PLANT A RAINFOREST
GROWING THE DAINTREE
GROWING THE DAINTREE
We Believe Trees Are The Answer
Our ‘Plant a Rainforest’ projects replant rainforest and re-establish habitat for plants and animals’ endemic to that specific ecosystem.
Rainforest Restoration in Action
Discover two of Rainforest Rescue’s most inspiring restoration success stories:
Kurranji Bubu (Lot 46, Cape Tribulation Road): Once an oil palm plantation, this land has been restored to pristine Daintree rainforest. With Nature Refuge status now in place, it’s protected forever.
NightWings Rainforest Centre: Formerly 15 hectares of sugarcane fields, this site has been transformed into a thriving rainforest habitat, safeguarding precious biodiversity. Watch the video below to see highlights from our 2025 Annual Community Planting Day – the 10th and final planting at NightWings.
It’s Time to Grow
Rainforest Rescue staff collect, propagate and grow all the rainforest trees for our Daintree lowland revegetation ‘Plant a Rainforest’ projects. Seeds are ethically collected from the Daintree Lowland Rainforest between the Daintree River and Cape Tribulation and the trees are replanted in the same area.
The original nursery facility, located in Diwan, propagated around 12,000 trees a year. In November 2023, Rainforest Rescue gifted the original Nursery to Eastern Kuku Yalanji Traditional Owners organisation, Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation (JYAC), in support of their propagation and restoration goals to heal country. Read about the nursery handover here.
The current nursery facility is the Daintree’s largest Native Nursery. It is located at the old Cow Bay Airstrip site, and was only possible thanks to your support. At full operation, this nursery will enable us to produce 150,000 trees per year which is enough trees to replant almost 25 hectares of rainforest habitat every year.
Our Planting Methodology
Our former Scientific Advisor, Dr. Robert Kooyman, developed a planting model that creates rich rainforest in the shortest amount of time, encouraging rapid canopy closure and abundant diversity. Where this has been used we see the best outcomes. This method plants up to 8,000 stems per hectare and plants trees close to one another (1.2m).
Since building the Daintree’s largest nursery at the old Cow Bay airstrip site, we’ve been experimenting with two new planting methods:
- Method 1 is planted out using tree rows 2.6m apart with trees spaced at between 1.8-2m. This will be maintained using a small tractor with a slasher mounted behind.
- Method 2 will be twice as dense with rows spaced 1.5-1.6m apart and trees planted on average every 1.7m apart. This will be maintained using a walk behind self propelled Deutscher Slasher.
We will be comparing the labour inputs required to achieve canopy closure, as well as cost efficiency.
Why Rainforests?
Rainforests cover only 6% of the Earth’s surface yet they contain over 50% of the world’s animal and plant species. They also play a critical role in climate regulation by stimulating rainfall and producing oxygen to sustain life. Over three-quarters of Australia’s rainforests have been cleared since European settlement. Only fragments remain across northern Australia and down the east coast to Tasmania.
The Daintree Rainforest is home to an incredible array of wildlife including:
- 30% of Australia’s frog, reptile, and marsupial species
- 65% of Australia’s bat and butterfly species
- 18% of all bird species
- 12,000 insect species
The Daintree region also holds the highest concentration of primitive flowering plant families – with a total of 19 worldwide, 12 are represented in the Daintree.
DONATE NOW
When you give generously, you become part of a committed team of individuals who collectively are helping to preserve some of the most biodiverse habitats and the species that live within them on this planet. Become a Rainforest Rescuer today!
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