Wildlife Queensland Bayside Branch
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Wildlife Queensland Bayside Branch Speakers and Meetings Professor John Woinarski is one of Australia’s pre- eminent conservation biologists, with a career spanning four decades in biodiversity research, policy and management. He co-authored the Action Plan for Australian Mammals which guides much of AWC’s work with threatened mammal In this edition species. click here to register for the online 2 President’s meeting September 3rd 11.30 am. Report STEVE 4 Recycling 6 Echidna Weeds, weather 7 and scams Burke, Wills and 8 Science 9 Stop and Look 10 Using Drones https://wildlife.org.au/shop/wildlife-australia- magazine/current-edition/ 11 Backyard Wildlife Resources https://wildlife.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/WAM-Autumn-2020-cover-pic-for-web-600x600-1.jpg 13 Committee and Contacts Membership Effective ecosystem monitoring requires Form a multi-scaled approach https://www.tern.org.au/news-monitoring-framework/ From the Executive Team... Presidents Report I hope every-one is managing well during these difficult circumstances which has certainly dramatically changed our lives and affected our freedom to enjoy our precious environment. I am sure we are all looking forward to being able re-connect with nature and our friends. The branch will not be holding any more public meetings this year as the safety of members is paramount and rules change day to day making planning difficult. Our AGM this year was conducted virtually and the previous committee was re-elected unopposed, additionally we welcome Tracey Mann as another member of the committee. Tracey has been a regular helper at our events and is a volunteer at Redland Museum. We are still participating in the community where we can and recently held a frog pond making display at the Science Fun Day held on show day at the museum. It was a busy day and was great to see the interest shown by many of our younger generation which will hopefully translate to improved backyard frog habitat. The Cicada Film Festival, entries close on the 7th September, will not be a live presentation this year but we will be announcing the winners on the 30th October at a pre-recorded event, follow the link to see the fantastic short films from last year. On Saturday 26th September WPSQ are once again holding their AGM in the Redlands, information about the event will be sent out to members soon. Due to current restrictions it will be a registration only event. The developer has begun their Environmental Impact Study on the proposed “Toondah Harbour” development and many of our members have been participating in 5 different Q&A sessions that included discussions on Koalas, Shorebirds and Fisheries. They were very informative seminars and comments were appreciated and answered, but my overall impression that there are still many issues to be resolved, the EIS is due out for comment November/December. This project has at least a 20 year life span, potentially causing long term disturbance for marine and bird life in their feeding grounds, koalas in their habitat and the equilibrium of our wetlands and foreshores, which may have an irreversible negative impact on the local ecology for many generations. Community groups will need to be on their mettle and combine to achieve a positive outcome and curtail any acts that may severely impact on the area for ever The Federal government is just concluding a 10 year review into the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC). An interim report just published concludes that the act is “not fit for purpose”, ineffective and inefficient, our natural environment is in fast decline and that laws that are supposed to protect certain species and habitat may have been circumnavigated or ignored by up to 80% of proponents. There is also a push by governments to cut “green tape” and fast track approvals. One recommendation was to use an independent arbitrator to ensure compliance but that will most likely be ignored as there is now a push to create jobs as a matter of urgency. It is a disgrace that opportunities to improve threatened species protection, air quality and ameliorate climate change factors appear to have been lost. There is still a window of opportunity to comment on the review by clinking on the link below:- https://epbcactreview.environment.gov.au/resources/interim-report/summary-points I hope you all find a way to get out and enjoy this winter weather, fresh air and sunshine are good for the soul and more importantly Covid free. “All our environmental problems become easier to solve with fewer people and harder and ultimately impossible to solve with ever more people. “ David Attenborough Wattle Day is celebrated on the 1st of September each year. Australia's national floral emblem is Acacia pycnantha, the Golden Wattle. Queensland Museum events and activities https://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Events+and+Exhibitions Wild State https://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Events+and+Exhibitions/Exhibitions/Permanent/Wild+State Plastic straw ban Report Littering On your mobile or on the web https://report-littering- dumping.ehp.qld.gov.au/ You can also collect your plastic and get it to us. Create a bag in your house and you can collect plastic bottle caps, containers and bottles. You need to look at what you are using and decide if it is suitable. We need just hard plastics #2, #4 & #5. Take a look at every container and if it is marked with any of these numbers, clean it and put it in a bag for us. Please ensure it doesn’t have a label, no inserts (foam or silicon) and it needs to be clean. We cannot deal with soft plastics, take them to your local Red Cycle collection point. Once your bag is full, please visit one of our collection points and drop them off. A full list of collection points can be found here. Please understand that we are not a kerbside recycling system. We can’t afford to drive around collecting everyone’s recycling from their houses. Ideally you can drop it to us in Hemmant on one of the days we have our sorting days. We are working on better ways to collect but it all takes time. http://oceancrusaders.org/recycling/ Former Australian fire chiefs say Coalition ignored their advice because of climate change politics. https://www.theguardian.com/australia- news/2019/nov/14/former-australian-fire-chiefs- say-coalition-doesnt-like-talking-about-climate- change Container Recycle Scheme update Our container recycle scheme started on November 1st 2018, so far we have collected some 45000 containers, excess funds generated have been donated to help out various community groups, Seabird rescue, Dolphin Research, Bat Rescue, Wildlife Land fund etc. Due to community restrictions we have seen a down turn in collections over the past few months, so locally if you have any containers with 10c marked on them ready, we may be able to collect them or you can leave them at my house, just give me a ring for details. There are also plenty of depots dotted around the city these can be found through the Containers for Change website, https://www.containersforchange.com.au/qld/where-can-i-return We mostly use drop-in centres: - Advanced Metal Recyclers – 16-18 Jones Road, Capalaba 53 Enterprise Street, Cleveland They will also accept other metals for recycling. Using our unique state-wide collection number will ensure that funds go directly to the Branch. Steve 0423036676 This fella turned up in one of our members backyard, Ney Road a few nights ago, that’s when the president got the phone call at 1.00 am, what do I do next? It didn’t stay long as it finally burrowed its way under the fence on to the next property. There is very sandy soil in this area. Information about its sighting was sent to Echidna Watch https://wildlife.org.au/echidnawatch/ EchidnaWatch aims to collate information on the distribution of echidnas in Queensland. We can share this information with Wildnet, the wildlife data repository for the EPA, and other organisations, to help plan for better outcomes for echidnas. We also need information on how the echidna is coping with modern hazards and introduced pests. Redlands roads among those where echidnas are most vulnerable to vehicle strikes, report finds. Click here to read more. https://www.redlandcitybulletin.com.au/story/6820467/potenti al-redlands-echidna-roadkill-hotspots-named/?cs=213 Weed Spotting during Covid19 Cat Control SEQ Mexican bean tree project AWC carries out Australia's most extensive research into the ecology of feral cats and foxes. Andrew Carter has led the The South East Queensland Cecropia (Mexican bean tree) most recent phase of this research, which has produced a Eradication Project is using a novel combination of on-ground new tool for reliably measuring the population density of and vehicle-based surveillance, drone surveys, dispersal cats and foxes in the landscape. studies, sentinel site monitoring and genetics research to find, map, study and control the Restricted (Category 2,3,4,5) https://youtu.be/v8DB7tr8NcA species Cecropia peltata in south east Queensland. Hazardous Weather Phenomena - Space If left uncontrolled, Mexican bean tree could become a major weed in south east Queensland, threatening valuable riparian Weather - Bureau of Meteorology habitats and sub-tropical rainforests, including those of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area. Space Weather broadly describes the impact of solar activity on technological systems and human well-being here on earth. Dynamic variations on the surface of the sun can release large amounts of energy in various forms including electromagnetic radiation, charged particles and eruptions of huge clouds of ionised gas.