Give me land, lots of land
by Michèle Nardelli
There
is a lot of talk these days about work/life balance but Associate
Professor Geoff Page, UniSA senior lecturer (and former head of school)
in the Division of Business, might be described more aptly as having a
work/work balance.
A man with "the land" in his veins in more ways than one, he balances his land valuation teaching and research responsibilities with running a 40 hectare mixed farming property at Meadows.
So in between running classes, schedules and programs he runs cattle and sheep, a 2000 bale a year hay business, a fully accredited organic seedling and potted herb raising venture and thriving cut flower sales through spring and summer.
And while it is all a bit of a family affair – his parents attend the property every day, and his partner, Karen, is a big contributor to the herb and seed raising aspects – Page says he spends at least 20 hours a week tending to farm duties, depending on the seasons.
For 16 out of the past 19 years Page has been Head of School and in all that time he says his out of office activities have been a bit of a life saver.
"I just find the physical work and the work in the plant nursery really relaxing – no phones, no meetings – just the job at hand," he said.
"It is a great stress relief and I think it has helped me cope really well with the day job. I spend some days going from one meeting to the next and later when I find myself in the potting shed there is just a wonderful quiet."
The Meadows property was the proverbial "back paddock" of a bigger farm once owned by Page’s maternal grandfather, and farmed in the style of his era; it had been almost denuded of trees and needed some attention.
Page built his own mud brick home on the property and all of his agricultural and rural sidelines have fuelled a plan to regenerate the property.
"We had some goals for Landcare projects and the earnings we make from the livestock and the plant sales have allowed us to plant between 200 and 300 trees a year – so in a broad sense we are sustainable," he said.
The farm also has its characters including Archie the Alpaca, employed principally as a guard. After reading up Page found that research showed solo alpacas befriend all the other farm animals and develop as feisty fox fighters, kicking and spitting at the predators if they move in on the livestock. There is also Gizmo the mandatory farm dog who conversely, has become a little "soft" in his old age.
In the second half of 2006 Page will return to teaching and research for the first time in years, leaving the stresses of management far behind, and clearing space to complete his Doctor of Education, develop three new teaching courses and complete some research papers. It will also mean there is a little more time in the day to smell the daffodils and the jonquils that he grows at Meadows.
Anyone keen to buy plants and flowers from Geoff Page can find him at the Sunday market in Macclesfield every fortnight.