Welcome to 2022! We are so honoured to have you with us.

Last week the Australian Government announced $1 billion over nine years to support the health of the Great Barrier Reef. While we strongly support innovation, restoration and projects that help to improve ecosystem health, we know that CLIMATE ACTION NOW is required if we are to limit the worst impacts to the Reef. This is what we'll be pushing for in this year's federal election. Want to help? Join us here!

Our thoughts are with all those in mourning following the recent passing of Suzie Smith - a beloved champion for nature in North Queensland. We encourage you to read this beautiful tribute from Wildlife Qld Townsville Branch, which highlights her commitment, her character and her legacy, which will live on through all those who knew her.

In this edition:

• Some Good News:
  • Congrats to Carolyn Dixon!
• NQCC Updates:
  • Climate Action Townsville
  • Green Drinks
• Opportunities & Actions:
  
  • Tangaroa Blue: Citizen science from your couch!
  • End Deforestation in Qld - petition
  • Have your say about an Independent EPA

As November comes to an end, we're starting to catch our breath after a very busy few months! We all know that conservation issues don't disappear at this time of year, and that our environment needs us to be engaged all year round. As such, the second half of this Paperbark edition is filled with ideas and opportunities to contribute and engage, from wherever you might be!

Some good news from this month...

• Sunshine Coast Council officially declared a climate emergency. Congratulations to the wonderful people involved in this campaign!
• Townsville City Council is one step closer to grandfathering cats off of Yunbenun Magnetic Island, thanks to proposed changes to their animal management laws. Well done to MINCA for raising awareness and encouraging submissions!
• The State Government announced $125,000 over two years to support the recovery of the Mt Etna Ghost bat colony. This comes after 50 years of campaigning from conservationists in the region.

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  
  • Trivia Night and Mega Raffle
  • Environment Minister Roundtable
  • QCC's Evening with the Minister
  • Townsville Waterways Forum
  • Green Drinks
• Online Actions:
  • Tell Steven Miles to stop the Waratah coal station
  • Have your say on the future of Qld's Renewable Energy Zones
  • Provide feedback on Qld's Draft Resources Industry Development Plan
  • Join the #StopAdani end-of-year celebration
  • Get involved with "Soils for Science" - a citizen science project
  • Complete a survey about the use of drones in conservation work (or share with someone who can help)

As another massive month comes to a close, it is important to reflect on the powerful local actions that have taken place in our little corner of the world. 

As you are reading this, Scott Morrison is representing us in the Glasgow climate talks, where he expects to get away with shallow promises and dodgy deals to save face among world leaders, all the while abandoning his responsibility to protect Australia's people and ecosystems.

Meanwhile, we've seen North Queenslanders take real action to stand up for nature in so many wonderful ways. Through meetings, media, submissions, strikes, artworks, clean ups and petitions, people like you have made a real difference, and we couldn't be more proud of our community.

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  
  • Postcard Art Auction
  • Tree Advocacy Update
  • Flying-fox Reform: Media
  • NQCC at the International Rivers Symposium
  • Meeting with Scott Stewart MP
  • School Strike 4 Climate
• Coming Up: 
  
  • Townsville Waterway Forum
  • Green Drinks
  • Trivia Night & Mega Raffle
  • Evening with the Minister
• Online Actions:
  
  • Fix Compostable Packaging in Queensland
  • Stop the Cut of Species Recovery Plans
  • Protect Birds from Mouse Poisons

September was a whirlwind of Postcard Art, exciting campaign developments and our AGM! Hence September's Paperbark is only reaching you now. We hope you don't mind.

Our 2020/21 Annual Report has just been released, and we're very excited to share it with you. It outlines a lot of activities that we are incredibly proud of from the last financial year. We hope you enjoy the read!

This edition of Paperbark is packed full of recommended reading, calls to action and date savers. Why not treat yourself? Find a quiet place and maximise your enjoyment of this humble newsletter - you won't regret it!

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  
  • AGM
  • Tree Advocacy Update - have your say!
  • Burdekin Update
  • St Benedict's Ecofest
• Actions & Activities: 
  
  • Art Auction: Sat 9 Oct 6pm
  • School Strike 4 Climate: Fri 15 Oct 9am
  • Green Drinks: Fri 15 Oct 6pm
  • Pitch Your Project
  • Townsville Waterway Forum
• Further Reading & Events
• Support Us

This month we saw the release of the latest IPCC report, which we hope has fuelled the fire in your belly as it has for us. If you haven't had the time (or the will) to read a summary of the report, check out this handy cheat sheet from the Climate Council.

The main takeaway from the report is that every action counts and the time to act is now! Why not display a Climate Action Now! sign to show your support? Read on for details.

August will also go down in history as the last month Queensland allowed single-use plastics, such as cutlery, stirrers and straws - yay! Even better - businesses and organisations with surplus stock can register with The Great Plastic Rescue so that they can be reprocessed, recycled and remanufactured into valuable products with longer useful life spans!

As usual, we've had an action-packed month and we appreciate your ongoing support. We hope you enjoy this edition of Paperbark and that it inspires you in some way!

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  
  • Tree Advocacy Update: Talking up for our trees with TCC
  • Rivers Campaign Update: New footage of the beautiful Burdekin
• Actions & Activities: 
  • Share your support for Climate Action!
  • Postcard Art Opening: Friday 10 September
  • Green Drinks: Friday 17 September @ Grill'd
  • Annual General Meeting: Wednesday 29 Sept
• Have Your Say:
  • National Climate Resilience & Adaptation
  • Qld Renewable Energy Zones

We hope you are keeping well. We have been kept busy throughout July with our submission on the Museum of Underwater Art, giving away Climate Action Now! signs at various markets and promoting our Postcard Art Exhibition far and wide!

We'd love to thank all of our members who have recently renewed and extend a warm welcome to everyone who has recently joined our membership! Your support makes us stronger.

We also appreciate all those who made a thoughtful donation at the end of the last financial year. Our one-off or monthly donations are fully tax-deductible and every contribution counts!

In this edition of Paperbark, you will find numerous ways to get actively involved with us or support our work. We hope you enjoy the (slightly shorter than usual*) read!

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  
  • Tom O'Grady joins our committee
  • JCU Market Day
• Actions & Activities for You: 
  
  • Collect your Climate Action signs!
  • Postcard Artworks wanted
  • Green Drinks @ The Commonwealth

Six months into 2021 and we've certainly been kept on our toes! For those affected by lockdown conditions, we hope that you are staying safe and well, and as comfortable as possible.

With the new financial year kicking off this week, we invite you to become a monthly donor for as little as $5 a month, to supercharge the work we do here in beautiful North Queensland. Thank you to everyone who has given so generously - we really appreciate your support!

This edition of Paperbark provides an outline of what we've been up to in June, what we have planned, and ways for you to get involved - even from home! We hope you enjoy the read.

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  
  • Our Townsville
  • Consultation & Meetings
  • Burdekin Basin Campaign
  • Healthy Waters Report Card Launch
• Actions & Activities for You: 
  
  • Collect your Climate Action signs!
  • Green Drinks
  • Join our Committee!
  • Postcard Art Exhibition
  • Museum of Underwater Art: have your say
  • Regenerative Songlines Online Event
  • Heal Country Heal Climate Webinar Series
  • Plastic Free July
• The Good Stuff - a wrap up of some of the month's good news stories

We have a jam-packed edition of Paperbark for you this month, so we recommend setting aside 15 minutes or so to delve into our updates and take a few quick and easy online actions, such as renewing your membership, registering for an event or signing a petition.

We are currently in the middle of Reconciliation Week, and this year's theme is "More than a word". To help bring this to life, we recommend you check out this practical list of 20 Actions for Reconciliation in 2021.

We hope you enjoy this month's Paperbark!

In this edition:

• NQCC News:
  • Membership fee changes
  • Ministerial Roundtable
  • Climate Strike
  • Alligator Creek update
  • Water Campaign Update
• Coming Up: 
  
  • Our Townsville
  • Green Drinks
  • Postcard Art Exhibition
• In Other News...
  • Pre-budget Assembly with the Deputy Premier
  • Evening with the Minister
  • #StopAdani and Beyond - Online Roadshow
  • Petition: Protect Channel Country from Fracking
  • Microplastic Survey Training Workshop
• Some Good News - a wrap up of some of the month's good news stories

April was a month of butterflies, cooler weather and some pretty big changes for us (details below). As always, we are humbled by the support of everyone who has reached out and supported us in some way over the past few weeks - thank you!

Some positions are currently available on our Management Committee, so if you are looking for an opportunity to support us in a meaningful and rewarding way, express your interest here and we'll be in touch!

For an interesting (and perhaps inspiring) read, we recommend this Guardian article, which explores some of the opportunities for North Queensland becoming a key region for new, 'green' industries. It is exciting to hear some positive and progressive visions from North Queenslanders, instead of the same old coal rhetoric. 

As you'll see from this edition of Paperbark, we've been pretty busy - and we are only going to get busier, with plenty of things to look forward to. Keep reading for all the details!

In this edition:

• NQCC News:
  • Staffing Changes
  • Burdekin River Campaign Update
  • The Fight for Our Trees
• Coming Up: 
  
  • Green Drinks
  • Postcard Art Exhibition
• In Other News...
  • Tour de Carmichael kicks off
  • Pre-budget Assembly with the Premier
  • Townsville's Climate Strike
  • Kennedy Bay Walk with Wildlife Qld
  • Evening with the Minister
  • PhD survey responses wanted

Another busy month has passed, and we are filled with gratitude for the amazing people in our community doing great things. From those who got their gloves dirty on Clean Up Australia Day, to those who swam for our rivers and those who have come together to stand up for our trees. You are what inspires us!

Some good news to come out of this month...

Queensland Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon announced the 56ha expansion of Girringun National Park, to protect more habitat of the endangered Mahogany Glider. This has been a long time coming, but we are so glad this time has come!

Queensland has also announced a ban on many single-use plastics that will come into effect from September this year. Yay!

Well done to everyone whose advocacy has contributed to these decisions!

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  • Clean Up Australia Day
  • Swim for Our Rivers
  • Tree Vigil for Change
• Coming Up: 
  
  • Green Drinks
  • Postcard Art Exhibition
• In Other News...
  
  • Tour de Carmichael
  • Pint of Science: Online
  • Have Your Say, Townsville