By Julian Gray | CEO Rainforest Rescue
New visitors to Lot 46
In May, we held a community tree planting day at the Daintree Nightwings site. By 11am we had planted 2,000 trees – an amazing result. Special mention needs to be made of our oldest Volunteer Bruce, who planted 150 trees in three hours!
In the afternoon, the tree planting group went on a tour of the Rainforest Rescue nursery and Lot 46 with our Land Manager Joe Reichl, Ranger Basil Byrne and Scientific Advisor Dr. Robert Kooyman. Robert led a tour of the property showing how the revegetation was undertaken and how quickly a canopy is formed using the dense planting technique developed for the site. A short video is linked showing Robert at the community Native Nursery where all the trees are grown for reforesting Lot 46.
Everyone got a special thank you for their tree planting efforts when an adult male Cassowary and his three chicks joined the tour. The sighting of Cassowaries back on the property is a great sign that the reforestation work is getting rewards.
Turning rubbish into a rainforest protector.
Our prototype recycled rubber bollards mentioned in the last report have been transported up to the Daintree. The bollards were manufactured from 100% recycled rubber using no chemicals in the recycling or re-manufacturing process, relying on pressure to vulcanise the rubber crumb. Seven of the bollards have just been installed on a forest road in the Daintree which we are planting back to rainforest.
As a reminder, we were catalysed into action when some vandals illegally drove over newly planted trees at Lot 46. A barrier was needed to stop vehicles from driving onto the land. However, all the commercial products were too urban for a rainforest setting. Having already removed dumped tyres from the land, we wanted to re-using tyres to stop people from driving into the rainforest.
All we have to do now is watch the trees grow on the track behind the bollards. Once they’re big enough to stop vehicles driving into the rainforest we can dig the bollards out and re-use on a new site.
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