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Jo on her way to a Brook Islands pigeon count, circa 2007. Photo by Liz Downes.

Bird lovers around Australia and beyond, and an army of friends from many walks of life, will have been deeply saddened by the passing of former NQCC member and supporter, Jo Wieneke. 

As smoke from Dave's pizza oven filled the air and a Koel called out loudly from a nearby tree, our 2026 Annual General Meeting got underway.

One of Australia's most extraordinary ocean environments is currently under review. We've partnered with Save Our Marine Life to ensure you can make a quick and easy submission before consultation closes at 4pm Wednesday 30 September!

The Draft North Queensland Regional Plan is open for feedback - but only until midnight Tuesday 29th September. Read on to see what we think of the draft, and gain some tips for making your own submission!

What does an environmentally successful energy transition look like in the Townsville region? This is the question we sought to answer through Mapping Our Energy Future, harnessing local knowledge and expertise to develop community-led guidelines for our local energy transition. This blog post contains a full rundown of the project, which we hope you'll enjoy - but you can also check out our key recommendations at a glance.

Renewable energy developers are required to engage with Traditional Owners, but this doesn't always occur in ways that are respectful or mutually beneficial. When we sat down with some Traditional Custodians from our region, we gained some valuable insights into current practice in the industry and heard some recommendations for improvements. 

If these recommendations were to be enacted, we strongly believe that outcomes would not just be improved for local Traditional Owner groups, but also for the developer themselves, the community more broadly, and local biodiversity.

Photo credit: Eric Nordberg

It's no secret that Australians hold renewable energy projects to a much higher environmental standard than any other form of development. But just because the energy they produce is "greener" than fossil fuels, each project will of course have some impact on the local environment. 

So, what do these impacts look like in North Queensland? And could this extra scrutiny on renewables be leveraged to get better nature outcomes?

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"We need to take action before it's too late." 

That was the message that cut through loud and clear from the students who attended a screening of Future Council, hosted by NQCC and Parents for Climate at St Joseph's Catholic School in Mundingburra.