Antarctic explorer named SA Australian of the Year
A former adventurer who founded a not-for-profit body to rewild degraded farmland has been named Australian of the Year for South Australia.
As an explorer, Tim Jarvis battled Antarctica’s frigid wastes retracing Douglas Mawson and Ernest Shackleton’s expeditions to the South Pole.
But it was his work reversing the ravages of man on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula that won him the honour.
Jarvis, through his Forktree Project, is returning a 54 hectare former pastoral property back to nature by planting tens of thousands of native trees and shrubs and re-establishing habitat for endangered native animals.
The project aims to demonstrate how small land holdings can make a big contribution to fighting climate change and arresting biodiversity loss.