Tree-planting and weed control work at Mission Beach is protecting endangered coastal rainforest and strengthening Djiru people’s ties with traditional ceremonial land.

Mission Beach’s Clump Point

At Clump Point lookout, Djiru traditional owners have been working with the Cassowary Coast Regional Council and Girringun rangers to plant thousands of trees on the edge of littoral rainforest where the land has been overrun by guinea grass.

Djiru’s Rona Hart said getting back on Country was grounding.

“This is a special place – for thousands of years our ancestors met with other groups here, held ceremonies, fished, hunted and camped,’’ Mrs Hart said.

“It’s always good to come back. We came as kids and growing up, and now I come with my own kids and grandkids. This new project has been an opportunity for other Djiru people to get back on Country too, through short-term employment, to keep the connection and learn new skills.”

A partnership project

The Clump Point area is a council reserve under an indigenous land use agreement and Mrs Hart plans to continue land management work in collaboration with the Cassowary Coast Regional Council and other organisations.

“The young trees are looking beautiful,’’ she said. “But there is always more weed management to do.

“This kind of coordinated effort is really beneficial – it empowers Djiru people to become more involved in environmental issues and it also helps to bring traditional knowledge and cultural practices into shared land management.”

Protecting littoral rainforest

Littoral rainforest is listed as endangered, and Clump Point is the only place in the Wet Tropics where it is growing on volcanic soil.

The first indigenous research grant has been awarded through a new Wet Tropics partnership, formed to improve land and water management in the Far North.

Skyrail Rainforest Foundation, Terrain NRM’s Natural Capital Fund, the Wet Tropics Management Authority and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service have joined forces to create the Wet Tropics Cooperative Research Partnership.

The partnership has awarded a $40,000 grant to CQ University for researchers to work with traditional owners and others in the Atherton Tablelands region.

CQ University Professor of Tourism Bruce Prideaux said the team would establish protocols for a traditional knowledge and science supply database.

“We will be working closely with traditional owners from several groups and with others in the Tablelands community from local government to other land managers, industry and groups like historical societies,’’ he said.

“In this project we’ll be doing the groundwork, learning more about Country and cultural data needs and designing a framework including intellectual property agreements and cultural protocol templates.

“The aim is to combine traditional knowledge and science with western knowledge and science for improved land and sea water management outcomes.”

CQ University’s Joann Schmider, who is a Mamu traditional custodian from the southern Tablelands, said there was a passion to integrate traditional knowledge and practices into management of the Wet Tropics region.

“We sincerely thank each of the funding partners and each of the research partners, and look forward to the exemplary outcomes that these kinds of joint venture approaches can achieve,’’ she said.

They’re female, they’re indigenous and they’re fired-up about caring for country.

An all-women crew of Girringun rangers is leading by example in the Wet Tropics, conducting controlled burns and encouraging teenage girls to step into less-traditional cultural roles.

Girringun Ranger, Cindy-Lou Togo and four other female indigenous rangers were the fire power behind a recent cool burn at Cardwell to reduce fuel loads and improve conditions for endangered mahogany gliders.

“These are mosaic burns that don’t touch the canopy and don’t burn everything,’’ Ms Togo said. “When you return you can see grass trees that are still green, and opportunities for new growth.”

Terrain NRM’s Jacqui Diggins said the cool burn, on seven hectares of unallocated state land, was the second this year in a series of controlled burns for ecological and hazard reduction reasons in an area from the Hull River near Tully to Crystal Creek north of Townsville. They are part of a larger project, funded by the Australian Government, to improve woodlands in mahogany glider country.

The project also supports Girringun Aboriginal Rangers to take a larger role in caring for country through land management and, with Fireland Consultancy’s Justine Douglas as mentor, it provides an opportunity for more female rangers to step into leadership roles.

Ms Togo has been a Girringun Ranger for 10 years, and has loved seeing the number of women increase in the group.

“I always liked being outdoors and I thought this would be something different, when I applied for the role,’’ she said. “Now I have a chainsaw licence, a drone licence, a Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management, a coxswain ticket and more. All these tickets I never imagined I’d have…

“We visit schools and correctional centres to show there’s a pathway. We’re learning from our elders on the land, learning from others and passing those learnings on to the younger generation.

“For this burn, Evelyn Ivey was the IC and she did a good job stepping up into that role.”

We’re doing the rounds asking Wet Tropics residents their top priorities for natural resource management – and people in the Upper Herbert region were the first to speak up.

Thanks to everyone who got involved. The top-three priorities in the Upper Herbert are:

• Managing erosion to improve water quality.
• Using grazing best management practices to improve productivity and landscape health.
• Managing weeds and pests.

An all-of-region update is part of our review of the Wet Tropics Plan for People and Country. We’ll have results from the Southern Tablelands soon and we’ll be working across the Wet Tropics in coming months, so stay tuned and get involved.

The full list of Upper Herbert priorities identified by the community is online here and the community’s plan is available here.

The Wet Tropics Plan for People and Country will undergo a major review every five years.

The Plan includes priority actions for each area in the Wet Tropics region, which includes Ingham, the Cassowary Coast, Tablelands, Upper Herbert, Cairns and Mossman-Port Douglas. It’s the basis for decision-making at all levels – from land managers and community groups to investors and government.

Terrain NRM is custodian of the natural resource management plan, which is community-driven and supported by scientific and technical information. It is online at www.wettropicsplan.org.au

Ask Michael Morta about the Wet Tropics region and he’ll tell you it’s part of his make-up.

The Ngadjon-jii traditional owner grew up swimming in the creeks of the Atherton Tablelands, Little Mulgrave, Babinda, Tully and Cardwell areas, and getting to know the indigenous people in each community as his family moved around the region.

“The Wet Tropics area is a special place for me and I’m passionate about preserving our natural and cultural landscapes,’’ Mr Morta says.

He has recently been appointed as Terrain NRM’s Biodiversity and Indigenous Engagement Coordinator. In this role he’ll be monitoring threatened species and ecological communities across the Wet Tropics region, and he’ll also be working with Wet Tropics traditional owners.

“I’m excited to get back to a role like this where I’m helping to look after Country from the wildlife to management of Country,’’ he said. “An important part of this is keeping traditional owners involved in natural resource processes and management.”

Mr Morta was a trainee indigenous ranger and has since worked as an Aboriginal liaison officer, cultural heritage manager, and marine parks ranger and supervisor among other roles.

As part of the Building Rainforest Resilience project, he will be helping to reduce threats to the endangered southern cassowary, Mabi forest and littoral rainforest.

Climate change is emerging as the hot topic for Tablelands community groups and landholders who are having their say on the Wet Tropics Plan for People and Country.

Terrain NRM’s Bronwyn Robertson said a major review of the plan, five years after it was first launched, was revealing a shift in perspective.

“Community groups are talking about the impact of climate change and saying it is something that they want to see action on – to protect habitat and communities,’’ Mrs Robertson said.

More than 60 people – from community group members to traditional owners and landholders – have given their input over the past two months in the Southern Tablelands and Upper Herbert districts. Mrs Roberston is encouraging others to have their say too.

“The Wet Tropics Plan for People and Country includes priority actions for each area in this region covering Ingham, the Cassowary Coast, Tablelands, Upper Herbert, Cairns and Mossman-Port Douglas,’’ she said.

“It’s the basis for decision-making at all levels – from land managers and community groups to investors and government.”

Terrain NRM is custodian of the natural resource management plan, which is community-driven and supported by scientific and technical information. It is online at www.wettropicsplan.org.au

Mrs Robertson has been speaking with members of Barron Catchment Care, Tolga Bat Rescue, TREAT, Wabubadda, Wadjanbarra and Yungaburra Landcare over the past few months.

This project is supported by Terrain NRM through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Hundreds of trees are being planted to help the endangered mahogany glider.

Crews of tree-planters are extending wildlife corridors between Tully and Townsville – the only region in the world that this glider calls home.

Terrain NRM’s Jacqui Diggins said the work was being done on private land to connect sections of woodland, as part of a five-year project benefitting mahogany gliders and other threatened species including ant plants and broad-leafed tea tree.

Two hundred native trees were planted on a Bilyana property, just south of Tully, this week and there have also been trees planted on grazing land north of Townsville.

“This is a real collaborative effort with landholders and groups including the Girringun Aboriginal Rangers, Herbert River Catchment Group, Cassowary Coast and Hinchinbrook Council nursery staff and volunteers,’’ Mrs Diggins said.

The ‘Biodiversity Bright Spots -Tackling Woodland Threats’ project is supported by Terrain NRM through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. It also includes mahogany glider population monitoring work and controlled burns in glider habitat.

Mrs Diggins said mahogany gliders could glide for about 30 metres on average.

“Sometimes connecting relatively small sections of land can make a huge difference,’’ she said. “It can help gliders to move between habitat areas for feeding and the flow of genes.”

The last population estimate for mahogany gliders was 1500 to 2000, and this was before Cyclone Yasi wreaked havoc in glider habitat between Cardwell and Tully.

Bilyana property owners Steve and Lisa Roeger said it was great to be part of the project.

“By planting select native trees along a fence line, we are linking two sections of existing woodland mahogany glider habitat,” Mrs Roeger said.

Mamu and Gulgnay people are helping to monitor water quality in their country through the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project.

Five indigenous water quality samplers have joined the project team to help collect samples from waterways and piezometers in the Tully and Johnstone catchments.

The community-designed project is trialling different methods to improve water quality in farming hotspots, and ultimately the Great Barrier Reef.

Local scale water quality monitoring and treatment systems are important parts of this multi-faceted project, which works closely with landholders to monitor and evaluate water quality flowing from agricultural land into water catchments.

The new staff have undertaken training with water quality scientists from the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Science, and they’ve gained specialised skills.

Shai Ivey has been working on the project for over a year. He’s found the job rewarding and enjoys being out in the field.

“Every day is different. I’ve learnt new skills and enjoy working with lots of different people – from scientists to project staff,” he said. “It’s good to be part of a team and a project that’s helping Country.”

Gulgnay elder Clarence Kinjun has been involved in the project since it began, and his input was invaluable during ‘Walking the Landscape’ workshops in the project’s design phase.

Clarence now helps with piezometer water quality sampling at demonstration sites. He also maintains several of the project’s in-situ water monitoring stations and flumes.

He featured in a television commercial about the project last year, and he believes getting the word out is an important part of caring for country.

“What happens on the land affects the ocean,’’ he said. “It shouldn’t rest on one individual, it’s up to all of us to look after country and land.”

Excitement is building amongst the Tableland’s Jirrbal people as they begin planning for a more active role in caring for country.

The group is embarking on a major planning phase, which traditional owner Desley Mosquito sees as a stepping stone to new opportunities including a ranger program and the establishment of a Jirrbal indigenous protected area.

“We are beginning with a country-based plan that’ll set the course for us to go forward together,” Desley said.

“I see it as a solid foundation for our people. It’s early days yet but we’re hoping to hold a workshop later this year where everyone can come together and share their thoughts and feelings about what they want for country.”

The initiative follows a recent country-based planning workshop for traditional owners from all over the Far North which was organised by Terrain NRM in partnership with the Wet Tropics Management Authority and funded by the Tablelands Regional Council and the Australian Government.

“We had a small group and one-on-one time to get things started,’’ Desley said. “Our people have a strategic plan but this kind of planning includes that in amongst a lot of other things that can range from caring for country to family wellbeing, health, education and generally looking after our mob.”

Desley also wants country-based planning to inspire the younger generation.

“We belong to this land. The nature of this land is our identity – the trees, the water, the sea,’’ she said.  “We say this and we try to teach our children this.”

Terrain NRM’s Vanessa Drysdale said many traditional owner groups had now completed or were in the process of completing a country-based plan.

“These plans can be tailored to geographical areas, language groups or family groups,’’ she said.  “They also provide a framework for negotiating partnerships with government agencies and other groups, and for applying for funding to actively manage traditional lands.”

The Country-Based Planning Workshop was funded through the Tablelands Regional Council with an Australian Government Department of Social Services Strong and Resilient Communities Grant. This project was supported by Terrain NRM through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. It was also supported by the Wet Tropics Management Authority.