Translating lab language into paddock practices: Meet Bridget Watkins

For about 10 years during Bridget Watkins' upbringing, her family planted trees around a fenced off portion of salt scald creek line at their mixed sheep and cropping farm near Arthur River. Looking at it now, the trees are thick and tall, allowing the creek to meander, slowing down the flow of water through the property. This was the first memorable instance where Ms Watkins saw the practical, tangible benefits of land management strategies put to work. "I loved understanding land management and how it pieced together for production," Ms Watkins said. "My dad always had a focus and attention to detail about those sorts of things. "We'd be out and about, not just looking at how the crop was doing, but what was happening more in the landscape." Today, Ms Watkins is the regional soils co-ordinator with Murdoch University research institute, SoilsWest, a role which comes under Soil Science Australia - part of the National Soil Strategy. The Regional Soil Co-ordinator roles are ...