Carlos' silver lining 

 
 
Some of the trees claimed by Cyclone Carlos

Charles Darwin University’s Grounds crew will turn the devastation left behind by Cyclone Carlos into tons of woodchips and mulch for university and community use.

As it did for most of the Darwin region, Carlos left its indelible mark on CDU’s Casuarina campus falling more than 35 large trees of mixed species.

Thanks to a tireless effort from the Grounds crew, the clean up effort is nearing completion with some of the more extensively damaged areas requiring further attention over the coming weeks.

CDU’s Grounds Supervisor Nerida Nobel said the plan included wood-chipping most of the material and donating a large part of it to the community.

“As much of the material as possible will be chipped and will be stockpiled at the grounds compound for use as mulch on garden beds for the Palmerston and Casuarina campuses,” she said.

“We have also engaged several contractors to remove the larger fallen trees.”

Ms Nobel said the community would also benefit from Carlos’ wrath with the larger log sections unsuitable for chipping to be donated to the Lakeside Drive Community Garden for sculptural and structural uses.

“I expect the university to have significant savings in garden bed maintenance materials over the next 18 months,” Ms Nobel said.

Native species will be planted in replacement of lost trees, which included a number of Mahogany, Eucalyptus and Acacias.