Last Sunday, there was a pleasant break in the weather and a group of 40 volunteers set about planting over 1,000 trees in a clearing in an area just around the corner from where we live. The spreads over 3.5 acres and many years ago the block of land used to be owned by the Crawfords, then it was owned by the Council who in turn exchanged it with the Rainforest Trust for the Zamia Theatre. The ground had become terribly overgrown by Lantana, and many other noxious weeds. The bulldozers came in and cleared it all away, leaving a large area for the new rainforest trees.

Here is an excerpt from one of the local papers written by one of the volunteers:

"Some great surprises emerged from the ocean of privet and lantana. Among these were a magnificent old-growth red cedar, and a couple of well preserved out-buildings from the Crawford home, which will be preserved. The only occupants of the old toilet block were a surprised brushtail possum mum with her two tiny babies clinging to her back. We left them sleeping.

Tamborine Mountain Rainforest Trust is working closely with Landcare to return this area to its original condition through an intensive program of noxious weed removal and replacement by rainforest species indigenous to the Mountain.

The commitment of so many volunteers to this day indicates the value we all place on the preservation and enhancement of our unique Mountain environment. The range of people involved was interesting.

The project is well-advanced, but the heavily weed-infested area right on the corner of Lahey and Long Roads is the next challenge that will be met in the spring. In the meantime we hope that the rain will continue to push the trees upwards."