World Wetlands Day celebration marks new environmental partnership
We celebrated World Wetlands Day in February 2022 with the launch of an exciting new environmental partnership between Coochiemudlo Island Coastcare and Conservation Volunteers Australia to Revive our Wetlands.
Coochiemudlo Island Coastcare team and visitors on World Wetlands Day in February 2022. Their work on the day was with the Melaleuca Wetlands, Coochiedmudlo Island.
The Melaleuca Wetlands is one of 10 sites chosen across Australia for a three-year initiative to engage locals to contribute to conservation action supporting habitat improvement for threatened and endangered species, as well as innovative blue carbon research.
The project, supported by Chevron Australia builds-on existing restoration of our freshwater wetlands, part of the Moreton Bay Ramsar site and recognized as internationally significant under the The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
The launch at our first working bee of the year saw a great roll-up of supporters including Member for Redlands, Kim Richards, Cr Lance Hewlett, Queensland Chief Scientist, Professor Hugh Possingham and Quandamooka representative Matt Burns who provided a Welcome to Country.
Professor Possingham paid tribute to indigenous Australians as “the first scientists, stewards and educators of land” and talked about traditional knowledge slowly being passed on to assist management of the modern world. He stressed the importance of freshwater wetlands which have shown the greatest decline in biodiversity. According to the Living Planet Index 75% of freshwater life has been lost in the last 50 years.
After formalities, volunteers then gloved-up and headed into the wetlands led by contractors, Bushtekniq who have been working with Coastcare for the past three years on the Wetland Weed Control Project, supported by Healthy Land and Water with funding from the Australian Government.
To become involved in future Revive our Wetlands events, please contact [email protected] or
