Paul Rosser 
We got 63mm for June taking our YTD to 220mm. We got precipitation on 21 of the 30 days in June.
How does this compare with previous years back to 2012?
2022 63.0mm 220.0mm
2021 80.5mm 200.5mm
2020 86.0mm 266.5mm
2019 74.5mm 192.5mm
2018 35.5mm 123.0mm
2017 26.0mm 196.0mm
2016 74.5mm 235.5mm
2015 17.0mm 212.0mm
2014 47.0mm 229.0mm
2013 98.0mm 227.0mm
2012 141.0mm 318.0mm
The average for June over the 11 years is 67.5mm, so June 2022 was just below average over that time. Other places around the State got a little better than poor old Aldinga.
The money is on a slightly better than average rainfall from July to the end of September. Daytime temperatures will be around average for the period but night time temperatures will be slightly higher than average due to cloud cover. Soil moisture is still lacking as much of our moisture has been shower activity rather than drenching downpours. Planting shrubs & grasses over the past fortnight have shown the dampness hasn’t penetrated below 100mm as yet.
On the broader scale, the Indian Ocean is cooling around Broome, still warm across the top & cooling in the Pacific as La Niña fades. It is interesting that 4 out of the 7 major forecasters are tipping that La Niña will re-form again in late Spring through summer & the Queenslanders & northern NSW people may get floods for the third year in a row in the wet season. Flooding of low lying areas is an issue for Local Government Planners.
Approving buildings in flood prone areas is not good policy & insurance premiums are now out of reach of most people. Some Councils are buying these homes & opening up new subdivisions on higher ground – costly, but seems a better option in the long term. The old flood prone areas will be regenerated as open space woodlands – effectively parklands.
I was interested in seeing a woodlot envisaged for the South West paddock on the Eco Village Farm. Some 10 woodlots were planted in the ReGreen the Range Project over 20 years ago. All were mono-cultures which proved disastrous for bird & animal life (Flinders University Study into mono-cultures versus bio-diverse cultures on the Range).
The Bio-diverse areas that account of 95% of the project, are flourishing. Interestingly none of the woodlots have been cut as part of agroforestry, as it is simply uneconomic (same study). The good news is they were mainly indigenous to the area, apart from one lot of sugar gums & all are sucking up tonnes of carbon. Thankfully most are now under Heritage Agreements & can’t be destroyed for monetary gain. When you look at the Range today it is hard to believe that there was less than 10% tree cover when we started.
The Willunga Hillsface Landcare Group is quite proud of their efforts in this regard. It was a great group of people to Chair – all great visionaries & very professional Grant Application Writers – over $3 million dollars worth over 10 years.
Trees for Life also have a wonderful Carbon Sequestration Process that is quite popular in South Australia & is worth looking at on their website. It is very economical to take part in & they provide excellent support during implementation. Again all indigenous species. Luckily for us our feral proof fence saves lots avoiding the need for tree guards & stakes. Wonderful investment that.
I have been lucky enough to be a volunteer on quite a few of these projects & the knowledge & skills learnt have been incredibly valuable over time. Carbon Sequestration is the way to go in this day & age. The Kangaroo Island woodlot debacle killed woodlots for good & has produced an environmental nightmare. A lesson learned.
That’s it for June. Catch you at the end of July.
About Author
