Make a Rainforest with Matt | Environmental conservation organisation

Make a Rainforest with Matt

Phone: +61 408 888 597

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• Environmental conservation organisation

23.01.2022 5 Apr 21. Today I had the pleasure to host Leon, a notable reforestation practitioner and proprietor of the Whalebone Nursery, Nimbin, to the property to survey the state of the existing forest. While there is plenty of work to go on with, there is also much good news. There is a great diversity of native rainforest species present, and apart from some relatively contained areas, weed infestation is minimal. Additionally, there are some uncommon and rare species present,... which suggests the general conditions are favourable for native forest development. On the down side, the Camphor Laurel tree infestation is extensive, but Leon's advice is work with these trees by culling selectively and allowing the natives to gradually take their place...no scorched-earth policy here. There are also some notable patches of Lantana; however, simply removing these will encourage native species to establish quickly, further strengthening the existing native growth. I'll get some photos and video posted in the coming weeks. Anyway, we are off to a flying start, so thanks to Leon for his expertise and for your ongoing support. Cheers, Matt. See more

21.01.2022 Well, a rainforest needs rain and we've had plenty of that recently, but we're pretty happy to have a few days of clear warm weather.

17.01.2022 We had a great opportunity yesterday to visit Gondwana Nursery at Barkersvale. It was fantastic to get some insight into suitable species and make some contacts for our project. Organised by Stephanie at the Nimbin Sustainable Living Hub - 7 Sibley St and led by Joy from the Gondwana Nursery, it was a great morning. Thanks so much to all involved. https://instagram.com/gondwananursery?igshid=qf80k7jh0t7n http://www.gondwananursery.com.au/... 7 Sibley St- Nimbin's Sustainable Living Hub

03.01.2022 Huge thanks to Valerie Grady for donating $450 to our rainforest project. This donation pushes us comfortably over the $1000 mark, which is awesome! It means I can now engage a local expert to survey the property and assist with the development of the reforestation plan. It also provides me the opportunity to thin out some invasive trees and commence the actually planting native rainforest species. We are on the way! Cheers, ... Matt

03.01.2022 With advice that the main section of forest on the property, while degraded, does not require urgent action, I have turned attention to resolving badly eroded creek banks. While it is likely some areas of the creek bank will need earthworks to fully stabilise it, an important part of the solution will be the use of vegetation to bind it together. On Saturday I undertook my first plantings to get the creek restoration under way. I planted 35 trees including flooded gum, blue ...quandong, hard quandong, silky oak, casurina, weeping lilly pilly, callistemon and water gum. Trees were supplied locally in Nimbin by Leon at Whalebone Nursery. Sorry the wide photo doesn't really show much. The seedlings are camouflaged by the dried cut grass. Also, I'll add later a couple of photos to illustrate clearly the damage to the creek bank. Cheers, Matt

02.01.2022 G'day Everyone, sorry it's been a while since I provided an update. Life just carries you along sometimes! In early Feb I attended a local property that is undergoing gradual rainforest restoration. Topics like site preparation, species selection and approaches to removing weeds have given me some really useful insights that I will apply to our project. Following on from this will be a site survey to determine the current state of the area to be restored and get a sense ...of priorities. In the meantime, I have commenced clearing various weeds from easily accessible areas to provide better access as well as defining sectors of the forest to progressively work through. Although it may not look like much, in the photo, the clear area where Scotty (the dog) is walking was as high as the overgrown section to the right. It was overgrown with Lantana, Giant Devils Figs and Crofton Weed, three well known local pest species. Except where seeding or sprouting of cleared material is likely, we'll leave it on the ground to increase bio mass in the soil. In all, I cleared an area averaging about 5m wide by about 50 or 60m long. The area is a small track that will enable access for restoration work and easier movement around the property. The track only needs to be about 3m wide so eventually we'll plant right up to its edges. Cheers!