Gurrbum Nature Refuge

• Provided the financial backing required to purchase strategically important land in a critical corridor to increase cassowary movement and assist in genetic diversity of the southern cassowary in the Tully and Mission Beach areas.
• Collaborating with Traditional Owners – the Gulngay and Djiru peoples, C4 and our other conservation partners, and the local community to transform the former banana plantation into cassowary habitat.
• Revegetating 6 hectares with the planting of native trees and plant species.
• Piloting the use of the Miyawaki planting method on two plots on Gurrbum Reserve to accelerate rainforest reforestation on the property in partnership with C4 and fellow Cassowary Coast conservation group, Brettacorp Inc.
• Protecting the entire 17-hectare property including remnant vegetation under a nature refuge agreement, ensuring sanctuary for the southern cassowary for years to come.
• Supporting the Cassowary Recovery Team and the Department of Transport and Main Roads to establish a vegetated land bridge to be known as the Cassowary Connection Bridge over the Bruce Highway, a few kilometres north of Gurrbum Reserve.

Want to explore more – watch the Cassowary Conservation Documentary

• Between December 2019 and the start of the 2020 Wet Season, 6,620 native trees have been planted to restore and enhance the property’s biodiversity, including cassowary food sources such as bandicoot berry (Leea indica), cassowary plum (Cerbera floribunda), and quandong (Elaeocarpus johnsonii).
• The presence of cassowary scat amongst the new plantings is an encouraging sign that the cassowary once again feel welcome to roam and forage on the property.
• In just over 12 months, the growth rate of habitat trees on the first 100m² plot planted using the Miyawaki method and funded by Sugi is astounding. Each Miyawaki plot on Gurrbum Reserve features 75-plus plant species and up to 4 trees per square metre.
• The cassowary is fundamental to the survival and diversity of the Wet Tropics rainforest.
• With as few as 1,500 southern cassowary estimated to remain in the wild, the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area is a stronghold for their conservation.
• When revegetated, Gurrbum Reserve will be a crucial vegetation link between the surrounding national parks and the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.

“The Miyawaki provides a simple, effective and sustainable reforestation solution. We love that QTFN has allowed us to do this on their property and raise awareness of how we can do something that has a direct, positive result and leaves a legacy for future generations.”

Brett Kraus, Brettacorp Inc.

“This land will support Eastern Kuku Yalanjiwarra people to care for their lands and develop economic and community potential, ensuring culture, integrity and optimisation of benefits for Kuku Yalanji Traditional Owners.”

Kupa Teao, CEO, Jabalbina Aboriginal Corporation

• C4 Community for Coastal and Cassowary Conservation
• Queensland Department of Environment and Science
• Queensland Parks & Wildlife Service
• Terrain NRM
• Brettacorp Inc.
• Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
• The Rainforest School, Mission Beach
• Mission Beach and Tully community volunteers