Hello from our FCRC CEP team. We continue to make progress in the ecological restoration work of our CEP sites in Happy Valley on World Heritage K’gari. 

We are all very pleased with the staged transitioning we have achieved through practicing Zero Chemical methodology and the strategic use of healthy ‘weeds’- our sites and their biodiversity speak for themselves.

To appreciate the density and scale of Abrus precatorius subsp. africanus on sites we have recently gained access to work, I have included two photographs of one of those sites taken on 30th March 2017, the day we began work and more recently the 3rd July 2019 for comparison.

As well as Abrus precatorius subsp. africanus a range of other invasive species were also present.

This once beautiful site, as I had previously known it, had suffered cumulative degradation over the years through clearing, the spraying of pesticides and the activities of unhygienic operational equipment and vehicles creating disturbance conditions perfect for pioneering weed species to proliferate – Easter cassia (Senna pendula var.glabrata), lantana (Lantana camara), Brazilian nightshade (Solanum seaforthianum), corky passion flower (Passiflora suberosa) and painted spurge (Euphorbia cyathophora), despite all this, there remained a strong presence of native vegetation, native seed bank and native recruitment for us to work with. Our CEP team’s work in the restoration of this site is ongoing as with all of our sites.

Article submitted by Bree Jashin, Team Leader, Zero Chemical K’gari FCRC CEP