Formerly Big Scrub Landcare, we are one of Australia’s most successful not-for-profit community conservation organisations.
We help save from extinction Australia’s critically endangered lowland subtropical rainforest and its many threatened species.
We are the Voice of the Rainforest.
Welcome to the Big Scrub
The “Big Scrub” was once the largest area of lowland subtropical rainforest in Australia: it covered 75,000 ha in the hinterland of Byron Bay, until cleared by European settlers. Today, only 1% of this once mighty rainforest remains.
Despite this devastation, its remnants retain the highest proportion of Gondwana-descended species of any rainforest in Australia, with many lineages dating back more than 180 million years. Home to the richest terrestrial biodiversity in NSW – the third richest in Australia – it’s an ancient, complex ecosystem of immense ecological and cultural value.
Science Saving Rainforests
Our ground-breaking Science Saving Rainforests program analyses the genomes of 60 species occurring in critically endangered lowland subtropical rainforest based on DNA sequencing of more than 10,000 leaf samples.
These genome analyses will inform the establishment of a multi-species living seed bank plantation that will produce planting stock with optimal genetic diversity for restoration plantings to help save from extinction our critically endangered lowland subtropical rainforest and its threatened species.
Koalas in the Big Scrub
With mass eucalypt plantings on land that was once Big Scrub rainforest increasing, Big Scrub Rainforest Conservancy is calling for a measured approach to koala habitat creation in North-Eastern NSW.
We’ve created a short film and other resources exploring the conservation dilemma of Koalas in the Big Scrub, and gathered during Big Scrub Rainforest Day Celebrations in November 2023 to discuss the issue with the community.
The Big Scrub Rainforest Book
Our book – The Big Scrub Rainforest: A Journey Through Time – explores the ecological and cultural value of the Big Scrub, with contributions from Bob Brown, Dr Tony Parkes and Martin Brook, along with the region’s best ecologists, photographers and regenerators. Take a journey into the Big Scrub and learn how it came to be, its ecological value, what it means to people and what its future could be like.
Our Programs
For over 30 years, we’ve connected community and employed groundbreaking, science-backed techniques to restore critically endangered lowland subtropical rainforest.
Science Saving Rainforests
Re-establishing Rainforest
Remnant Care
Connecting Community
Stories of Success
Dawes Bush: Eltham
Dawes Bush: Eltham Valley’s Earliest Tale of Conservation The story of Dawes...
TARRA: Bangalow
A look inside Big Scrub RC Co-Founder, Dr Tony Parkes’, Bangalow rainforest...
Brookfarm: McLeods Shoot
Brookfarm’s transformation from desolate farm to towering rainforest ...
Grow Your Own Rainforest
Wondering how to restore rainforest on your own land? We’ve developed a step-by-step guide.
Subtropical Rainforest Restoration Manual
Our rainforest restoration manual is a comprehensive guide for land owners, managers and regenerators seeking to re-establish or rehabilitate rainforest.
The manual contains information on how to care for existing subtropical rainforest remnants as well as re-establish subtropical rainforest on land from which it has been cleared. It incorporates the latest science and best practice for rainforest regeneration planning, planting, weed control and important data relevant to planting the trees and shrubs that occur in lowland subtropical rainforest.
More Information
Read our FAQs for quick answers to common regen questions.
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