American actress Thushari Jayasekera has been invited as an ambassador to Rainforest Rescue’s Sri Lanka Plant a Rainforest Project. Thushari will help create awareness about why it’s important to help protect the natural resources of the Sinharaja Rainforest located in the southwestern region of the island.

Thushari decided to take part because she cares about healing the environment as a whole. She has already written some paragraphs as to why she supports the long term preservation of this “hot spot” through Rainforest Rescue’s profile on Global Giving.

Global Giving provides a portal for individuals to donate to worthy causes throughout the world. “For Rainforest Rescue it provides us with an opportunity to offer our US-based supporters an easy way to donate to our projects and receive a tax-deduction” said Erryn Stephens, Fundraising & Communications Manager at Rainforest Rescue.

“We are very grateful to Thushari for raising the profile of our work within the Sinharaja Forest Reserve” says Ms Erryn Stephens.

About the Sinharaja Forest Reserve Project:

Rainforest Rescue’s Sri Lanka Plant a Rainforest Project is working in partnership with Rainforest Rescue International (RRI) to create a rainforest corridor between the two largest remaining rainforest areas in south-west Sri Lanka, the Sinharaja Forest Reserve and the nearby Kanneliya Forest. Sri Lanka’s rainforests are one of the most threatened ecosystems on the planet with a total cover of less than a few thousand hectares. Continual deforestation has lead to one of the highest rates of threatened and endangered species in the world.

About Thushari:

She is best known, among other things, for playing Pinky on NBC Outsourced, for narrating the audiobook Love Marriage, and being a Golden Raspberry Awards Presenter

Cassowaries in the Bingil Bay area have larger, safer and better connected habitat as a result of local residents clearing weeds and planting 500 trees on a council reserve.

Funding provided by Rainforest Rescue culminated in a tree planting event held on Sunday 17th February, managed by project implementation partner Terrain NRM, where nearly 40 locals planted 500 trees.

Around 40 volunteers from the local community planted 500 trees to expand habitat for Cassowary populations at Bingil Bay Reserve

The tree planting is the second to be funded by Rainforest Rescue in the Mission Beach area; the local Cassowary population is also benefitting from the planting of 1,900 trees, also managed by Terrain, in a Cassowary corridor at Cottonwood, near Wongaling Beach.

Bingil Bay resident Greg James, who planted trees on the day and is also a Rainforest Rescue supporter said, “Because of the pressures around here, this is an area that needs attention, every little bit counts.”

This year’s site was specifically chosen because it is known that Cassowaries use this particular reserve for both habitat and as a corridor.

“This corridor links Clump Mountain with Brookes and Garners Beaches and at least six different cassowaries have been seen using this corridor,” said Terrain’s Tony O’Malley.

The corridor provides a valuable wildlife link between Clump Mountain and Brookes and Garners Beach. At least six different Cassowaries are known to use this corridor.

Rainforest Rescue’s Erryn Stephens said, “Through Terrain we are achieving positive outcomes for local Cassowary populations and other threatened and endangered species that rely on the rainforest for survival.

“This collaborative approach to rainforest restoration would not be possible without the wonderful support we have received from the Mazda Foundation, Taronga Conservation Society, Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife, North Queensland Wildlife Trust and Amuse Australia, along with donations from the general community.”

The site is part of a network of reserves managed by the Cassowary Coast Regional Council in the Bingil Bay area.

This particular tree planting event builds on revegetation work that Terrain previously funded C4 to do to improve the landscape for this endangered species, on another section of the same site.

Local Siobhan Jackson said, “The community involvement is a great initiative. It gives people ownership of environmental care and an awareness of where the corridors are.”

“Bingil Bay is a special place where people live in the rainforest and share the same space as the Cassowary,” said Mr O’Malley.

Rainforest Rescue will also fund a contractor to manage weeds in the replanted site through the wet season.

Rainforest Rescue is a national not-for-profit organisation and Terrain, also not-for-profit, supports natural resource management in the Wet Tropics region.

For further information on this project, or to make a donation, visit www.rainforestrescue.org.au/ourprojects/save-a-rainforest-mission-beach

Bob is a passionate campaigner for Cassowary conservation and the work of Rainforest Rescue to protect and restore Cassowary habitat.

Whether he knows it or not, Bob Irwin is as much on a mission as he is on an adventure these days. Well known for his pioneering role in Australia Zoo on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Bob has long been captivated by native animals and their natural habitats.

Now, as Rainforest Rescue’s Cassowary Conservation Ambassador, Bob is doing what he can to raise the profile of the Cassowary’s plight in what has become a race against time.

“I firmly believe that the Cassowary is the most magnificent bird… and we are lucky to have it,” says Bob simply. “I’ve been fortunate to have come across Cassowaries in the wild, I’d just like every Australian to have that.”

Whether or not this dream is realised, only time will tell. Scientists now estimate that as few as 1,000 adult birds remain in all of Australia’s north. “Numbers are drastically low… around Mission Beach, it’s really getting to a level where it’s reaching a tipping point.”

Known as the Cassowary Coast, Mission Beach has long been considered a strong-hold for the Cassowary. But according to Bob, it could very soon be a coast with no Cassowaries.

“At Mission Beach, the road toll is the big issue. Cassowaries don’t have any road sense. Most people in the area are very much aware of them… but there are always a few who just want to get from A to B as quickly as they can. It’s an ongoing battle.”

Over 40% of prime Cassowary habitat was destroyed by Cyclone Yasi in February 2011. Photo Liz Gallie

Add to that, the devastating impact of Cyclone Yasi. “There’s nothing we can do about nature when she decides to let loose. Since Cyclone Yasi, we’ve all worked hard to get it back on track. When I visited recently, I was pleasantly surprised how things have come back. Everything is starting to grow again,” says Bob.

Although he appreciates that cyclones are a part of the natural cycle of disturbance and renewal within Australia’s tropical rainforests, Bob worries that, at any time, such an event could wipe out the very small Cassowary population.

He is convinced that as well as being a fight against time, it’s a fight against complacency.

“I think education is important. We have to find ways to get people to sit up and notice,” says Bob. “These beautiful creatures don’t have time. It’s got to be done now. Let’s not leave it too late.”

‘the gardener’ of the rainforest

The Cassowary is known as the ‘gardener of the rainforest’ for its important role in dispersing seeds. Photo Jonathan Munro

The Endangered Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) is one of the world’s most prehistoric birds, and the third largest. It only inhabits the dense tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland. Crucial for rainforest ecology, the Cassowary is a major seed disperser for up to 150 rainforest plant species, some too large, others too poisonous to be dispersed by other animals. Around 70 to 100 plant species may depend entirely on the Cassowary to disperse their seeds in order for them to grow. The bird’s unique digestive tract has evolved over 16 million years to allow seeds to be dispersed unharmed. Research has shown that typically Cassowaries transport 4% of the seeds they consume an average distance of 1.5km.

“Cassowaries are important to the rainforest. If we don’t have them, then rainforest can’t regenerate,” says Bob Irwin.

When it comes to taking credit for the Daintree Rainforest Plant Nursery’s extraordinary outputs, Nursery Manager Edie Beitzel shies away from the spotlight. But Edie and her small band of volunteers must be doing something right – they propagated 6,000 rainforest plants last year growing up to 165 different rainforest species.

Father and daughter Joe Reichl and Edie Beitzel oversee our activities in the Daintree

“We have 10 volunteers on the books doing various tasks, and about four come along regularly each week. They come for an enjoyable afternoon. They like to see the progress, from the seed stage, through to when they are planted in the ground.

On a typical day, I prepare the volunteers essential afternoon tea, move stock out to make space for new propagations, update the database, it’s pretty varied and planting.

It’s a challenge to keep up the diversity of species.

A dedicated team of volunteers, both young and old, meet every Wednesday afternoon to propagate and look after seedlings used in our rainforest plantings

For example, some species might only fruit every two years – so it’s timing things for when we need them. We have to ensure there are enough species for projects, keep enough balance. For Cassowaries, it’s supplying the trees that they need, so that there’s always something fruiting.

I’ve been doing this job for a bit over two years. It’s interesting, flexible, there is always something surprising… I love learning about the rainforest and working with the volunteers. I also have three kids and they love being part of it too.”

For further information on our Daintree Rainforest Plant Nursery or to enquire about volunteering please visit http://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/ourprojects/daintree-nursery.html

It takes a special kind of person to maintain Rainforest Rescue’s properties in the Daintree Rainforest. Sure, hard work and technical know-how come with the territory but, as Rainforest Rescue’s Daintree Land Manager, Joe Reichl’s wacky sense of humour and unclouded vision endear him to his volunteers and keep him focused on the big picture.

“Visualising an established ecosystem really keeps me on the roll. In other words visualising an end result and being responsible for this.

The volunteers are involved with tree planting and are very good at this; the success of the trees is proof of this. As most of our volunteers are over 60 (and extremely dedicated) I need to keep them safe. Working in the field and outdoors is what I enjoy most, but when trees produce two to three metres of growth per year, seeing results is most satisfying.

I have the greatest respect for nature and its elements.

One of the problems I have is introduced species, as is the case at our Cassowary Conservation Reserve where Oil Palms are emerging everywhere. They will dominate not only the property but surrounding areas – you can imagine removing a weed that is eight metres tall and half a metre in diameter!

Tackling invasive weeds species like Brillantasia lamium (Acanthaceae) is all in a day’s work for Joe

Seeing results, imagining a restored rainforest, but most of all the complements and positive comments from locals, tourists, peers and people who you have casual conversation with – these are the things that keep me motivated.”

The surviving Cassowaries of Mission Beach have got a lot of people worried – and these people will do whatever it takes to give these magnificent birds a fighting chance.

When Category Five Cyclone Yasi crossed the North Queensland coast at Mission Beach in February last year, the impact was devastating. “This was a nightmare scenario for the already struggling Cassowary population,” reflects Rainforest Rescue CEO Kelvin Davies. “Last reports are that 25 Cassowaries have died since the cyclone; 13 from car strikes..”

“As few as 40 adult birds may be all that remains of the wild Mission Beach population; this is in an area long considered a strong-hold for the Endangered Southern Cassowary.”

Immediately following the cyclone, Rainforest Rescue called its supporters to action. The generous response from supporters provided funds for the establishment of monitoring and emergency feed stations. The next vital step is now underway – to restore Cassowary habitat and the species’ natural food supply at Mission Beach.

Efforts to restore and expand rainforest habitat have kicked off at ‘Cottonwood’; a rural Mission Beach property with 1,400 trees planted and a further 2,550 trees to be established through facilitated natural regeneration. The 13.5 hectare property has been identified as providing a critical wildlife corridor between an adjoining nature reserve and the extensive forests of the Djiru National Park. The goal is for this critical corridor to provide habitat, food, and safe passage for generations of Cassowaries to come, and increase resilience to future cyclonic impact.

On April 27 this year, 43 volunteers converged at the site to undertake the first phase of the tree planting project. This community driven project has drawn together representatives from Rainforest Rescue, Terrain Natural Resource Management (NRM), Community for Coastal and Cassowary Conservation (C4), Girringun Aboriginal Rangers, Conservation Volunteers Australia and Cassowary Coast Regional Council. Cassowary food trees such as Quandongs, Lilly Pillies and Bandicoot Berries were amongst the variety of tree species planted. A Cassowary was actually spotted on the property that very day adding further inspiration for the tree planters.

“The interest of Rainforest Rescue as a respected national organisation reminds local people at Mission Beach just how important our tropical lowland rainforest is”. Said Tony O’Malley of Terrain NRM.

Under Rainforest Rescue’s Cassowary Corridor Restoration Project, a further 800 trees will be planted at Cottonwood in the property in the coming months, and ongoing maintenance will be undertaken over the next three years to ensure optimal tree survival and a closed rainforest canopy. Consultation with local landholders for future planting sites for Cassowary habitat restoration and corridors is underway and planting will continue in 2013.

We’ve identified important locations for the corridors, a process which has involved mapping, liaising with local landholders and government to plan for strategic revegetation over the coming decade.

We wish to thank all of our donors who sponsored trees to be planted for the Cassowaries at Mission Beach as well as supporters, North Queensland Wildlife Trust (NQWT), the Mazda Foundation, the Taronga Conservation Society and the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife.

For further information or to make a donation visit http://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/ourprojects/save-a-rainforest-mission-beach.html

Rainforest Rescue has been restoring the Big Scrub Rainforest Remnants since 1999 and in 2008 we joined with the Madhima Gulgan Community Association and their bush regeneration team to continue this important work. This partnership has made terrific headway not only for the rainforest, but for the local Indigenous people employed to care for country they share a personal and historical connection with.

In the past six months, the small band of workers who make up the Madhima Gulgan Bush Regeneration Team have planted another 1,620 trees for Rainforest Rescue, bringing life back to farms in the Byron Bay hinterland. Team members have also been busy removing Madeira Vine and other invasive weeds. Removing weeds is not very appealing work, yet it is vitally important to the survival and regeneration of the rainforest.

Being a Madhima Gulgan bush regenerator

Employed as professional bush regenerators, team members build up extensive practical field experience preparing planting sites, removing weeds, planting trees and maintaining sites. Each has completed, or is working towards, a Certificate IV in Conservation Land Management. This is a unique opportunity, as the Madhima Gulgan Bush Regeneration Team is the only Indigenous bush regeneration team within the Byron Shire and Tweed Shire.

With the help of our supporters, Rainforest Rescue is keen to support Madhima Gulgan Community Association into the future. We are grateful for their contribution to our Big Scrub Plant a Rainforest Project and look forward to this partnership continuing to grow and thrive.

Gaven Ivey – Team member, Madhima Gulgan Bush Regeneration Team

“I’ve been part of the group since 2008. At the moment, we’ve been doing a fair bit of weed control, planting and maintenance. We also visit schools. I moved away, to Sydney, when I was 18. I wanted to get back to country, travel it and work it. This way, I get a hands-on feel for it. Being out in the rainforest… it’s the most beautiful office I’ve ever been in.

Every day you have these moments where you look around and think ‘wow’.

It’s nice to work on places you’ve grown up in. Locals, Councils and others open up to us. We get the history of the country we’re working on. You actually get a feeling about the site. Currently, it’s about four of us working out in the field, then another two in the office. I want to do this for longer, get some more training… I’d love to work towards establishing a chemical-free branch to our group.”

Trevor Jenkins – Team Leader, Madhima Gulgan Bush Regeneration Team

“When we’re able to offer employment for people, that’s a good feeling. I also find the field work satisfying. You can look back at the end of the day, and can see how much better things will be two years on – with the weeds gone, you know those seedlings are going to get a burst.
These last 12 months have been a bit of a nightmare, with the rain and weeds, the rain can be good for the plantings but too much and we can’t get into the sites.

Some of the places we go to for work are really beautiful… places we wouldn’t normally get to.

You look down into a valley and can picture in your head what it would have been like. We are trying to bring it back to what it was before.”

Students, parents and teachers from Cranbrook School in Sydney are still reeling from their recent two week tour of wild Indonesia. The action-packed itinerary had the students trekking through the jungle, rafting down the river, and learning about the rainforest of Gunung Leuser National Park. They visited wildlife sanctuaries and Rainforest Rescue sites, and encountered a myriad of creatures in the wild.

However, the real challenge had begun well before the adventurers left home, with each participant set the task of raising $500 in support of Rainforest Rescue’s Orangutan Habitat for Survival Project in Sumatra. The overall outcome of their efforts is that not only do the students appreciate the conservation threats facing Indonesia, but they now know how to ride Elephants in the water and remove Leeches. Welcome to the Cranbrook Indonesian Wildlife Safari Charity Challenge 6-18 April 2012.

Isaac Elias
Year 9 Student

“The trip was really fun. I experienced a lot, getting into a different country, I have been overseas before but this was my first time in bushland, in an undeveloped country.

For me, the best part was seeing the Orangutans for the first time in their natural habitat. I saw a group of two in the wild, in the trees.

I learned about the people’s lifestyle, how the people there don’t really know about conservation.

To raise money, we sent a funny message, an email, to work people, friends and family, facebook… things like that. I set up an Everyday Hero account and people could click on a link back to that – that’s how they could donate. I haven’t done anything like that.

I never thought $1500 was going to come out of it. It was three times what I was aiming for.”

Robin Nagy
Mathematics Teacher and Housemaster

“The trip was amazing. We had wall to wall experiences, some of which were planned and plenty which were not.

We saw wild Orangutans, seven other species of primate… We also saw Helmeted and Rhinoceros Hornbills, many other types of bird, wild Pigs and Elephants, Sambar and Barking Deer, several Snakes, 10 Komodo Dragons and saw footprints of Tapiar, Sumatran Tiger, Sumatran Rhinoceros and Sun-bear.

My camera trap also caught a picture of a Malay Civet. We scuba dived and snorkelled with Manta Rays off Komodo as well as Black-tipped Reef Sharks, Hawksbill and Green Turtles and a school of Humphead Parrotfish and some Dogtooth Tuna.

I learned much Indonesian which I had forgotten since the last time I was there. There are some amazing projects and educated Indonesians who are doing something about protecting the rainforest and its animals.

I love seeing things through new-eyes – taking students to areas of the world which I have already experienced is like reliving the first time experience.

I had been given a Skydiving package as a leaving present from my ex-head boy (I am a Housemaster at Cranbrook) and in order to ensure I did it, I used it as a focus for sponsorship (that is, once people had given money for the cause I couldn’t get out of doing it!). I raised $1,000 easily using the Everyday Hero site which Rainforest Rescue set up.

Rainforest Rescue would like to thank Cranbrook School for choosing to devote its energy to achieving rainforest conservation. The $10,000 raised will help the conservation of Orangutan habitat in the Gunung Leuser National Park, North Sumatra and also fund additional work in the Way Kambas National Park in South Sumatra. In particular, we would like to thank John Baptiste, teacher at Cranbrook School and co-ordinator of the trek, and parents of the students, in particular Jennifer Atkins who inspired the tour. Thanks also to International Park Tours for facilitating the tour and tour leader Claire Oelrichs.

When it comes to restoring rainforests, conservation workers in Australia and Indonesia have plenty to learn from one another.

Rainforest Rescue’s support of conservation efforts in Indonesia has enabled us to forge a special working relationship with staff members from the Orangutan Information Centre (OIC) in North Sumatra. Like any relationship based on mutual respect and shared interests, this partnership is strengthening with time.

Back in March 2011, a group of Australians, amongst them Rainforest Rescue supporter and Bush Regenerator Dave Rawlins, visited Sumatra to experience rainforest restoration and Orangutan habitat first hand. The group planted trees, viewed Orangutans and made friends with local rainforest conservation staff and the community.

Dave chose to stay for an extra 10 days in Sumatra where he was welcomed in a small village and on the project site in Gunung Leuser National Park. He worked alongside new friends from the OIC in the rainforest and on its degraded edge sharing his knowledge and lending a hand towards its restoration, while learning more about Indonesian culture.

Six months later, the OIC and Rainforest Rescue staff met up in northern New South Wales to devote two weeks to practical learning and sharing. The ‘Rainforest Restoration Skill Exchange Tour’ welcomed Ahmad Azhari (Ari) and Lismaidi Darjo Malau (Darjo) from the OIC.

Hosted by Dave, the tour involved Ari and Darjo joining local experts for rainforest regeneration activities at local properties, visits to local nurseries, and professional training in rainforest restoration, monitoring and evaluation and safe work practices. They attended the 2011 Big Scrub Rainforest Day and spoke with local media.

This was Ari’s second visit. As Head of the OIC’s Restoration Program, Ari’s first visit a year prior involved presenting and information sharing, along with the OIC’s Founding Director, Panut Hadisiswoyo.

“Based on Ari’s exposure to revegetation techniques used in the Daintree Rainforest, Ari has chosen to implement constructive changes back in Indonesia. He experimented with closer spacings between trees, and has reported faster tree growth and forest formation,” says Alice Moffett, Rainforest Rescue’s Conservation Projects Manager.

He was also excited to report that, for the first time, Orangutans had been seen in a remnant fig tree in one of the project’s regeneration sites. “Ari has been implementing new nursery techniques learned from his Australian counterparts, and is experiencing greater propagation success as a result.”

“The 2011 tour was a great success and we wish to thank Ari and Darjo for participating and sharing their time, energy and commitment to conservation with us,” says Alice.

Thank you to everyone who donated to the tour and who provided accommodation, transport, training and time to meet Ari and Darjo.

A further 5,600 trees were planted in the Daintree this year bringing the total planted since 2007 to 29,696

There’s something about Rainforest Rescue’s Cassowary Conservation Reserve that inspires people to toil on its behalf, rain or shine…You could say it’s the ‘face of Rainforest Rescue’ if a rainforest block could serve such as purpose. Certainly Lot 46 Cape Tribulation Road or, as it is better known, the Cassowary Conservation Reserve, is now receiving a lot of tender loving care.

The significance of the vegetation on the property is no secret to Rainforest Rescue; three Regional Ecosystems, Essential Cassowary Habitat, and many threatened plant and animal species make this site highly valuable in terms of its ecology. What’s more, the property borders the Daintree National Park/World Heritage Area on its western boundary.

When Rainforest Rescue purchased the property in August, 2010 (the 13th property purchased as part of our Daintree Buy Back and Protect Forever Project), the future of the rainforest on and near the property was effectively re-written. In the late 1960’s 20 hectares of the property had been cleared and an attempt made at farming bananas and pineapples. A trial Oil Palm plantation, followed and then cattle grazing. Car bodies, overgrown paths, rubbish and derelict farm buildings littered the site.

Entrepreneur Christopher Skase owned the property in the 1980’s and relocated most of the Oil Palms to the main street of Port Douglas and his Sheraton Mirage Resort. An avenue of Oil Palms still lines the driveway entrance, along with another row extending to the creek. In some places, the seedlings of this weedy species are proliferating.

Today, thanks to our supporters and the efforts of Rainforest Rescue workers and volunteers, this property is being converted back into rainforest under our Daintree Plant a Rainforest Project. Debris and weeds are being removed, thousands of native trees have been planted, and the problematic Oil Palms are being tackled.

In February 2011 Cyclone Yasi hit the Daintree partially flattening the large old farm shed. A grant of $20,000 from the Commonwealth Bank gave us the means to remove the large shed, a dozen old car bodies and other debris from the property.

Managing the reserve into the future

Activities on the site are now guided by a comprehensive three year management plan commissioned by Rainforest Rescue and completed in October 2011. The plan will see 89,600 trees established on the Reserve; 30,600 through physically planting trees and another 59,000 through removing weeds which will facilitate natural regeneration of the rainforest. Each newly-established tree will grow and sequester carbon throughout its life, providing a valuable ecological service.

Trees planted are of local provenance, the seeds having been collected locally and grown in our Daintree Rainforest Plant Nursery. Plants include a mix of pioneer and mature phase species, with many being Cassowary food plants. This in turn will promote further natural regeneration as Cassowaries eat the fruits and disperse the seeds.

In managing the Cassowary Conservation Reserve, Rainforest Rescue is:
• restoring the ecological integrity of important rainforest vegetation;
• providing habitat for wildlife including the Endangered Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii); and
• providing a demonstration site for Rainforest Rescue’s work that you can visit.

Volunteers Get Stuck In

Under the direction of our Daintree Land Manager, Joe Reichl, a dedicated team of volunteers planted 3,600 trees at the Cassowary Conservation Reserve from February to May 2012. A further 2,000 trees were planted by volunteers from Conservation Volunteers Australia, under the management of Joe, on a property owned and managed by supporters the Daintree Discovery Centre. Planting in the Daintree coincides with the tropical wet season, typically staring in January and finishing in May.

A Community Tree Planting Day took place Sunday 27th May. Representatives from the local community, our sponsors Converga and the Taronga Conservation Society participated in this year’s event.

For further information or to make a donation visit http://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/ourprojects/plant-a-rainforest-daintree.html