On November 2nd our Blue Gum Forest research group descended once again into the Grose Valley to document the state and recovery of the Blue Gum Forest after the bushfires.

This time the expedition group included Dr. Rosalie Chapple, Wyn Jones , Alex Allchin, Keith Muir, Simona Ermilova, a film crew led by Daniel Merson and members of the project’s University of Sydney hydrology research team, including post-doc researcher Dr. Mengran Yu and her supervisor Dr Floris Van Ogtrop.

The entire group trekked down on Tuesday the 2nd November and camped out overnight, returning up the mountain the next day.

The trip was marked by a sudden loud cracking sound, much like a gunshot. Stunned members of the group then witnessed an ancient Blue Gum tree snap and fall to the forest floor.

The dramatic death of the tree was indicative of the struggling health of the forest after enduring years of drought, fires and flooding.

More details on the project will be released soon, alongside the film that captured both the moment the tree fell and a preliminary analysis of the data gathered by our research team.

A slideshow of photos taken by Rosalie Chapple during the trip can be viewed below: