The Forest Farm Story

Set on 110 hectares of private land in the beautiful Ballina/Byron hinterland, Forest Farm consists of several important eco systems: rainforests, riparian zones and wetlands.

​The vision and mission: 

To protect, enhance, and exhibit the property's existing natural ecosystems and to support the regeneration of a high conservation value environment that offers a haven for diverse native flora and fauna; enabled through successfully restored and resilient ecological communities.

​The aims:

• improve biodiversity

• where possible, restore native vegetation that previously existed

• attract more native wildlife

• improve koala habitat

• increase koala habitat connectivity

• protect, enhance and restore threatened Subtropical Rainforest remnants

​The objectives:

• Retaining the existing forestry plantation and transitioning this to diverse native habitat, enabled through a carbon project.  

• Assist natural regeneration where appropriate to restore and create prime, diverse koala habitat

• Undertaking weed control and active management in existing habitat, by clearing around trees and removal of weed species that may inhibit koala movement across the land.

• Providing safe habitat and improving the conditions for vulnerable and threatened species through the removal of cattle.

• Planting koala food and habitat tree species to improve koala habitat corridors.

• Creating diversity in existing plantings and new plantings for all local wildlife.

  • Monitoring and objectively measuring our activities to track progress and enable adaptive management.

    
    

    

    
    

     History of Forest Farm

    This land must have once been a remarkable place of abundant biodiversity, with forests, magnificent wetlands, and streams running down the hills to Emigrant Creek. Koalas in abundance in the wet sclerophyll forests. Emigrant creek crystal clear and full of fish and platypus. 

    
    

    Following the early establishment of Tintenbar as a loading port for the timbers of the ceder-getters, the magnificent forests of this place subsequently became dairy farming. Old timers of the area remember the cleared green hills, with only the occasional very steep gully left untouched. They also remember swimming in the clear waters of Emigrant Creek. Later, some steeper slopes were turned over to bananas for a time. We still see remnants of that era in the form of blue plastic turning up in streams following the 2022 floods.

    Then came the camphor laurel trees; although magnificent, these trees are a highly invasive weed species in this area because they are prolific seeders, loved and spread by rainforest fruit eating birds. They thrive in the northern rivers climate and soils, forming thick forests in a very short period of time, competing with and defeating the native species. 

    In 1996, a forestry plantation covering about 50% of the property was planted and registered, and the property turned to cattle grazing.  

    
    

    We purchased the farm in 2016, and named it Forest Farm.

    
    
    
    

    

    
    

    ​At Forest Farm, we are currently improving biodiversity for ...

    Rare/endangered Plants

    Coolamon (Syzygium moorei)

    Scrub Turpentine (Rhodamnia rubescens)

    Rough-shelled bush nut (Macadamia tetraphylla)

    
    

    Vegetation Communities:

    Riparian zones (Threatened)

  • Far North Coast Bangalow Palm Swamp Forest (threatened)

  • Far North Paperbark Gahnia Swamp Forest (threatened)

    
    

    Forested wetlands (Threatened)

  • Far North Paperbark Gahnia Swamp Forest (threatened)

    
    

    Wet sclerophyll forest 

  • Far North Brushbox - Bloodwood wet Forest

  • Far North Coast Hills Blackbutt Ironbark Forest

    
    

    Subtropical Rainforest

  • Far North Coast Bangalow Palm Swamp Forest (threatened)

  • Lower Richmond Hills Dry Subtropical Rainforest (threatened)

    
    

  Vulnerable, Near and Threatened Species:

  • koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) (Threatened)

  • Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) (Near hreatened)

  • Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) (Vulnerable)

  • Little Bent-wing Bat (Miniopterus australia) (Vulnerable)

  • Common Bent-wing Bat (Miniopterus schreibersii) (Near Threatended)

  • Eastern Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus megaphyllus) (Vulnerable)

  • Tusked Frog (Adelotus brevis) (Near Threatened)

  • Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove (Pitilinopus regina) (Threatened)

  • Pale-vented Bush-hen (Amaurornis olivaceus) (Threatened)

  • Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) (Threatened)

  • White-bellied Sea Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster) (Threatened)

  • White-eared Monarch (Carterornis leucotis) (Threatened)

    
    

    

    In the future, at Forest Farm we see nature thriving in the form of ...

    • Restored Vegetation Communities 

      • riparian zones

      • forested wetlands

      • subtropical rainforest

      • wet sclerophyll forest

    • koalas

    • koala habitat

    • Abundant local threatened species and plants

    • Diverse natural habitat for as large a range of animals and birds as possible