Last night's General Meeting brought together long-time members, people considering joining NQCC, volunteers, interns, and friends of the organisation for an evening of conversation, fresh wood-fired pizza, and a look at what's ahead.

It was also a little bittersweet. After more than two years with NQCC, our Community Campaigner, Luna, was farewelled at the meeting.

What environmental issues matter most to young people?

Have you ever wished there were more trees in your neighbourhood? Wondered what could be done about plastic pollution, climate change, or protecting wildlife? Or thought, "Someone should do something about that!"

If so, we'd love to meet you.

Join us for a free, interactive Future Council Youth Workshop, where you'll have the chance to share your ideas, hear what other young people care about, and discover how your voice can help shape the future of our community.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our stall and shared their thoughts, experiences and ideas. We were excited to see so much interest in the campaign, with more than 50 people signing up to support it and stay involved. It was a great start for our campaign, getting attention and positive responses from decionmakers too.

Dear Luna,

This weekend, as our mega Community Garage Sale bursts into life, I'm both grateful and humbled by our mighty volunteers and generous supporters.

The connection we get to make with each other while at Green Drinks or Climate Cafés, doing citizen science, fundraising or finding and sorting rubbish is so important in this age of disconnection and isolation.

On a related note, this year's Reconciliation Week theme is "All In", and you're invited to reach out to someone in your life could use some inclusion in our Reconciliation journey. There are some great resources from Reconciliation Australia that could help guide some conversations.

June is always a busy month, and we're looking forward to connecting in the cooler weather at Eco Fiesta and at our upcoming Members' Event!

Thanks for helping us to step up for community, climate and nature.

- Crystal, NQCC Coordinator

What do you get when 30 community volunteers spend a Sunday morning exploring mangroves, saltmarshes, parks and carparks? A cleaner coastline - and 160kg of rubbish removed from the environment.

The clean-up, organised by North Queensland Conservation Council, NQ Wildlife Care and Healthy Waters Partnership, brought together community members determined to make a difference around the Barnicle Street boat ramp.

Volunteers collected an astonishing amount of litter, including tyres, a fridge door, broken glass, textiles, shoes and more than 18kg of soft plastics. While the clean-up area was relatively small, the volume of rubbish highlights the ongoing challenge facing our waterways and wildlife.

A big thank you to everyone who took part, and to TIDY Up Townsville Group and Earthwatch Australia for joining us on the day and lending a hand.

Every piece of litter removed is one less threat to wildlife and our waterways.

All photos: Jo Hurford.

Scroll through the photos below to see the day in action.

Last week we came together for candlelight, soft drizzle on leaves above us, and honest conversation about the climate crisis and how it lives in us.

Last week’s Green Drinks evening brought together community members for a relaxed night of conversation and a growing awareness of how deeply local lives in North Queensland are connected to distant ecosystems.

This month we were joined by Erin Miles, community campaign organiser with the Bob Brown Foundation. Erin, who is also a James Cook University research student, spoke about current campaigns focused on Antarctic marine ecosystems - particularly the expanding industrial harvest of Antarctic krill.

Throughout April, our community came together for Love Where You Live — a grassroots fundraiser celebrating practical action, care for place, and the people helping protect North Queensland’s environment.

What started as a collection of individual fundraising efforts quickly became something much bigger: a shared reminder that small actions, when backed by community, really do add up.

As our month-long Love Where You Live fundraiser draws to a close, I've been reflecting on just how fitting the name of that fundraiser is (nice one, Luna!).

What do I love the most about where I live? 

While ticking items off my bingo card, I explored some local saltmarshes with MangroveWatch, revegetated and remediated hillsides and creek banks with Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare and learned what goes into caring for wildlife in need with NQ Wildlife Care. 

It's not just our region's wonderful landscapes, ecosystems and species that make it special - it's also the everyday superheroes who come together for their protection.

This month, we've been overwhelmed (in a good way!) by the generosity of supporters donating their pre-loved items to our Garage Sale and getting behind our fundraising efforts. Our volunteer numbers are also growing - just in time for some exciting upcoming events!

There's plenty on the horizon that could use your support, so please enjoy the read and know that your actions - big or small - are appreciated.

- Crystal, NQCC Coordinator

Was it the mangrove fever? We’re not entirely sure - but what we do know is that our latest Green Drinks brought a full house together for an evening of connection, learning, and inspiration.

A big thank you to everyone who joined us, and a special shoutout to Lucia Caldas Duran from Earthwatch for sharing her work and insights with the community.