Ray and Rosemary Vicarioli started their work on the banks of the Russell River twelve years ago, using a bulldozer to push over the weeds and guinea grass. Ray was keen to keep the debris that comes down the creek out of the cane paddocks, using a barrier of native vegetation.

With the help of Russell Landcare and Catchment Group (RLCG) and funding from the Australian Government's Community Water Grant, Ray's plans were given a boost and over 800 trees have been planted along the banks of the Russell River next to his cane farm.

"I also want to keep the rat population in check and need to get rid of the guinea grass. We planted 4 rows of trees, including bandicoot berries, quandongs, macarangas and others. I sprayed the ground first and we left the dead weeds as mulch, which helped a lot", said Ray.

Using local material as mulch is often a safer option than bringing in new material, which could carry weed seeds or diseases.

Mulching new plantings reduces weed growth and preserves soil moisture.

Maintenance of the trees in the early days is important, but just over a year later, Ray thinks the trees may be almost ready to go it alone.

"The problem initially is the rapid growth of the giant guinea grass around the trees. Birds sit in the branches of the planted trees and new trees grow from their droppings underneath the canopy. When you are spraying out the guinea grass, you often accidentally take out these new seedlings so you need to be careful."

Most of the trees are now well established, hopefully able to withstand the inevitable flooding that will come in the wet season. Some of the outstanding performers such as the blue quandongs are over 4m tall already.

"Blue quandongs are great for revegetation sites", said Melanie McDonald, Catchment Coordinator from Terrain. "They are stunning trees that establish quickly with an open canopy that shelters new plants but allow them enough light to grow. They also persist into the mature forest and are food for our endangered cassowary populations."

"This is exactly the sort of project we'll be able to continue supporting through Reef Rescue funding".

As well as planting hundreds of local tree species, Ray also retains large remnant forest trees such as black beans (Castanospermum australe) and fig trees (like Ficus benjamina). One huge fig encroaches on the headlands but Ray is happy to allow space for it to grow, preferring to enjoy the local spectacle instead of travelling to the Tablelands to see the giant figs!

Factsheets

• Vicariolis Reef Rescue, January 2009 662.12 Kb

Publicity and Downloadable Materials

• Desirable Locals Page 1 336.83 Kb
• Desirable Locals Page 2 433.02 Kb

Images

• Ray Vicarioli, Landholder Ray Vicarioli, Landholder
• Headlands after revegetation Headlands after revegetation
• Headlands during revegetation Headlands during revegetation
•  

For more information about this project contact Melanie McDonald, Terrain NRM Ltd on (07) 4067 2515 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .