Garima Conservation Reserve

Garima Conservation Reserve – Currumbin Valley

Located in Currumbin Valley, this 27.5 hectare property is home to many native plants and animals and is essential habitat for Koalas and home to 13 threatened flora species.

The word Garima means ‘respect’ or ‘to take care of’ in Yugambeh language. The Yugambeh language people are the traditional custodians of the land located in south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales

Lush dense green subtropical rainforest and traditional Australian bushland combine to offer a palette of greens, amid earthy browns and crystal-clear creeks that cascade over rocks into deep pools throughout the site.

Lush forest with a large tree and roots beside a flowing stream.
A serene creek flowing through a lush green forest.

Our Story So Far

The previous owner of this property assisted in the recovery of the land’s natural ecosystems and endemic vegetation, before transferring custodianship of the property to National Trust Queensland.

Like Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary that has been transformed into a not-for-profit business that showcases the very best of nature to visitors and locals after being gifted to National Trust Queensland in 1976 by founder Dr Alex Griffiths, the Trust is committed to the preserving the rainforest, sharing it with the community and protecting it for future generations to enjoy.

Work To Be Done

Committed to conservation, National Trust Queensland supports critical breed-to-release programs and operates Garima Conservation Reserve in the Currumbin Valley, which serves as the base for the National Trust’s Environmental Services division. This division undertakes essential bushland management and habitat restoration work across Queensland.

Garima is also home to the Eastern Bristlebird breeding program, playing a vital role in safeguarding the species from the risk of extinction. At Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, similar conservation efforts continue through The Frog Lab, where work is underway to breed the Kroombit Tinkerfrog out of extinction.

Maintaining the beauty, diversity and ecological importance of this property and preventing species from becoming extinct in the modern world is our key focus as we continue to protect, conserve, and celebrate Queensland’s environmental, built and cultural heritage.

Meet the Team

Glenda McCully is a passionate Horticulturalist dedicated to restoring and regenerating the natural environment.

In the late 1990s she acquired a certificate IV in Horticulture and a Diploma in Horticulture before receiving a Bachelor of Ecology and Conservation Biology from Griffith University in 2014. In her early career she had a plant nursery and vineyard. However, she chose to shift away from amenity horticulture and as she did, she learnt about how exotic/ invasive plants species are a major cause of environmental degradation throughout Australia, affecting most ecosystems, vegetation types and threatening biodiversity.

Glenda became the Horticulture Manager at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in 2017. In this role she was involved in the landscape design and construction of the park grounds. She and the Horticulture Team ensure the grounds are presentable, safe and usable. For a small team, they have made a huge difference over the years, working on projects such as the Extinction Trail, Free Flight Bird Show, Yarning Circle, Melaleuca Green, and more!For the next 12-months Glenda will be using her green thumbs to get two plant nurseries successfully up and running, one at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and another at Garima Conservation Reserve.

Glenda is currently undertaking a 12-month secondment and is the full-time Horticulture Manager at Garima Conservation Reserve. This duty includes rehabilitating and restoring the 27.5 hectare site to a healthy native ecosystem. This massive task to transform Garima’s initial state of weeds and degradation involves planting many native plants which creates countless amazing benefits such as providing habitat for local fauna, increased biodiversity, flood control, climate regulation, soil formation, cleaning water and air, food medicine, pollination and the list goes on! The vital importance of Glenda’s contribution to regenerate the land is a critical component to healing our planet and mitigating climate change.

“At Garima Conservation Reserve we are a small bush regeneration team making a big difference”.