VOLUNTEERS STRIKE A BLOW FOR CORAL CAY FORESTS

More than 20 volunteers from Friends of the Capricornia Cays (Central Queensland) are helping Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) rangers revegetate Tryon Island after scale insects killed most of the native pisonia trees.

Environment Minister Lindy Nelson-Carr congratulated the volunteers who helped collect pisonia tree cuttings from nearby North West Island, pull weeds and plant the cuttings as part of the island’s revegetation.

“Tryon Island has become a living laboratory with cuttings planted in plots, given different treatments and left to fend for themselves to find out how best to revegetate this coral cay,” she said.

“It’s great to see cuttings from previous plantings now sprouting and volunteers altering their planting regime after learning from previous attempts.”

EPA Botanist Joy Brushe said volunteer groups had visited the island several times in the past two years.

“The volunteers have also been monitoring the growth of previous plantings to learn more about how this hardy species survives in such a hostile place full of sand, salt and summer heat.

“The success of the project depends on the group visiting the island each year and helping QPWS rangers to photograph, measure growth, collect samples, plant pisonia cuttings as well as undertake surveys of an introduced ant population.”

QPWS plans to use the knowledge gained through this project to help manage vegetation on other coral cays.

Digital photographs and HDV vision is available by calling the EPA media unit on 3227 8452.

Minister’s Media contact: Karla Steen on 3336 8004 or Andie Gatti on 3336 8002