Traditional methods enhance carbon abatement project

Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) is supporting Meerooni Warro Thornhill Aboriginal Corporation to regenerate land at Thornhill Station with native vegetation.

The project is engaging Land and Sea Rangers from Gidarjil Development Corporation to use Indigenous land management techniques for native forest regeneration and carbon abatement.

Some 2000 seedlings have been planted so far and 60,000 more will be planted in April.

The carbon and biodiversity pilot project utilises a combination of traditional mosaic and fire-stick farming practices.

Fire-stick farming is an Indigenous land management practice that utilises fire to burn vegetation and increase biodiversity, facilitating hunting and optimising the composition of plant and animal species.

Project manager Pereiha (Poh) Poharama said the next step will be weed control and maintaining fire breaks.

My main goal now is to start around April, and then we can get a burn done, block out the section we’ve done, burn that way, then back burn onto itself so we can have a clear understanding of what we’re dealing with,” he said.

“Once we’ve done the burn, we'll have a person driving slowly with a vehicle dropping the plants.

“We roughly stagger them every three metres and mix up the species to make it as natural as possible.

“Then we'll have guys coming along, digging next to those plants, dropping in hydration crystals.”

The plantings include ironbark, melaleuca and lemon myrtle trees.

Regeneration is expected to improve the condition and extent of native vegetation in essential habitat areas along Granite Creek.

This creek leads into the Baffle catchment which flows directly to the Coral Sea, contributing to the coastal waters of the Great Barrier Reef.

The project is funded by the Australian Government.

The pilot aims to create a credible market mechanism that improves biodiversity and climate outcomes while providing new income opportunities for landholders.