Two decades ago, Lower Petersen’s Creek was rife with weeds and grasses. Now it’s a tourist attraction and a recreational area for locals. David Blair, president of Yungaburra Landcare, says locals formed the group because of concerns about the town’s creek and surrounding land.

“The banks were almost impenetrable, with a mass of lantana and other rampant weeds,’’ he says. “So locals got together and sought funding from the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust. This enabled them to revegetate parts of the creek, and to link patches of remnant rainforest from the road bridge at the town’s western entrance downstream for about two kilometres.”

Inspired by a larger-scale project happening upstream through TREAT (another Tableland community landcare group), they planned a staged revegetation project within the capacity of a small volunteer workforce. The main goal was to expand Mabi forest, an endangered plant community that’s only found on the Atherton Tablelands.

David says “concentrating on getting it right the first time” was the key to the group’s success.

“The main focus in the early days of each stage was the clean-up,’’ he says. “Before each planting there were many hours of mechanical and chemical weed eradication followed by soil preparation and assembly of seedlings, mulch, fertiliser, irrigation and manpower for the actual planting day.

“Most plantings were timed to coincide with wet season.

“Another big thing was this group’s unwavering commitment to follow-up maintenance. From the beginning, volunteers met each Friday to keep on top of the maintenance program, and we still meet on Friday mornings for mowing, weed clearing, track maintenance and the occasional fill-in plantings. Weeds are controlled by slashing, mowing and systematic spraying routines.”

Getting the community on board from Day 1 was another important step. Local councils, the Yungaburra Business and Citizens Association and other community members have all helped to meet ongoing maintenance expenses. The Dulguburra Yidinji indigenous group has also been an important part of the project, as have landholders and students.

“I’ve been part of the group for just six years,’’ David says. “For me there’s also the enjoyment of watching platypus and sometimes seeing tree kangaroos and water dragons. While looking after the track, you get to talk to a lot of visitors who enthuse about being able to walk into an area like this one. And that’s very satisfying for all of us.”