News & Articles

New project to identify waterway sites in need   Do you know of a riparian (waterside) site in need of native rehabilitation on Townsville’s Bohle River, Stuart Creek, or Alligator Creek? A new project launched this month will be surveying these waterways to assess sites most in need of rehabilitation. The ‘Riparian Monitoring and Rehabilitation Planning’ project will provide rigorous...

Project announcement   A new project will see Townsville schools turn food waste into soil health in a circular economy model that will benefit local waterways and the Great Barrier Reef. The ‘Townsville’s Tuckshops Tackling Climate Change with Innovative Circular Economy’ project from Atlas Soils has received seed funding to see local school students turn their tuckshop and home waste into HumiSoil® for...

On our radar: Townsville volunteer opportunities Make positive change, meet great people, connect with science smarts, and sometimes score a free snag at the volunteer and enviro science gigs on offer from our partner organisations.  Click links below for details, registrations, instructions, and all good things. Event information may be updated on partner platforms — check details on their websites. Wed 13...

Seagrass monitoring a success 17 years on   The story of Townsville's seagrass has been one of boom and bust over the last two decades, as meadows have been hit by floods, cyclones, and heatwaves — only to recover and regain resilience in the years between.  How do we know? It's thanks to the many people who fly helicopters, dive, snorkel, and...

Townsville recognised for sediment and erosion control   Townsville City Council has been quietly building something that’s having a real impact on the Great Barrier Reef.  Dirt. It’s the stuff that defines many characteristics of the Townsville landscape. Sun-baked and air-dried most of the year, the soils of our suburbs, city, and surrounding region must hold on for dear life...

We're for healthy waters: Meet Dinny Taylor   This International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we’re especially grateful for the deep expertise of our Senior Technical Officer — a win for the waterways of Townsville, and for our team.   “My career started in Environmental Engineering, working in industry,” says our Senior Technical Officer, Dinny Taylor. “But I found...

Lobs and jobs growing in Townsville   Alongside Saltwater Creek at Toomulla, just north of Townsville where an old prawn farm once operated, the aquaculture business Ornatas is celebrating a successful fourth year of growth. In this time, it has expanded from a staff of three to more than 30, and the business has its antennae fixed on employing many more...

Who speaks for Townsville's birds, animals, and ecosystems?   North Queensland Conservation Council takes the big environmental issues of our region to the doors of Australia’s most influential decision-makers. In a backyard on Boundary Street, a gathering of Townsville and the Dry Tropics’ most passionate locals are talking land, water, and wood-fired pizza. Members of the North Queensland Conservation Council (NQCC) are...

Are Magnetic Island's mangroves on the move? “Mangroves are one of this country’s greatest natural assets,” says our Executive Officer, Kara-Mae Coulter-Atkins. “They’re carbon-hungry machines. They clean our rivers and estuaries. They provide rich habitat and protection for marine and land animals. They protect our coasts from the storm surges and erosion that increasingly threaten our towns. “And we grow...

Growing skills and greening Townsville Meet the legends learning to conserve our local environments and ecosystems At 10 sites across Townsville, including Rowes Bay, Mt Louisa, Goondaloo Creek and Magnetic Island, a crew of unique trainees is powering through revegetation and landscape recovery projects for the benefit of residents, ecosystems, and waterways. The Envite Environment ‘Skilling Queenslanders for Work (SQW) program’...