Propagate and Plant: Cassowary Conservation

Dear Friends & Supporters

Thanks to your wonderful support a futher 14,362 trees have been planted to restore habitat for the Endangered Southern Cassowary

There's something about Rainforest Rescue's Cassowary Conservation Reserve that inspires people to toil on its behalf, rain or shine....and that has certainly be the case this year with a further 14,362 trees planted over the past twelve months. All of this undertaken by our dedicated Daintree Land Manager Joe Reichl and a handful of passionate volunteers.

This 27.66 hectare property was purchased by Rainforest Rescue in 2010 and has been the focus of our restoration efforts ever since. As a result of a long history of abuse, from a combination of clearing, grazing and Oil Palm cultivation, almost two-thirds of the property was severely degraded with a mass tangle of impenetrable weeds, dumped cars and rubbish. The worst of the weeds was the dreaded Oil Palm; greedily self-seeding across the property.

Situated at the base of the statuesque Thornton's Peak the property provides a critical wildlife corridor between the Daintree Lowland Rainforest and the upper reaches of the Daintree National Park/World Heritage Area. Cassowaries are often spotted traversing through the property with the area classified as containing "essential habitat" for the Endangered Southern Cassowary.

The work being undertaken on the property is part of a three year project which will see a total of 30,000 trees planted on site with a further 59,000 to be facilitated through natural regeneration. All of the trees are grown in our Daintree Rainforest Nursery using locally sourced seeds which adds further integrity to this project.

In addition to the planting the site is also being used as the basis of a research project to record the growth rate of new plantings alongside the natural regeneration that occurs on the site. The research is being headed by rainforest ecologist and botanist Dr Robert Kooyman and facilitated on the ground by our Daintree Land Manager Joe Reichl.

So far two monitoring cycles have been completed. This involves recording the number and size of all planted stems and natural regrowth and the rate and development of the canopy and leaf litter cover. Our project is featured on the Ecological Management & Restoration Project Summaries website and includes a table of the monitoring results to date.

Walking around this property one cannot but be amazed at the incredible transformation that has taken place in the last three years. The wildlife is returning, with Cassowaries visiting almost daily. The vigorous growth of the plantings has replaced a degraded landscape with a vibrant young rainforest and a rapidly developing rainforest canopy.

This restoration project provides a living example of how we can make a difference. Working together we can both protect and restore biodiverse rainforests into the future.

Thank you so much for supporting on projects to protect and restore habitat for the Cassowary. Please donate now to help us continue this vitally important work.

For futher information on our projects please visit our website at www.rainforestrescue.org.au. You can also keep up-to-date by following us on Facebook.