The restoration of Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road is underway as we continue to both protect and restore the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. 

Tree planting on Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road 

Our intention in purchasing Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road at Cow Bay was to see the property included in the adjoining Daintree National Park where it will have the highest available level of protection. For that to occur the land needs to be free of encumbrances. 

The vegetation is intact on most of the properties we purchase in the Daintree Rainforest, however, Lot 8 had a driveway constructed and a large house site cleared in preparation for building a house.

Fortunately, the previous owners gave us a good head start by removing a shipping container and building materials before settling on the purchase.

Soon after acquiring the property in June 2022, we spent several days removing exotic plants to support the natural regeneration of the rainforest. We found thousands of rainforest tree seedlings had germinated and were growing where disturbance had previously occurred. This process of natural regeneration will see most of the property restored to rainforest without our intervention. Birds, bats, and the wind will bring seeds of rainforest plants to areas cleared in the past. As they germinate and grow the rainforest will be repaired. We are assisting this process through the removal of weeds and will continue this over several years.

The tidy-up begins  

On the house site where the soil was compacted, we made a decision to accelerate the process of rainforest restoration by planting trees. In November and December 2022, we removed the weeds from the site, and in February 2023 (once the wet season began) trees were planted to fill in the gap. We will maintain these planted trees for three years by removing all of the weeds.  

During our time on Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road, we saw an adult Cassowary and chicks several times. The loss of habitat is the number one reason the Southern Cassowary is listed as Endangered and only 4,400 individuals remain in our Wet Tropical rainforest. Restoration of rainforest habitat is a priority action to ensure the Cassowary survives. 

The Southern Cassowary is listed as 'Endangered' under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Planted trees on the house site 

Planted trees on the house site 

Cassowary and chick on Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road

Thank you to our supporters

The restoration of Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road was funded through a special appeal in February 2023 with 66 donors contributing to the tree planting and maintenance costs. Thank you to all of the generous donors. 

An additional and very big thank you to the volunteers who helped to establish the trees on Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road.

Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road

Thank you to everyone who donated towards the purchase and protection of Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road in December 2021. This is one of 27 Daintree Rainforest properties we have purchased for conservation. Please see more information on Lot 8 and the other Daintree properties here. 

Vegetation Survey:

The vegetation survey of Lot 8 Buchanan Creek Road, Cow Bay identified 185 species of native plants including three Threatened species listed in the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992. They are the China Camp Laurel (Beilschmiedia castrisinensis), Gray's Walnut (Endiandra grayi), and Noah's Walnut (Endiandra microneura). Significant Daintree endemics that occur on Lot 8 are the Cooper Creek Haplostichanthus (Polyalthia xanthocarpa) and Daintree Satinash (Syzygium monospermum). You can read a summary of the vegetation survey undertaken by our ecologist here and learn more about Lot 8 here.

STRONGER TOGETHER

The project to purchase and protect land in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest is a partnership involving the Rainforest 4 Foundation, Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation, and fellow non-profit HalfCut. The Rainforest 4 Foundation and HalfCut recognise that we are Stronger Together and now we collaborate to raise funds for the buyback of properties in the Daintree Rainforest.