Restoringthe rainforest

GONDWANA Rainforest Trust is looking for volunteers to help plant 500 trees on a property in Mullumbimby at its inaugural Gondwana Green Day Out event on Friday, March 21.

It is hoped the efforts will help repair a tract of sub-tropical rainforest along a creek bank, which will lead the water to run cleaner, clearer and deeper within a decade and attract wildlife back to the area.

Gondwana Rainforest Trust CEO Richard Christian said the rainforests of the Northern Rivers, which were once extensive and thriving, now only exist in small pockets across the region.

“This site was historically cleared for cattle grazing and is in a degraded state with a creek running through it,” he said.

“By restoring the creek bank, we saw an opportunity to not only contribute to the restoration of a vital sub-tropical rainforest habitat, but also to improve flood resilience in the area by stabilising the soil and improving water flow.”

Every one of the specialist rainforest species that will be planted, including ‘hard quandong’ and ‘sweet myrtle’, has been carefully chosen to optimise the site’s riparian zone.

“The accessibility of the site has also allowed us to use organic site preparation techniques,” Mr Christian said.

“We are heavily mulching the site to suppress the weeds and support mycelial networks, giving the trees the best possible opportunity to grow once they’re planted without the need for chemicals.”

Mr Christian is hoping around 100 volunteers will turn up on the day, with local businesses invited to bring up to 10 staff, colleagues, stakeholders and clients.

For more information and to register, visit rainforestrangers.org/gondwana-green-day-out .