The Easter Bilby campaign was created in 1991 to draw the nation’s attention to conservation efforts to save the Greater Bilby.

You may wish also to help this endangered little marsupial by fostering a Greater Bilby or simply by purchasing selected Easter chocolate bilbies which contribute towards their conservation.

Head to the Currumbin Santuary website to read the story.

On a slightly less celebratory note, now is a good time to identify Easter cassia (senna pendula var glabrata). This widespread invasive shrub has bright yellow flowers with five large petals which bloom prolifically around Easter. The cooler weather may provide an ideal time to poison them or pull younger plants out all together.  Check our online Weed List or the BCC Weed Identification website for more info.

 ©  Bryan Hacker

We wish you all a safe and happy Easter break!!!

Please note that the following working bees planned for Easter Sunday 21 April have been postponed to Sunday 28 April:

• Section 2 – Lower Moggill.  For more info, contact Judy Petroeschevsky on 3378 3348 
  
• Section 9 – Upper Gold Creek. For more info, contact Gordon Grigg on 3374 1737
• Section 11 – McKay Brook. For more info, contact Bryan Hacker on 3374 1468

Please contact John Crowley on 3374 0723 for info regarding Section 8 – Wonga Creek.

WE WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND SAFE EASTER !

For most of us the Purple Swamphen is a familiar sight. They are abundant in parklands and by our waterways, foraging in reeds for soft shoots, frogs and snails. Not all that remarkable.

WRONG!!!

Did you know the Purple Swamphen has been around since the 3rd Century? In fact, Aristotle included it in a survey of animals back in 350 B.C.E!

To learn more, head to Jim Butler’s Feather Fascination April 2019.

Footnote: Perhaps the longevity of the Purple Swamphen is due in part to its initiative!

We came across an Australian Geographic article which describes the bird’s ingenious and deliberate way of dissecting cane toads to avoid the toxin when enjoying a cane toad meal.

Click here to read more: Don’t under estimate a Swamphen

Photo © Ed Frazer 
  

 

Brisbane City Council is offering free training to catchment group members. Its focus is social media and marketing in the digital space.

The session will cover aspects of social media content development and administration activities which are suitable for catchment and land management groups. It will run for over 3 hours and participants will receive a social media workbook upon completion.

When:                  1pm-4pm, Friday 24 May 2019

Where:                 Karawatha Forest Discovery Centre, 149 Acacia Road, Karawatha.

If you’re interested, please contact Andrew Wills ASAP.  Places are limited. Whilst this invitation has been sent to Catchment Group members initially, Environment Centres are keen to have their volunteers attend, too.

Andrew can be reached by phone on 3407 0215 or 0408 713 450, or you can email him on: [email protected].au

The Fraser Island Defenders Organisation and Cooloola Coastcare is running a 3-day BioBlitz from 3.30 Friday 17 May through to 3.30 Sunday.

The BioBlitz is 48 hours of biological surveying in an attempt to expand the records of all the plant and animal species within the Cooloola Coast.

Scientists, naturalists and volunteers like YOU conduct the survey in small groups!

The BioBlitz will have experienced leaders, interesting presentations by scientists and social occasions and dinners. You can join them for 1 day or 3 and no special experience required to participate. Age group from teens to retirees.

Contact Lindy Orwin on 0478 039 322 or email [email protected].

For more info, check out the flyer:  Flyer Cooloola BioBlitz 2019

Note:

BioBlitz...an intense period of biological surveying in an attempt to record all the living species within a designated area.

What do you think?

If you’ve ever reflected on the natural cheekiness of a rainbow lorikeet or the inquisitive nature of a noisy minor, the dignity of a magpie or the solemn gaze of a tawny, then we guarantee you will be captivated by our latest Bush Bites article.

In it, Ed Frazer shares his interactions and observations of some wonderfully diverse birdlife on his property. Read about “Kook” and “Puddleduck” and the willie wagtails, mapgies, and ducks that have become part of Ed’s life (just as he has become part of theirs). 

There’s an especially enchanting story about Major Mitchells, all accompanied by Ed’s jaw-dropping photos.

Head to Ed’s Bush Bites article and then decide for yourself: Do birds have personalities? 

This workshop is part of the Waterway Health Assessment Training (WHAT) provided by Council’s Creek Catchment Program. 

Aquatic Ecologist Natalie Toon will guide participants through the requirements and methodology to undertake an aquatic macro invertebrate survey in your local creek.

Training will include capture techniques, identification of macro invertebrates, and how the results relate to waterway health. 

This is a fantastic workshop for those interested in monitoring creek health, and providing and protecting aquatic habitat.

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When:  Sunday 7 April; 9am – 1pm (morning tea & lunch provided)

Where:  681 Gold Road, Brookfield (upper part of Gold Creek – just below the dam wall)

Cost:  Free to catchment group members
RSVP:  By Friday 29 March to Michael Thorley (07) 3407 0049 or email: [email protected]

It’s Earth Hour 2019!   Are you switching off?

Every year millions of people in over 180 countries switch off their lights in March for the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour.

This year lights will go out all over the world from 8.30pm on Saturday 30th March.

This symbolic and global gesture is intended to show the need for stronger climate action.

If you’d like to join in, head to the Earth Hour website for more info.

ABC TV has generously allowed us to share the recent Gardening Australia segment in which our own Adrian Webb does a stellar job communicating the scourge of Cats Claw Creeper.

The segment aptly describes the extent of the problem and includes useful footage and information.

Congratulations to Adrian for spreading the message about this relentless invasive vine to a such a vast audience. 

Our crusade to eradicate Cats Claw Creeper is stronger than ever!

Head to our Plants page now and scroll down to view the segment.

Western suburbs residents may be interested to learn of an appeal lodged recently against the Brisbane City Council approval to build ziplines, walking platforms and a suspension bridge on Mt Coot-tha.

The appeal was lodged on 15 March 2019 by the Mt Coot-tha Protection Alliance Inc.

For more information about the appeal and other community-based zipline news please visit the Mt Coot-tha Protection Alliance website.