Conscious Ground
Conscious Ground
Conscious Ground is a 280 acre farm and education centre in Myocum, just outside of Byron Bay. Conscious Ground is an earth school project with a mission to create an environment for change makers to flourish through living, learning, and leadership. This working farm is simultaneously building towards the vision of becoming a world class agri-educational facility, mentoring people through earth care & regeneration, people care and leadership training.
“Our vision is to empower tomorrow’s leaders to truly make a difference.”
Conscious Ground has a team of permanent staff supported by full-time and part-time volunteers. Their ethos lives and breaths by the practices of regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and holistic animal management. The animals at CG are cared for by Nick and Joris, who actually move the cows to new paddocks simply by calling them over! At the moment, 100 of the 280 acres on the property are grazing lands for the animals.
To the left we have a Conscious Ground paddock, that has maintained some serious cover and colour in comparison to the neighboring farm whose paddock does not use rotational grazing practices. Healthy soil stores water to help build resilience during times when rain isn’t as abundant.
The cattle rotations at Conscious Ground happens at least once a week, when Nick and Joris move the cows to a new grassy paddock on the land. Rotational grazing practices are integral to regenerative farming because it allows the paddocks to rest in between grazes. During the recent (2019-2020) droughts, the land at CG upheld its grass to a shocking degree. Examining the state of the land in comparison to neighbouring farms in the peak of the drought spoke volumes about the power of rotational grazing and soil health, as well as the resilience that comes with biodiversity.
Having grass on the land in times of low to no rainfall means that the cows can continue to eat their natural grass diet. An 100% grass diet means healthy cows, healthy soil, and healthy food for the community.
This farm is also home to chickens, who play an integral role in holistic land management at CG. Have you ever noticed that wherever there are ruminants in nature, they are often surrounded by birds too? Using chickens in regenerative farming is a way to mimic nature. The chickens follow the cows, when Nick and Joris put the movable chicken coop on a pasture after the cows have grazed. The chooks naturally aerate the land with all their digging and pecking. They fertilize the soil with their nitrogen-rich poop, which they spread around along with the cow pats that have been left on the pasture. This increased the biodiversity of the land, boosts the soil health, which means better grass for the cows, and even more nutrient dense food for the community. Having chickens (and eggs!) on the land also brings in income for the farm, so it's a win-win-WIN!
Byron Grass Fed’s founder Andrew Cameron is an active consultant for the farm team at Conscious Ground. Helping local farms implement regenerative practices, education, and awareness is a large part of the mission behind Byron Grass Fed. Andrew teaches workshops at Conscious Ground, helping the staff, volunteers, and students better understand the integral role that livestock can have to benefit the ecosystem of a farm.
