Rainforest restoration project

This rare type of dry rainforest covers an area of 3.5 hectares and is protected from future development by a registered covenant with the Wet Tropics Management Authority. With the help of environmental student groups, we are restoring this rare rainforest to its former glory.

The site for Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures was once a farm. Over three decades the land was cleared and overgrazed, resulting in a massive weed infestation. Weeds have a higher biomass than native grasses causing hot bush fires that penetrate into fire sensitive rainforests.

Over time, the weeds have been replaced by appropriate plant species recreating the dry vine forest which acts as a valuable wildlife corridor and native bird habitat running between the foothills and shoreline. This protected forest plays a role in capturing carbon and reducing the impacts of climate change.