Forests, particularly along rivers and creeks, help filter out sediment and pollutants before they reach the ocean. In regions like the Wet Tropics, where rainfall is intense and waterways are short and steep, stabilising the land is crucial for reducing runoff that can damage coral reefs.

That’s why the Queensland Government’s Reef Assist program is funding projects that restore wetlands, plant native vegetation and strengthen riverbanks. These efforts are improving catchment health and also creating ‘green jobs and training opportunities.

Greening the Mulgrave River

One of the current Reef Assist projects is revegetation work along the Mulgrave River near Gordonvale. It’s being delivered by the Madjaybana Rangers in partnership with Mulgrave Landcare and its diverse network of volunteers. They’re planting native trees along a section of river where cane paddocks meet mangroves, close to the river’s mouth.

The seedlings are growing on the edge of a cane paddock. Mulgrave Landcare’s Rachel Platte says it’s marginal farming land, with soils that are becoming increasingly salty.

“We work with farmers on creating buffers between waterways and cane land to stabilise riverbanks and regenerate the landscape,’’ she says.

“This is a brackish area in an old cane paddock, a little section in a loop behind mangroves that would have been covered in mangroves and rainforest many years ago. Madjaybana Rangers have planted thousands of trees, and we’ve also had public tree-planting days where we can all connect as one community.”

Mulgrave Landcare volunteers collect native seeds and grow seedlings in their volunteer-run nursery. Their latest Reef Assist project builds on a 10,000-tree plant-out on the same landholder’s property, where other types of erosion control work have also been happening. These projects add to more than 30 years of Mulgrave Landcare tree-planting initiatives.

“We love working with landholders. Growing green areas between waterways and farmland helps farmers, the land and our waterways, including the ocean.”

The Mulgrave project is one of six in the Wet Tropics region as part of the Reef Assist program.
Mulgrave Landcare images:

Fast facts: Reef Assist Achievements in the Wet Tropics

• Investment: $8.9M
• In-kind Contributions: $0.5M
• 6 Delivery Partners: Greening Australia, Jaragun Ecoservices, Wet Tropics Management Authority, Johnstone Regional Landcare Group, Cape York NRM, Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation
• 70 jobs (50% First Nations, 31% Youth, 33% Women)
• Training/upskilling in heavy machinery operation, erosion control, chainsaw and tree felling skills, fire management, first aid training, plant identification and natural revegetation logistics.
• 110,000 plants established
• 200,000 plants propagated from native seeds
• 12.2 hectares of wetlands restored/revegetated
• 10 hectares of riparian areas restored/revegetated
• 60 hectares of weed control
• 53.5 hectares of flood debris removal

The $33.5 million Reef Assist program is funded through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program. The Reef Assist program delivers environmental projects and creates regional jobs for Queenslanders across the Great Barrier Reef catchment from Cape York to Bundaberg.