Rewilding for koalas

Beneath the waves.
In a world of song and rhythm, Brett Vercoe once found peace
a filmmaker, a free diver,
a guardian of the deep
But as years passed, he and Lisa, an educator
and passionate grower, found their calling closer to the Earth.
Together, they embarked on a journey - one far beyond their past adventures.
It brought them here to Narlu on the Coffs coast,
a place of outstanding beauty.
Diversity.
And now restoration.
My wide and I purchased this property about
two years ago, with the idea of revegetating
and regenerating a couple of different forms of forest.
One is lowland subtropical rainforest, which we're sitting in right now on floodplain.
It's a endangered
ecological community, so it's worthy of,
some protection, some pretty urgent protection.
But also, we're very keen to facilitate the restoration
of some wet and dry sclerophyll forest, which we have on the back of the property,
and some rolling hills to the south of where we are at the moment.
And the idea behind that was to reestablish
some koala habitat in this area of what was once what's known as primary
koala habitat, which is the best of koala habitats.
But unfortunately, it's become over time, very fragmented, due
to agricultural practices.
So the idea was to try and consolidate
the fragmented portions and provide connectivity between the two.
This is a family rooted in hope and laughter.
Where even an Instagram famous horse finds its place in the story.
And while their dreams are grand
at heart, they just like any family
seeking community, nurturing stewardship
and embracing the challenge of regeneration.
Here on the Coffs coast, the land sings an ancient song,
one of Gondwana, of lush rainforests that once covered the world.
It's a region unlike any other.
A sanctuary for species found nowhere else.
But it's also a land under threat.
Balancing on the edge of preservation and loss
The first stage of course, is the seeds, which
we collect ourselves mainly from around our own property or very close by.
So it's all endemic to this actual valley.
And actually, I'm trying to raise tree ferns at the moment
because it was a dairy farm here.
The cows just ate all the ferns and palms.
I'm just collecting a new lot of,
gums and
And I just collected these the other day
some seeds for some Brushboxes
and flooded gums.
This needs to go in the ground
There that table was full.
Probably had about 300 of these.
And because the cows had eaten everything off the river
We’ve needed to replace them.
Like a lot of people who've met Brett and Lisa
they were drawn in by their enthusiasm and their motivation, it was selfless.
Whenever I come out here,
I see one of them, Brett or Lisa, and they're both happy to see us
and keep us updated on little bits and pieces on what they've been doing.
Meeting their dog, Bella, and a couple of horses down there.
They're just inspiring people. That's why we do it.
so we've also tried to, wherever possible, involve,
First Nations people in the management of the property
and in particular with regard to controlling African grasses, introduced
cattle grasses that, that basically blanket the block.
And this includes cultural burns, which, we've had great success with.
And, we're going to continue using those.
We've got a few test areas at the moment where we're trialing them.
And the results so far really, really good.
And that should hopefully, assist with the regeneration,
the natural regeneration of the forest.
Oh, look, if I was given the opportunity to do what they’re doing I’d probably do the exact same thing
I am proud to know them and I think that it's amazing
the way that they focus their energy on this property, and then
what more can we do for Mother, you know, Mother Earth, than support her
being beautiful again and bringing back what she’s meant to have on her.
Regeneration isn't glamorous.
It means fighting weeds, facing storms
and confronting the frustration of slow progress.
Yet through it all, Brett and Lisa found strength supported by family
and community, knowing that the work would outlast them
Another fairly confronting challenge has been the
extreme swings in weather that we've been experiencing over the last
4 or 5 years, particularly with flood events.
We had five floods in three years, each
of which qualified as a 1 in 100 year flood event.
And we've had extremely hot days
which can stress juvenile plants.
So we've had to at times, water
our plants just to make sure they survive those freakish events.
But, you know, freakish events seem to be happening fairly consistently these days.
Beautiful.
So, we've also had a big increase in raptors,
and we can see aWedge-Tailed Eagle cruising around behind me at the moment
Today, Narlu is blossoming.
Native trees stretch skyward, waterways are flowing
clearly and wildlife is returning.
These aren't just trees or streams.
They're lifelines for future generations.
And in these moments, seeing their grandchildren play, knowing
the land will provide long after they're gone, Brett and Lisa are reminded
that true legacy isn't what we take, but what we give.
So the reality is that even my grandchildren will probably not see
this project reach its entire fruition.
You know, it'll be ongoing.
Many of the trees
that we planted here will live for five, six, 700 years, hopefully.
So it'll be a multi-generational thing where, that will continue,
the trees will continue to grow and, and achieve incredible size.
Restoring a
landscape takes time, patience and love.
But the dream of Narlu is more than personal.
It's a gift to this region, a promise to the Coffs Coast, and a call to us all
because the trees we plant today will shade our grandchildren tomorrow.
To learn more, to grow your own story of stewardship.
Join the movement.
Together we can leave the world
better than we found it.