Terrain NRM

Fire management on track for endangered mahogany glider

Posted on May 21, 2013
7. Terrain - Mahogany Glider Mungarru Lodge Sanctuary copyright David Dickson Wildcard Art

2013 looks set to be a promising year for the conservation of endangered mahogany glider habitat with the Wet Tropics’ Terrain NRM hoping to exceed the target that was set for fire management in habitat by the Federal Government’s Caring for Our Country Habitat Incentives Project.

The endangered mahogany glider is only found in a very restricted area, a 110 kilometers narrow band from Ollera Creek (40 kilometers south of Ingham) up to Hull River near Tully, in Far North Queensland. Continue Reading…

Mission Beach banana grower takes out horticulture award

Posted on May 9, 2013
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A banana farmer at Mission Beach in the Wet Tropics region of Far North Queensland has been awarded the top prize in the horticulture category of the inaugural Reef Rescue Awards.

Winner Ian Barnes had already made significant farming improvements on the family farm using his own funds but with the help of a well-timed Reef Rescue grant in 2011 (Cyclone Yasi wiped out their entire crop and destroyed their shed in February of that year), Ian was able to make further changes which improved both his soil and nutrient management, thereby reducing the risk of run-off from the property.

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Carbon Farming to feature at FNQ Field Day

Posted on May 8, 2013

Media Release
8 May 2013

Four organisations across FNQ are bringing together some of Australia’s leading carbon farming specialists at this year’s FNQ Field Day, which takes place 29 – 30 May at Mareeba.

Northern Gulf Resource Management Group, Southern Gulf Catchments, Cook Shire Council and Terrain NRM are providing visitors to the field day with a jam-packed schedule of presentations and workshops as well as technical natural resource management information and extension services.

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New over-row sprayer and GPS the keys to efficiency on large Tully family farm

Posted on March 11, 2013
Cameron Vecchio, Kevin O’Kane and Peter Vecchio stand in front of the new over-row sprayer they’ve built for use on the Vecchio’s Tully farm.

By Jasmine Hunt

Towering above the cane fields at Murray Upper, just south of Tully Township, is a contraption that has allowed sugarcane grower Peter Vecchio to save time and chemical use.

This contraption, also known as an over-row sprayer, is going a long way in assisting Peter to save money and precious time on his cane farms, scattered across the Tully region.

Built from the ground up by Peter and employee Kevin O’Kane, the spray rig has its base on a John Deere 6400 tractor, and is fully GPS automated, rate controlled and auto-steer.

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Cane growing brothers keen for change

Posted on March 11, 2013
Greg Dore talking about his Reef Rescue project on a ‘farmers teaching farmers’ bus tour in the Tully region.

Greg, Jamie and Brian Dore are well-known cane farmers in the Euramo region just south of Tully and have received Reef Rescue funding for a zonal offset discing project. This means that only 42% of the total area of their property is being tilled, significantly reducing the amount of soil that is worked.

Including their own farm, the Dores manage over 1,000 hectares of cane land in the district and are keen to participate in industry information sharing events, such as ‘farmers teaching farmers’ days as well as innovative projects like Project Catalyst, which supports cane growers to develop and test new practices in sugarcane production.

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Wet Tropics endangered species gets an $825k boost

Posted on March 3, 2013
Mahogany Glider by David Dickson Wildcard Art

Terrain NRM has been successful in securing $825,000 from the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country initiative for a project to save Mahogany Gliders, Cassowaries and Littoral Rainforest affected by Cyclone Yasi.

The project, Building Resilience for Cassowary, Mahogany Glider and Littoral Rainforest, will increase and improve habitat by supporting on-ground action including revegetation, weed and pig control, fire management and fencing.

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Mahogony Gliders a golfing icon

Posted on February 8, 2013

Golfers in Cardwell are sporting alongside an endangered population of ‘slender rope dancers’. Mahogany Gliders share their home with visiting and local sportsmen and women alike in this unique arrangement where they literally ‘forage in the rough’.

A recent unveiling of four interpretive signs at the golf course welcomed Traditional Owners, Government and community groups on the green at the Cardwell Golf Club. With a recurring message ‘every tree matters to me’, the signs were developed to inform and educate the local community and tourists about the presence of mahogany gliders in the area.

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Protecting the River’s neck

Posted on December 19, 2012
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The North Johnstone River is threatening to change course across a narrow neck of land on a farm in Far North Queensland potentially affecting water quality and availability of productive land over a large area. A low cost solution is being attempted to tackle what could be a large and expensive problem.

Not only is one of the paddocks under threat, but the breakthrough of the river could cause erosion and bank slumping for kilometres upstream. Weeds are trapping sediment and pushing water towards the erosion face which is enhancing the likelihood of the breakthrough.

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Pennies for pigs, bucks for boars

Posted on December 6, 2011
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Terrain’s Integrated Feral Pig Programme (IFPP) brings together industry, local government and Landholders to combat feral pigs in Tully and Innisfail. Terrain has facilitated negotiations of financial contributions from each of these partners over the life of the project.  The project works by pooling individual contributions from landholders and uses these contributions to lever matching funding from Local Government, State Agencies and the Federal Government. Continue Reading…

Passion, environment and lifestyle lures young land stewards

Posted on September 5, 2011
Left to Right: Joe, Gerry and Sam Deguaras

The future is bright for the Deguara family, a Mackay Whitsunday sugar cane family who not only works the land, but has expansion of their operations on the cards with a strong focus on improving the environment.

Sugarcane grower Gerry Deguara heavily involves his two sons, Sam and Joe, in his farming operations. Based in the Reef Catchments area of Mackay Whitsunday, Gerry says a key ingredient to keeping younger growers interested in being land stewards is to offer a bit more of a challenge. Environmental issues certainly makes this possible with a great effort into improving their soil, irrigation, chemical and nutrient to improve water quality through their participation on ‘Project Catalyst’, a project with partners including NRM groups Reef Catchments, NQ Dry Tropics, Terrain in addition to the Coca-Cola Foundation, WWF and the Australian Government through the Caring for our Country’s Reef Rescue program. Continue Reading…