Thank you to the Honourable Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water, who recently visited Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee bush restoration project on Constellation Way, Wynnum (part of Bayside Catchment). Minister Plibersek emphasised the critical role of bushcare groups in ecosystem restoration and community building and commended the restoration efforts at Constellation Way Nature Reserve.
Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee (B4C) has revitalised essential riparian zones within the Bulimba Catchment, restoring native vegetation at Metroplex Wetlands Borthwick Avenue, Gibson Island along Aquarium Passage, Oxbow Wetlands, Doboy Wetlands and Constellation Way with funding from the Australian Government’s Urban Rivers and Catchments Program. The Australian Government has contributed $165,000 to this restoration work.
The Brisbane Catchment Network, along with member groups including B4C, has secured funding in Round Two of the Urban Rivers and Catchments Program. This funding will enable B4C to restore native vegetation at additional sites including Conondale Park, Eight Mile Plains, further enhancing local biodiversity and environmental resilience.
These projects are a part of the larger $200 million Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, which aims to restore the health of our urban waterways. This is crucial, as nearly half of all nationally listed threatened animals and a quarter of threatened plants reside in urban areas, where they share space with 96% of Australia’s population. The funded projects are key to conserving native plants and animals, including species including waterbirds, turtles, and fish, and also plays a vital role in enhancing the water quality of our waterways for public health and social wellbeing.
“We want to leave nature better off for our kids and grandkids – and that’s why we’re restoring rivers and waterways in our suburbs with a $200 million investment.
“This critical funding is good news for native wildlife and the community – improving the quality of the urban spaces that we all share and love,” explains Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek.
The Urban Rivers and Catchments Program is paving the way for how urban, outer-urban, and regional centres can improve their ecological and social environments by:
- Restoring and enhancing river areas, stream banks, and aquatic habitats.
- Improving water quality and waterway connectivity.
- Enhancing urban green and blue spaces, and community access to nature.
The benefits of this Program are extensive, supporting native and threatened species, improving public health, and helping to reduce urban heat impacts due to climate change. Initiatives include creating wildlife habitats, replacing concrete channels with vegetated streams, developing wetlands, facilitating fish passage, and installing traps for pollutants and litter from stormwater.
Through these nature-positive efforts, the Program aims to leave our environment in a better state, building resilience in the face of a warming climate. We are proud to contribute to these transformative efforts and appreciate the ongoing support from the Australian Government, the Queensland Government, and all our community members and partners who make this work possible.
