Turn up and plant a tree for Daintree

A NEW era of conservation has dawned over the Daintree and now volunteers have a chance to help reforest large swathes of the world’s oldest tropical rainforest.

Efforts by tree-planters and private donors have been vital in realising this new era of protection and growth for the 180 million-year-old UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to Rainforest Rescue chief executive Branden Barber.

“The Daintree is the only rainforest I know of where reforestation is not being outstripped by deforestation,” Mr Barber said.

A not-for-profit, Rainforest Rescue is buying back property and reforesting land previously cleared for agriculture.

Rainforest Rescue hosts annual community tree-planting days at the NightWings site, attracting 220 volunteers over the past two years who planted more than 6000 trees. The next tree planting day is on Saturday.

“The weather is shaping up for perfect tree-planting conditions. Our goal is to plant another 3500 trees and we hope to see another 100 people there,” he said. The centre is at 2125 Mossman Daintree Rd, planting kicks off at 8am.