Perth Branch Monthly Meeting – “Being custodians of a private nature reserve in the Southwest Australian Biodiversity Hotspot” presented by Hans Lambers & Marion Cambridge

Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot, with the greatest plant diversity on severely phosphorus-impoverished soils. If one would aim to conserve vegetation on private land, one would want that land to be in a most diverse region in southwest Australia. When Hi Vallee Farm came up for sale, we tried to acquire the pristine native vegetation on the 400-ha block, an area the size of Kings Park, but with twice the number of plant species, including may rare and threatened ones. We made an offer the owners, Don and Joy William, were happy with, but there was one problem.Don and Joy would need to divide the block into farmland and bushland, and the bushland would not include the house. We could live with that second issue and tried to move ahead. Then, Don got cold feet and abandoned the idea of splitting the block. I then counted all our money, scraped all our dollars, euros and Chinese yuan together and, following discussions with Marion, my wife, made an offer. We officially acquired Hi Vallee Farm on 19 May 2024 and the rest is history. Our dream had come true and we were now the proud owners of 2,000 ha, including 400 ha of pristine vegetation and plenty of valuable fenced-off vegetation on the farmland. Perfect for conservation as well as for research and education.We intended to name the 400-ha block The Don and Joy Williams Nature Reserve, and Sabrina Hahn launched it in September 2024. We intended to invite a small group of friends and acquaintances, including some Don and Joy were keen on helping with the celebration. That small group blew out to around 140, all enjoying our champagne and the lunch prepared by the local Country Women’s Association. It was a wonderful event to mark a significant milestone for both Don and Joy and Marion and myself.In my talk, I will cover the many assets of the Reserve, our plans what to do with the farmland and our intention to establish a non-for profit Hi Vallee Trust to support many activities on our property. We do not wish to run the camping as a business, but do allow visitors to stay there and visit the Reserve after contacting us.