Over a period of three days in the Australian tablelands, our study abroad group joined the TREAT (Trees for Evelyn and Atherton tablelands) organization in planting 2,500 trees for the surrounding endangered Mabi rainforest. According to a member named Doug, this reforestation work “gets retirees out of the house.” Ellie, a fellow retiree, joked that “the only problem is that we keep dying.” The two members went on to explain what draws people to the community-based revegetation group.
Doug and Ellie agreed that the organization’s inherent collection of like-minded people in the community provided them with strong social connections and benefits that are specifically important for retirees. In our time spent working alongside the reforestation volunteers, it became clear to us that the foundation’s impact extends far beyond that of local conservation and uniquely inspires a strong sense of community and individual purpose in its participants.
TREAT was founded with the aim of creating corridors between remnants of rainforest. The Wet Tropics, in which TREAT operates, is a diverse ecosystem that is home to many endemic species that only occur within the bioregion. When these forests are fragmented by agriculture and development, organisms are unable to move safely between patches. Some animals cannot leave their habitat at all, while others can but are threatened by cars, people, dogs, and cats when traveling between forests. When these organisms are restricted to smaller and smaller tracts of forest, they become more susceptible to disturbances that occur within the area, and the habitat they can escape into decreases as well. Botanist Joan Wright and rainforest ecologist Geoff Tracey set out in 1982 to replant swaths of forest that would allow organisms to move safely between these remnants.
TREAT's Lake Eachum Nursery.
Although TREAT was started by two environmental scientists, the organization has established deep roots with the surrounding community. As their website declares, “We come from a huge range of backgrounds, but all with one goal in mind — make a better future.” TREAT prides itself on its ability to bring people together under the banner of forest regeneration.
Three-year TREAT member Ellie told us that most of the foundation’s members don’t have environmental science-related backgrounds. Rather, he explained that the volunteers come from many different professions but all share a common interest in conservation, as well as helping their local community. Ellie explained that the retired members’ passion for reforestation was partly because they had all experienced the effects of climate change in their past professions. He added that the members had all seen positive results from their work with TREAT, including benefits to local farmers.
One older woman said that before she began volunteering at TREAT, she had never been involved with the environment and rarely ventured into the rainforest. Now, she volunteers at TREAT weekly, and her favorite pastime is walking around outside with her newfound appreciation of the forest.
Volunteers work together seamlessly to accomplish TREAT’s goals, but they have also grown close to one another. Just outside the nursery is a beautiful stained-glass panel made by a collection of local artists representing plant and animal species from the area. The artwork was the result of a collaborative effort reflective of the community’s unity and mutual support.
Community curated stained-glass panel.
This apolitical care for the local environment is refreshing and unique in its comparison to approaches in the United States. The immense care for the environment is a result of the strong connection people in the Atherton and Evelyn tablelands seem to have with the natural world. Both TREAT and its volunteers have an immense respect for nature and the surrounding endangered Mabi forest. Both Doug and Ellie were excited to share after planting Donaghy’s Corridor, which connected the rainforests of the crater lakes, they have seen more tree kangaroos in their backyards than ever before.