Rainforest Conservation in Australia
I spent several weeks volunteering in the Daintree Rainforest on the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia.
I worked at AUSTROP Cape Tribulation Research Station, a tropical conservation and research station in the heart of the rainforest.
I supported researchers on a project to GPS track and map local flying foxes, to better understand their movements and behaviours. I also took on the day-to-day management of “The Bat House”, a tourist attraction aiming to educate visitors about flying foxes and bats, as well as the biodiversity of the rainforest more broadly, and the need to conserve it. This meant getting up close and personal with the station’s population of rescued orphan spectacled flying foxes, including handling and feeding them, which was quite an experience!
During my time at the station I also carried out various conservation tasks, ranging from weed control and invasive plant species removal from the mangrove ecosystem to beach litter clearance.
