PepperTree, home of Jan and John Dods, is situated on twenty acres some five kilometres north of the township of St Arnaud. To the casual observer it appears to be just another country homestead. However, it is far more than this as it has been built with extreme care to minimise impact on the environment. The homestead is isolated, nestled against State forest and entirely solar powered. Visitors
are most welcome, but need to be aware of the critical differences between PepperTree and other homes. PepperTree has “Land for Wildlife status. It has taken considerable effort for us to establish this and we ask that only formed paths are used. While wildlife on the property might not be visible at all times, much is nocturnal and the bush areas are sensitive to all forms of pollution, including noise. We have a continual problem controlling feral cats, dogs and foxes, and baits are used regularly. 1080 “Fox_Off” baits are used in adjoining properties and are sometimes found on our property where foxes have carried them, taking them back to cubs. Highly venomous brown snakes frequent the area, as do numerous Redback and Wolf spiders so it’s always necessary to look carefully as one moves around. Water is scarce on the property. The small ridges along and across the driveways we have built are very important for the collection of the little rain which falls. Please treat them carefully. Household water pressure is very low and taps need only a light touch to turn off. Power is adequate and it would be appreciated if lights are always turned off when not needed. Our tracks, including the one in from the main road, are not serviced regularly and most repair is done by Jan and John so we ask that you drive quite slowly on all of these. No chemicals, poisons or weed killers are used on the property, and soaps, shampoos and detergents for cleaning are chosen carefully for minimum environmental impact. Waste water from the house is fed to trees and plants. Much of the property forms catchment for the dams and any poison or foreign material used on the property will eventually leach into the dams, killing fish, frogs and insects, finally finding its way into our local rivers. Buying the property in 1991 we did only basic work on it until our final move here in 1996. Since then we have gradually built the homestead and planted over 400 trees, including a plantation of 100 olive trees in the southern corner of the property. Our annual rainfall based on a 100 year average is 500mm but recent years have only provided 250mm or so. Further, there are many times when the interval between falls is more than three months.
