‘Re-planting the Rainforest’

In this 3-part series Alice Moffett shares her experiences visiting Rainforest Rescue’s Plant a Rainforest Project in Indonesia, including each location on the Orangutan Adventure Trek’s itinerary. In part 1 she had just viewed the Orangutans at the Bukit Lawang Orangutan Viewing Centre and in part 2 she stepped into the Gunung Leuser National Park for a refreshing and memorable rainforest trek. Now, for the final installation Alice takes some time with the community managed rainforest rehabilitation project and sees how a local community are ensuring a more sustainable future – one tree at a time.

I am so looking forward to meeting the people and organisation that Rainforest Rescue are working with to help conserve the Sumatran Orangutan and its habitat by supporting communities to rehabilitate illegally cleared rainforest within Sumatra’s Gunung Leuser National Park. The organisation is the Sumatran Orangutan Society – Orangutan Information Centre (SOS-OIC) and they are based Medan, Indonesia. Read the rest of this entry »

Approximately 7am on Sunday morning another Cassowary was killed on the roads at Mission Beach. This is barely a month after the last road fatality took the life of an estimated twenty year old female. The death occurred at the approach to Mission Beach as the road straightens out from the sharp bends of Fenby’s Gap. It is a known crossing area where Queensland Parks and Wildlife staff often post “Recent Crossing’ signs.

There have been other cassowary fatalities in this area. It is on a Main Roads section of road which displays an advisory speed limit of 60km/h within an 80 km/h zone.

It appears that this is another case of a Cassowary being hit by a vehicle and the driver not stopping. Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday, December 17, 2009

A cassowary chick has died after being hit by a car in the Daintree. The bird was struck and left beside the Cape Kimberley Road, north of the Daintree River, sparking fresh pleas from Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers for drivers to slow down and be extra cautious on rainforest roads. Senior ranger Tina Alderson said the dead bird was found by a Daintree resident last week. Its death follows a vehicle strike near Mission Beach, south of Cairns, which killed an adult cassowary several weeks ago.

The areas are known for cassowary warning signs. “The chick was found just beyond signage warning motorists of cassowaries in the area,” Ms Alderson said. “It weighed about 4kg and would have still been with its father.” She urged motorists to “do their bit” for conservation of the bird, which is listed as endangered. People can report dead cassowaries in the Daintree region to Queensland Parks and Wildlife ’s Mossman office on 4098 2188, and in other areas on 1300 130 372. * Cairns Post

Published results of a survey commissioned by eBay show that nearly $1Billion is spent on unwanted Christmas gifts each year. In a bid to Rescue Christmas from unwanted — and unnecessary — gifts, Rainforest Rescue is promoting Rainforest Gift Cards as a way to save resources and rainforests while at the same time making Christmas gift giving stress free and wonderfully satisfying. Read the rest of this entry »

THIS WEEK is Australian Giving Week, an annual event that focuses attention on the many ways that individuals, families, businesses and groups can make a difference through their charitable contributions. It’s about helping people take some small, simple steps that open the way for a more vibrant, inclusive community, where we can all work together for a better world in which to live.

In this spirit of co-operative contribution, Rainforest Rescue’s patron George Lewin is making an extraordinary offer : Read the rest of this entry »

Julie Lightfoot
Friday, November 13, 2009
© The Cairns Post

BOB Irwin is the face of Australia’s koala and hairy-nose wombat conservation campaigns, and now he is fighting to save the endangered cassowary.

The father of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin won hearts when he made a special trip to the Far North this week to nationally launch a land buyback scheme for Mission Beach, south of Cairns.

Read the rest of this entry »

A new Nature Refuge has been created in the Daintree rainforest through a declaration by the Queensland Parliament.

Lot 22 Camelot Close at Cape Tribulation was purchased by not for profit organisation Rainforest Rescue in April 2007. “That’s when the work began to create the Nature Refuge” said Kelvin Davies CEO of Rainforest Rescue.

Many people think living in the Daintree will be paradise, especially if they arrive in winter. The summer wet season usually brings a different outlook with near constant rain and high humidity. “When we purchased the property it was an excellent example of the abandoned Daintree dream,” said Kelvin.  Two derelict old caravans covered in mould and a range of building materials including the kitchen sink filled a clearing the previous owners had made in the rainforest. Plants for the intended garden had escaped, become weeds and were invading the rainforest understorey.

Read the rest of this entry »

Julie Lightfoot
Saturday, November 7, 2009

© The Cairns Post

BOB Irwin is heading north to protect the cassowary by promoting land buybacks at Mission Beach. The father of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin will visit the tourist town south of Cairns on Thursday with Rainforest Rescue delegates who are calling for the public’s help with a voluntary land buyback scheme.

Mr Irwin has previously thrown his weight behind campaigns to save the koala and stop the Traveston Dam.

Rainforest Rescue’s chief executive officer Kelvin Davies said the state and federal government’s failure to move quickly on the matter had convinced his organisation to swing into action, and enlist the help of a high-profile campaigner. Read the rest of this entry »

“Published results of a survey conducted in 2007 by Galaxy Research found that nearly $1 billion is spent on unwanted Christmas Gifts each year”.

The ideal Christmas Gift is one that keeps on giving. Rainforest Rescue’s Daintree Gift Cards are ideal Christmas presents for family and friends; they detail how many square metres of the Daintree you have saved on behalf of your friends and loved ones. Each Gift Card has Read the rest of this entry »

In June this year Rainforest Rescue helped the Daintree Discovery Centre plant 2,000 trees as part of their Carbon Offset/Bio-sequestration project. And there are already visible signs of success with a Cassowary having recently been spotted amongst the newly planted vegetation doing his ‘bit to assist’ in revegetating the denuded block.

Cassowaries assist in seed dispersal by spreading the rainforest seeds via their droppings. According to information obtained at the Cassowary Summit in Cairns last week, Cassowaries are known eat the fruit of some 248 different types of rainforest trees. Read the rest of this entry »