21 C
Byron Shire
March 27, 2024

‘Green Army’ to restore Lismore koala habitat

Latest News

Splendour 2024 cancelled

It's official, Splendour in the Grass 2024 has been cancelled.

Other News

Mayoral casting vote gets Lismore’s Affordable Housing Strategy over the line

At the recent Lismore City Council meeting former Mayor Vanessa Ekins and councillor Elly Bird moved the motion to introduce an Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme and submit it to the state government for a gateway determination. 

Casuarina cricketers too strong for Mullumbimby Brunswick in grand final

Mullumbimby Brunswick Cricket Club (MBCC) had a very successful season finishing second on the ladder at the end of the home and away season with 13 wins and 4 losses, but fell short of winning the grand final against the Casuarina Crocs.

Editorial – Let’s do the development dance!

Some good questions were raised by residents at last week’s Council meeting – and were ‘taken on notice’ by Mayor, Michael Lyon.

The Picture House is turning 8

It feels like we were only just ringing in the new year days ago and here we are approaching Easter weekend at The Brunswick Picture House. It’s already been a whirlwind start to 2024 with their biggest and busiest program so far, bringing an eclectic mix of some of the hottest stand-up comedy, music gigs, film screenings and cabaret – and that was just last week!

UK court seeks assurances from US over Julian Assange

The UK High Court of Justice has released a 66 page judgement seeking more information from the United States relating to Australian citizen Julian Assange, which it says it needs before deciding whether to grant the WikiLeaks founder leave to appeal his extradition.

Zoom meeting

Just to clarify the report that Michael Lyon now declares ‘no’ to developing Ann St and New City Road....

Koala habitat in Lismore will be restored with the help of Green Army participants. (file pic)
Koala habitat in Lismore will be restored with the help of Green Army participants. (file pic)

Key areas of koala habitat in the Lismore area will be restored with the help of volunteer Green Army participants.

Tregeagle Landcare, which has operated for 25 years, has received a $20,000 federal government grant to restore ridges leading to Tucki Tucki and Boggy Creeks, as well as lowland rainforest along the creek at Connor Road, Tregeagle.

The Tregeagle restoration project will improve existing koala habitat and connectivity as well as rejuvenate eucalypt and rainforest ecosystems and improve water quality in the creeks.

Tregeagle Landcare president Jim Kinkead said the projects would help provide local koalas with ‘a safe and undisturbed breeding and feeding highway’.

‘We will also use some of the grant funding for a field day that will engage school children, landholders and others to learn and become involved in Landcare activities at Tregeagle,’ he said.

Meanwhile, two Green Army projects will assist Lismore’s south-eastern koala population, which is struggling to survive from a lack of genetic diversity and the constant threat of habitat loss, dog attacks, road injuries and disease.

One new Green Army team will work with Friends of the Koala in their plant nursery to grow koala food trees.

These trees will be given to people who wish to expand koala habitat on their properties and help increase connectivity.

The team will also undertake weed control and tree planting at the Southern Cross University campus and help out with community education events and koala counts.

Friends of the Koala Trees Officer Mark Wilson said one of the biggest threats to koalas was loss of habitat and the Green Army team would provide a great boost to the creation of koala habitat on the north coast.

‘The loss of their bushland habitat often forces koalas into small ‘pockets’ of trees surrounded by houses, dogs and roads,’ Mr Wilson said.

‘The aim of the project with the Green Army is to try and link these pockets of habitat to provide wildlife corridors and enable safe movement of koalas and other native animals.’

The second Green Army team will work with Lismore City Council to control invasive weeds, which limit koala movements and block access to food trees.

The participants will be planting trees and learning plant propagation as well as attending local community Landcare events.

The three projects are supported through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program and the Australian Government’s Green Army Program.

Page MP Kevin Hogan announced the projects today.

‘I congratulate the Tregeagle Landcare group for this very impressive project to restore koala habitat and provide numerous other environment benefits for our community,’ Mr Hogan said.

Green Army is voluntary and participant receive accredited training and are paid an allowance.  They participant for 30 hours per week.

Green Army projects are also currently operation from Byron Bay and Ballina. Applications will open soon for participant in the next round of projects. Details at http://www.envite.org.au/Green-Army-Intro.html


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Lets hope the use of Round-up is reduced to nil in any restoration plans. Evidence emerging from all over the world is proving this herbicide is not as safe as the promoters insist.

    The Dutch Parliament passed the law prohibiting private parties from buying Monsanto’s toxic herbicide, RoundUp, and is expected to go into effect in late 2015. While the Dutch Lower House had initiated the law to ban glyphosate from non-agricultural use years ago, it seems Monsanto’s grip on the government “overrode” the motion at the time, but now residents of the Netherlands will be safe from the toxic pesticide. Two members of the Dutch Parliament, Esther Ouwehand and Gerard Schouw, submitted the motion, which influenced recent approval. Glyphosate, the main ingredient in RoundUp, has been linked to many health risks including different forms of cancer, nervous system damage and birth defects among many other issues. The Netherlands now joins Russia and Mexico as the latest country to ban Monsanto’s RoundUp. Will this prompt other countries to follow suit?
    Source: weedsnetwork.com

    Creeks and Drains are for rain water. NOT HERBICIDES.

  2. Green Army is not Work for the Dole. The Green Army is a voluntary programme for 17-24 year olds interested in protecting their local environment. The Green Army provides young people with skills, training and experience to improve their future career prospects while participating in projects that generate real and lasting benefits for the environment.

    Participants receive an allowance allowance ranging from $10.14 to $16.45 per hour. Participants include school leavers, gap year students, graduates, Indigenous people and unemployed job seekers. Application for the next round of Green Army project will open shortly. To apply go to http://www.envite.org.au/Green-Army-Intro.html

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

We just love him!

If you’re over 50 you might not be a fan of Tom Jones, but you can bet your mum is. If you’re under 40 you might not even know who he is, but your grandmother probably wet her pants at the mere mention of his name.

Peter Garrett gives Bluesfest the nod

If I say the words ‘US Forces give the nod’, I can pretty much guarantee that you will hear the unmistakable voice of Peter Garrett ringing in your ears. Your head may even start to bob up and down a bit. 

Save Wallum finalist in NSW 2024 environment awards

The Save Wallum campaign has been named as a finalist in the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Environment Awards 2024. The award ceremony will be held in Sydney tonight, and Save Wallum spokesperson and ecologist James Barrie will be attending with Tegan Kitt, another founding member of the group.

New report highlights gaps in rural and remote health

The second annual Royal Flying Doctor Service ‘Best for the Bush, Rural and remote Health Base Line’ report has just been released. Presenting the latest data on the health of rural and remote Australians and evidence on service gaps, it identifies issues in urgent need of attention from service providers, funders, partners and policy makers.