Soil restoration images and technical documents now available

The Soil Knowledge Network (SKN) – a group of retired soil scientists dedicated to passing on their knowledge and passion for soils – teamed up with the NSW Soil Conservation Service (SCS) to partner with Trove for the digitisation and publication on Trove of a large number of legacy technical documents and historic photos.
One of the collections now available includes photographs from the iconic Summit Area Works Program, one of Australia's first ecological restoration projects. The Summit area which encompasses land in the snowy mountains was severely degraded by grazing in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Work was carried out between 1956 and 1986 to combat this. The collection that has been digitized includes photos showing the damage before the project commenced and the measures that were taken during the project to control erosion and re-establish vegetation.
Peter Fogarty, a member of the SKN and volunteer custodian of many legacy photos and documents of the Summit Area Works Program, worked with Trove staff and the SCS team to get these items digitised. Peter said:
By scanning the collection of forty historic Soil Conservation Service photos into the Trove collection, the public will have the opportunity to appreciate the incredible work that was carried out by these pioneers of ecological restoration in Australia.
When inspecting the sites of these old reclamation works today there is immense gratitude for the foresight and expertise of the NSW Soil Conservation Service. The partnership with Trove has made this important collection of historic photos available to everyone with an interest in sustainable land management.
SKN and SCS hope to expand the collection on Trove with photos of some other iconic soil conservation works including rangeland management and mine site reclamation.