our whole community better.
“I was very lucky and blessed to spend time there.”
As both a private consultant and working in a strategic sustainability role for private agribusiness Pinion Advisory, Sarah has continued to balance work commitments and her volunteering journey.
She is Chair of Landcare Association of South Australia, and earlier this year received the Women in Landcare Award for SA.
“It’s very humbling – I think it made me reflect on my journey with Landcare and how it’s probably shaped me more than I realised,” Sarah says.
With more threats than ever facing the environment, including climate change, water security, native tree dieback and a growing carbon footprint, she remains quietly optimistic about the future of the environment, thanks to new technology, research and development, and a more strategic approach to sustainable land management.
“There’s still so much to do, but I’m glass half full,” Sarah says.
“I feel like nature does heal itself, so maybe I just fundamentally think that things will get better.”
