The Ripple Effect project is a national, grower-led project improving on-farm water security, biodiversity, and climate resilience for Australian farmers, with dams as a central focus.
The project will guide growers towards multifunctional water infrastructure that enhances and provides future biodiversity and carbon market opportunities while improving water security and quality.
Demonstration sites across Australia will support accelerated adoption of best-practice water management, to increase biodiversity and reduce emissions, strengthening farm water security, productivity, and sustainability.
Led by the Grower Group Alliance, the project consortium includes key academic and research institutions across Australia, including; the University of Western Australia, the Australian National University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Southern Queensland, and The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).
All eight national Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs have pledged to support the
project, and will engage with grower group networks representing over 20,000 producers.
Collaboration and extension through all project partners will drive the adoption of innovation in water security and quality, biodiversity and emissions reduction to protect natural resources, improve productivity and profitability, ensuring truly national and enduring impact.
This project is supported by the Australian Government through funding from the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program under the Natural Heritage Trust.
Project Activities
Overall, the project aims to create a scalable, collaborative approach to sustainable water management that is accessible to farmers and land managers across Australia, enhancing productivity, profitability, and environmental resilience on a national level.
Project Sites
See the Service Delivery Areas (currently approximate delivery areas) for the project in the map below:
National Demonstration Sites
See the National Demonstration Sites for the project in the table below:
Resources
Investigation of methane emissions from farm dams – webinar recording
Hear from The Ripple Effect project partner; Martino E. Malerba, Senior Lecturer at RMIT University, about the project, plus on overview on methane emissions from farm dams, why they matter for Australian agriculture, and what growers should consider when managing emissions alongside productivity and environmental outcomes.
The Ripple Effect Partners Case Study – activities overview 2026
Learn more about each project partner, their activities, how they are measuring success, what they aim to achieve, the benefits, and how to get in contact with each partner.
Ripple Effect Key Partners info guide
Find out more about the project and learn about each key partner and their involvement in this project.
Improving water security for Kangaroo Island farmers
Read the work being undertaken by the SA Drought Hub lead organisation: Agriculture Kangaroo Island, Hub members and partners involved: PIRSA, Kangaroo Island Landscape Board and Node: Struan involved in Ripple Effect looking at demonstration sites for producers to learn about and observe water monitoring systems to reduce water use, maximise water-use efficiency and ensure livestock have access to water.
Improving on-farm water security using innovative remote sensing systems
Read the work being undertaken by the SA Drought Hub, Lead organisation: Barossa Improved Grazing Group and Hub members and partners involved: South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) and Node: Roseworthy involved in The Ripple Effect looking at demonstration sites for producers to learn about and observe water monitoring systems to reduce water use, maximise water-use efficiency and ensure livestock have access to water.
Incentivising Farm Dam Enhancement: Barriers, Motivations, and Market Potential in Australian Grazing Systems
A study aimed to help farmers design smarter incentives that match farmers’ motivations and real-world constraints. Led by Elizabeth Galanis, Deakin University.
The Ripple Effect research farm, Toowoomba, Qld tour 2025
This video shares The Ripple Effect project partner, University of Southern Queensland (USQ) research farm in Toowoomba, in 2025.
Preliminary Investigation of Methane Emissions from Farm Dams in Western Australia
This project aims to initiate the pilot work needed to understand how to collect and analyse methane emissions data from Western Australian farm dams.
Get involved
Complete the form below to receive news and alerts and stay up-to-date with the project.
Project Followers Updates
The Ripple Effect National Calendar
View the calendar to see the upcoming events happening across Australia. Events include: workshops, training and demonstration site tours and more. Click the event for more information on how to register.
Add your event to The Ripple Effect National Calendar
Project Partners and The Ripple Effect event hosts: share your upcoming event in The Ripple Effect National Calendar by completing the form below.
News
Project Shortcuts
Project Team
Dr Daniel Kidd
Head of Projects GGA
RMIT University
Contact
Enquiries to GGA Project Manager Lucy Tomassini Lucy.Tomassini@gga.org.au
The Ripple Effect Network
The Kumu map below is an interactive way to explore the collaborations and reach of The Ripple Effect project. It visually demonstrates how project partners, growers, researchers, industry groups and communities are working together to share knowledge, and support accelerated adoption of best-practice water management, to increase biodiversity and reduce emissions.
Click through the map to explore relationships between organisations, demonstration sites and people, highlighting how ideas, innovation and shared learning continue to expand beyond individual activities.
The visualisation reflects the core idea behind The Ripple Effect; that the ripple of knowledge is vast. Every conversation, collaboration and contribution helps extend knowledge to improve on-farm water security, biodiversity, and climate resilience for Australian farmers, with dams as a central focus.
Collaborators
