Wet Tropics Restoration Alliance
Scaling up forest restoration in the Wet Tropics has an impact on waterway health
Healthy waterways underpin our lifestyles and livelihoods. When waterways thrive, so do we.
With thousands of kilometres of farm drains criss-crossing the Wet Tropics, what if they could be turned into mini wetlands to improve water flowing to the Great Barrier Reef?
Farm drains are getting a makeover. They’re becoming the new ‘no-frill’ wetlands of the Wet Tropics as farmers and scientists combine to find effective ways to reduce fertiliser and pesticide runoff.
Jack Murday is one of seven cane farmers in the Mossman district who are modifying drains to help slow down water flows, reduce erosion and remove nitrates from the water.
He and his father have planted native grasses and sedges in a drain after making it wider and shallower and building rocky retaining dams to slow down the flow of water. Now that it’s more like a natural wetland, plants can take up the nitrogen and microbes can convert it into harmless nitrogen gas that’s released into the atmosphere.
The Murday family’s vegetated drain is treating nine hectares of cane paddock – and contributing to 200 hectares of cane farming land that’s being serviced by vegetated drains in the Mossman area through a reef water quality project delivered by Mossman Agricultural Services and Terrain NRM.
“Before we retrofitted the drain, it was narrow, steep and eroding,’’ Jack says. “The only way to maintain it was to spray the weeds out. The drain’s new shape means we can slash rather than use spray, preserving the nitrate and sediment-capturing vegetation.
“Having the right density of vegetation in the drain means we can trap sediment and treat nitrate in the water. It aligns with our farm’s long-term management plan to reduce our inputs and improve production, sustainably.”
The ecological benefits of restoring wetlands are well-known, but the characteristics that vegetated drains share with wetlands mean they can act as a cost-effective system for treating nitrate.
Further south, a series of trials in the Tully and Johnstone catchments as part of the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project have proven that vegetated drains, in the right conditions, have good potential as water quality treatment systems. In the neighbouring Murray catchment, farmers, scientists, wetland experts and environmentalists have met to share lessons learnt so far and talk about drain shapes and plant species for different locations and purposes.
The next step is developing guidelines for farmers.
This Murray region workshop was delivered by Terrain NRM, Sugar Research Australia and the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF). It was funded through the Australian Government’s Reef Trust in partnership with DAF, through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program.
Ideal conditions for nitrogen removal
Scaling up forest restoration in the Wet Tropics has an impact on waterway health
Farmers are making changes to reduce the runoff of excess nitrogen fertilisers
Lessons learnt from the floods after the Cyclone Jasper that smashed records
Martine joined the Wet Tropics Waterways team as a Science Technical Officer in early 2024 and is keen to apply her experience in statistical programming and database development for the Report Card.
She is an environmental scientist and ecologist and has worked on water quality and aquatic ecology projects as a consultant and in private industry for over 20 years.
Martine has many hobbies and is currently dabbling in horticulture.
With a degree in marine biology and zoology from JCU, Phil has had a diverse career covering research in fisheries biology, 15 years in reef tourism and 13 years with GBRMPA delivering engagement and partnerships programs. Since 2019 he has been self-employed and operates as a consultant to a range of stakeholders on waterway related programs.
He is a keen fisherman.
James joined Wet Tropics Waterways as Executive Officer in 2021 and is passionate about working with stakeholders to communicate the value of our unique waterways. His role involves facilitating and coordinating our partnership program, growing our network and investment into the report card program, and science communication. James oversaw the 2022 Innovations in Waterway Health Forum, and hosted season four of the Reef and Rivers podcast.
James is an ecologist and has previously worked on wetland management in the Murray Darling basin, fish passage in Mackay, and aquatic research in the Wet Tropics.
Outside of work you’ll find him in a local waterway with a mask and snorkel, or hiking or biking around our beautiful region.
Richard has been the Science Technical Officer for Wet Tropics Waterways since 2016. His role involves producing the annual results for the waterway health assessment of the wet tropics region using data from a wide range of sources, to present as scores and grades, as well as developing new indicators to address knowledge and monitoring gaps. He works in collaboration with technical staff at other regional report cards.
Richard has a background in freshwater ecology research projects and environmental assessments with CSIRO, University of Queensland, Queensland Government and as a consultant. For a long time he’s been interested in freshwater aquaculture and continues this interest through farming freshwater crayfish, alongside other farming activities.