The Cabbage Tree Palm stands tall among Kiama’s green landscape, an iconic symbol to locals and tourists alike. Landcare Illawarra’s new community project aims to future proof these palms to protect and preserve this unique species. 

Member of the Landcare Illawarra committee, Alison Windsor, is encouraging the community to attend the event launch on Thursday 14 November to learn more about the project. 

“It’s open to anyone in the community that would like to come in and hear about what we’re planning to do, it’s also for the community to give us ideas of what they would like to see,” says Alison. 

The Cabbage Tree Palm once thrived in the rainforest in the Kiama area, now the palms are dispersed across farming land, struggling to regenerate naturally.  

“There’s no future trees coming back up and that is due to either the cows eating the seeds that are falling from the parent trees, or they’re trampling them into the ground.

“There’s no new generations, once those trees have died that will be it, there'll be none left in the Kiama Municipality,” Alison says. 

The palm can grow up to 30 metres in height, with the tallest trees being 100 to 200 years old, they’re a slow growing species.

Landcare Illawarra has received interest from farmers in the community who would like palms planted on their properties, with Landcare supplying trees and fencing to help the species thrive. 

“We want to future proof them so people can drive down Mount Pleasant or drive from Kiama to Jamberoo, and have all those beautiful Cabbage Palms that you can still see,” says Alison. 

The event launch will be held at the Gerringong Library and Museum from 6pm to 8pm, and will include more information on the Cabbage Tree Palm and its many purposes in Kiama’s history and natural landscape.