Brettacorp inc.

Project title

North of the Tully - One Tree Matters, Every Tree Counts

Project Teaser

Brettacorp Inc. is an Australian community association that recovers native habitat for endangered species such as the Southern Cassowary and Mahogany Glider, in Tropical North Queensland. Their work so far has covered over nearly 10 ha of both private and public lands, in cooperation with local entities. This is generally carried out through extensive renaturation and community planting actions, with strong local engagement. Part of their approach also follows the Miyawaki method, a way to quickly grow ultra-dense mini-forests.

Active countries

Key Figures

Project Results

About 10 ha (30 acres) of land across different locations and habitat types have been restored since 2015, with the planting of over 22 000 native tree species. 45 community events were organised, with over 150 local and outside volunteers.

Vegetation type

The area includes tropical rainforest, open eucalypt forest, wetlands and mangrove forests. The area meets all four natural criteria for World Heritage listing. These criteria recognise the area's exceptional natural beauty and the importance of its biological diversity and evolutionary history, including habitats for numerous threatened species. It also has cultural significance to the Aboriginal people who have traditional links with the area and its surroundings.

Climate conditions

The Cassowary Coast Region in Queensland, Australia, has a tropical rainforest climate, with an average annual rainfall exceeding 4,000 millimetres and the highest ever annual rainfall in a populated area of Australia (7,900 millimetres in 1950). Temperature range is from 7 to 45 ºC with prolonged dry season during autumn and early summer.

Funding Sources

Funding Government
70%
Funding Internal
10%
Funding Religious groups
0%
Funding International Aid
0%
Funding Private Sponsoring
10%
Funding Inhabitants
10%

Contacts

Organisation
Brettacorp inc.
Organisation contact
Brett Krause
Phone
0429999195
Contact E-mail
brettacorp@outlook.com
Address
P.O. Box 1312
Postal code
4854
Place
Tully
Country
Australia

Description

Brettacorp Inc. was incorporated in 2015 as a non-profit community association and is active in the Northern Queensland region in Australia. Their focus is on reverting the loss and fragmentation of native forests in the Cassowary Coast Region and the reduction in habit for emblematic and endangered species such as the Southern Cassowary, a large flightless black bird, and the Mahogany Glider, a small air-gliding possum that only exists in this part of the world. The region has a tropical climate with very high rainfall and includes both coastal and hilly areas. This combination has created a rich mosaic of aquatic, wetland and dry environments, which have been reduced and fragmented due to human infrastructure and a strong agricultural production dominated by sugar cane and banana.

Based in Tully, one of the region's larger towns, Brettacorp works in conjunction with local entities, private and public landowners, and the local communities. The habitat recovery work involves replanting native forests, restoration of riparian zones (along bodies of water) and remediation of lowland, seasonally flooded, topographies. So far, nearly 10 hectares (25 acres) of land across different sites have been remediated and revegetated solely with native trees. An additional 50 ha in different sites are also in the pipeline, with a broader goal to achieve a larger, "industrial-scale" expansion of the forest cover.

Much of the work is done through community planting actions as a way to strengthen the connection of people to their land while transferring know-how and skills for an improved management. Brettacorp provides the organisational and technical support, materials and added manpower. These interventions are done in coordination with local and federal entities and with other partners such as Landcare Australia, a national network of community groups focused on conservation and natural resource management. The funding sources and multiple awards recognise this joint work, with financing coming primarily from public programmes such as the Federal Government's National Landcare Programme 20 million trees, Queensland State Government Community Sustainability Action Grants, the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife or the Landcare Australia's Land Restoration Fund.

Brettacorp also conducts extended training courses and tests different approaches in their own restored site. In addition to other more common planting methods, they also follow the "Miyawaki method" of afforestation, an approach to recover degraded lands and quickly grow dense, rich forests with native species. This has been employed in different locations, with the plan to replicate it further.

Partnerships & Collaborations

sustinova logo

Sustinova is a non-profit organisation based in Zurich, Switzerland, and devoted to promoting Sustainability in the NGO area.

As a partner, Sustinova provides operational support to Reforestation World in its public activities.

ETH Zurich - Chair of Ecosystem Management

The Chair of Ecosystem management at the ETH Zürich organised the Latsis Symposium ETH 2018 “Scaling-up forest Restoration”, on June 6-7 & 9, 2018.

Reforestation World collaborated with the link to NGOs, practitioners and others stakeholders in the field of forest restoration.