Retired engineer Brian Teakle was living in Adelaide during 1990 when he bought a farm — a decision that would set him on a path to environmental and ecological acclaim.
“I was having a beer with a guy at the local bowls club who said there was a good farm for sale up at Karoonda,” he said.
“We had a look at it and that was that.
“It was the only place I could afford to buy a farm, but it was always on the agenda.”
Situated near the mallee township of Karoonda, about 120 kilometres east of Adelaide, the 404-hectare property lies in the dry and semi-arid lands that sprawl seemingly endlessly throughout the region.
But it is on this sandy land that Mr Teakle has brought to light inventive methods to maximise stock feed all year round — rain, hail or shine.
“We set out to drought-proof the farm, and that led us further and further into other concepts,” Mr Teakle said.
He bought the property with the sole intention of revegetating the land, to fill it with as many diverse native plants, grasses and trees as possible.
It led the former engineer to undertake ecological experiments, but his passion for ecology and agriculture was sparked much earlier in life.
A long relationship with the land
Mr Teakle was born at Crystal Brook in the state’s mid-north and grew up in the nearby settlement of Gulnare.
“Throughout the whole of my hometown, just about every tree was planted by primary school students over the years, and that’s where my interest first came,” he said.
Mr Teakle worked on his father’s farm for four years, before studying at Urrbrae Agricultural High School in Adelaide.
He grew a keen interest in agriculture during his high school studies, but pursued a professional life as an engineer with a manufacturing business in building and in plastics.
Buying a farm of his own was always Mr Teakle’s retirement plan.
He has planted more than 40,000 native trees since 1990, growing saltbush, pig face and other native plants to feed his stock of 1,000 ewes.
He has 400 quandong and sandalwood trees, which his grandchildren like to come and pick.
Working for more than profit
Landcare Australia’s farming manager Angela Hammond said by caring for the land, farmers across the country were making their properties more productive, and leaving healthier land for future generations.
“Because [farmers’] work is on the land, they do aim to look after the land well and put back to the land, but certainly with increasing knowledge around the environment and productivity, the interest is increasing,” she said.
Mr Teakle’s farming endeavours are not to make a living.
“The profit as I see it is the fact that we’re regenerating the soil,” he said.
He also created so-called native bee hotels, and has developed an eco-habitat near his homestead to attract bees, butterflies, and even frogs.
Mr Teakle believes in sharing his knowledge with the local ecology community and takes fellow farmers and interested locals on tours.
“Surely for everything you give to someone, you get double back, is what I’ve found,” he said