Sanctuary Profile: NightWings Rainforest Centre

Left: Spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) © Jasmine Carey, Middle: Cassowary father © Martin Stringer, Right: Annie Schoenberger and Bennett Walker at Nightwings planting day © Martin Stringer

Nightwings Rainforest Centre

Queensland • WONGA BEACH

I purchased a 38-hectare property near the Daintree Rainforest in 2014. The previous owner had already reforested part of the land, but there were still 18 hectares of sugarcane and I wanted to continue her work. I was living my dream of creating habitat and food source for the Endangered spectacled flying-fox.

In 2015, Rainforest Rescue came onboard and through the support of grants from Terrain NRM and the ‘20 Million Trees’ project, we slowly created a wildlife corridor from the steep slopes of the range down towards the lower-lying wetlands. Rainforest Rescue’s team provided immense knowledge of the area and which trees to grow in the transition between rainforest and wetland forest. All the seeds were collected in the Daintree and are specific to this environment.

For the past ten years we have held annual tree plantings with the local community, managed by Rainforest Rescue. It has been a joy to see so many people coming together with a shared goal, some had even travelled from overseas to help out. Every year, we have shouted as one, “Plant a rainforest!”. Now we have exactly that.

There are eucalyptus and bottle brush as food sources for the flying-fox, as well as quandong and cassowary plums to encourage the return of cassowaries. Now that the first fruits have fallen, we occasionally see these incredible birds in the maturing forest. Migrating birds use the trees as a place to rest on their flyover to Papua New Guinea. At night, the place is alive with the sound of frogs, insects and other wildlife.

I’ve named the land NightWings Rainforest Centre after my love for the flying-foxes and the dream to reforest the whole property and leave a legacy in my family’s name.

I’ve always wanted to leave something behind that creates a positive impact. I’m very concerned about nature’s welfare, our fragile ecosystems and climate change. Land clearing is a major threat to the environment and wildlife. Potentially irreversible biodiversity loss is an indicator of the damage these impacts are causing. So, every tree planted makes a difference.

If you are located in Far North Queensland and are seeking native trees for a restoration project, visit Rainforest Rescue: Order your trees & plants – Nursery Order Enquiries – Rainforest Rescue

Annie Schoenberger
Member since 2015

Contribution assistance from Mark Cox,
Communications Manager, Rainforest Rescue