Staff

The station is run by a small number of permanent staff and assisted by a varying number of temporary staff. Additional support is provided by consultants who are affiliated with the Institute Of Ecotechnics.

Project Director, Robyn Tredwell

"My life is very much connected with Birdwood Downs Station. I have lived here for more than 25 years and have always contributed to our prime mission: show that it is possible to turn overgrazed and degraded country into sustainable pasture and whilst doing so learning other people how to live our and their savannah lifestyle. When I am riding in our pastures today and walking around our homestead I am proud of what we have achieved. We have sustainable pasture of which the area is still expanding. We also have great gardens, a pleasure for the people and home for many animals. My real passion is plants. I am always experimenting in our nursery to find out if I can increase the diversity of our flora, taking great care not to introduce a species that takes over explosively. This has resulted in growing our own vegetables, bananas, mangos, pineapple and many more. For me it is essential that Birdwood Downs Station is one of a group companies, we call them projects, each with its own mission in the field of living in balance with the environment. Equally important for us is the human development to help us to live a lifestyle that is in balance with the care for the environment. This gives me what we call 'Friends around the world' who meet on a yearly basis to exchange ideas."

Station manager, Greg Hay

"I find living a savannah lifestyle fantastic. It gives me a euphoric feeling. This lifestyle comes with its technical and environmental challenges which are closely related to the seasons: the cool of The Dry, the rain and humidity of The Wet and the heat in the periods in between. The first shower of The Wet is always is a feast. It not only brings cooler weather, it is also very much the beginning of explosive growth of nature, turning Birdwood Downs Station into a paradise for people and animals alike. Of all the jobs I do on the station I like most working with horses. We have a breeding program. I train our horses so that they can safely take inexperienced visitors on trail rides in our pastures. I love to give riding lessons, where often human and horse are learning their lessons simultaneously."