The planting of 10,000 trees at Cromwell Farms at Goonengerry in Northern NSW has begun. This is part of the Bushfires, Rainforest and Recover program of Rainforest 4 Foundation and Reforest Now that aims to plant 100,000 trees to restore the subtropical rainforest in Northern New South Wales.

Rainforest 4 Foundation and Reforest Now are working together to involve volunteers in community tree planting events. The first event was on the 8^th of February and 1,450 trees were planted by 70 volunteers. The second event on the 8^th of March planted 2,479 trees. 

Cromwell Farms produces Dexter cattle, heritage pigs, chickens, and Alison and Greg enjoy their horses and a good number of Australian Kelpies (sheep and cattle dogs). They’ve spent the last decade improving the rainforest habitat on their farm by removing environmental weeds including thousands of Camphor Laurels and Large-leaved Privet. They now have the most weed-free property in the region.

Kelvin Davies, the founder of Rainforest 4 Foundation, assisted the Cromwell’s by engaging an ecologist to prepare a landscape plan for the farm that includes fencing off steep land and the creek to keep out the cattle and this is where the 10,000 trees are to be planted. The farm at Goonengerry is located in the heart of the former Big Scrub Rainforest. This was the largest subtropical rainforest in Australia at 75,000 hectares. Clearing for agriculture over 100 years ago reduced the area of rainforest to less than one percent of its original size. 

In preparation for the tree planting the team at Reforest Now used mechanical augers to drill the holes. This made the task of planting the trees east for the volunteers. As we are restoring subtropical rainforest we are not sclerophyll (hard-leaved) species such as planting eucalyptus, acacia or banksias. Some of the trees we planted were; Deep Yellow Wood (Rhodoshaera rhodanthema), Guioa (Guioa semiglauca), Cheese Tree (Gloichidion ferdinandi), Broad-leaved Lilly Pilly (Acemna hemilampia), Red Apple (Acmena ingens), Weeping Lilly Pilly (Waterhousea floribunda), Umbrella Cheese Tree (Gloichidion sumatranum), Pink Euodia (Melicope ellerryana), Giant Water Gum (Syzgium fracissii), White Cedar (Melia azedarach), Riberry (syzgium luehmannii), Crows Ash (Flindersia australis), Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghammii), Flame Tree (Brachychiton acerifolias), Strangler Fig (Ficus waktinsiana), Bumby Ash (Flindersia schottiana), Blue Fig (Eleocarpus grandis), Firewheel Tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus), Blue Lilly Pilly (Syzgium oleosum), Common Lilly Pilly (Acmena smithii), Small-leaved Tamarind (diploglottis campbelli), Water Gum (Tristanioptsis laurina), Creek Lilly Pilly (Acmena smithii var minor), Bleeding Heart (Homolanthus populifolius) and Mat Rush (Lomandra Longafolia). 

After the tree planting, everyone enjoyed a beautiful lunch provided by Greg and Alison. Thank you to Cromwell Farms for being a wonderful host of our tree planting events. 

The unprecedented bushfires that occurred in Northern NSW inland from Byron Bay in November and December 2019 were named the Mt Nardi fires. It’s believed the initial ignition was from a lightning strike that occurred at the beginning of October. According to RFS Superintendent Bryan Daley the "Rainforest was burning", due to unprecedented fire conditions that include high temperatures, low humidity, strengthening winds and high fuel load. Most of the bushland burnt was sclerophyll forest (eucalyptus, acacias and other hard leaved plants), however, the extreme conditions allowed the fire to burn the edge of the rainforest and in some place’s rainforest itself. These fires impacted Terania Creek, Tuntable Creek, Tuntable Falls, Huonbrook, Upper Coopers Creek, Upper Wilsons Creek and surrounds and burnt over 5,500 hectares.

Wildlife needs habitat to survive. It's vitally important that we restore as much rainforest as possible. We are raising $1 million to immediately plant 100,000 trees. Please donate now. 

This project is restoring Lowland Subtropical Rainforest (only 1% remains) which in New South Wales is an Endangered Ecological Community Community (NSW Biodiversity Act, 2016). Funds donated will be used to plant trees to restore the subtropical rainforests in Northern NSW. This includes the cost of propagating and growing the trees in the nursery, site preparation, planting and maintenance of the trees for three years to ensure they all survive.  

Please join me in supporting the restoration of rainforests impacted by the bushfires.

Please donate now. Every $10 will plant one tree. A $50 donation will plant five trees, $100 will plant ten trees and $1,000 will plant and maintain 100 rainforest trees. 

We must restore our rainforests now! Rainforests provide a vital refuge for plants and animals especially when fires occur. Rainforests are less likely to burn than eucalyptus forests. Planting rainforest trees is one essential solution to protect Wildlife, Climate, People and the Planet.

We need to raise $1 million to plant 100,000 rainforest trees. We are ready to start immediately. A $10 donation will plant and care for your tree for three years to ensure survival. Please donate now. 

Caring for our future. Restoring rainforest will sequester carbon from the atmosphere to help mitigate Climate Change preventing future escalations of bushfires. Planting rainforest trees is one of the most effective ways we can reverse Climate Change. The drawdown of carbon through biosequestration can help mitigate, and eventually to reducing global average temperatures. YOU can help.

Please donate now. Every $10 will plant one tree. A $50 donation will plant five trees, $100 will plant ten trees and $1,000 will plant and maintain 100 rainforest trees. 

Gregory Cromwell of Cromwell Farms