The platypus is an amazing monotreme, but little is known about where they specifically live. Tamielle Brunt, a PhD Candidate at the University of Queensland is studying platypus populations within south-east Queensland. She is also an assistant project officer at the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (WPSQ), running their PlatypusWatch Network. This network aims to...

December 11th, 2021 marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the rediscovery of the Paradise Parrot by Cyril Jerrard of Gayndah. So it is timely to reflect on the bird’s terrible fate. For several decades before Jerrard’s sighting, the species was feared to be extinct. Its rediscovery raised hopes for its survival, but its resurrection was brief....

This comprehensive history of Noosa comes straight from the heart of award-winning writer Phil Jarratt who has lived here for more than 30 years. In many ways it is a love letter to his adopted home, but the Noosa story is not always a pretty one, and Phil does not flinch from the harsh realities...

Conservation and development on the Sunshine Coast 1960-2020 Friday Environment Forum guest speaker and author Elaine Green will discuss this new release on February 25.  For the first time the development of the Sunshine Coast, including Noosa, is followed through six decades of ongoing population growth.  Campaigns to preserve natural areas have at times been...

Over 100 years ago, oyster beds were common throughout the Noosa estuary. There is still evidence of those beds today. Unfortunately, by the early 1900s, Noosa’s oyster beds had become functionally extinct through dredging and overharvesting. This drastic habitat change contributed to declines in local fish stocks such as snapper, bream and mullet. The story...

Former Noosa mayor Noel Playford will talk about Noosa’s newest community website Noosa Matters at Friday Environment Forum on April 22 and share his motivation for developing this site. Editor Ric Jay said: “Noosa Matters is a place for the community of Noosa to question and discuss where we are, where we want to go...

ALFRED RUSSELL WALLACE - Who was he and what is Wallace’s Line? It was 10 years ago whilst on a snorkelling trip to the Raja Ampat that John Lauritz was enlightened by a guest lecturer on board his sailing ship, who gave a series of talks about Alfred Russell Wallace – hitherto unknown to John....

The European red fox is one of 24 mammal species introduced to Australia since European settlement and despite being the subject of widespread lethal control, it maintains an estimated population of around 7.2 million across Australia. While its presence is well known in the Sunshine Coast region, where it is also the subject of lethal...

The Eastern Ground Parrot once inhabited heath communities over a broad geographical range. It has been in decline for many decades and remaining mainland populations are fragmented. South-eastern Queensland is now regarded as one of the remaining strongholds for the mainland subspecies. On June 10th, at the Friday Environment Forum, Kieran Aland will provide a...

Government dignitaries and conservationists gathered at Noosa Council Chambers on Tuesday May 17 to celebrate a landmark partnership. Announcing that the project was now reaching its final phase, Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said the Palaszczuk Government would now turn the 2400 hectares of the old Yurol Ringtail State Forest into national park, with major revegetation...

Australian Wildlife Conservancy is the largest private owner and manager of land for conservation in Australia, protecting endangered wildlife across more than 12.9 million hectares in iconic regions such as the Kimberley, Cape York, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre and the Top End. Five important properties in Queensland, including Curramore (located near Maleny), are safeguarding some incredible...

Natural or Human-Induced Change: Chronology of the Bribie Island Breakthrough On January 2nd, 2022, waves carved a channel through a fragile Bribie Island and surged into Pumicestone Passage near Golden Beach.  The break has grown from a couple of metres wide to an estimated 550 metres wide, in the past six months. This northern tip...

The international decline in the populations of many species of birds has generated concern and alarm over the last half century. Loss of habitat is certainly a serious and universal cause of population loss. This is far from the only hazard faced by those species that have annual migration as part of their life cycle....

Next Friday Environment Forum on August 26th- Teewah Beach Issues with Sandy Bolton, Member for Noosa and QPWS and QPS Traffic and camping on Teewah Beach has been an ongoing advocacy for Sandy Bolton, Member for Noosa, and the community for the last 5 years. At the end of 2021, a targeted Noosa Electorate Survey on...

Pumped Hydro? Urban Water?… The Mary River is no Magic Pudding. Ian Mackay is the Chairman of MRCCC, the Mary River Catchment Coordinating Committee. A retired Science teacher, he’s been involved in water education and water issues since the early 90s. Back then, a number of sites on the Mary were investigated for a dam...

Enter the Flyosphere:  Noosa’s Threatened Shorebirds with Richard Howard Despite its modest size and intensive visitation, the Noosa River estuary has consistently attracted over half the known species of migratory shorebirds to its shores each year, plus numerous more resident species.  However, habitat loss along the flyways and increased disturbance locally is putting this hotspot...

Peter Odekerken, a photographer and avid birdwatcher, has been fortunate to have visited Colombia and Brazil, two countries which have the most species of avifauna in the world. Colombia has the largest number of bird species, with Brazil coming in a close second. Peter also visited Argentina to see the largest breeding colony of parrots...

In many ways, the Kimberley is different to any other region in Australia, going back to its geological separation from the main continent in pre-human times and its subsequent dramatic reconnection. In terms of its human history, the dates go way back and there are still many unanswered questions. Was the Kimberley region the gateway...