Community & Business
24 June, 2022
Celebrating 40 years of rainforest care
MORE than 170 members, friends and supporters alike turned out to celebrate 40 years of rainforest care for the Trees for the Evelyn and Atherton Tablelands (TREAT) birthday recently.
Held at the Eacham Nursery, the celebration attracted attendees who regaled stories associated with the organisation and their role and vision for the future.
A smoking ceremony was done by Warren Canendo to welcome people to Country as they acknowledged the traditional owners, the Ngadjon-ji.
TREAT is a volunteer organisation that works with Queensland Parks and Wildlife, with former northern region acting director Andrew Millerd attending the event to share some thoughts on the relationship between the two organisations.
“This collaboration between volunteers and government was ground-breaking in its early days and its continuance is a testament to the commitment of TREAT members and of local QPWS staff,” he said.
Queensland Parks nursery manager from TREAT’s early days, Nigel Tucker, spoke passionately about the group’s role in the community.
“Nature lovers, farmers, families, school children and a spectrum of Tablelanders have worked together to make a positive change,” he said.
“Sharing nursery work and smoko at the regular Friday morning session is a great way for people to stay connected.”
Mr Tucker said TREAT had planted more than a million trees in the past 40 years and lessons learned during this time had contributed globally to knowledge about forest restoration, with techniques developed by TREAT now used for rainforests around the world.
