Protect Vital Rainforest in Australia for Climate

Updates from the Field:

Updates from the Field (or Progress Reports) on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.com by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

Keep Up-to-Date

Subscribe to "Updates from the Field" by E-Mail
Subscribe to "Updates from the Field" by RSS Feed

Index of Updates from the Field

Essential revegetation work being done

By Roger Phillips - CEO, November 24, 2008 06:23 PM

Hi Mates!

We are having a very good planting season and we are busy revegetating the George Mansford Reserve with native rainforest trees. By extending our rainforests by planting new mixed species of rainforest trees, the ARF is helping breathe life back into the environment while recovering rare, threatened and endangered plant and animal species, including the endangered ‘Gardener of the Rainforest’ – the Cassowary.

With the rainy season fast approaching, we are planting the trees that are ready to go into the ground. Soon, our Conservation Officer will be very busy trying to keep the lush and fast growing weeds under control. This is very important in areas dominated by young trees.

We are updating the George Mansford Reserve section of the website right now and to follow the progress of site preparation and tree planting, please visit http://www.arf.net.au/mansfordreserve/index.html

Cheers Mates!
Attachments:

Pictures From the Latest Field Report: Nursery Stocked!

By Roger Phillips - CEO, June 05, 2008 05:13 PM

Hi Mates!

Here are some pictures of the nursery. We are now repairing and extending the George Mansford Reserve. This will provide ongoing habitat for endangered flagship species like the Southern Cassowary. The cassowary is a large flightless bird and it is known as the Rainforest Gardener because of its incredible seed dispersal abilities.

The cassowary maintains the integrity, mega bio-diversity and the soul of the rainforest. Your contributions help the cassowary and the Australian Rainforest Foundation do its job. For more info, please visit us at www.arf.net.au.

Thanks mates!
Attachments:

Nursery stocked with variety of rainforest species

By Roger Phillips - CEO , May 27, 2008 05:29 PM

A lot of hard work has been undertaken by ARF staff in the Daintree over the past four months in preparation for the start of rehabilitation works at the George Mansford Reserve. The end of the 2007-08 wet season in April, means that we are now able to get machinery on site to deal with the weed infestation on the corner of the block. This will take place during late May 2008. In the meantime, staff has been busy building a new nursery at the ARF Daintree HQ and stocking it with a variety of rainforest species in preparation for planting on the George Mansford reserve. More than 150 different species will eventually be required for the rehabilitation works in accordance with a specific rehabilitation plan, devised by ARF scientists.
Attachments:

Revegetating the block

By Roger Phillips - CEO, April 03, 2008 04:38 PM

Well, we wouldn’t have rainforests without rain – and we’ve had plenty of it in far north Queensland, and particularly the Daintree region, over the past two months with record rains battering the region, flooding rivers and cutting off communities.

At one stage the wild weather isolated the towns of Port Douglas, Daintree Village and Mossman. Nearly 21 inches of rain fell in Port Douglas in 24 hrs, the deluge was the highest daily rainfall recorded since 1911 for the town (only an hours drive from the George Mansford Reserve).

We do anticipate and plan for rain in the ‘Wet Season’ but so much of it has severely delayed site preparation work on the George Mansford Reserve. ARF conservation officers have instead been concentrating efforts on the new ARF nursery, preparing seedlings for the right trees to revegetate the block.

We look forward to welcoming a group of Environmental Study’s students from Vanderbilt University in May. They are the second group to visit from the Tennessee Uni and will be checking on the progress of trees planted by their predecessors last year, while planting further trees to continue to extend our tropical rainforests. We thank them and all of you for your support in helping save these very precious and beautiful ecosystems.

Preparing for the revegetation work

By Roger Phillips - CEO Australian Rainforest Foundation, January 17, 2008 08:42 PM

In order to start the revegetation of the block in March 2008, some serious site preparation has begun. Old cattle fencing has been removed and boundary signage and fencing erected. Further scientific surveys were undertaken in November 2007, which identified weed infestation. This will be treated during the December to February period in preparation for the revegetation program scheduled for after the tropical wet season in March 2008. In addition, the ARF has started a feral pig eradication program through a contracted pig trapper. These introduced pests are a threat to cassowary young and destroy cassowary habitat.

We are also putting our University Volunteer Program into place and looking forward to the extra help on the ground. Thank you very much for your kind donations and we look forward to updating you regularly on the progress we are making--thanks to you. Cheers!
Attachments: