One of Ballina’s most valuable wetlands was given the five star treatment last Thursday by WetlandCare Australia and their corporate partner Ramada Hotel and Suites Ballina. Team Ramada turned out in force to help remove weeds and plant over 200 trees at an area adjacent to the high conservation value East Ballina Wetland Reserve.

Not sure what to do on mother’s day? How about helping the Koala mums of the Tweed Coast by planting a tree or two? WetlandCare Australia, Friends of Cudgen Nature Reserve, and National Parks and Wildlife Service would like to invite the local community to join them for a community tree planting day at Clothiers Creek Road on the 12th of May to improve Koala habitat in the catchment.

WetlandCare Australia have worked in partnership with Bundaberg Regional Council, Friends of Pasturage Reserve, Bundaberg Landcare, Gidarjil rangers, the local Impact team and the Bargara Lions Club to undertake the planting of 950 local native trees at Pasturage Reserve.

The Ocean Shores Country Club has been working with WetlandCare Australia, Fisheries NSW and Cape Byron Marine Park to deliver environmental restoration works that improve the aquatic health of the waterways situated on its golf course.

Leading NGOs, WetlandCare Australia and BirdLife Australia gave Moreton Bay locals some tips and tricks to help them to get to know their shorebirds over the weekend.

WetlandCare Australia will be joining NPWS to host a field day at Pambalong Nature Reserve in Newcastle, 9 am – 1 pm Sunday 5 May. The day will provide local landholders a chance to learn about the wetland, the impacts of Water Hyacinth, what is being done and how they can help.

Hunter-Central Rivers CMA are hosting a Family Festival at the Ash Island School Masters Cottage, Hexham from 10 am – 3 pm, Sunday 21 April. The day will feature the Croc Stars reptile show, horse and cart rides, fun activities, live entertainment, island tours and much more.

WetlandCare Australia has been working with Wyong Shire Council and three primary schools on the edge of the Porters Creek Wetland, promoting understanding of wetland values and a custodian ethic. Recently we held a Catchment Carnival to provide kids with hands-on activities from a range of local environmental agencies. A video of the Catchment Carnival can be viewed on WetlandCare Australia’s You Tube channel.

The Water & Wetlands Strategy Section of the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage have been working hard to update the wetland resources on their web site. Read on for more details.

We were invited by Wyong Shire Council to engage primary students at three schools bordering Porters Creek Wetland, to complement a broader program of work to protect Tuggerah Lakes Estuary. The program was funded by the Australian Government’s “Caring For Our Country” Program and the theme was “Love Our Living Lakes.”

View the winning art and photography from the 2013 competition

WetlandCare Australia, in partnership with the Australian Macadamia Society and Southern Cross University, has commenced a field trial that will look at the effect owls may have on reducing macadamia nut crop losses from rats.

WetlandCare Australia will be hosting an exhibition of winning and selected works from their 6th annual national art and photography competition at the Hunter Wetlands Centre, opening on Saturday February 2 at 11 a.m. Winning artists and photographers will be presented with their prizes and their works unveiled for public display. Everyone is invited to attend.

Cudgen farmer Barry King, WetlandCare Australia and Tweed Shire Council have been partnering to expand soil conservation projects on the Cudgen plateau.

Work to restore critical habitat for the endangered Giant Barred Frog, Mixophyes iteratus, is underway at a property located between Lamington and Springbrook National Parks, South East Queensland. The property holds extremely high ecological value in terms of both habitat and connectivity between these two World Heritage listed areas, and is home to numerous threatened flora and fauna species.

WetlandCare Australia, with support through funding from the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Future Biodiversity Fund, will protect, manage and enhance the high ecological functional values of the Barratta Creek Catchment which forms the main artery of the Bowling Green Bay wetlands, the only Ramsar site in north Queensland.

The hard work of community volunteers, Friends of Cudgen Nature Reserve, NPWS staff and WetlandCare Australia is paying off at the planting site on Clothiers Creek Road.

Landholder Stewardship – A Success Story for Maintaining Australia’s Biodiversity. We have successfully completed administration of the Australian Government’s Maintaining Australia’s Biodiversity Hotspots program for the Torrington and Ebor-Dorrigo-Coffs Coast regions. The program consisted of a competitive bid process to assist landholders to protect and restore biodiversity on their land.

WetlandCare Australia has been working for Wyong Shire Council with students at three schools fringing Porters Creek Wetlands. Our latest YouTube video shows how the kids took their message to the streets, promoting wetland conservation to their local community.

As part of our Coastal 20 Wetlands Project and to celebrate World Wetlands Day 2013, we are undertaking a tree planting day in partnership with Bundaberg Regional Council and Friends of Pasturage Reserve.

WetlandCare Australia, in partnership with Marine Parks Authority and Coffs Harbour City Council is hosting a free community ‘Wetland Wander’ to celebrate World Wetlands Day on February 2nd.

Community volunteers and professionals involved in wetland conservation are invited to attend a forum being held from 1.30 – 4 PM on World Wetlands Day, Saturday 2nd February at the Hunter Wetlands Centre, Shortland.

WetlandCare Australia partner, BirdLife Australia are holding a workshop about the Conservation of Beach-nesting Birds, showcasing Northern and Southern Coast perspectives in Byron Bay, 3rd April 2013.

Perfect storm for toxic acid plumes in NSW rivers - be informed

The NSW Environment Minister, the Hon Robyn Parker MP, dropped in to have a preliminary viewing of the winning works in the National Art and Photography Competition on February 1.

WetlandCare Australia is undertaking a program of fox and wild dog control using 1080 baits in a number of locations in the Hunter region during from February 20 to March 29 2013

WetlandCare Australia news items, 2012.

View WetlandCare Australia news from 2011.

Farmers working to meet the challenge of farming the floodplain sustainably and profitably will benefit from attending one of two presentations hosted by Great Lakes Council in partnership with WetlandCare Australia.

Thanks to all who visited the WetlandCare Australia stand in the DEEDI tent at Agro-Trend from Thursday 12 April - Saturday 14 April.

Celebrate the first day of spring in the spectacular surrounds of Point Lookout and help the Point Lookout Bushcare Group restore the dunes of South Gorge.

A Grey Globe Award is nothing to be proud of! It is awarded by the World Wetlands Network to Ramsar wetlands to highlight their decline in ecological values. The award is a call to action to protect Ramsar wetlands from threats and neglect.

WetlandCare Australia are currently running a project to help selected Hunter nurseries develop Environmental Management Systems to reduce their impacts on the environment. First Workshop - 30th March.

Our wetland traveller Louise Duff attended Ramsar COP11 in Bucharest, Romania in July. She was attending the Conference for WetlandCare Australia in her capacity as Secretary of the Australian Wetland Alliance, a collective of 73 Non-Government Organisations, and Oceania representative to the World Wetland Network.

2 and 3 February 2012

Are you living near Coffs Creek? You are invited to a free community event on April 28, 'Starting in your Backyard'. Join WetlandCare Australia, Australia's leading not-for-profit wetland conservation organisation, to learn how you can best protect your local waterways and wetlands, starting in your own backyard.

WetlandCare Australia has been working in partnership with the Burnett Mary Regional Group (BMRG) in reducing threats to the Great Sandy Strait Ramsar Wetland and coastal systems.

WetlandCare Australia is a proud Silver Partner of the 2012 Hays Inlet Festival, a festival ‘celebrating the people, places and environment of the Hays Inlet catchment and its waterways through a series of environmental, recreational and cultural activities.’ The festival runs from 1st to 7th June.

WetlandCare Australia is now working with ecologist Nina Kaluza (BEnSc), QPWS and community volunteers to survey and monitor water mice along a 1.7 km stretch of the Maroochy River covering several land tenures. We have located and mapped 114 nesting mounds in total, and recorded information on their distribution, habitat preference and potential threats including erosion and invasive weeds.

WetlandCare Australia held 13 events around Australia for World Wetlands Day in February 2012, and directly engaged over 1000 people in exploring their local wetlands, read more...

5 February 2012

View the award winning works from the 2012 WetlandCare Australia National Art and Photography Competition. Also included is a list of winner's names and artwork titles.

4 February 2012

2 February 2012

2 February 2012

Planet Ark’s Schools Tree Day, July 29 is the dedicated day for Australia’s younger generation to play their part in National Tree Day, Australia’s largest community tree-planting and nature care event. On 23rd July over 120 students from 3 local schools in Warnervale joined in the event, planting 300 trees and shrubs to improve the health of Porters Creek Wetlands. The schools that took part were Mackillop Catholic College, Warnervale Public School and Lakes Grammar Primary.

This year WetlandCare Australia, the leading national not for profit wetland conservation organisation, took on the challenge of hosting the 2012 Cane Toad Muster at the Yamba Golf Club. The evening was a great success, with enthusiastic volunteers attending from the local area and from as far away as the Blue Mountains. Volunteers from Clarence Valley Conservation in Action, and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, provided invaluable assistance with weighing, counting, and euthansing the toads. Representatives from local and regional government bodies also lent a helping hand.

The local community turned out in force last Sunday to help WetlandCare Australia, Friends of Cudgen Nature Reserve and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service plant over 950 koala habitat trees at Clothiers Creek Road. This was the first in a series of community tree planting days to be held at the Clothiers Creek Road site and is part of WetlandCare Australia’s Coastal 20 Wetlands Project, funded by the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country Program.

Byron Bay Tree Services are now supporting WetlandCare Australia!

2 February 2012

21 February 2012

1 — 5 PM Thursday 17 November 2011 Hunter Wetlands Centre Sandgate Road Shortland

2 February 2012

The prize-winning artists and photographers in the 5th annual WetlandCare Australia National Art and Photography Competition were publicly announced and their work unveiled at the CSIRO Discovery Centre in Canberra on the eve of World Wetlands Day, Wednesday, February 1.

2 February 2012

This June edition of the Monthly Wetland Snippet is brought to you by Golden Chain Motels.