WHAT’S COMING UP?
OUR JUNE FIELD TRIP TO JERONA IS ON SUNDAY 14th – a week earlier than our usual date. Jerona lies within a little-visited section of the Bowling Green Bay National Park east of the highway. Please see all the details of the trip here, [Link expired] including meeting time and place, what to bring etc. It would be helpful if you let us know if you are likely to come so we can get an idea of numbers.
AN EVENING (or a WEEKEND) WITH STEVE PARISH: Renowned nature photographer Steve Parish will be in town for two events this month. On Thursday 18th head out to JCU’s medical lecture theatre for a 90 minute presentation in which Steve will share adventures, experiences and images from his life and career. Steve’s talks are usually fully booked so click here to reserve your place through the JCU alumni site – only $5 and open to all. And on the weekend of 20th-21st June you can attend his 2-day photography workshop at Billabong Sanctuary. But you will have to be quick, there are only a few places left. [Links expired]
Quoll-seekers at work. Photo: Jaymie Rains.
QUOLL-SEEKERS TRIP THIS SUNDAY 7th – the first quoll survey of the season was held last Saturday at a Cape Cleveland property, and the follow-up trip to collect cameras and other gear will be this Sunday morning. This will be a shorter trip than last week but help is always welcome and more surveys are planned. Please contact us if you would like to be involved. Large numbers are not needed but developing a core group of people and helping them gain experience is important. Co-ordinator Alma stresses how much fun it is to be out in the bush with like-minded people, doing something useful to help quolls!
WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING?
The report of our JOURAMA FALLS TRIP is posted here. I think all enjoyed our day in this idyllic spot – for some it was their first visit, for others it had been too long since the last time. So many people contributed photos it was hard to select just a few for the post so I have included a link to a much wider selection in a Drop Box file – just click on the first photo and use the arrows to scroll through.
Photo: Alison Downes
ECO-FIESTA 2015 was a great success and my thanks to all who helped out on the day, and grandsons Max and Ben who helped the day before! We had a great location and plenty of room. Our mahogany glider and flying-fox displays attracted a lot of attention, the posters sent up from Brisbane were eagerly exchanged for a gold coin donation, and other hand-outs, membership forms and information sheets all disappeared. Fifty-five people signed up to be added to our email list – wow!! This is a great way to present our activities, interest and concerns to the community. A write-up and more photos are here.
KITTENS FOR THE REEF: This quirky and highly original campaign to help the reef by encouraging banks and financial institutions to stop investing in coal was launched by NQCC at Eco-Fiesta. You simply must watch this engaging video [ sorry, link expired] featuring Townsville’s world renowned coral scientist, Dr Charlie Veron – and a very cute kitten! Please view and pass it on via, email, Facebook, Twitter and the rest.
MAHOGANY GLIDERS: Our concern with what is happening to glider habitat in the southern part of their range (right in our backyard) is increasing. In addition to the unauthorised clearing that we reported on earlier, we are now aware of more land in the area, containing valuable habitat, that is being put up for sale. How wonderful it would be if this could be purchased (by private individuals, organisations or even government!) for conservation purposes to ensure the animals’ protection. Please get in touch if you would like more information. Hopefully I’ll get an article on this endangered animal posted here soon.
AND FINALLY, in mid-May we sent a submission to a parliamentary enquiry into the registration of environmental organisations as charities for tax deduction purposes. There is a proposal to “redefine” environmental organisations so that donations to those primarily involved in advocacy, rather than hands-on practical work would no longer be eligible for tax deductibility. A quite outrageous proposition which in effect suggests that it’s a good thing to try to fix up environmental disasters but not nearly so good to campaign to stop them from happening in the first place.
Submissions are now being loaded on the Committee’s website (ours is no 477) and so far 627 individual submissions have been posted, some of them representing many, even thousands, of others with similar content. What I find particularly gratifying is that non-environmental organisations, like Oxfam and the Cancer Council, have come out in support of the advocacy role of environmental organisations, recognising its importance and opposing any move to discriminate against it by removing tax-deductibility status. Let’s hope the committee listens!