by Spencer Shaw, June 2017
Recently I went for a walk on a property just out of Maleny to help the landholders plan and assist for ongoing bush regeneration on their property. This is one of those steep blocks cleared of native vegetation early last century, that was at best agriculturally productive for a few decades before being colonised by Lantana, Broad-leaf Privet and over the last few decades a host of garden escapees. In the midst of all this weed invasion however native rainforest seedlings have returned and the current landholders have invested their time and money into restoring the native vegetation. This is the work of a passionate and dedicated people and the bush regenerators they have assembled to help them with their project, truly inspirational! So, in this article I’d like to pay tribute to all those great landholders out there who are regenerating the landscape and the great benefits, these dedicated people bring to us all.
The hills and valleys of the Blackall Range have been fertile ground (pardon the pun) for the development of a culture that appreciates the diversity and richness of our local ecosystems. Many local people now make a living in the bush regeneration & revegetation industry and work far afield using skills developed and honed on the Blackall Range. But I digress…for the real heroes in this story are the people that call the range home and who put their time and resources into restoring their land in a selfless act of generosity for which we will all benefit.
Corridors have been planted that will link isolated remnants and help the animals and plants that call those remnants home to survive. Creek banks have been planted that will reduce erosion and improve water quality – a shared resource to us all. Forests have been planted that will absorb carbon from the atmosphere, stabilise landscape, improve soil quality. Habitat has also increased to provide homes for wildlife through the installing of nest boxes, snags in creeks (dead trees not sausages – just in case you were wondering!) and revegetation.
We are all fortunate to be part of this community, a community that is so active in restoring health to the landscape, through the actions of so many passionate individuals and groups. But there’s so much more to be done. Many of us are concerned with the loss of Rainforests elsewhere in the world, but what we often forget is that a little closer to home we are fortunate to live with one of the most diverse subtropical rainforest ecosystems on earth and the fate of these ecosystems and their diversity is in our hands. Thank you to all those local heroes out there who are busy restoring these ecosystems and remember, the rainforest needs you!
