Celebrating 25 years of restoring and conserving the mighty Daintree Rainforest

A significant milestone was reached recently by local conservation and restoration organisation, Rainforest Rescue. 

Celebrating the 25^th anniversary of a commitment to ‘protect rainforests forever’, the not-for-profit  has reinforced its messaging “while the better time to plant a tree was 25 years ago, the best time is still now".

To support this call to action, Rainforest Rescue has built the region’s most productive native plant nursery at a self-sufficient site at what was once the Cow Bay airstrip.

The nursery employs local team members propagating plants for restoration sites north and south of the Daintree River. When at capacity, the nursery will grow 150,000 trees a year.

Rainforest Rescue’s CEO, Branden Barber highlighted the increasing involvement of different members of the Douglas Shire community in environmental activities:

“It really does feel like ‘the best time is now’ to be involved in rainforest conservation and restoration," Mr Barber said.

"We’re working with private landowners, conservation groups, research teams, schools and First Nations people to bring the value of the natural environment to the fore.

"Regenerative tourism is increasing, and local business owners want to get involved to be involved. More and more people are finding local employment in conservation and restoration careers."

Since 1999, with the help of supporters and the local Daintree community, Rainforest Rescue has planted over 300,000 trees. 44 ecologically significant properties adjacent to Daintree National Park land are now protected, 31 of which have Nature Refuge Status.

Several wildlife corridors now connect protected areas of land to help rare and threatened wildlife, such as cassowaries and tree kangaroos, to move through rainforest habitat safely and unmolested. This helps to support a healthy and genetically diverse population.