Passionate Adelaide Hills winemaker and 40 Under 40 alumni Thomas Northcott was looking for a project during the Covid lockdowns and decided to seize the moment to resume his biodiversity action plans for Howard Vineyard, his family-owned business.

Having also lost 30 per cent of his Lobethal vineyard in the 2020 fires, he started organising the Howard Vineyard Planting Day, an annual event dedicated to planting thousands of native trees across the vineyard to give a piece of the land they care for back to nature.

For the fifth consecutive year, Howard Vineyard Planting Day will bring together people of all ages and backgrounds on Sunday August 11. Set against the scenic backdrop of the vineyard’s large back lawn, nearest to the vines, the event will run from 9am-12pm.

“One of our key objectives for this project was to restore the creek to its former native glory. In our first year of this event, we spent several weeks removing foreign species from our watercourse,” said Northcott, Howard Vineyard director and co-owner.

Photo: supplied

Howard Vineyard Planting Day is also a part of the Flows for the Future program, which is delivered by the South Australian Government Department for Environment and Water. This program seeks to re-establish a critical portion of natural water flow patterns in streams affected by water capture in the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges.

As a part of this program, Howard Vineyard has worked to restore creek lines, dam surrounds, and drainage lines to native vegetation. This involved removing woody and grassy weeds and replanting native species, including beneficial insect attractors like Prickly Tea Tree (Leptospermum continentale) and SA Christmas Bush (Bursaria spinosa).

The free event has been a resounding success over the past few years, with the community response always being amazing.

“The event day is full of fun, and we also arrange a light breakfast and wine,” Northcott said with a smile.

“Children are welcome too. Last year, around 70 people joined the event, and we planted 1,500 trees.”

Generally, they expect to plant 500 to 600 native trees in the surrounding area during each event, with around 50 to 60 people participating.

“It’s a heartwarming moment for me every time I organise this event,” Northcott said.

“On a rainy, cold day, I look out of my window and see the trees growing taller each year. It fills my heart with joy. It’s wonderful to see the local community supporting this initiative. I hope that in the coming years, the area will be teeming with birds, koalas and kangaroos.”

Northcott, who recently won the Sustainable Business Leaders Award at InDaily’s 40 Under 40 Awards, hopes other vineyard owners will embrace biodiversity by using fewer chemicals and more natural ingredients.

“Happy soil makes better wine. And good wine is what we all strive for at the end of the day,” he said.