Winston Guymer is the owner of Rous sanctuary, located approximately 15 km South West of Alstonville on the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. The sanctuary was purchased as a non-commercial farm, and Winston intends to expand the forested areas and improve the existing high quality rainforest remnants. As such, the property is covered by a Voluntary Conservation Agreement and there are clearing exclusions signed as part of restoration funding Winston has received. His aim is to ultimately list the property with the National Estate to provide protection in perpetuity.
The property covers approximately 22 hectares of rainforest, and a mix of Camphor / rainforest habitats. It is part of a larger habitat area linking Victoria Park Nature Reserve and features one of the last remnants of the ‘Big Scrub’, a lowland rainforest that once covered northern NSW. A permanent watercourse runs through the sanctuary and there is also one small artificial dam.
Wildlife present includes a wide array of bird species, as well as potoroos (Potorous spp.), swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolor) and lace monitors (Varanus varius).
