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May 2017 news from the Regional Landcare Facilitator

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Funding available for Landcare groups

Grants are still available for Burdekin Landcare leaders to undertake professional development from now to June 2017. For more information please email: peter.arthofer@nqdrytropics.com.au.
NQ Dry Tropics Reef Water Quality Grant E: sustainableag@nqdrytropics.com.au
Check in with the North Queensland Grants Hub for more information about grants.

Upcoming Events

Advanced Livestock movement and management course with Neil McDonald (Alpha) 12-14 May, E: peter.arthofer@nqdrytropics.com.au.
Volunteer Recruitment Workshop, 23 May, E: thijs.krugers@nqdrytropics.com.au

New Regional Ecosystem identified in Plantation Park

The NQ Dry Tropics Biodiversity team has identified a unique ecosystem in a section of Ayr’s Plantation Park that has resulted in a regional ecosystem code being created specifically for this area of the park.

NQ Dry Tropics Biodiversity project officer Jaymie Rains discovered the ecosystem when she visited Plantation Park in December 2014 as part of the Healthy Habitats project, aimed at reducing weed threats across the dry tropics region. She found that a particular region of the park did not fit the description - or any description - for regional ecosystems in that area.

“I noticed that the RE codes mapped for Plantation Park were not quite right,” Ms Rains said. “We wrote to the Queensland Herbarium, who reviewed the case, and created a new RE to describe the vegetation assemblage which is also found in other small pockets across the Burdekin.

“This regional ecosystem is incredibly special and may have been more common along creek beds in pre-European times,” she said. Because of its current extent - less than 200ha - the ecosystem is currently listed as ‘Endangered.’ “I’m happy with the result and I hope it will encourage people to visit the park to appreciate one of Queensland’s newest regional ecosystem, Ms Rains said.
For more information, visit the NQ Dry Tropics website at www.nqdrytropics.com.au

Bits and Bobs
Nuffield Scholarships are now open
Farming together Farm Co-operatives and collaboration. This could be a way to progress new farming marketing ideas.

(Left to right) Dr Scott Crawford (CEO, NQ DryTropics), Scott Robinson (Qld Govt Dept Environment & Heritage Protection), Bristow Hughes (grazier), Buster O'Laughlin (grazier), Dr Christian Roth (Principal Scientist, CSIRO)

LANDHOLDERS DRIVING CHANGE

Graziers, scientists and technical specialists are working side by side to design land and water quality improvement solutions in the priority Bowen, Broken, Bogie (BBB) catchment in the Bowen/Collinsville area, as part of the groundbreaking Landholders Driving Change project.

It’s one of two Queensland Government-funded Major Integrated Projects, in North Queensland’s Burdekin and Wet Tropics regions, that will share an allocation of $33m over four years. NQ Dry Tropics is running the project along with a consortium of 17 partner organisations that has a wide range of farming and scientific expertise.

For the first time with a project of this kind, local graziers have been engaged from the very start to ensure that recommended actions reflect their views on how best to increase pasture cover and reduce sediment runoff into the Great Barrier Reef.

More than 50 per cent of properties in the catchment were represented at a series of landholder meetings in Collinsville, Bowen and Inkerman. Local landholders had the opportunity to put forward their ideas and aspirations – and nominate grazier representatives on a Project Panel to guide the design process.

The BBB catchment was highlighted as a priority area for sediment loss in the Burdekin Water Quality Improvement Plan 2016. This pilot project aims to trial a mix of actions targeted at a catchment scale, to help deliver enduring, sustainable land management improvements, and cleaner water going out to the Reef.

The aim is to trial a range of actions to improve productivity and repair landscapes, some of which could be brand new. The challenge is to ensure that whatever actions emerge are realistic and tailored to the needs of the communities that will be implementing them.

Read what some of the graziers in the project have been saying here.

New Quad bike laws implemented

In a toughening of Queensland's quad bike laws, children under the age of eight are now prohibited from being passengers, and helmet use will be mandatory on all roads.

The new legislation, in effect from 1 February 2017, was based on a recommendation from a 2015 coronial inquest into quad bike deaths.

While the mandatory helmet wearing only applies to public roads, the State Government hopes helmet use will also be adopted on private properties.

Cane Innovation Grants worth $700k now available
Are you a Burdekin cane farmer with an innovative idea? We want to hear from you.

NQ Dry Tropics has opened expressions of interest for Innovation Grants as part of the Australian Government’s $42 million commitment to the Reef Alliance Program. The Reef Trust: Reef Alliance Program – Growing a Great Barrier Reef, is supporting new practices that will improve water quality in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

The NQ Dry Tropics Sugarcane Innovation Program is delivering more than $700,000 of Innovation grants in the Burdekin to develop grower-led innovative projects that will reduce nutrient losses from farms through new and improved practices.

Innovation grants are capped at $100,000 and innovation projects must be completed by June 2019.

Expressions of interest are now open.

Scientists hope wetland carbon storage experiment is everyone's cup of tea

Australian scientists have launched a project to bury tens of thousands of teabags in wetlands around the globe to discover how efficient different wetlands are at capturing and storing carbon dioxide.

Wetlands are important for carbon capture and storage, a process known as carbon sequestration. This is part of a world-first project to monitor carbon sequestration and breakdown. For details read: Guardian story

Burdekin trial restores critical wetlands through natural solution

Critical wetlands on farms in north Queensland's Burdekin region are being revived by drying them out and allowing nature to once again take its course.

The trial has successfully killed off invasive weed species, helped fish life flourish, and restored a vital habitat for native and migrant bird species. Trial results have not only benefited the ecosystem itself but also the adjacent Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

The project team found that allowing the wetlands to dry out meant they absorbed the nutrient-rich runoff from the first storms, preventing it from running into the reef.

This report from ABC News features NQ Dry Tropics' Waterways Wetlands and Coasts team project manager Scott Fry, pictured above. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-22/queensland-wetlands-project-mimic-natural-cycle/8198992

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PO Box 1466 Townsville Queensland, 4810

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