Let’s Keep it in KIN KIN
Demonstration site in Kin Kin
Kin Kin [Indigenous word for ‘little black ant’] is a picturesque township in the Noosa Hinterland, Queensland. This area was once home to some of the most magnificent rainforest trees in Australia, as documented in W.D. Francis’ seminal work “Rainforest Trees of Australia”. The Kin Kin catchment feeds into the iconic Noosa River which has one of the highest water quality ratings in Queensland, however, due to its historical land use, geological characteristics and high rainfall the Kin Kin catchment is the major contributor of sediment to the Noosa catchment.
Noosa & District Landcare Group [NDLG] has been working with a variety of partners to identify areas of most erosion and to develop plans to reduce sediment movement in the catchment. We are indebted to our partners including Noosa Biosphere Reserve Foundation, Noosa Parks Association, The Thomas Foundation, Healthy Land and Water, Noosa Integrated Catchment Association, Noosa Council, Country Noosa, , and the Kin Kin Community Group.
Cats claw creeper
The project has a number of activities:-
LIDAR Change Analysis & Area Prioritisation
To identify areas within the catchment that are impacted by soil loss and deposition, including hill slopes and creek lines. This was undertaken by LIDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) which uses a near-infrared laser to map the land from aircraft. The project compared imagery from 2008 to 2015 to identify active erosion and deposition areas. A prioritization exercise is occurring to inform the priority sites in greatest need of remediation in the Catchment.
This part of the project had some significant results-
Analysis indicated that 2.4 million cubic tones of soil had been mobilized in recent years, or the equivalent of almost 191,284 large dual axel soil delivery trucks or 765 Olympic sized swimming pools filled with soil.
Riparian restoration demonstration site
On-ground demonstration site for remediation of active hill-slope and riparian erosion. Over 850m of fencing and 2300 trees (1/2 ha) will be planted as part of this project on the Glasby’s property in Kin Kin.
Cats Claw Creeper Vine (Canopy Weed) Treatment, Survey and Action Plan Development
Cat’s claw creeper [Macfadyena unguis-cati] is a Weed of National Significance, and can completely transform a landscape. This project mapped the infestations, undertook targeted and strategic manual and chemical control and to assist Landholders with advice on control of this nefarious weed.
Awareness Raising Initiatives
A series of events and communication actions will occur to complement the actions occurring on the ground, including extension and property visits with landholders identified in the LIDAR analysis as being focus areas for remediation.
With support from the Noosa Biosphere Reserve foundation, and partners we are about to embark on Phase 2 of the project- remediation and extension services to landholders in the Kin Kin catchment.
