Community & Business
9 January, 2023
Trees recognise Queen’s Jubilee
A PROJECT involving the planting of 2500 Mabi trees as part of a Federally funded project to recognise Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee has been completed.
Tableland Outdoor Recreation Association (TORA) received the grant earlier last year and set about planting the Mabi species of trees between Grove Street, Atherton, and Beantree Road near Tolga.
Rail Trails Australia FNQ representative Peter Tuck said more plantings would be done to eventually link to the existing Mabi forest which is a nationally threatened ecological community and represented by a mere 1,050 ha of disconnected remnant on the planet.
“The location of these plantings – and their significance – will increase community awareness of protecting the Mabi forest complex as well recognising the importance of the Queen’s Jubilee,” he said.
“Our T4 group, aptly named Tableland, Tracks, Trails and Trees, commenced the Queens Jubilee plantings in August 2022 and have accumulated approximately 450 volunteer hours and planted 880 trees since then.
“This group of volunteers comprise a cohort of mostly retired folks who like riding bikes and who are not new to volunteering.
“Over the past four years, we have been volunteering together on the Atherton Herberton Historic Rail and the Atherton Tableland Rail Trail and have invested 2,500 volunteer hours and prepared, planted, mulched and watered a total 2,600 endemic trees.”
Mr Tuck said by the end of March the group hope to have planted around another 1,500 trees, with the assistance of other planting groups in the Tablelands region.
In December, Tablelands Mayor Rod Marti unveiled the plaque to honour the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and her life.
