Now the owner would like to ensure that it will be protected from development forever, and has offered it to Rainforest Rescue at a generous price.

To purchase, protect and maintain Lot 8 we need to raise $100,000—and this appeal we are very fortunate to have a business partner match every donation up to $50,000!

This is also the farthest north we’ve ever ventured. The site is adjacent to the Daintree National Park and the Bloomfield River in an area called Degarra. Renowned for its remoteness and saltwater crocodiles, it’s here that this beautiful, natural property has been held in its natural state for many years.

You can protect it forever by helping us purchase it and make it a Nature Refuge.

Lot 8 Image Gallery

• Protecting this lot would strengthen the ecological buffer around the World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics Rainforest
• The lot contributes to a critical wildlife corridor, enabling movement of species like the cassowary across lowland and upland habitat mosaics
• Enhances regional climate resilience by maintaining intact forest cover and stream function
• Contains threatened ecological communities:
  Lowland Tropical Rainforest of the Wet Tropics (Endangered)
  Broad-leaf Tea-tree Woodlands(Endangered)
• Adjacent Land: Directly borders the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, stewarded by the Eastern Kuku Yalanji Traditional Owners through Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation
• In December 2023, Cyclone Jasper caused severe flooding, damaging the property’s creek system and destroying old-growth keystone species such as Ficus albipila. Despite the intensity of the event, regeneration is occurring via native pioneer species without any observed weed incursion—evidence of the property’s exceptional ecological resilience and integrity

Satellite view of Lot 8 Idriess Close, Degarra. Located on the edge of the Daintree National Park, in close proximity to the Bloomfield River. This land is a vital buffer between highland old-growth rainforest and the lowland mix of habitats and developed areas.

One thing is certain: once land is developed, it is almost never returned to Nature. It becomes part of the ever-consuming mindset that feeds an endless appetite for more.

When we consider the Daintree’s age—the many millions of years—we must realise both the enormity of those timescales and the unparalleled ecological richness that has resulted. But this rich ecosystem is also incredibly fragile and vulnerable to the impacts that humans make.

We know we have said this before, and we’ll say it again—the Daintree is a stunning example of evolution on so many levels. From the amazing rainforest gardener that is the Southern Cassowary to the Daintree Rainbow Fish—from the Daintree River to Cape Tribulation, the Daintree is a masterpiece of evolution and Nature’s intelligence.

That is one of the reasons it’s so important to protect it: there are lifeforms and ecosystems here that exist nowhere else on earth.

When we visited the rainforest at Lot 8, we were captivated by its richness—huge native mahogany trees soared above us, with crowns of bird’s nest ferns and snaking lianas wrapped around the thick lower trunks. Beneath our feet the forest floor was alive with fungi, invertebrates and scurrying reptiles. The current custodian is keen to keep it this way. As are we.

Lot 8’s terrain is tricky to navigate, quickly rising up into the higher areas within the National Park boundary. Seasonal creek beds indicate that adverse weather will move through here at speed–cleared top soil easily could end up in the Bloomfield River. This is a fragile area, sandwiched between the edge of the National Park and a developed site where the rainforest has been cleared. In fact, the clearing resulted in a landslip on both properties, hence why Lot 8 is ‘almost’ pristine rainforest. If we are successful in protecting this property we will restore the damaged areas back into natural habitat.

You know that Nature needs all the help it can get right now—and thanks to you and your support, we’re set to protect an additional stretch of intact, precious Daintree rainforest, covering almost 12 hectares.

You are a part of Rainforest Rescue, and you are the force for Nature that we depend on. Please help us today.