Aroona

A productive landscape with grazing and connectivity corridor for wildlife

Size

1,958 ha

Bioregion

Southeast Queensland

Species recorded

674

In our care since

2015

Aroona Station is a 1,958-hectare property located in the Little Liverpool Range wildlife corridor on Yugara Country in southeast Queensland. Aroona is demonstrating the value of integrating biodiversity conservation into productive land management.

Why keep cattle on the property?

QTFN is a nature trust and with more than 70% of Queensland used for agriculture, how biodiversity is looked after on private land will be pivotal to the future of wildlife.

Source: State of the Environment report

140 ha

revegetation

1100 ha

weed control

344 ha

planned ecological burns

Aroona’s vision is to demonstrate nature conservation in a productive landscape.

The property has nine distinct ecosystems and supports habitat for threatened species, including koalas, brush-tailed rock wallabies, grey-headed flying-foxes, powerful owls, and glossy black-cockatoos. QTFN integrates environmental values and agribusiness in Aroona’s land management, looking after vital remnant habitat alongside areas of grazing.

Aspects of Aroona

Biodiversity and conservation planning

We continue to track biodiversity through camera traps, surveys, and research partnerships. Vulnerable and endangered species, including powerful owls, grey-headed flying foxes, and koalas, have found sanctuary at Aroona. Aroona provides habitat for birds of every functional group expected in this landscape. Aroona’s Conservation Plan was developed using the Conservation Standards framework and incorporates key insights from ESG frameworks that ensure the property’s environmental, social, and economic values are recognised.

Land management

Active land restoration and management activities are delivering visible results for habitat quality: thriving revegetation projects reconnect habitat, integrated weed and fire management controls invasive species and reduces the threat from wildfire.

Agribusiness and productive landscapes

The grasslands and improved pastures sustain Aroona’s Charbray cattle enterprise, alongside hay production, acknowledging that Aroona is a productive landscape. These pastures are being managed through regenerative agricultural practices to promote soil health, groundcover retention, water quality, and carbon sequestration while maintaining profitability and reducing environmental impact.

Dr Robin & Kathleen Stock

QTFN is honouring the legacy created by Dr Robin and Kathleen Stock when they donated Aroona to QTFN in 2015.

They acquired their first lot of this now 1,958-hectare property in the 1970s—creating a living legacy in this important part of the landscape.

They entrusted Aroona to QTFN to ensure it would remain habitat for wildlife, continue to have cattle grazing, and be a place for education and research.

Learn more about their living legacy.

Learn more

A remarkable array of species

Since 2015, we have been able to monitor the species that make Aroona special—from the towering grass trees and eucalypt woodlands to glossy black cockatoos and koalas. Initially there were two known colonies of the threatened brush-tailed rock-wallabies. Now, we have identified seven colonies among the rugged cliffs and rocky outcrops. We continue to deepen our understanding of Aroona’s nature and provide property access for students and researchers.

See research opportunities

Assessing how agribusiness intertwines with nature through TNFD

To report on our commitment to understanding and managing the environment and agricultural values of Aroona, we have adopted the globally-recognised Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework.

As an early adopter of this framework in Australia, QTFN has worked with BDO to prepare the draft Nature Report focused on Aroona’s agribusiness. Through this we have identified nature-related risks and opportunities, increasing our understanding of the potential impacts of Aroona Station’s agribusiness operations as well as its dependencies. This is informing our approach to improving the property’s environmental resilience.

“We want to demonstrate the potential for coexistence of nature conservation, best practice land management, and a sustainable agricultural enterprise.”