Projects of the Big Scrub Rainforest Landcare Group

The BSRLG runs a number of long-term projects aimed at achieving its mission of helping to save the Big Scrub and its magnificent biodiversity.

The Big Scrub Rainforest Restoration Program

Its main project activities consist of on-ground rainforest restoration work carried out under the Big Scrub Rainforest Restoration Program. This Program was launched by the BSRLG in 1997 and on-ground work was commenced in January 1998.  New partners joined the Program in 2003 to form the Big Scrub Restoration Consortium: Environmental Training and Employment (EnviTE NSW), Rous Water and Ballina and Lismore Councils. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, part of the Department of the Environment and Conservation, joined the Consortium in 2006. Rainforest Rescue has been a strong supporter of the Program for many years.

The Program consists of two ongoing long-term projects: 1. The Big Scrub Remnant Rehabilitation Project (also known as the Big Scrub Remnant Care Project) and 2. The Big Scrub Revegetation Project.

1. Big Scrub Remnant Rehabilitation Project

Objectives

The objective of this Project is to rehabilitate and maintain all significant remnants of the Big Scrub Rainforest so that their numerous life forms, species and ecosystem processes are viable. Remnant rehabilitation involves controlling, ameliorating, eliminating or reversing adverse impacts (threatening processes) that threaten the biodiversity, structure, habitat values, ecosystem function and long term survival of a rainforest remnant.

Clearing

Clearing, which commenced 120 years ago, resulted in the destruction of 99% of the Big Scrub. All that remains are a number of remnants scattered over 75,000 hectares of landscape which was once  Australia’s largest lowland subtropical rainforest.  The remaining remnants of the Big Scrub are hopefully protected from further clearing because their vegetation (lowland and floodplain rainforest) is now listed as Endangered Ecological Communities under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act.

Weed Infestation and Control

However, the long term survival of the Big Scrub remnants continues to be threatened by other human impacts, particularly weeds. Weeds infest and degrade rainforest vegetation (including trees, shrubs, vines and epiphytes), arresting natural regeneration and other key ecological processes and ultimately resulting in the death of remnant rainforest plants and the total degradation of remnants.

The major on-ground activity involved in rehabilitating and then maintaining the remnants is weed control, supplemented where necessary by fencing to exclude cattle and other livestock. Weed control is largely carried out by professional rainforest regenerators, who have the necessary plant identification skills to differentiate between more than 400 native species and 100 weed species that occur in Big Scrub remnants. Controlling initial infestations and regrowth of weeds in a remnant can take up to five years before the maintenance stage is reached.

Over the past decade more than 3000 days of weed control work by professional rainforest regenerators has been financed under the Big Scrub Remnant Rehabilitation Project. The principal source of this finance is the NSW Environmental Trust, which has provided almost $500,000 in grants and continues to support the project. These grants have been supplemented by donations from Rainforest Rescue and more recently by grants totalling approximately $150,000 from the Natural Heritage Trust via the Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority. Most importantly, remnant owners have financed a substantial amount of weed control work by professional regenerators. Remnant owners have also carried out restoration work that does not require the expertise of professional rainforest regenerators.

Outcomes

The outcomes of this work have been excellent. More than 40 Big Scrub remnants with a total area of more than 250 ha are now being rehabilitated or maintained. At the inception of the Big Scrub Restoration Program a decade ago this figure was less than 50ha-largely NPWS remnants on which rehabilitation work has since been intermittent.

Comprehensive rehabilitation and maintenance work is continuing.  Once rehabilitation has reached the maintenance stage, ongoing maintenance is essential to prevent reinfestation by weeds and the consequent degradation of remnant vegetation. Because grants can only be used for initial and follow-up weed control, not maintenance, this work has to be financed by landholders or by donations. Many landholders and land managers, including the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Trustees responsible for managing remnants on public lands, do not have the resources to finance or the skills to carry out essential maintenance. We are therefore reliant on donations to finance ongoing maintenance that is essential for the long-term survival of the remnants.

2. Big Scrub Rainforest Revegetation Project

This project facilitates the revegetation of land from which the Big Scrub has been cleared. Planting and natural regeneration are used to re-create as far as practicable the rainforest vegetation community that would have existed on the site prior to its clearing.

We estimate that more than 300,000 trees have been planted over the past decade, revegetating some 100 ha former Big Scrub Rainforest lands. A majority of the revegetation projects are funded by landowners. However, the BSRLG has been able to help many landholders through the provision of trees and mulch funded by a number of grants from the Natural Heritage Trust and the Australian Government Envirofund.

Only Big Scrub provenance planting stock is used for the projects and nurseries are strongly encouraged to ensure adequate genetic diversity in their planting stock by sourcing seed and cuttings from a range of genetically unrelated parent trees and shrubs.

The BSRLG was also successful in the first half of the last decade in securing Green Corps teams to help with plantings.

Community Education and Information Projects

The Big Scrub Rainforest Day

The BSRLG is the co-founder and co-presenter (with Rainforest Rescue) of the annual Big Scrub Rainforest Day (BSRD). This is believed to be the largest Landcare community education and information event in Australia. Big Scrub Rainforest Day aims to provide a forum for education on the Big Scrub rainforest. It has a particular focus on inspiring and motivating individuals and groups to become active in rainforest conservation and restoration. Additionally the event aims to raise funds to support restoration of the Big Scrub.

• Enhance community awareness  of the Big Scrub - its  very high and unique conservation value, its social and economic value, its history, its degradation, the  urgent need for concerted  help to ensure its long term survival;
• Provide information and education on the Big Scrub Rainforest and its restoration in the context of an entertaining  family social day;
• Publicise the community’s success in driving the restoration of the Big Scrub and raise funds for the Big Scrub Restoration Program carried out by the Big Scrub Rainforest Landcare Group.

Our Manuals

BSRLG has published two manuals - Find out more about these manuals

Tony Parkes 2007