Tackling the problem of restoration continuity while coping with varied funding cycles
Big news! NQ Dry Tropics’ Senior Biodiversity Project Officer, Jaymie Rains (pictured), is heading to New Zealand as a speaker at the Australasian Weeds Conference (AWC) 2026.
Jaymie will dive into a challenge many in restoration know all too well — what happens when funding gaps put the brakes on weed control and other on-ground work? Her talk will discuss how those stop-start cycles can impact treatment sites.
She’s speaking from experience. With more than 14 years working on coastal and threatened ecological community restoration projects across North Queensland, Jaymie has seen it firsthand.
“I’m thrilled to be accepted as a speaker,” she said.
“I’m really looking forward to unpacking a question so many of us grapple with — what happens when the work stops?
“Beach scrub is incredibly resilient, but only if we give it a chance.
“These semi-evergreen vine thickets, restricted to narrow coastal strips, are under constant pressure from weeds, fire, pests and coastal development.
“While significant progress has been made through targeted weed control, marine debris removal and access management, the reality of funding cycles has meant work hasn’t always been continuous.
“The reality is we’re not just restoring sites once, we’re managing a trajectory across a number of years.
“If there are long pauses, we need to understand exactly what changes in that time.”
Jaymie’s presentation relates to the work she’s undertaking on the Climate Ready Coastlines in the Lower Burdekin project under the Queensland Government’s National Resource Management Extension Program (NRMEP), where adaptive management approaches are being used to strengthen resilience in coastal habitats facing increasing climate and weather extremes.
Jaymie said she hoped the talk would encourage broader discussion at the conference about building more resilient funding and delivery models for weed management programs.
“If we want lasting outcomes, we need to maintain systems that support continuity, because nature doesn’t pause when funding does,” she said.
This project is jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Natural Heritage Trust and NQ Dry Tropics, a member of the Regional Delivery Partners panel.
