PASSIONATE environmentalist Rob Boase has been recognised for his work protecting the unique flora and vegetation across the Wheatbelt.
He was presented with WA Landcare’s Individual Landcarer award for his conservation efforts and contribution to revegetation projects.
Rob and his wife Beth, who have lived on their Dowerin property since 1973, placed a voluntary conservation covenant on their land in 2010 following the discovery of rare and endangered plants.
The flora was found on 260 hectares of banksia woodland surrounding a natural saline wetland, believed to be the only one of its kind in the state.
“The covenant makes the land secure forever – it can never be cleared or damaged,” Rob said.
“We have lost so much bush land through clearing.
“I hope it will inspire others with areas of natural bush to have covenants on their land.”
Rob owns a native tree nursery and has planted more than 78,000 plants on his property and supplied 250,000 plants across the Wheatbelt.
“It is very rewarding when we are driving around to see the plants maturing,” he said.
“People are gradually catching on that we have to revegetate the land to get bio-diversity back.
“It’s a long, slow process, but there are some fantastic people and groups working on it.”
Rob is assisting with the cultivation of some lesser-known bush tucker species for the Aboriginal Natural Resource Management program.
He will join other winners in representing WA at next year’s 2018 National Landcare Awards.