Our Promise
The Daintree Lowland Rainforest is one of the oldest continuously existing rainforests on Earth. Walk through it, and you'll find plants that have barely changed in millions of years, living links to Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent that once joined Australia to the rest of the world. One of them, the Green Dinosaur (Idiospermum australiense), is the plant on our logo. It's a reminder of exactly what we're here to protect.
How it started
Gondwana Rainforest Trust began in August 2018, when founder Kelvin Davies looked at what was happening in the Daintree lowlands. Back in 1982, a subdivision had carved 1,136 freehold lots out of the rainforest. Decades on, many of those blocks were still privately owned, sitting in the path of clearing and development.
Kelvin's idea was simple: if a block of rainforest could be bought before it was cleared, it could be protected forever. That idea, first known as Rainforest 4 Foundation, became the Save the Daintree program, and it's grown into something much bigger than anyone imagined at the time.
What we're here to do
Our mission hasn't changed since that first purchase: to protect and restore rainforest for wildlife, climate, people and the planet. We do that by buying endangered rainforest before it's lost, restoring what's already been damaged, and working alongside Traditional Owners so Country returns to the people who have cared for it the longest.
In the Daintree, that means working toward the Pathway to Protection, transferring properties into Daintree National Park, jointly managed by the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, under the ownership of the Eastern Kuku Yalanji People. Further south, our Big Scrub restoration efforts are helping rebuild lowland subtropical rainforest in Northern NSW, of which less than one per cent of the original 75,000 hectares remains.
What you've made possible
None of this happens without people like you. Since 2018, supporters have helped us purchase and protect 36 rainforest properties, establish more than 225,000 trees across the Daintree and Northern NSW, and protect over 918,000 square metres of rainforest, and counting!
In June 2026, ten of those Daintree properties were transferred into Daintree National Park (CYPAL). It happened because supporters chose, again and again, to back this cause.
What's next
Around 130 lots from that original 1982 subdivision are still unprotected. Every one is a chance to give ancient rainforest back to the plants, animals and people who depend on it.
If you'd like to see exactly where your support has gone, our Impact Reports lay it all out, year by year. And if you'd like to be part of what happens next, joining our monthly giving community is one of the simplest ways to help.