Paluma residents might have thought that the village had been taken over by a Lumberjack’s Convention last weekend as the reverberating sound of chainsaws and mechanical chipper echoed around the village. It just so happens that some locals decided to take advantage of the fine weather to get some major pruning works underway. It all came about when locals Colin and Jill arranged for their son’s mate Jason, who is a professional arborist, to come to Paluma to prune some large rainforest trees on their block.
There was movement in the village and the word was passed around……..!
As it often does around here, word was quickly passed on that an arborist was in town and here was an opportunity not to be missed. While Jason had originally planned to spend a couple of days pruning trees at Paluma, he was quickly snapped up by neighbours far and wide for additional pruning jobs. He now has a week’s worth of bookings and he will be staying on for a while. Paluma often has that effect on people…..!
Jason has an interesting career. When not pruning trees, his regular day job is working on movie sets. He moved from Townsville to the Gold Coast to pursue this work. Most of his time involves setting up stunts for film-makers. He happens to be in North Queensland at the moment due to Covid-19 and travel restrictions. He is taking advantage of the enforced stay in the North to do some extra pruning jobs, with Paluma residents happy to oblige.
Jason’s expertise in his work provided much entertainment for locals as he worked from dizzying heights in the cherrypicker and from harnesses. He often had a small audience watching his every move as he worked away, high amongst the tree-tops to trim and tame some rainforest giants and also the tall pine trees at The Guesthouse.
As always around this little village, the pruning became a community project with everyone ‘chipping in’ to lend a hand. It was all hands on deck at the chipper on Sunday afternoon. Not a branch or tree limb has gone to waste and the resultant mulch will be added to local gardens, flowerbeds and vegie patches.
Text by Michele Bird. Photos by Colwyn Campbell & Michele Bird
Thanks to the crew that helped with our trees over the two days. YOUR AWESOME!
A big ‘shout out’ and thank you to friends and neighbours who so willingly helped us out at Crystalbrook on Sunday, and on all the other properties in the village. We cannot thank you enough. What a mammoth effort!
What a fantastic community spirit we have in this beautiful place we live. So thankful.