The OGRES of Mount Etna

Author: Bob Newby, Rockhampton Branch

Photos: Bethlea Bell

Published: Journal June 2022 

Attendees at the 2016 Yabba hosted by the Rockhampton Branch of NPQ visited a revegetation site at Mount Etna National Park that had been the site of a limestone quarry for many decades. Several thousand trees of local provenance were planted in the period to 2017 in projects funded by Greening Australia and Fitzroy Basin Association. By 2017 the funded projects were completed but an informal group of six volunteers who styled themselves the OGRES (Old Guys Restoring Ecosystems) decided that if the site was to become a functional ecosystem it would need ongoing maintenance. They continued to water the young trees and initiated a program of weed control. The OGRES are all retired (four are NPQ members) and they volunteer four hours per week.

In December 2019 one of the big wildfires in central Queensland swept through the entire planting (and much of the national park). The OGRES began tagging any plant material that looked as if it might have survived the fire then continued to keep the weeds under control. (Watering ceased because the whole system of pipes and hoses was destroyed in the fire). By mid-2021 there had been a somewhat surprising recovery of trees in many areas. 

QPWS were able to fund pipes for a new watering system and between June 2021 and March 2022 the OGRES planted approximately 1,500 trees in new areas. As with all such projects, successful restoration depends on follow-up and control of weeds. The area is still closed to the public but the plantings can be clearly seen from the main road. The activities of the OGRES have contributed to the success of this project which longerterm will see two sections of the national park connected by a green corridor consisting of a diverse array of species from the surrounding semi-evergreen vine thicket (SEVT) vegetation. It is also anticipated that the project will contribute significantly to the recovery plans for the nearby ghost bat and bent wing bat populations.