June 26 – Why Mary Matters, Ian Mackay, Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee

For the last 14 years Ian Mackay has been chairman of MRCCC, the Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee, a group established back in 1994. With a background as a biology teacher, he’s been keen to see a river once described as one of the most degraded in Queensland be treated differently. 

In the more than thirty years of MRCCC’s work, he’s seen massive changes in attitudes and practice, not just along the river but also across the catchment. He’s seen MRCCC staff numbers increase considerably as they engage in widely diverse initiatives, and far greater recognition and acceptance of the principles of integrated catchment management.

Two dam proposals helped raise public awareness of the environmental significance of the river and its endangered aquatic species, and recognition that erosion of degraded riverbanks poses a threat to the downstream receiving waters of the Great Sandy Strait, Hervey Bay and the southern Great Barrier Reef.

The Mary is the source of Noosa’s water supply but it’s much more than that. Come and hear why, at Friday Environment Forum on June 26th.

 Everyone is welcome at the Noosa Parks Association Environment Centre, 5 Wallace Drive, Noosaville where the forum starts at 10:30am with morning tea available from 10-10:25am. Entry is $5 by ‘tap & go’ at the door which includes morning tea/coffee.  Free admittance for current members of Noosa Parks Association.

Join the bird observers at 8:30am in the carpark for interpretive birding.