An unloved Bohle bushland site in Cosgrove is being brought back to life by volunteers — removing illegally dumped trash and invasive plants.
TIDY Up Townsville are a community-led group targeting a neglected section of Bohle bushland on Shaw Rd to protect as a nature reserve. The site is accessible directly from Shaw Rd, or via currently informal walking tracks from the Cosgrove housing estate.
Removing invasive Leucaena, Chinee Apple, and illegally dumped rubbish on the Shaw Rd side of the Bohle River, the TIDY team are also working with the Rotary Club of Thuringowa to install litter booms to trap trash as it floats down the watercourse.
Dave Dudley and Rotary Club of Thuringowa volunteers install a trial floating boom to catch litter in the Bohle River.
“This is a special place on the Bohle,” says Dave Dudley, TIDY Up Townsville founder and local legend.
“We’ve worked for two years to see it recover and it’s going to be a peaceful riverside reserve where people can come and be by the river. We see a lot of fish down here, and the area’s responding well to the care of a lot of good people.”
“We’re also in conversation with local First Nations groups about a possible bush tucker trail,” he adds. “This place has always had significance.”
TIDY’s work on the Bohle River has been supported by Youth Justice groups, faith groups, and Townsville City Council, who installed a set of gates and boulders to defend the site from prolific illegal dumping.
“When we talk about illegal dumping at sites like the Shaw Road land, we’re talking about large items like cars, tyres and building materials being dumped alongside items like general waste, noxious species, and weeds,” said Community Health, Safety and Environmental Sustainability Committee chairperson Maurie Soars in a statement when the boulders were placed.
“TIDY founder Dave Dudley and TIDY’s volunteers do a remarkable job tidying up illegal dumping across Townsville, but we want to get to the stage where there is no illegal dumping left for them to clean up,” she said.
Learn more about TIDY Up Townsville.
About Champions of the Bohle
The Bohle River freshwater sub-basin received a ‘D: poor’ grade for water quality in our latest Townsville Dry Tropics Waterways Report Card.
“Our Champions of the Bohle list calls out the crews of people already at work in the Bohle basin to bring it back into balance,” says our Executive Officer, Kara-Mae Coulter-Atkins. “We applaud the efforts of these organisations and individuals and look forward to seeing more.”
Meet other Champions of the Bohle and see how you can help #BackTheBohle.
