In Townsville, we marked World Wetlands Day by inviting organisations involved in wetland conservation to share their work with interested members of the community. We are so grateful for the contributions of NQ Dry Tropics, Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare, Wongaloo Conservation Park and the Townsville Dry Tropics Partnership for Healthy Waters, whose representatives volunteered their time to share valuable relevant information with us.

NQCC's biennial Postcard Art fundraiser is back! On show at Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts from 10th September, all postcard-sized artworks will be auctioned off at the end of the exhibition, Oct 9th 6pm, 2021 with all funds supporting our work here in North Queensland!

Welcome to 2021! The year has been off to a strong start for NQCC. We've already met with Queensland's new Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, facilitated our first Green Drinks on the beautiful Magnetic Island and made a submission on the Burdekin Falls Dam Raising Project and Urannah Dam (both available here). 

And yes, you guessed it - we're just getting started! Are you as excited for this year as we are? 

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  • Ministerial Meeting with Meaghan Scanlon
  • Green Drinks 2021
  • Treasurer Wanted!
  • Container Recycling Update
• Coming Up: 
  • World Wetlands Day
  • Swim for Our Rivers 
• Local Heroes:
  • Hunger Strike for Climate
  • Townsville Citizens of the Year
  • Rodney the Unicorn Fish ready for reading
  • Reusables Back on Track

In March this year, we are joining Mackay Conservation Group's "Swim for Our Rivers" fundraiser, to kickstart the next phase of our campaign to protect the future of the iconic Burdekin.

You are invited to register a team and help us fundraise in the lead up to our exciting Swim-A-Thon on Saturday 20 March at Mundingburra's Kokoda Memorial Pool! Got questions? Check out our FAQ page!

Our current Climate Change initiative revolves around inspiring our fellow North Queenslanders to think about what a carbon neutral future could look like for our region. Learn all about the project here! 

We also highly recommend climateforchange.org.au and their amazing climate conversations guide! 

North Queensland is already feeling the impacts of a changing climate, with unprecedented weather events and temperatures. The flooding event in and around Townsville in February 2019 smashed previous rainfall records for all durations from two to twelve days, with 1259.8mm falling in just ten days (see BoM's Special Climate Statement). This followed the heatwave of November 2018, which saw previous maximum temperature records in areas around Cairns, Proserpine, Coen, Cooktown, Innisfail to Townsville, Bowen to Sarina and around St Lawrence exceeded by 1.5 to 4°C (source here).

Students Strike for Climate in Townsville on 15 March 2019.

On 15 March 2019, Townsville school students gathered at the Gregory Street Amphitheatre to share their stories, concerns and demands regarding climate change and climate action. This nationwide event was organised by the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), and the Townsville event was brought together by AYCC's North Queensland Organiser Alicia Walter, with the help of local volunteers.

Q&A session at Townsville's HeatWatch presentation. Pictured are Des Bolton, Mark Ogge and NQCC Campaigns Manager Tarquin Moon.

Responsible water conservation is more critical than ever to help prevent catastrophic droughts and bushfires. For information and advice relating to responsible water conservation, we encourage you to explore the resources below.

The science of climate change is by now quite clear and generally well understood. In brief, CO2 and other greenhouse gases trap the sun’s heat, raising the average temperature of the atmosphere and (indirectly) the oceans. We have emitted so much extra CO2 since the Industrial Revolution (and especially since 1950) that we are on course for dangerous droughts, heat waves, sea-level rise and species extinctions – up to and including mass starvation and massive dislocation of human populations. For authoritative summaries of the science, with links to further information, visit these pages by CSIRO, the BoM  or NOAA.