Small things done now will be disproportionately important in decades to come.

NEXT MEETING - Thursday 21st May, 7pm at Sunnybank Hills library     
Level 2 Sunnybank Hills Shoppingtown
Cnr. Calam Rd. and  Compton Rd.  Sunnybank Hills

PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Last week an Australasia Conference was held in Brisbane on the subject of Wildlife Movements in Urban Environments.  Papers were presented and the last day proceedings were taken up by on-site inspections of the nature arches, tunnels, fences and other structures incorporated in the Wildlife Crossings.

Representatives of Brisbane City Council, and academia spoke of their involvement in the various tasks needed to make these crossings realities, ensure their sustainability and discover how efficiently the function.

All speakers seemed proud and pleased to have a part in it.

On the Karawatha talk, Paul Mace from Council spoke of the creation process from planning to fruition.  Professors Jones (Griffith) and Goldingay (Southern Cross) described their findings on wildlife tracking.  Steve Wilson (Queensland Herbarium) revealed his findings from on-ground survey work, both on the bridge, and in large areas either5 side of it.  All these talks were well received.

Bernice, Jane and I were in attendance and we were most satisfied that Matt de Glas was invited to talk about the maintenance, presentation and lessons gained from those at the work face. Matt handled himself admirably, and I am sure that he brought credit to the competency of his immediate staff and Local Assets Services in general.

I represented the Society and decided in the last few days prior, to finally tell the whole story from our experience.  Our work in flora and fauna assessment, knowledge of the wildlife locales, records of wildlife kills and past battles were described.  Our negotiations with Powerlink, the Hon Rob Schwartchn and the Department of Housing and the Motorways Authority were outlined.

Our experiences with the 295 Compton Road case were explained. The circumstances of how we were challenged to come up with a better alternative than widening and flattening Compton Road , and we had one hour of off-the-cuff dissertation to explain a viable alternative.

The miraculous involvement of BCC’s Traffic and Transport in running with the idea was highlighted. I explained how virtually all our initial ideas became the bulk of the final presentation. (A few of these have needed some tweaking but the general concept is showing sustainability).

I explained the involvement of the Project Managers Derek Sharpe and Mary (Grano) O’Hare and the respect they showed the Society in giving us a major say in the evolution of the construction.

The positive and encouraging response I received from the audience was a heartening affirmation of years and years of diligent effort  by Society members. From a personal standpoint, I was particularly tickled by Prof Daryl Jones saying something to the effect of, “as you can see, Thomas knows how to kick in doors and bang heads” - and I thought we were gentle and understanding negotiators!
BUSH CARE GROUP UPDATE The Bush Care site at Pamela Crescent is currently being mass planted by the BCC as part of the Planting of the Two Million trees program. The work undertaken by the BCC is beyond the scope of the bush care group and has left little work that could be undertaken by our members. Ralph and myself had on site meetings with the Brisbane Habitat officers and it was decided that the Bush Care Group would suspend activities in the forest until a new site could be found. Last week we were offered four new possible work sites, which we will look at during next week, with the intention of starting Bush Care work sessions on the second Sunday in June. I will ring all group members and new contacts if the date is achievable.   As most people are aware The "Seed Propagation Program" run by Ralph Angus and his volunteers was closed due to the Water restrictions. The program was such a success that not only did it make the Bush Care Group self sufficient in plants, but we were also able to supply hundreds of plants to the Brisbane Habitat Department for use by other Bush care groups. This was a great cost saving not only to our group, but also the Habitat Department who have to buy the plants from the Nursery.   Ralph was informed by the Habitat Department that they have now secured a 10,000 Litre water tank for us to restart the program. Unfortunately the site on Illaweena Street where the Shade House is located is being developed, hopefully by the end of the year we will be back. KARAWATHA LAKE During a walk through the forest of recent time one of our members came across  PhD students from University of Queensland St Lucia campus Marine Biology and they were conducting diving and sound equipment training in Karawatha Lake. The Army and SES are also using Karawatha Lake for training purposes and all information gathered from these groups has been beneficial to Brisbane City Council. Wildlife survey students—School of Biological Sciences at UQ  St Lucia, PhD Integrative Ecology Lab were conducting bat surveys in the forest and found a new bat species for Karawatha. We are seeking results from their work  and hopefully have for inclusion in the next newsletter.

DATES TO REMEMBER - May

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