South West NRM’s Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator connects farmers with useful information, expertise and opportunities, drawing on relationships with grower groups, industry and agricultural networks to help explore sustainable agriculture practices that make sense from a production, business and environmental perspective.
Our Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator, Amelia Thornton, covers the South West, Upper Great Southern and south-western Wheatbelt, providing a local point of contact for people looking for information, support or connections relevant to sustainable agriculture.
South West NRM Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator Amelia Thornton
How can a Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator help?
Our Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator, Amelia Thornton, is part of a national network of Sustainable Agriculture Facilitators (SAFs) established by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.
SAFs work with farmers, landholders, grower and community groups, extension officers and agricultural industries to share information on climate-smart and sustainable agriculture, build partnerships and connections, and support sustainable agriculture projects within their regions.
What does a Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator do?
- Connect farmers with technical expertise, research, other producers, relevant organisations and programs.
- Share information about programs, funding and training opportunities.
- Support workshops, field days, industry events and communities of practice.
- Support connections between farmers, landholders, community groups, agricultural industries, researchers and government.
- Connect with First Nations peoples and organisations.
- Help identify local priorities and opportunities for sustainable agriculture.
- Help landowners explore areas such as natural resource management, biodiversity, climate resilience, emissions reduction, and carbon and biodiversity opportunities.
Meet Amelia Thornton
From growing up around dairy country, vineyards and orchards in South Australia to studying and working in agriculture in Western Australia, Amelia Thornton has had a long-standing curiosity about farming and how people make agricultural businesses work in very different environments.
With a degree in Agricultural Business Management and a Master of Sustainable Agriculture, Amelia brings experience spanning farm work, agricultural machinery, grain sampling and agricultural events, through roles with organisations including CBH and CSBP.
That curiosity is well suited to her role as Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator, where much of her work is about making connections — finding out what people need and linking them with useful information, expertise, programs and opportunities.
Get in touch with Amelia
For free, in-person advice and valuable contacts, contact Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator Amelia Thornton.
Phone: 0427 806 193
Email: athornton@southwestnrm.org.au
You can also catch Amelia most days at the Wagin-Woodanilling Landcare office, where she is based most days.
Sustainable Agriculture Resources
Explore practical information and resources covering a range of sustainable agriculture topics.
Livestock Farmer Calendar
We’ve put together a handy and printable, one page Livestock Farmer Calendar with monthly prompts to help you plan ahead. Save it to your computer desktop and you can click the links each month to seasonally-relevant resources on our website. Or, print it out and stick it up in your office for visual reminders.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Keep up to date with sustainable agriculture information, resources, events and opportunities by subscribing to our monthly Sustainable Agriculture newsletter.
Stay Connected
Follow our dedicated Sustainable Agriculture account on X, or follow South West NRM on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn for news, resources, events and opportunities.
Sustainable Agriculture Facilitators are supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.