Join us in establishing a new project in northern New South Wales to help bring back the endangered Richmond Birdwing Butterfly and its vine.

Richmond Birdwing Butterflies Doing Their Bit for the Future of Their Species

The Richmond Birdwing Butterfly Ornithoptera richmondia is one of the largest and most beautiful native butterflies in Australia. The female has an impressive wingspan of up to 15 centimetres, the male has brilliant green and black wings and bright red splash on its thorax.

They live in subtropical rainforest where their larval host plants grow. But this rainforest habitat has been extensively cleared, with less than 1% remaining. As a result, the butterfly is struggling to survive.

The Richmond Birdwing Butterfly is threatened by climate change, loss of habitat, and a rogue vine that poisons the larvae. In addition, its larval host plant, the Birdwing Vine, has become extinct from two-thirds of its original range, threatening the butterfly further.

In a concerted effort to bring back the Birdwing Butterfly, CSIRO have funded the planting of the Birdwing Vine in Grafton; and the Richmond Birdwing Conservation Network and concerned gardeners have been planting the Vine in Queensland.

Wild Birdwing Vine Climbing Up and Around a Ficus

In our local surrounds, Rainforest Rescue has launched a new project to create a local population of the Birdwing Vine to encourage the return of the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly to this region. To do this, we have partnered with butterfly experts from the Richmond Birdwing Conservation Network. Together we are putting on a Community Workshop on Sunday 13 March at Byron Community College in Mullumbimby.

Butterfly experts will teach you about the fascinating life history of the beautiful Birdwing butterfly; introduce you to the Birdwing Vine and rogue look-alike plants; show you how to grow Birdwing vines for gardens and in revegetation; and teach how to record and map butterfly habitats and sightings. The workshop includes free morning tea and a light lunch, a comprehensive information booklet, and a Birdwing Vine to get you started.

The workshop will be held at the Byron Community College (corner of Gordon and Burringbar Streets, Mullumbimby) on Sunday 13 March, from 9am – 4pm. There is a $10 booking fee. Bookings are essential, please call the college on 02 6684 3374.

The vision of Rainforest Rescue is to establish many hundreds of Birdwing Vines in northern New South Wales to provide a food source for the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly’s larvae and ensure the return of the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly to this area.

We hope to see you at the Birdwing Workshop on Sunday 13 March.

Media Release 28 Oct 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A property formerly owned by Christopher Skase is now in the hands of Rainforest Rescue. The not for profit organisation has purchased the property in the Daintree rainforest in Far North Queensland to conserve and restore the tropical rainforest.

Between 1971 and 1983, a commercial plantation of oil palms was cultivated on part of the land. In 1980, the infamous entrepreneur Christopher Skase purchased the property and then removed most of the oil palms to Port Douglas for use in his Sheraton Mirage Resort, as well as lining the main entry avenue to the town.

Rainforest Rescue purchased this block, which is their 13^th property to date in the Daintree rainforest, through its Daintree Buy Back and Protect Forever Project.

“The land is now protected from development and we aim to fully restore the rainforest,” said Rainforest Rescue CEO, Kelvin Davies.

“We have named this property the Cassowary Conservation Reserve, to recognise the existence on the property of essential habitat for the endangered Cassowary”, he said.

“It’s been estimated that as few as 1,000 Cassowaries remain in all of Australia and the Daintree offers important habitat that must be protected and restored”, said Mr. Davies.

The Cassowary Conservation Reserve is Rainforest Rescue’s largest acquisition to date at 27.66 hectares and is being fully funded by individual donors and business supporters.

Rainforest Rescue chose to purchase and protect this specific property as it is part of the Coopers Creek precinct, one of the three highest priority precincts on the Daintree Lowlands for the conservation of endemic species. The vegetation is of high conservation value, containing endangered regional ecosystems. In addition, the Cassowary Conservation Reserve adjoins the Daintree National Park/World Heritage Area, effectively increasing the protected area available as habitat for endangered flora and fauna.

By purchasing the property, Rainforest Rescue has removed the potential for further development. However, in the 1960′s, it was partly cleared and some development for agriculture has occurred. Commercial crops of bananas and pineapples, as well as grazing by cattle have been carried out on the land and a number of oil palms persist.

Oil palms are an introduced species that have been identified as a potential environmental weed and the seed source of palms found in mangroves downstream in the World Heritage Area. Rainforest Rescue has therefore prioritised removing the remaining oil palms and other weeds from the property.

Rainforest Rescue is already working to replant the cleared area. The trees planted are local rainforest species, propagated in Rainforest Rescue’s Daintree rainforest plant nursery from seeds collected from the Daintree rainforest.

Rainforest Rescue is committed to protecting rainforests forever and is seeking funds for the purchase and protection of its next Daintree property. To make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.rainforestrescue.org.au, or phone 1300 763 611.

Ends……..

CONTACT: Kelvin Davies, Rainforest Rescue CEO

Ph: (02) 6684 4360 Mob: 0427 662 913

Rainforest Rescue, the not for profit organisation that manages the Daintree Buy Back and Protect Forever Project is now wanting to hear from Daintree landholders who would like to have tree planted on their properties.“If you have land in the Daintree area that is cleared or is partly cleared we want to hear from you,” said David Cook project manager with Rainforest Rescue.

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Words by Kaleigh Wisman, Images by Jon Sturge

The sweat! The sun! The bugs! But the trees, my goodness, the trees! Tree planting isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.

This June, my partner Jon and I had the opportunity to do some re-generation work in the Daintree for Rainforest Rescue. We worked alongside David Cook, the Daintree Conservation Project Officer (a lovely man), as well as Conservation Volunteers Australia (a diverse group of eager planters) as we planted 4,000 trees over two weeks. We planted two sites: one of which was a residential property that had been bought back by the Queensland Government; the other site was a privately owned and inhabited site that was mostly covered in Guinea Grass, a weed which the owner was more than happy to replace with rainforest trees. Read the rest of this entry »