At Richmond Park Estate in the heart of Tasmania's Coal River Valley wine region, Will Eddington runs about 4,000 merino ewes and is starting to tap into viticulture.
Beyond the merino pastures, his property also hosts an internationally significant wetland, which after extensive work is quietly bursting with new life.
Wetlands have been described as "the Earth's kidneys" by scientists, or "blue carbon sinks", as they filter pollutants from the oceans and air.
They also act as buffer zones during floods and are biodiversity sanctuaries.
The Pitt Water-Orielton lagoon on farmer Will Eddington's property is a declared shark refuge and home to various migratory birds and endemic species.
Prior to colonisation, the abundant site was enjoyed by Tasmanian Aboriginal people, who gathered there to hunt.
"Wetlands are really like an Aboriginal supermarket. These spaces where we know we can get plants, birds eggs, fish," Trawlwoolway woman Emma Lee said.
"But they're also a place of beautiful contemplation of our understanding of connection to Country."
The restoration project, coordinated by not-for-profit Natural Resource Management South (NRM South), encouraged the return of the landscape's natural system through livestock exclusion fencing, planting and weeding over 65 hectares.
Colonisation, which brought European farming practices, is recognised as the catalyst for the broader demise of wetlands worldwide.
Australia has lost an estimated half of its wetlands, and achieving recompense relies on the concerted efforts of many — including conservationists, First Nations people, scientists, governments and landowners.
Mr Eddington was approached by NRM two decades ago about accessing the Ramsar-listed wetland system stretching across his private property and a number of others.
The international Ramsar Convention recognises wetlands' importance to humans, animals and plants.
At first Mr Eddington said he was uncertain the project was a good idea, but on reflection, he changed his mind.
"Why be involved? I've got a real affiliation with coastal birdlife, and I'm also partial to a bit of fishing," he said.
"As the project kept going over the years, it's become more and more obvious to me that it was really the right thing to do.
"I've enjoyed being part of it all the way through and enjoyed the interaction with people."
Abundance returns with levee removal
A decades-old levee had suppressed the wetland's natural tide in order to convert the marshy land into grazing pastures.
Its removal about two years ago brought signs the wetland was beginning to function as nature intended it.
"If you'd have been here five years ago, it was basically covered in algae, flies and really quite smelly," said Vishnu Prahalad, a geographer in wetland ecology.
"Since the removal of the levee, the tides have been able to access the site … and flush the site and remove the algae and — over time — improve the condition of the soil, the water quality.
"That's brought back the snails, the crabs, and the fish and life back into this flood plain."
As for Mr Eddington's penchant for fishing, tiny baby flounder, mullets, eels and other fish have been recorded at the site — signs it was being used as a nursery.
"These little fish need nooks and crannies like this to escape predation from the open sea and to hang out until they get a bit bigger," Mr Prahalad said.
"Then we effectively catch them as part of our recreational commercial fisheries."
Mr Prahalad said about 100 fish of more than 20 different species were recorded per 100 square metres, which was typically expected for saltmarshes.
'Take the economical side out of it', farmer says
NRM South chief executive Nepelle Crane said the restoration was occurring "quite rapidly", and while it did not necessarily provide economic return for landowners, she hoped that could change.
"We're trying to demonstrate what might be possible through emerging markets — so nature, carbon, biodiversity markets — and maybe other ways to diversify a farm, so looking at agri and ecotourism opportunities," Ms Crane said.
But Mr Eddington has noticed a difference at Richmond Park Estate.
Fencing off riverbanks had stopped the spread of weeds, outcompeted by grasses and pasture, while lambing or grazing livestock could now have more trees to shelter under, he said.
"And then trees are coming back just naturally themselves — although we are doing some planting — but once they start and start dropping a few seeds, it's been really good," he said.
"So we're achieving what we want to achieve without really needing to do too much once it's fenced off, and the ecosystem starts to do its thing, it's been beneficial to the farm."
Mr Eddington said it was nice to "take the economical side of it out".
"We could have grazed a few more sheep there, and there's a little bit of an economic downturn because of that.
"But it's not something that's probably gonna make such a significant difference — whereas the project is making a significant difference."
