Community groups committed to supporting our environment
Posted on October 4th, 2016
Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) has awarded community grants to organisations across the region who have shown a keen commitment to achieving positive environmental change.
Fitzroy Basin Association Engagement Manager Rebecca French said the funding empowers local community groups to lead projects that will not only make positive changes to local landscapes but will support special animals and plants in our region and increase community awareness of the environment.
“We are proud to fund almost $100,000 in project activities, from cane toad eradication and endangered yellow chat habitat protection to coastal restoration activities. All the organisations have projects that will contribute to the protection and enhancement of our beautiful natural assets and provide a cleaner, greener and more connected community,” Mrs French said.
The projects, which are supported by Fitzroy Basin Association through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme, include:
Greening Australia – Cane Toad Challenge Project
This project will support research trials being carried out by University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience to reduce the impacts of the cane toad on ecosystems and improve water quality and native biodiversity. Both adult toads and tadpoles will be removed from dams using traps baited with a chemical from the toxin of adult toads. Toad Busting activities will involve the community and teach participants how to identify cane toads from native brown frogs.
Birdlife Capricornia – Endangered Yellow Chat Habitat Improvement Project
The Capricorn Yellow Chat is a critically endangered species in the Fitzroy Basin with limited breeding habitat to support its estimated entire population of 250 birds. This project, with the support of Capricornia Catchments, will fund treatment of invasive weeds outcompeting the native habitat, Samphire forb, on the marine plains in the Port Alma area.
Conservation Volunteers Australia – Caring for the Curtis Coast Project
This project will work to restore a corridor connecting marine and native ecosystems along a 29km shoreline on the Curtis Coast, near Gladstone. The corridor contains endangered littoral vine forests and saltmarshes; coastal dune reserve areas which are known nesting habitats for Flat Backed turtles, Black Breasted Button Quail and Eastern Curlews. Revegetation of beach scrub, weed removal and sand dune restoration, marine debris removal and marine turtle nest monitoring will provide opportunities for the community to enhance two popular recreational beach sites.
Genyadaba – Mulambin Beach Enhancement Project
Genyadaba is a group of young persons who have come together in recent years to actively contribute to their local environment on the Capricorn Coast. This project, with the support of Capricornia Catchments, will include weed treatment and plantings to reinstate a wildlife corridor and provide ecosystem resilience to the recreational area at Mulambin Beach. The area links headlands and foredunes creating corridors of native vegetation for wildlife and protection from coastal weather.
Capricorn Coast Landcare Group – Envirolink Cleaner-Greener Community Engagement Project
This project will support the Capricorn Coast Landcare Group to continue its Envirolink Community Engagement project, offering a series of free community events and ‘free to loan’ field kits to increase practical skills in urban landcare such as weed management for small properties, native plant selection for gardens, composting and plant care, bird and fish identification.
Capricornia Catchments – Friends of Lammermoor Native Gardens Project
This project will involve the community in revegetation, weed treatment and foredune erosion control activities at Lammermoor Native Gardens on the Capricorn Coast. Activities will improve the degraded coastal strip which should act as a buffer to the beach scrub and melaleuca woodland behind, providing wildlife refuge.
“FBA is always keen to partner with like-minded community groups to improve environmental values and enhance capacity and skills for the benefit of the entire community. If you believe your group has a similar aim please get in touch,” said Mrs French.
To inquire about supporting the above projects as a volunteer or find out about the 2017 community grant rounds please contact FBA at http://fba.org.au/contact/
