The latest on the Koala Corridor

Since the last update which was published in the GMA newsletter we’ve had one working bee in the corridor which focused on planting more trees on the property at the current upstream end of the Mary River Koala Corridor Project. About 60 trees were planted by our intrepid volunteers. This is a good number to plant in one hit as it is a manageable amount for the ongoing maintenance that is needed. This includes control of grass that grows around the trees and of course watering them (if it doesn’t rain). The importance of follow up maintenance is easy to underestimate when the trees are planted and it is essential for the success of the revegetation project. We also spotted some mile-a-minute (see picture attached)– another troublesome viney weed on this property. It shows the need to remain vigilant and always on the look out for new weed infestations – the sooner we get to them the less of a problem they become.

Mile-a-minute

We have also finalized our first publication titled “Creating a Wildlife Corridor on the Mary River in Tiaro” which documents the process of creating the corridor, the people involved and the plants and animals we see there. We hope this publication will inspire others to get involved and creating corridors on their place as well.  The book will be launched at our World Rivers Day celebration on 28^th September 2014.

 

Our Koala corridor project is about to receive an additional boost due to this reach of the river being a Demonstration Reach of the Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee (MRCCC) Restoring Riparian Resilience project. This project is funded by the Biodiversity Fund (part of the Clean Energy Futures Package). This will mean a significant number of additional trees will be planted and follow up weed control will be undertaken. Noosa and District Landcare will be undertaking this work and will also be responsible for follow up maintenance of the planting. Noosa and District Landcare will also be using their “Water Spear”. With the use of this spear there is less need for follow up watering in the early days after the tree is planted. Investment in this project from MRCCC takes it to a whole new level.  What would have taken GMA years to achieve working at a rate that is sustainable for volunteers and landholders will be achieved in a much shorter period of time.  It means that we can direct effort to other parts of the corridor including a series of gullies which link into the river and are currently partially vegetated with koala food trees and other species.

We hope you will join us at our World Rivers Day celebration and make your own contribution to the corridor by planting a koala tree.