Creating a sanctuary for wildlife at Wobbly Boot

Wobbly Boot Vineyard, on White Kangaroo Road near Richmond, is teeming with wombats, wallabies, possums, echidnas, pademelons and a variety of birds.

But 10-years-ago when Paul and Lynda Williams bought the property there were no birds, no ducks and no marsupials.

“There used to be a private shooting range with bird hides down near the creek,” Mr Williams said.

“In our first year here we picked up buckets full of plastic shotgun cartridges and the posts in the vineyard were riddled with pellet holes.”

The couple have always been passionate about conservation and at Wobbly Boot they set out to combine their love of animals with their love of wine.

“We wanted to show people that you can have a successful farming enterprise by working in harmony with nature rather than fighting it,” Mr Williams said.

They don’t use pesticides or herbicides and they don’t employ shooters to cull wildlife.

Instead, they use fencing and mow a couple of paddocks outside the fences throughout the growing season to provide fresh green grass for grazing animals.

“The system isn’t foolproof. We know we’re still going to lose 10 to 15 per cent of our yield to possums, birds and other animals,’ Mr Williams said.

“So we plant 20 per cent more than we need, it takes the stress out of it.”

The Williams’ have chosen not to install overhead sprayers for frost protection because the volume of water used is astronomical.

And they’ve stopped using netting, which Mr Williams described as “kill zones” for birds and reptiles.

“We have a big flock of magpies who spend a lot of time in the vineyards,” Mr Williams said.

“They’re protein eaters so they’re eating grubs, not grapes, and they do a wonderful job of keeping other birds out.”

Wobbly Boot Vineyard is a registered sanctuary with the Humane Society International Wildlife Land Trust and a member of Land for Wildlife.

Every three-months, they hold a fundraiser for animal welfare and rescue organisations, including Small Paws Animal Rescue, Pets in the Park, Southern Tasmania Cat Rescue and Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary.

“We do it this way because it’s tremendously satisfying,” Mr Williams said.

“It’s a business, but we run it as ethically as possible and every decision on the property puts the wildlife first.”

Paul and Lynda Williams have been chosen by community group Clarence Climate Action as its October Climate Champions.