Work continues at our Fenby Gap revegetation site along the El Arish–Mission Beach Road, with the onsite crew currently battling dense infestations of guinea grass across the steep roadside restoration area.
In some sections of the site, the grass has grown over three (3) metres high, creating extremely difficult working conditions for crews undertaking the initial preparation works. Combined with the sun and challenging terrain, progress on-site has been slow but steady as teams gradually work through the infestation.
Using brushcutters, crews are manually knocking down the dense grass load before undertaking targeted periods of chemical spraying to help reduce regrowth and improve the long-term success of the restoration works.
While the process can look gradual from the roadside, this preparation stage is one of the most important parts of these restoration projects. Guinea grass is highly invasive and can quickly outcompete young native plants if not properly controlled before revegetation begins.
Due to the site’s location and steep roadside conditions, works need to be carried out carefully and progressively to ensure both crew safety and effective weed management outcomes.
Once the site preparation works are complete, we will begin revegetating the area with native species selected to strengthen habitat connectivity through the corridor and help stabilise the degraded roadside edge.
Over time, the goal is to transition the site from a weed-dominated roadside verge into a healthier native planting zone that better supports the surrounding Wet Tropics rainforest ecosystem.
We’d like to acknowledge the incredible effort of our onsite crew who have spent weeks working through physically demanding conditions to move the project forward.
This project is being delivered by C4 in partnership with the Department of Transport and Main Roads.