Maroochy Waterwatch Inc

Join Maroochy Waterwatch and Palmwoods Heritage Building Society in a community planting morning at Federation Park, Palmwoods.

Palmwoods Piccabeen Planting Flyer

Click here to view Maroochy River Catchment News Oct 2010

Fifty-six, year six students from Palmwoods State School got their hands dirty today to take part in an ENERGEX Junior Landcare Activity Day with Maroochy Waterwatch.

Cerran Fawns, manager of Maroochy Waterwatch said, “Hundreds of native trees will be planted at Federation Park in Palmwoods including the iconic Piccabeen Palm, which gives the community its name”.

 The planting extended the existing wetland in the park and provided additional habitat for the 120 bird species sighted in the park.

 Ms Fawns added, “The students also investigated the water quality of Paynters Creek and learnt about how to live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle”.

 The day is be made possible by funding from ENERGEX as part of a partnership with Landcare Queensland worth over $260,000.

 Justin Ward, project coordinator for Landcare Queensland said, “2010 is Education Queensland’s Year of Environmental Sustainability, as well as being the International Year of Biodiversity, so the ENERGEX Junior Landcare days are a great way for a new generation of Landcarers to act locally for global change.”

 As part of the students environmental sustainability education they also played the ENERGEX Energy Awareness Game to share ideas about saving energy at home and at school.

 Dr Jan Green, ENERGEX environment advisor said, “School students are more aware than ever before of the environment and the need for action and change to ensure a sustainable future”.

 This hands on experience teaches the students about the importance of their natural environment through experimental learning.

 “By giving students the chance to get their hands dirty planting trees and investigating their local environment, we hope to help nurture a new generation of Landcarers.  The Junior Landcare sponsorship is a way for ENERGEX to invest in future generations” she added.

Click here to view the full SEQ Waterways Report Card 2010 and go to more technical information

Comment by Cerran Fawns:
Whilst a lot of work is occurring to maintain the water quality of the coast rivers, this report card is a reminder about how susceptible our waterways are to human impacts. 
The Maroochy River continues to be one of the most degraded waterways on the coast and we need to keep the keep the momentum of community action happening to improve the water quality.
Our tourism industry is reliant on healthy waterways and we need to be actively managing our waterways so that when it rains the rivers are not full of silt.  The recent rain saw the Maroochy River turn into mud which then polluted the water of our beautiful beaches.
The Pumicestone Passage and its catchment is of major concern.  There is real risk of continuing water quality decline if development is not managed to world best practice standards.

Click here to view Maroochy Waterwatch Inc’s Annual Report 2009 2010

Jabbie the Jabiru

It’s Jabbie the Jabiru.  Just beautiful!

Maroochy Waterwatch will be one of many worthy organisations given a helping hand on Thursday 23 September when the Lend Lease Group holds their annual Community Day.

Lend Lease Community Day encourages all Lend Lease employees around the world to give something back to the communities in which they live and work.

Employees nominate their own project and create small teams to work with the community group or cause.  Activities can include helping senior citizens, the homeless people, people with disabilities, the environment, working with children/youth and animals.

Community Day is about using employees’ time, energy and skills, and the experience helps to create a strong team spirit, and employees unanimously agree – this is an immensely rewarding experience.

Around 20 employees from the Lend Lease Group will converge along the banks of the Maroochy River on 23 September to carry out a sweep of the river – removing litter and debris harmful to the environment.

Cerran Fawns, Manager of Maroochy Waterwatch said, “Partnering with Lend Lease to help remove rubbish from the river is a great outcome for the environment and also for the corporate social responsibility of Lend Lease”.

She added, “Last year a whole ute load of rubbish was removed from around the Cod Hole and it was quite an eye opener for the employees”.

Sarah Hodgkins team leader of the group said the River Sweep project was chosen because we value the environment that we live in and that by working together we have the ability to make a change in the way we view and treat our own “patch” of planet Earth.

“Sunshine Plaza is a unique shopping centre in that it is built around a natural waterway. Cornmeal Creek runs through our property so we are very mindful of the impact of environmental damage and we see the visual consequences of littering.”

“Our Landscaping team clean the creek on a daily basis and over the past 12 months have collected 1.683 tons of rubbish. A further 13,800kg worth of pollution has been blocked from entering the creek over the past four years since installing a series of gully traps. We wanted to extend our knowledge and our positive impact on the creek past just our property – heading out into the greater community,” said Ms Hodgkins.

This is Lend Lease’s 15^th consecutive Community Day, and since the initiative began in 1996, employees have volunteered over 450,000 hours.

Today is World Water Monitoring Day!   Take some time to ponder just how important the waters of the Maroochy River catchment are for the environment, our society and the economy.  Our river has its issues and we are working to address them, but also spare a thought for other areas in the world who aren’t so fortunate and don’t even have safe drinking water.

If you know of a project, individual or orgainsation that is doing great work for our Sunshine Coast environment, think about nominating them.

http://www.scec.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=440&Itemid=85

http://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/sitePage.cfm?code=waterways-strategy2#overview

WE love our beaches and rivers, but are we in danger of loving them to death?

That’s the question being posed by the council as it considers how best to manage the Sunshine Coast’s waterways and beaches.

And they want the community to have a say on the Draft Waterways and Coastal Management Strategy which provides a framework and strategic direction for managing our waterways.

Council’s Environment Portfolio Holder, Councillor Keryn Jones, said community feedback would help ensure the Coast’s waterways were healthy, valued and enjoyed in the future.

“The region’s waterways, beaches and river systems are the lifeblood of the Coast,” she said.

“But the waterways are under pressure from population growth and climate change, and each day we are presented with the challenge of managing these and other threats.”

The management strategy proposes ways to manage those challenges.

Feedback on the strategy must be sent to council by November 8.