Archives: Plan Partners

Rainforest Rescue protects and restores rainforests in Australia and internationally by purchasing and protecting the biodiversity of high conservation value rainforest, and by re-establishing rainforest through planting, maintenance and restoration.

Background

Wet Tropics Soilcare (WETS) formed in November 2014 with 50 members, as a direct result of Terrain NRM’s intensive farmer soil health program, Digging Deeper.

It is an incorporated association in Queensland and a registered Landcare group with two main objectives:

1. To help members learn about improving the productive capacity of their soil.
2. To share that knowledge amongst its members.

Agricultural Industries

Its members are drawn mostly from the Wet Tropics region, but also as far west as Dimbulah, north to Cape York and south to Townsville. They represent almost every agricultural industry in the Wet Tropics: sugar cane, bananas, avocadoes, tropical fruit, citrus, vanilla, cocoa, vegetables; agronomic services, agricultural suppliers, extension services, natural resource management organisations. WETS does not support one agricultural system over another. It welcomes anyone (conventional, organic, biodynamic, ‘biological’) who has an interest in learning more about soil function.

Soil Health

Understanding how to improve and maintain soil is the foundation of sustainable agriculture. WETS aims to empower farmers with the knowledge and skills necessary to regenerate the productive capacity of their farms for both profit and quality through understanding how to enhance the biological activity in the soil.

Biologically active soil:

• promotes healthy pasture and crop growth and contributes to a healthy ecosystem;
• contains more organic matter which vastly increases its water holding capacity for greater resilience in both drought and flood;
• produces higher nutrient density food, stores more carbon and drains clean water into our river systems.

Projects and Activities

WETS currently supports a number of on-farm trials and regular skill-building workshops, often with invited experts.  See the table below for a list of highlights, past projects, workshops and activities undertaken by WETS.

Date	Activity	Location
Ongoing from May 2020	Mulch demonstrations (comparing hay, tea tree, woodchip and mowing/side-throwing interrow plants)	Mutchilba, Mareeba
Nov 2019	Albrecht Soil Mineral Balancing presentation and soil biology assessment demonstration (at WETS AGM)	Mareeba
May 2019	Soil Health and Your Wealth 2 day workshop (with Graeme Sait, Nutri-Tech Solutions)	Innisfail
Feb 2019	Nitrogen Use Efficiency – Practical Applications in the Paddock workshop	Cairns
Ongoing	Trial of calcium application rates on five properties in grazing, vegetables, dairy and tropical fruit production	Northern and Southern Atherton Tablelands
2018	A three-year program of skill-building workshops and forums to help members improve their understanding of soil function (funded through Community Grants program)	Around the region
2018	Three-year vermicast trial in cane, bananas and grazing (funded through Reef Rescue Innovation)	Innisfail, Mirriwinni and East Palmerston
2017/18	A series of workshops at three different locations demonstrating the use of soil biology tests in helping farm decision-making	Mourilyan, Mareeba and Mossman
2017	Soil biology testing	On-farm at Mourilyan
2017	Minerals and CEC workshop	On-farm at Malanda
2017	Make Your Own Bio-fertiliser training (members only)	Mareeba
2016	Proud convenors of the National Biological Farming Conference and Expo - 500 delegates, 40 exhibitors	Cairns
2016	Farming in a Variable Climate (with DAF presenters)	Gordonvale
May 2016	Understanding Nitrogen workshop	Gordonvale
August 2016	What Your Weeds Tell You workshop	On-farm at Kaban (near Ravenshoe)

Contact : Kellie Evans wetsoilcare@gmail.com

TICMA is committed to revegetation of creeks to restore native vegetation and prevent exotic plants from being planted on creek banks by new residents. Emphasis is on community involvement with many sites now being revegetated and maintained by residents.  The group also incorporates Coastal Landcare, Cairns Urban Landcare and Landcare Community Revegetation Unit.

The Tree-Kangaroo and Mammal Group (TKMG) is made up of local residents interested in, and concerned for, the conservation of North Queensland’s rich mammal fauna.

The group supports projects and research to help protect tree kangaroos and tropical mammals.

For more information on their Yellow-bellied Glider project, please contact Alexander Watson watson.alexander@gmail.com or mobile 0428 975 214.

Promotion of the Daintree area, including businesses, tourism operators and local attractions.