Land Restoration
Grass is a thing of the past
Colonisation resulted in the deforestation of most of the Rainforest and Melaleuca swamp forest ecosystems in the Northern Rivers
The Rainforests played an essential role in regulating air temperature as well as slowing down the runoff of rain from the hills. The Melaleuca swamp forests along acted as the wetland filtration system for water flowing from the hills . Filtering out nutrients and debris from entering the oceans.
Prior to land clearing, the hinterland hills and gullies had rocks, logs and trees which slowed down the water runoff and in turn creating streams, waterfall and waterholes, before entering major creeks and rivers.
Now our creeks and rivers run brown after heavy rain as the water which falls within the catchment flows extremely fast down hillsides, taking with it farmland materials including grass clippings, organic matter, livestock waste, topsoil and anything else in its path until it reaches a creek. And our towns and habitats are subjected to regular flooding.
We are appealing to land owners with cleared farmland properties to partner with us to restore the native ecosystems on their property
Welcome to the Big Scrub
The Big Scrub, our local rainforest, covered 75,000ha prior to European settlement. It was the largest expanse of lowland subtropical rainforest in Australia. It is directly descended from the great Gondwana rainforest that covered Australia 40 million years ago.
It is unique. It is internationally significant. It is a very important part of Australia’s rich biodiversity heritage. Tragically European settlers cleared almost 99% of this magnificent rainforest and by 1900 all that remained was less than 1% as scattered remnants across the landscape.
How do we restore these vital ecosystems?
The regeneration work needs to start at the top of every hill. In order to slow down the water runoff, freshwater ecosystems - streams, waterfalls, ponds and waterholes - will need to be restored. The areas between the freshwater systems needs to be revegetated with local endemic plant species. Bringing back the Rainforests.
Once a canopy is established the soil needs to be protected with native ground covers. This will lock in the soil so when it rains, the water will flow slowly down a slope to the nearest stream. It will be nutrient free, flowing down to the nearest creek and river.
Dams
Do you have a dam you want to restore? A dam is effectively a water hole on your property. Unfortunately it is part of an unhealthy ecosystem exposed to extreme conditions including full sun and nutrients from the surrounding catchment. In order to restore your dam you will need to start at the top. The surrounding hills, slow down the water restoring the streams and waterfalls which will pass through the dam.
The area between the stream will need to be revegetated with local endemic plant species including ground covers which will lock in the soil. Once the catchment of the dam is revegetated then the dam can be restored into a beautiful natural pool, billabong or waterhole.
