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Rainforest Riches Maleny |
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| In Maleny, caring for rainforest isn't just
a good investment, it's a way of life. Ask anyone
with rainforest on their land and they will tell you it's hard work.
Weeds are getting the better of them. Not tiny garden weeds mind you
- but weeds the size of small buildings. All the while, there's a
mysterious twinkle in their eyes and they can't stop smiling. Julie
Olsen finds out why. Craig Hosmer and Daryl Reinke first moved to Flaxton nine years ago for a better lifestyle and to be nearer to family. They discovered it's hard work looking after fifteen hectares, and even harder when you're trying to stabilise slip-prone land, improve water quality, provide habitat for wildlife, reestablish biodiversity and sequester carbon to slow global warming. But for these dedicated landholders, it's all in a day's work. "Our goal is to revegetate as much of the property as we can using local native rainforest species," says Craig. "We love walking through our revegetated areas and observing the increase in birdlife." When they're not out tackling weeds, they're often busy planting (so far they've clocked up 12 000 trees) or collecting native seed for the local Landcare nursery. They say steep land like theirs should never have been cleared. "Cattle grazing added to the degradation of the land," says Daryl. Recently, their property was one of seven included in the Echidna Creek Riparian Rehabilitation Project. All up, about 16,000 trees were planted over a 4km stretch of the waterway. The project got them working collaboratively with six of their neighbours. In an area where property turnover is high, many of their neighbours are relatively new. "Like us, many of them develop a strong sense of responsibility to give something back to the land," says Craig. "Barung Landcare has played an important role in educating and inspiring newcomers and long-time residents alike." The pair recently had their property valued and was pleased to hear that their 'improved rainforest views' had added value. Whilst they see it as a win-win situation, there have been some tough lessons along the way. "Don't accept gifts of plants even from your nearest and dearest," warns Craig. "They will almost certainly turn out to be weeds!" "Go to your local landcare group first, and plant local natives." According to many locals, it helps to learn to distinguish weeds from natives. Buyers may be fooled by some of the bigger trees - like camphor laurels - which create the illusion of a healthy rainforest. Maleny cattle breeders Neil and Gillian Macleod were prepared to reduce their available grazing country and take on the extra weed control work. Finding the inspiration was easy - the forty acres of magnificant remnant rainforest on their property was home to more than two hundred plant species. With their cattle and alpacas looking on, the Macleods went to work planting local native species and assisting the remnant rainforest to naturally regenerate and form connecting areas of habitat. "We now see ourselves as caretakers for its future," they say. The Macleods say their property value has increased as a result, but are keen to warn newcomers of the prolific weed growth that can be expected in high rainfall areas. Local farmer Maureen O'Brien agrees. She has spent long hours and a lot of money removing privet (a weed) and jokes that it has become almost something of an obsession. Adding to the weed problem, she says, are people who carelessly dump them into forests, over escarpment edges and along roadsides. Like some other owners of large properties, she has witnessed the rainforest's own capacity to regenerate. "This way there is no planting, mulching, watering or staking, just weeding," she says. Maureen is inspired by the beauty of her rainforest on the land. The remainder is used to grow macadamias, avocados and cattle. Did such beauty evoke a similar response in previous generations of farmers? Landholder, Lin Fairlie's remembers her grandmother Emily's description of what the area was like in the 1890's. As recently as 1929, she wrote… "Deep gorges, where one looked down upon the tops of the trees, ferny glades rich in Staghorns and orchids, and still above where we must yet climb after rounding "Devil's Elbow" - towered the scrub clad range..... The scrub itself was one of the richest imaginable, full of noisy bird life, hung with lawyer vines or "Wait-a-whiles" and great stag and elkhorns and haresfoot ferns. Little streams, lovely with moss and ferns, were numerous, trickling over great roots of trees, making their gentle way to the Obi, in Baroon Pocket." The whole of the Blackall Range, says Lin, except the western escarpment, was once as her grandmother described. With these images in mind, Lin got to work on her property on Witta Road. By removing the privet she was able to liberate a handful of survivors - amongst them six rainforest trees, two clumps of cordylines, some cockspurs and one very tall, sick rainforest tree on a dam bank. She now has no idea how many trees and ground covers she has planted, but guesses it's in the hundreds. For this very active retiree, it's simply a labour of love. With so much degraded land around Maleny being so lovingly restored, it's not surprising that locals say attitudes are changing. The demand for rainforest is already strong in places like Byron Bay on the New South Wales north coast, where properties with rainforest attract buyers with similar values and philosophies. There, the concept of 'rainforest valuations' has been proposed. The idea is not perhaps as far-fetched as it sounds. In Western Australia, specialist "Bush Brokers" as they're called, assist potential investors wanting to learn about the bushland market as well as the benefits and responsibilities of owning bushland. They also provide a service to real estate agents wanting to improve their skills in marketing bushland as well as landholders seeking conservation buyers for their land. Such an approach might soon be a logical next step for Maleny, says Kelvin Davies, Executive Officer of Rainforest Rescue. "Barung Landcare is already providing a vital service to landholders wanting to restore rainforest," he says. "Because of this, Maleny is fast becoming a community of landcarers - by working together, they are creating a beautiful, more natural environment for future generations." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons License. |
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