Fresh start for felled trees

More than 20 trees felled as part of upgrades to the Bruce Highway have been given a new purpose thanks to the intervention of Moreton Bay Regional Council on behalf of the Kabi Kabi people.

The trees, of cultural significance to Indigenous people, have found new homes at Dobson Lane at Bellmere and Timbergrove Rd, Elimbah, close to their original Bruce Highway location.

Mayor Peter Flannery says the trees have been recycled to create new wildlife habitat for native animals.

“You have heard of recycling paper, cardboard and other tree-based items, well Council’s now recycling the trees themselves,” he says.

Cultural significance

“A Kabi Kabi native title applicant identified that these trees had significance to them and reached out to see if we could find space for them on Council reserve land to create wildlife habitats.”

Kabi Kabi representative Drew Gulash understands the need to upgrade the Bruce Highway and says he’s pleased the cultural significance of the trees has been recognised.

|“The Kabi Kabi people are just happy that instead of just wasting the trees we can provide another life for them.|

“We hope a lot more wildlife will be involved, particularly with Council’s other plantings of native trees.”

New home for wildlife

Mayor Flannery says some of the trees have been hollowed out and stood upright to attract owls, microbats, snakes and gliders, while others will be stacked to mimic fallen trees and create habitat for echidnas, bandicoots and lizards.

“These two habitats can take up to 1000 years to form naturally in the wild, so it’s a massive bonus for our local wildlife."

A Transport and Main Roads spokesperson says the felled tree logs were identified as significant during a cultural heritage survey of the Bruce Highway Upgrade – Caboolture-Bribie Island Rd to Steve Irwin Way.

"We have worked closely with Kabi Kabi, Moreton Bay Regional Council and construction contractor Fulton Hogan to scope potential locations and champion the project from the initial concept in September 2021," the spokesperson says.

"The lasting benefits will contribute to the restoration of the environment by providing nesting and sheltering sites.

"This work will also establish a case study for the repurposing of felled trees in this manner for consideration in future infrastructure projects."

See the video