Hardwood Forest
10,000 Gympie Mesmate hardwood trees over 12 hectares.
We believe in using already cleared land, rather than clearing more.
Native trees. Australian grown.
10,000 Hardwood Trees.
In 2009 we planted a 10,000 tree hardwood forest of Gympie Mesmate trees.
Spanning over 12 hectares, the goal of this hardwood forest was to create a future stream of income for the farm in a sustainable way.
Prior to planting, this land was a paddock that we ran about 20 head of cattle on. After selling our livestock, the land sat empty and unused.
Being from New Zealand where free land is a premium, Maureen wanted to find a way to make this land productive once more. This is a core part of regenerative farming – finding new ways to make already cleared land more productive. After some research and pulling on her roots in New Zealand, Maureen suggested planting a forest that could be sustainably harvested for electrical poles, building materials, or other wood products in the future.
But more than just planting trees, both Scott and Maureen wanted to ensure that the planted trees were native not just to Australia, but the area of the Sunshine Coast where the farm is located.
Thus, a local Australian hardwood, the Gympie Mesmate, was picked.
And now, fifteen years since planting, the hardwood forest towers overhead, lush and green and filled with wildlife. Native birds nest in the treetops, possums make their homes in the tree branches, and Kangaroos and Wallabies hop between the trees.
It will be a long while before our forest is ready to start sustainably harvesting, but in the meantime, we get to enjoy the view from our house.
