Current Projects

posted Jul 30, 2011 4:47 AM by Nick Prior   [ updated Sep 10, 2011 4:46 AM ]
Great Sandy Strait seagrass monitoring and marine fauna counts funded by Caring for Our Country Community Action Grant

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (Gympie Regional Council Environment Levy)

Seed funding of $10,000 per year from the Gympie Regional Council Environment Levy enables Cooloola Coastcare to employ a part-time projects officer. The officer is responsible for agreed ‘council deliverables’, which can include organizing community working bees and tree plantings, awareness raising activities and applying for external funding to promote the aims of Coastcare.



Tin Can Bay P-10 School Wetlands Conservation Area Management  Project. (Funded by DERM Qld landcare grants)


This project will:
  • Control invasive Class 2  & WONS groundsel; Class 3 & WONS lantana; Class3 singapore daisy & environmental weeds and maintain a buffer area to the wetland, thereby enhancing the conservation of adjoining Ramsar wetland 
  • Engage the school and community volunteers in environmental restoration and natural resource management
  • Promote the role of catchment management and wetlands within schools
  • Provide opportunities for community capacity building and knowledge sharing in particular with respect to local fauna and flora, wetland conservation and Ramsar wetlands and priority/environmental weeds. 


Cooloola Coast Native and Pest Plant Awareness Project (Funded by Caring for our Country Community Action Grant)

Urban development along the Cooloola Coast has brought with it a range of environmental issues including potential pest plant species. Using an existing template the Cooloola Coastcare Association has developed and printed 4 500 full colour 56 page native plant and weed identification booklets for distribution to local ratepayers, real estate agents and businesses in the Cooloola Coast area. The remaining booklets will be kept for future distribution from the Coast Libraries and City Farm Nursery, Tin Can Bay.  Cooloola Coastcare, City Farm nursery TCB, Gympie Regional Council, SES & SSSMEG have helped to create 3 showcase native gardens, while GRC and Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) created a further 7 along a 1km stretch of the Tin Can Bay Road as a part of this project, replacing most exotic species at this location and showcasing the landscaping attributes of local coastal native plants. 

Monitoring and assessment of the Great Sandy Marine Park - Delivering outcomes that will sustain the environmental values of the marine fauna through seagrass monitoring and marine fauna counts. (Funded by Caring for Our Country Community Action Grant)

The project will contribute to monitoring and assessment of sediment and nutrients and marine fauna observations in the Great Sandy Marine Park Ramsar Wetland area. The project will increase community participation in protecting the coastal environment by providing internationally recognised level one seagrass monitoring training courses to members of the local Coastguard. Volunteers will have the knowledge and skills to continue monitoring the Great Sandy Strait established seagrass sites, record and map new sites and collect marine fauna data for Wildnet. Marine fauna patrols will be completed during the winter/spring turtle mating season and the data will be recorded and sent to the Burnett Mary Regional Group.

http://www.seagrasswatch.org.au for monitoring dates in the Great Sandy Strait.

Seagrass Monitoring has been undertaken and/or sponsored by Cooloola Coastcare Assoc Inc since 2000 at Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach (Pelican Bay). Following the retirement of long time Great Sandy Fauna & Flora Watch coordinator, Gordon Cottle, volunteers have undergone training by SeagrassHQ and continue to monitor sites throughout the southern Great Sandy Straits. Boonooroo Coastguard play a significant role in accessing and monitoring sites at Browns Gutter, Reef Is, & Boonooroo; while SSSMEG & Coastcare monitor TCB, RB & Kauri Ck. Below: Volunteers particpate in training course at Boonooroo Coastguard premises, 2011.


Tin Can Bay P-10 School Wetlands Conservation Area Management  Project. (Funded by DERM Qld landcare grants)

Tin Can Bay P-10 School Wetlands Conservation Area is an intact palastrine melaleuca and coastal sedge wetland system adjacent to Snapper Creek in the Great Sandy Strait- a Ramsar Wetland. The wetland area is threatened from the effects of adjacent land disturbance. A wetlands vegetation buffer from the school oval was initiated in 2007 & extended in 2008-09; molasses grass control trials and a wetland education facility feasibility study were completed in a previous BMRG Healthy Habitat funded project (2009)
The complete wetland area was burned in August 2010 which has made the area easily accessible for accurate weed mapping and control. Cooloola Coastcare has identified the need to accurately record the extent and species of weeds and control weed invasion over the summer-autumn; especially since a La Nina cycle has been forecast.

Left: TCB school boundary and flags represent weed plume in the wetland area below the oval. Mangroves & GSS Ramsar top left.

Below: Mangrove Watchers are keen to preserve wetland ecosystems near the school.
Lana Heydon from DERM who helped author the TCB School Wetland Conceptual Model case study was present at the launch to promote sustainability education at this significant Ed Qld site.







Cooloola Coast Native and Pest Plant Awareness Project (Funded by Caring for our Country Community Action Grant)

See the BEAUTIES & BEASTIES booklet on the attached  PDF when you click on the Downloads page of this website. This project has been officially acquitted.

Cooloola Coastcare Association is your local Natural Resource Management group, registered with Queensland Water and Land Carers (QWALC) and supported by Gympie Regional Council through your Environment Levy.

Sign in|Report Abuse|Print Page|Remove Access|Powered By Google Sites