On the weekend, as Chair of Council’s Environment and Sustainability Committee, I attended Springfield Lakes Nature Care Inc tree planting at Opossum Creek Rehabilitation and Revegetation site.
600 native trees, funded by the Australian Government, were planted and 1000 were watered in just under 2 hours. Over 1000 trees have been planted as part of the project and Ipswich City Council has provided 500 natives.
The regeneration of this site would not be possible without funding from the Australian Government’s Community Environment Program, through the Department of Industry, Innovation & Science, and the many other groups who have partnered up including the Springfield Lakes Nature Care Inc. & Ipswich City Council, Martin Bennett and Keith McCosh (the original Woogaroo Environment Team members) and Rachel Hughes (from The World As I Am) who has tackled the back-breaking work of preparing the site for planting and providing resources and information to those involved group.
Our sponsors for the morning tea should be acknowledged also: Milton Dick MP (Federal Member for Oxley) and BLVD Restaurant for the cold soft drinks, as well as Raffle donations from Alvey Fishing Reels, Bunnings and Charis Mullen MP State Member for Jordan.
These newly planted natives will need care for the next 5 weeks through watering. You can participate in the “Bucket Brigade” by emailing secretary@slnc.org.au.
Springfield Lakes Nature Care Inc. are also holding the following events that you may be interested in…
– A bird walk at Opossum Creek Rehabilitation and Revegetation site, led by Professor Hugh Possingham, on September 26th. Book here.
– A free “What Weed is that” Workshop on October 11 at Opossum Creek Revegetation Site Central Parklands, off Lomandra Court, Brookwater. Book here.
For more information contact secretary@slnc.org.au or visit www.springfieldlakesnaturecare.org.au
I believe that it is important that our governments support local community through partnerships such as this Bush Care Program.
Ipswich City Council has worked with volunteer groups to regenerate bushland and parks in Brookwater, Rosewood and North Ipswich, with native species of plants. This is intended to help repair rare ecosystems that provides habitat to many different species. I would like to thank all volunteers who joined us on the weekend.
In this project, Ipswich City Council has also supplied several 1000 litre pods of water to keep these plantings alive and also supplied tree guards to prevent fauna from munching on the new plantings. This commitment was made on top of the 1000+ native trees that are being planted here at Opossum Creek.
Ipswich has an ever increasing population and we can all see the number of housing estates being built to accommodate these people. I know as a life long resident of this region, I do not want to see Ipswich become a concrete jungle and that is why I believe it is important to also maintain our green spaces and regenerate our environment – Ipswich must be a liveable city.
Images from Springfield Lakes Nature Care Inc. Facebook Page. Top Image (Left to right): Shayne Neumann MP (Federal Member for Blair), Cr Kate Kunzelmann (Div 4), Cr Russell Milligan (Div 4 and Environment and Sustainability Committee Chair), Luise Manning (President of Springfield Lakes Nature Care Inc).
DID YOU KNOW?
We have a number of threatened and endangered species, namely the Powerful owl, platypus, koala & Tusked Frog all of which have been found with the Opossum Creek location and a number of unique species, such as Bobuck (a short eared Possum) and several species of birds, whipbirds brush turkeys, and small eastern robins, finches etc that inhabit the Dry Rainforest which is one of the best dry rainforests in close proximity to Ipswich City.
Did you also know that Ipswich boasts a unique landscape with over 6,500 hectares of reserves and conservation estates? Council is working towards protecting and maintaining the natural environment of Ipswich and continually improving liveability within our city.
IPSWICH’S ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNITY FUNDING
Caring for the environment is a significant theme of the Advance Ipswich Plan. The Environment and Sustainability Community Grant Program cares for the natural environment by providing assistance for community-led initiatives that contribute to the protection, enhancement and sustainability of the environment within the Ipswich City Council area. Council aims to encourage community involvement in the achievement of environmental sustainability, such as sediment reduction into waterways, riparian restoration, environmental awareness, tree planting, land restoration and bush regeneration.
Previous Funding Recipients include:
– Queensland Trust for Nature: Riparian restoration of koala habitat
– Rosewood State School: Science Garden Development
– St Mary’s Primary School: Community Garden
– Springfield Lakes Nature Care Inc: Clean Up Australia Day
– Bellbird Park State Secondary College: Startup recycling and sustainability program
– Birdlife Australia: Powerful Owl South East Queensland project
IPSWICH ENVIRO AWARDS
Ipswich City Council would like to recognise the hard work of community members, groups and organisations for their contribution to environmental and sustainability practices through the Ipswich Enviro Awards, which aims to recognise those in the community who have contributed to improving environmental and sustainability outcomes for the city.
Notably, among the 2019 Winners was…
Environmental Hero Award (individuals and/or groups) – Luise Manning
Ipswich City Council has recently asked for the community’s input into our Council’s Draft Environment Policy.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed. We will be publishing the draft after your suggestions have been taken into consideration and Council will further seek your comments.
Please stay tuned to my Facebook page for information on this as it becomes available.
