Please welcome Justin McMahon

Please welcome Justin McMahon to the Rainforest Rescue team. Justin is responsible for all of the properties you’ve helped us rescue and he’s in charge of our restoration activities.

What brought you to Rainforest Rescue and how do you feel about the organisation?

I have worked in the Daintree tourism industry in the Rainforests and on the River tour guiding for 6 years. Along with that I volunteer for Spotted Tail Quoll long term monitoring for the Australian Quoll Conservancy also volunteer for frog monitoring and tree kangaroo conservation. I have watched the organisation grow and passed on their values and great work through my guiding over the years. While as a guide it is great sharing to the world of visitors a view into our pasts with the oldest continual rainforests on earth within the world heritage areas, but it is still equally important to learn from the past, educate in our present to look to the future with wide open minds as we bring a balance between ourselves and the natural world.

What’s your favourite aspect of managing the rescued properties and our restoration projects?

Its a privilege to look after the rescued properties and share their ecology with the friends of Rainforest Rescue. As for the restoration projects we can take the lessons learnt from the rescued properties and replicate the process of reforestation as close to nature’s way as possible.

What are the greatest challenges you face as Land Manager?

Hahaha. Would have to be the seasons. The Daintree has five seasons in the natural calendar. Some will want to slow you down with the hot humid days to rain. Love the tropics for that. Looking forward also to the challenge of passing on the passion of restoration of our forests not just for North Queensland but also Australia as a whole.

If you could have one new thing to aid in land management and your role, what would that be?

A magic wand to stop the weeds from growing. Pfftt hahaha. Nah serious it would have to be the time to do more. Especially engaging more people (especially our future University students) in visiting, learning and taking home the passion. To take lessons home to engage their own patch of green whether its in Australia or elsewhere in the world.

What has been your best day so far and why?

Reading the names of the supporters for the rescued properties I now look after. Hoping they will get to see the future habitat for some of Australia’s most unique fauna and flora.

What drew you to the Far North and the Daintree?

It would have to be the book “Where the Forest meets the Sea”. It captured my imagination from a young age as I moved around Australia from Darwin to Mt Isa to Cooloola. Now I live within the inspiration of those pictures and share them with my family.

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