Phil Gibson was one of many Townsville locals who has enjoyed visiting the Port Access Nature Reserve - a beautiful bushy area bounded by creeks and mangroves on the south side of Townsville. When he found it heavily littered with all manner of illegally dumped waste, he knew he had to do something to restore that special place.

In 2020, Phil's Bush Cleanup was born, and so began the arduous (but ultimately worthwhile) process of lining up paperwork to gain permission to carry out voluntary work on the site, owned by the Qld Department of Environment and Science. He approached NQCC, who, as an incorporated association with the appropriate insurance, could support his application to work on government-owned land. We jumped at the chance to collaborate and have been thrilled with what we've been able to support Phil to achieve!

Since starting his regular clean up activities, Phil and other volunteers have found everything from dirty nappies and broken furniture, to car tyres and even a burnt-out boat. While much of this has been able to removed, several car bodies (often too rusted out to be towed away) have presented too much of a challenge with the resources at hand.

In April 2022, Phil drafted a project plan to remove these troublesome car bodies, aptly entitled "Operation Habitat Auto". NQCC was eligible to apply for one of the Qld Government's Community Sustainability Action Grants, so together, we lodged an application to fund the project, including local equipment hire.

In July 2022, we received the news that our application was successful, and Operation Habitat Auto came to life!

Please follow Phil's Bush Cleanup on Facebook for project updates.