CHAIRMAN'S REPORT 2000

The beginning of the millennium has been nothing if not an eventful one in the history of the AUSTROP Foundation and the Cape Tribulation Tropical Research Station. I would also say, it has been quite a positive turning point in relations with the local community as well.

Volunteers:
No. volunteers: 55 (including repeat visits).
No. interns: 8
No. students: 2
No. researchers: 5
No. visitors: 50

Breakdown of volunteers/interns and students: USA 7, Canada 3, Australia 14, France 2, Italy 1, UK 22, Germany 5, Poland 1, Japan 1, and Argentina 1.

This is a growth of some 5% from last year.

Teresa Elizabeth Moves On:
Teresa, having put five years of effort into the Station and the Foundation, decided that it was time to move on and pursue a career in the culinary arts. The Station was getting the informal name of the "Cape Tribulation Cooking Camp", and Teresa was responsible for much of this reputation, as was Brigitta before her. Teresa was responsible for much of the conservation activity of the Station, especially the onerous tasks of responding to the Power EIAS and the Navicio development application.

She was largely responsible for chivvying the Daintree Rainforest Taskforce into having regular meetings, and for two years was secretary to the Cape Tribulation Community Council. Her influence is also evidenced in the upgrading to the kitchen, small office, accommodation buildings and the Bat House. She is sorely missed, even though she will continue, for now, to be an Austrop Director.

Daintree Power Survey:
Johnny Cowie, an Environmental planning student from the University of Queensland, Gatton, came as an industrial placement student for three months over December. He was given the onerous task of carrying out the third AUSTROP survey of householders in the Daintree by assessing their attitudes to their renewable energy systems, the environment, and to the power issue in general. As part of the survey, he also had to test as many battery systems as possible using a new device, a conductance analyser, kindly lent to us by the distributor, Hotwire Systems.

From this rather considerable body of information, we put together a report: "Daintree Renewable Power Survey 1999-2000" (ISBN: 0-646-39677-3), which was distributed to the various Queensland Departments. It has cost us $300 so far in printing and distribution costs with three sales!

As a postscript, on the strength of this report, Johnny has now a job with the Murdoch University Remote Area Development Group.

Solar Energy Course:
It became very evident from the survey, that there was a need and interest in having an adult education-style course on Solar Energy, and the efficient use of energy, for the people in the Daintree. HS ran a course (7 weeks of 2-hours per week and 3 prac sessions) at the Alexandra Bay School, which was well received. Interestingly enough, the most enthusiastic student was one of the Stalwarts of the Pro-Power lobby in the region, and his presence helped start a dialog with that group, which was what I was hoping to achieve. Their stance has greatly softened over the past two months since that course, as the student spent a lot of time trying to convince them of the follies of their ways.

Home Power Magazine (in S. Oregon) continues to provide free bulk copies of the magazine for distribution to course students and to interested parties, for which we are very grateful. It really opens people's eyes to the possibilities of renewable energy.

Research & Intern Projects:
Post-cyclone regeneration, a major three-year project, the recovery of vegetation under intact primary rainforest after the cyclone (Rhona) was started initially with two volunteers, Sherril and Karen, and continued with Felix, Sarah and Claire. This is a major undertaking - involving the complete floristic analysis of ten 5x5 meter plots, five in disturbed forest, and five in undisturbed forest. All plots are in the nutmeg under-story forest on the northern bank of Mason's Creek, on World Heritage listed property belonging to the Grays, our next-door neighbours. Another sample cycle will be carried out in April/May of 2001, and each year following for five years. A portable field herbarium has been constructed for the job.

Fig Wasps: We have had two interns, both from Germany, Martin and Anna, who carried out the painstaking measurements of body size of pollinator wasps of Ficus septica, to answer a problem. Are the populations of pollinating wasps arriving at figs the same size as those emerging? It has been suggested that there is a degree of skew in the populations, with emerging wasps being, on average, smaller than those arriving. So far, this difference has been observed in our wasp population as well, with a definite tendency for smaller wasps not to be successful pollinators. This will be a continuing project, as there are still some 1000 wasps to measure!

Other Projects

Flying Fox Deterrent: We were hoping to have the radar-based bat deterrent system ready for trials when the Lychee season opened this month. However, the need for the workshop to be constructed, the fall in the Australian dollar, making the cost of radar reflectors from the USA prohibitive, and other issues have managed to delay the program. However, we will keep soldiering along on that one. Ironically, there were hardly any FF's to deter in the Daintree this year.

Energy Conservation: With the extension of the Lab building, we also extended the heat/humidity exchanger built into the top of the building, and were most gratified to see that the larger system worked even better than the original. However, the refrigeration unit has failed repeatedly, due to poor workmanship, and we are hoping that the final repair IS final!

We are expecting the arrival of an Engineering student from Sweden at the beginning of December 2000, and we will be looking at further development of our air-to-air humidity exchanger.

Donations And Grants:
From November 1999 to the present, we have received $13,500 in major donations and grants from:

Myer Foundation 2,000
WTMA CMA 6,000
AET 1,500
L.Cope 4,000

Laura Cope, in addition to the straight donation of dollars to the Station, has provided several thousands of dollars through purchasing all sorts of needed items from printing Bat House brochures to crockery. She has definitely been one of our most generous supporters.

Station Structure

Extension To Laboratory Building: In order to progress the Flying Fox Deterrent project, we required a climate-controlled machine shop to house a lathe-mill, previously owned by HS, and suffering from 13-years of exposure to the Cape Tribulation climate, and an extensive collection of tools. It will allow the construction of precision assemblies that are required for the radar mechanism, as well as facilitating other workshop work.

A three-meter extension was added to the building in the same style and composite material as the laboratory, and coupled to the laboratory dehumidifier. Cost approximately $3,000. It will also provide a very convenient test-chamber for the project on humidity recovery systems starting in December this year with the arrival of Johann Sikerlev from Sweden.

There was no cyclone damage other than the roof of the old demountables, which urgently needs to be replaced, but at least it no longer leaks. The vegetation regrowth has been amazing to say the least. The toilet/laundry block is no longer visible from the main building due to regrowth of trees, both planted and naturally rooted.

Performance Of Solar Energy System: After five-years, the batteries for the Renewable Energy System failed, that is, they were down to one-third of their capacity). They have been replaced with another set of gel-cell batteries, which are a new technology. The old batteries will be transferred to the Bat House for use there, where they will have ample capacity. Unfortunately, the controller for the system is failing as well, and until it is returned for repair, operating the Solar Power System is becoming difficult. To make matters worse, the main tracker assembly bearings have failed, and need replacing because of design problem.

Regeneration: A new regeneration site was started in mid 2000, nearer the Station itself, and this was greatly assisted by three student groups who not only planted the trees, but gave $25 each for the honour of doing so ($750). The trees were supplied gratis from the Cassowary Care Nursery in Cow Bay, a community regeneration nursery.

Bat House Restructuring: For three weeks in late February to mid-March 2000, the Bat House was torn apart and remodelled by a long-time supporter of ours (and former neighbour), Mark Herridge and a colleague from Cairns. This extended the interior to the then verandah line and extended the verandah another two-meters further. This resulted in a building that looked, from the outside, exactly as before, yet this operation had effectively doubled the interior space. The effect was outstanding, with the Bat House now having a clear glazed western wall looking out on the regenerating rainforest. This was funded by a re-allocation of the CMA money by Wet Tropics Management Agency of money previously earmarked for an irrigation system. In this weather?

It took another two months of hard work by Teresa and volunteers to repaint the interior and re-organise the displays.

Bat Cage: This was expanded by the addition of yet another 3x9 meter addition, so that the bats have far more room to fly in.

Web Page:
After a long gestation, the new model web page, supplied courtesy of Linda Gilenthal in Seattle, another USA supporter, started to take shape, with a number of volunteers, in particular Lynne Bateman (UK) helping to flesh out the bones. The web page is now ready for launching, or more accurately, web book.

Future Projects

Tax deductibility In USA/Goldman Grant Application: We are in the final stages of obtaining tax deductibility in the USA through the kind services of the Sierra Club Foundation based in San Francisco. Hopefully, the first money that will flow through that channel is a grant of $US 5,000 from the Goldman Foundation, initiated by John Sinclair (a Goldman Foundation recipient), to fix the Station's roof and build a new storage building.

We are hoping to start a campaign in the USA to raise money for the Daintree and buy-back, and we have quite a number of supporters, especially in the US West Coast, who want to fund-raise for us.

New Solar System For Bat House: As part of the conditions for the Cooperative Management Agreement (CMA) with the Wet Tropics Management Agency, we have to install a new solar system for the Bat House, in conjunction with a display (interactive) on solar energy. We are pioneering a system in which the solar panels are mounted on a tracker that is hoisted up a 12- meter (34-foot) steel column with a hand-operated winch. In this way, the panels are exposed to the maximum sun, without the necessity to clear vegetation to give sun access. The whole tracker assembly can be winched down the column for repairs or for cyclone protection.

Vehicles: We now have a "new" secondhand Subaru Station Wagon to replace the Mitsubishi. "Sigma" had served us well for four years, but died of terminal oil deficiency.

Other Issues

Daintree Futures Study: This ill-advised, and I suspect, ill-fated attempt to create a compromise solution to the future of the Daintree (to accommodate both Senator Hill and Rep. Warren Ensch's attitudes and dislikes - Buy-back, renewable energy, agriculture- organic or otherwise), wasted a considerable amount of time and energy this year - both in responding to the various drafts and attending to meetings convened by the consultants.

Film Crews: We had visits by a number of TV and film groups. One, KRON-TV (Doug McConnell and Mary Stephens) was producing "Back Roads of Australia", which included Fraser Island and the Daintree, and was aired in the USA in October, a print of which they were kind enough to send us.

Further Building Projects: A second air-conditioned building, similar to the present laboratory, for equipment storage and to function as a general workshop that can accommodate wood- working as well.

A fourth accommodation building, which would give us flexibility in accommodating up to twenty people, which is our limit, while leaving accommodation space for two staff members.