| Activity Type | Date |
Activity Name |
Description of Activity | Site Information |
|
Excursion (1/2 Day) |
Wednesday 31/05/2023 |
Brisbane Botanic
Gardens - Guided
Walk Coordinators: Annie & Greg Neill |
The
17-hectare,
heritage-listed
City
Botanic
Gardens
are
Brisbane's
original
botanicgardens.
Queensland's
Heritage
Register
recognises the
City Botanic
Gardens for
theirnatural,
historic and
cultural values.
The gardens'
plant
collections
include the
first
Queensland
native plants to
be formally
planted.
Visitors to the
gardens will
also see
exotic plants.
Some exotic
plants were
imported in
colonial days to
establish crops
for
the new Brisbane
colony. Artists
have also
created a number
of heritage
features at the gardens. The Brisbane Botanic Gardens are located on Alice Street, Brisbane City and are boundedby the Brisbane River. The City Botanic Gardens - Brisbane Tourist Guide states "Originally the gardens were planted by convicts in 1825 with food crops to feed the prison colony. Then in 1828 the botanist, Charles Fraser, selected the site to become a public garden and by 1855 the garden was established. The gardens are now Brisbane’s oldest and most mature with many rare and unusual botanic species. There are many areas in the gardens ranging from large open grassed areas perfect for picnicking on, rainforest, beautiful Lilly ponds and a fascinating mangrove boardwalk and an avenue of Bunya pines." |
QNC has
pre-booked a
volunteer guide
for a walk
through the
gardens.
We willmeet at
the
Visitor Centre
in the gardens
at 11 am.
The Visitor
Centre faces the
continuation of
George Street on
the boundary
with QUT. If you
are interested
in joining us,
please register at excursion@qnc.org.au as soon as possible with GARDENS in the subject line. Numbers are limited to about 12 however if there is enough interest we can arrange a second guide. Please also indicate if you would like to stay on after the walk for lunch at the Gardens Club Cafe. |
| Excursion | June |
Lake Manchester Coordinators: Cathy Duffy and Judy Haines |
This will be a 5km to 6km walk. | More details coming soon. |
| Meeting | Monday 19/06/23 |
Club Meeting Topic: Threatened frogs at Kroombit Tops National Park Speaker: Harry Hines |
C.T White
Memorial Lecture
- Speaker Harry
Hines Harry Hines is a Senior Conservation Officer with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Partnerships and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Queensland Museum. He worked extensively on the declining frogs problem and was a member of the team that discovered the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), now recognised as the cause of many frog declines and extinctions in Australia and globally.
Harry is
currently
involved in the
conservation
management of
various
threatened
species
including
Kroombit
tinkerfrog,
Kroombit
treefrog and
silver-headed
antechinus. He
has co-authored
more than 60
scientific
papers on frogs,
amphibian
chytrid fungus,
birds, mammals
and fauna
surveys as well
as a field guide
to the frogs of
the wet forests
of southeast
Queensland and
contributed
sections on
frogs to several
other books. In
2023 he was
awarded the
Queensland
Natural History
Award.
For the 2023 C.T. White Lecture, Harry will provide a summary of his 25
years of work on
the threatened
frogs at
Kroombit Tops
National Park.
The critically
endangered
Kroombit tinker
frog Taudactylus
pleione was
discovered in
December 1983
during a
Queensland
Naturalists’
Club excursion
and subsequently
described in
1986. Since
then, it has
been the subject
of considerable
survey,
monitoring and
research. It has
proven to be an
incredibly
difficult
species as its
core habitat now
is the steep
scree-slope
gullies of the
eastern
escarpment and
its populations
have been in
steady decline.
It’s eggs and
tadpoles have
never been
observed in the
wild and females
and juveniles
are very rarely
seen. Harry will
run through the
evolution of the
automated
acoustic
monitoring
program and
results arising.
He will also
outline the work
undertaken to
establish
captive breeding
at Currumbin
Wildlife
Sanctuary and
the
translocation
program and
share insights
into a recent
release to the
wild of captive
bred animals.
Harry will also
briefly discuss
work on the
second endemic
frog species at
Kroombit Tops –
the Kroombit
treefrog Litoria
kroombitensis –
and the local
population of
the vulnerable
tusked frog
Adelotus
brevis.
|
Toowong Uniting
Church Hall 82 Sherwood Road, Toowong Arrive 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Please bring a plate to contribute to the light supper that will be available after the meeting. |
| Meeting | Monday 17/07/2023 |
Club Meeting Speaker: Dr April Reside |
The ecology of the Galilee Basin. |
Toowong Uniting
Church Hall 82 Sherwood Road, Toowong Arrive 7pm for a 7.30pm start. A light supper (hot beverages and biscuits) will be available following the meeting. |
| Excursion | Saturday 22/0723 | Coordinator: David Bouchard | McAfees Lookout to Enoggera Ck, Enogerra Reservoir | More details coming soon. |
| Meeting | Monday 21/08/23 |
Club Meeting Speaker: Professor Rod Fensham |
Topic to be advised |
Toowong Uniting
Church Hall 82 Sherwood Road, Toowong Arrive 7pm for a 7.30pm start. A light supper (hot beverages and biscuits) will be available following the meeting. |
| Excursion |
Sunday 27/08/23 |
Coordinators: Delma Clifton & Tom Wixted |
White Rock,
Ipswich 6km Walk |
More details coming soon. |
| Long Excursion |
Monday 4/9/23 to
Sunday 16/9/2023 |
Bimblebox Nature
Refuge via
Alpha, central
Qld 4/9 to 10/9 Leaders: Greg & Annie Neill Alpha, central Qld 11/9 & 12/9 Leaders: Terry & Sally Johnsen Cudmore National Park north of Alpha 13/9 to 16/9 Leaders: Terry & Sally Johnsen |
Refer to the
forthcoming July
QNC News for
additional
information
about this long
excursion. Bimblebox Nature Refuge (BNR) is an 8,000-hectare property situated 50km north-west of Alpha, central Queensland. It is composed of remnant semi-arid woodlands with an understorey largely made up of native shrubs, herbs and grasses, and has a rich diversity of birds, reptiles and other animals. There are seven ecosystems on BNR; broad leaf silver ironbark woodland, poplar box (Bimblebox) woodland and heathland being the most prominent. In May 2011 a flock of endangered black throated finch (Poephila cincta cincta) was sighted on BNR. 287 species of plants and 290 species of animals, excluding insects, have been recorded at BNR; there is a paucity of insect records. Bimblebox is a genuine example of how production and biodiversity conservation can coexist. A small herd of beef cattle assist in the control of exotic pasture grasses, and a number of long-term research projects are aimed at generating knowledge and management practices to improve outcomes for biodiversity across the region. The property was purchased in 2000 by several concerned individuals, using part funding from the Australian National Reserve System program. In 2003, the Bimblebox Nature Refuge Agreement (category IV IUCN protected area) was signed with the Queensland state government to permanently protect the conservation values of the property. In 2011, Warratah Coal, owned by Clive Palmer, released a plan to develop a massive coal mine in the Galilee Basin, including BNR. |
Note:
Registrations
will open 1
July, 2023 Register by emailing excursion@qnc.org.au and put BIMBLEBOX & CUDMORE QNC has secured permission to spend 7 days at BNR, arriving on the 4th September and departing on the 10th. Numbers are limited to 20 people and access is restricted to high clearance four-wheel drives. There is a camp kitchen, outdoor bush shower, tables and benches, and a long drop toilet. A slow combustion stove is available for cooking or heating water for showers. Limited drinking water will be supplied so bring as much as you can. Limited beds and mattresses may be available at the dongas. Donation/cost: The owners would prefer that you volunteer if you can, putting in some time to preserve Bimblebox biodiversity by helping with weeding or maintenance of the place. The caretaker has suggested one hour of weeding per person per day. |
| Mid-week, extended Excursion | Monday 23/10 to Friday 27/10 2023 | Mt Kaputar NP, NSW |
Updated details will be provided closer to the time. The details for this trip will be similar to those found in QNC News #363, P13 and News #364 P14. |
Please register
via
excursion@qnc.org.au
as soon as you
make your Mt
Kaputar booking,
and put
KAPUTAR
in the subject
line. NSW Parks policy is to only take camping site and cabin bookings 6 months in advance. Campsite and cabin bookings at Dawson Springs campsite are likely to open on, or soon after, 24 April 2023. https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/camping-and-accommodation/campgrounds/dawsons-spring-campground |