Community & Business
2 June, 2026
Planting programs yield results
THE results of various community tree planting programs designed to improve connections for wildlife will be presented at a free public talk in Malanda this Thursday.
The Mammals on the Move talk is being hosted by the Tree Kangaroo and Mammal Group (TKMG) at 7.30pm in the Malanda Hotel ballroom.
Dr Nigel Tucker, a local ecologist, will be presenting the results of the many major individual and community tree planting programs designed to improve connections for wildlife, between fragmented patches of rainforest.
The work of Nigel and others document what species are now occupying these maturing critical corridors.
TKMG president Professor Peter Valentine said that between 1995 and 2014, hundreds of volunteers planted over 140,000 trees to create 7.7km of wildlife corridor habitat interconnecting the fragments of Lake Eacham, Lake Barrine and Curtain Fig to the 80,000ha Wooroonooran National Park.
“In the intervening 25 years many native mammals have taken advantage of this newly-established habitat,” he said.
“Last year, local ecologist Nigel Tucker gave a very well attended talk on the wildlife colonisation of one of these corridors, Donaghy’s Corridor, planted to reconnect the isolated forest of Lake Barrine to nearby Wooroonooran.
“One year on, Nigel returns to detail the colonisation of all three restored corridors by ground mammals, comparing the inhabitants of corridors to the fauna of the forests.
“His talk highlights the actual benefits to conservation coming from productive partnerships between landholders, community and government and shows the increasing value of restored habitats as they age and become more complex.”
All are welcome to attend the talk on Thursday evening.
