Kyogle landholder Don Durrant has owned his lush rainforest property for 30 years and he's lost count of the number of native trees he’s propagated and planted in that time.
Tens of thousands of trees later he's proud to acknowledge the number of plants that have gone into the ground is not even close to the number of weeds he has pulled out. Controlling the spread of lantana is a daily battle that Don says is his biggest conservation challenge.
His conservation agreement is home to the largest known population of Onion Cedar (Owenia cepiodora), a species once widespread in northern NSW and south-east Queensland but is now listed as vulnerable due to heavy clearing and weed invasion.
“Weeds are my biggest challenge, without a doubt. We are getting more variety of weeds in the past couple of years and every day it’s a battle to keep on top of them,” he says.
“For years I have also been doing targeted revegetation. During the latest drought it was so bad that leaves fell off a lot of trees and sunlight got through to hit the ground. Eventually it rained and lots of weeds grew up, so with a grant from the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust I got help to tackle the weed problem. “
Don says he is proud of the work he has done and is driven to protect and expand his patch of rainforest by the land clearing he sees going on around him.
“This property is the largest area of onion cedar rainforest in NSW and I don't want anyone to get into it and start pushing down trees,” he says.
“I signed up with the BCT to conserve this area for when I am no longer here. I want to know that it will still be protected, and no one can destroy it. That’s what motivates me, and I am proud of what I have achieved in this large area.
“I’m especially proud of collecting seeds from trees I have planted and then giving them to other people to plant or planting them myself. There is a lot of satisfaction in seeing those trees go full circle and it’s very rewarding to be a part of it.
“I’d guess I have given thousands of seeds to friends who have then planted thousands of trees on their own land.”
Don's property protects habitat for five endangered and vulnerable flora species and 26 threatened fauna species. It also has a remnant patch of critically endangered Lowland Rainforest of Subtropical Australia.
About onion cedar
Onion cedar (Owenia cepiodora) is a tall evergreen tree with a dense glossy dark-green crown. It can grow up to 30 metres in height and features white flowers in clusters at the ends of branchlets. The timber is similar to Red Cedar but has a characteristic onion odour.
The species is under threat from clearing, climate change, weed invasion, especially lantana, and stock grazing.