Thiaki, Atherton Tablelands Reforestation Project

“While it took decades to turn rainforest into paddocks, how did you turn paddocks back into rainforest?”

This was the nagging question for Penny van Oosterzee and Noel Preece when they bought Thiaki in 2005. Thiaki is part of the largest remaining privately owned rainforest remnant on the Atherton Tablelands. The 180-hectare property is 130 hectares of a logged but intact rainforest and a 50-hectare paddock.

“Even though our forest is one of the most biologically valuable pieces of land in the world, we could only earn about $5000 a year in agisting cattle on the precipitous paddock” says Penny. As ecologists Noel and Penny were able to facilitate an Australian research program in 2009 involving several universities both here and overseas to look at cost-effective rainforest restoration for biodiversity conservation and carbon using our paddock as a demonstration site.

“Our focus has been on testing common sense approaches that reduce the cost of restoration so that carbon is a viable alternative or a mix with cattle. It’s crucial for cost-effective restoration that builds back the rainforest across the landscape” says Penny.

“We also earn a good premium on our ACCUs because of the biodiversity value of the property which houses all endemic birds of the Wet Tropics as well as tree-kangaroos and rainforest possums.”

Dr Penny van Oosterzee, Director, Biome5

Research papers from Thiaki Rainforest Restoration Project