With September coming to a close, we're hitting a spicy time of year! We're in full swing preparing for our upcoming AGM, making submissions, meeting with Council, presenting to community groups and mobilising in the lead-up to the Voice to Parliament referendum!

Thank you to all of the dedicated volunteers who have helped us kick so many goals this month! If you have received a membership renewal notice recently but haven't gotten around to clicking through, consider this a gentle reminder to renew your membership before our AGM. Your support is much appreciated! 

Please enjoy this edition of Paperbark!

- Crystal, NQCC Coordinator 

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates
  • AGM
  • Meeting with TCC
  • Green Drinks report back
• Other Events
  • Conversations with Impact
  • "The Giants" film screening
  • Great Barrier Reef Clean-Up
  • Celebrating Our World Heritage Island
  • Geography Matters: Reconciliation in Australian Conservation
  • Climate Cafés (Psychology for a Safe Climate)
• Nature Protection
  • Inaugural First Nations Dingo Forum
  • Tree battle continues
• Climate and Energy Transition
  
  • BHP coal mine expansion
• Indigenous Voice to Parliament

I hope this finds you well!

I have just returned from the Queensland Environment Minister's Roundtable - the first for the new Minister, Leanne Linard. Here, we pushed for strong leadership on climate and habitat protection, and walked the new Minister through the detail and nuance of our issues. Linard listened intently, and left with a clear understanding of the state of Queensland's environment and the strength of our movement.  

We have plenty of updates for you in this edition of Paperbark, so please dive in and enjoy!

- Crystal, NQCC Coordinator 

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates
  • Meeting with Aaron Harper
  • South Townsville Walking Tour a hit!
  • Community Alliance update
  • Green Drinks: reusables report
  • NQCC AGM: save the date!
• Nature Protection
  • National Parks growing in NQ
  • Phil's Bush Cleanup makes national news
  • Townsville's Tree Policy under threat
  • "The Giants" film screening by Townsville Cinema Group
• Energy Transition
  • Updates
  • Renewable Energy Zone consultation
• Water and Reef
  
  • Updates
  • Townsville Water Quality Report Card
  • The Biophysics of the Reef: webinar
• Indigenous Voice to Parliament

Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who dug deep throughout our EOFY Appeal, helping us to hit our $5,000 fundraising target! Combined with the powerful impact of our monthly donors, this generous response makes us excited to grow bigger and bolder, knowing we have a passionate supporter base in our corner! (Donate anytime here!)

On the campaign front, several consultation processes are currently active that are of great interest to us here in North Queensland. The Burdekin Basin Water Plan, Planning Code 23 (for wind farm assessments), Queensland's Renewable Energy Zones and management of the Lake Eyre Basin are all undergoing review or consultation. Links have been shared below where there are opportunities for you to contribute directly, but if you would like to talk to us further about any of these, please get in touch!

With Landcare Week kicking off and various events shaping up around the region, this is a great time of year to get out and about in nature, or meet others with shared interests. You'll find plenty of opportunities for this below!

Please enjoy the read, and thanks as always for your support!

- Crystal, NQCC Coordinator 

In this edition:

• Upcoming Events
  
  • Geography Matters
  • Green + Blue Drinks
  • South Townsville Walking Tour
  • Cockle Bay Walk
  • Waddananggu Bularu: 2 Year Celebration
• Take Action
  • Planning Code 23 for wind farms review
  • Qld REZ consultation
  • Lake Eyre Basin management consultation
• Good Vibe Stories
  • JCU Market Day
  • Illegal Dumping Action
• Further Reading/Watching
  • Marine Monitoring Program Results
  • Flying Fox Webinar

As I write this, the 2022/23 financial year is coming to a close (where did it go?!) and NAIDOC Week is just around the corner. This year's theme is "For Our Elders". If you haven't found some events or other ways to get involved yet, you can hit up the NAIDOC website for events and resources!

I am so grateful to everyone who has contributed to our EOFY Appeal so far! The high cost of living we're experiencing means a lot of our supporters are feeling the crunch right now, so we appreciate you digging deep if you can! Donations are a big part of our fundraising efforts and help to ensure we are resourced to carry out our important work now and into the future. We are very close to hitting our $5000 target, so if you can afford to chip in, please donate here!

Thanks as always for helping to protect North Queensland's wonderful environment. I hope you enjoy the read!

- Crystal, NQCC Coordinator 

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates
  
  • NQCC at Our Townsville 
  • An Informed Conversation with Dr Janine Gertz
  • Local Coasts Feeling Climate Impacts
  • Flourishing Partnerships for Our Wildlife
  • EOFY Appeal - Donate Today!
• Get Involved
  
  • Is Queensland Going Batty? Online Event
  • Invasive Species Council Bug Hunt
  • Healthy Waters Arvo
  • BirdLife Australia Photography Awards Now Open
  • Yes23 Events

As we welcome the cooler weather here in the tropics, the local events calendar is starting to heat up - exciting times ahead!

Hopefully you have found a way to celebrate Reconciliation Week, whether by attending an event, starting conversations with friends or exploring some of the resources available online.

The big news out of the past few weeks of course, is the appointment of Leanne Linard as Queensland's Minister for the Environment and Great Barrier Reef, Science and Multicultural Affairs. This poses an opportunity to impress upon her the importance of this portfolio and to highlight our region's environmental challenges and opportunities. 

In this edition of Paperbark, you will find plenty of ways to support our work - by volunteering with us, attending our events, or by donating to our End of Financial Year appeal! Thank you for whatever it is you do to support our work. Enjoy the read!

- Crystal, NQCC Coordinator 

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates
  
  • NQCC 50th Birthday Project
  • Our Townsville - community event
  • Listening Campaign
  • Burdekin Update
  • EOFY appeal
• In Other News
  • Upper Burdekin Wind Farm Update
  • Reef Snapshot
  • Channel Country campaign

To me, there is nothing more energising than working with others towards a common cause.

Much of our work is possible thanks to collaborative relationships, which tend to culminate into powerful collective action! We have been privileged to work with some incredible organisations and individuals lately, as you will see below. 

Our subcommittees and volunteers have also been hard at work behind the scenes, allowing us to punch well above our weight as the voice for the environment in North Queensland!

There are plenty of opportunities to Take action! in this edition, so I hope that you enjoy the read and take a moment to add your voice or sign up where you can.

Thank you as always for your support! I hope you enjoy this edition of Paperbark as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you.

- Crystal, NQCC Coordinator 

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  
  • Protect Channel Country
  • An EPA for Queensland
  • Townsville Listening Launch
  • Green Drinks
• In Other News
  
  • Upper Burdekin Wind Farm
  • Winchester South Coal Mine
  • Our Islands, Our Home
  • Power Together
  • Container Refund Scheme
• Volunteer Opportunities
  • Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare
  • The Smart Coffee Project
  • NQCC

I have just recently returned from Meanjin Brisbane, where I was your representative at the Ministerial Environment Roundtable (MERT).

The MERT is a great opportunity to unite with conservation groups from all over Queensland to push Minister Scanlon and her department for solutions to the issues our regions are facing. I have never seen our movement so energised and powerful!

I look forward to providing more detailed feedback in future, but for now, I am preparing for two weeks of travel to reconnect with nature - it's important for us all to recharge! 

Thanks as always for supporting NQCC and our work. I really hope you enjoy this edition of Paperbark!

- Crystal

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  
  • Welcome Madde!
  • Take Action for an Independent EPA for Qld
  • Townsville Climate Action 2023 Kick-Off
  • World Wetlands Day at Mundy Creek
  • Protect the Protest
  • Burdekin Basin Governance Seminar
  • First Nations Led Dingo Conservation
• In Other News
  
  • Safeguard Mechansim
  • Public Environment Report available for Upper Burdekin Wind Project 
• Opportunities

Attending Big Eye Theatre's Survival Day events in Gurambilbarra (Townsville) last week, we were heartened to witness a groundswell of curiosity, respect and support for local First Nations stories on 26 January.

As an organisation, we recognise that we cannot be the voice for the environment without working in partnership with our region's First Nations people, who have cared for country for millennia. This is the focus of our First Nations Partnerships Subcommittee, which aims to incorporate First Nations perspectives to our environmental advocacy in North Queensland. Please get in touch if you'd like to support this work!

It's only January, but there are already plenty of things to get involved in. We hope you enjoy this edition of Paperbark!

In this edition:

• Conservation News:
  
  • Dr Adam Smith recognised with Sustainability Award
  • Help keep big polluters accountable on climate
  • Upper Burdekin Windfarm updates available
• Coming Up
  • Planet-Conscious Townsville Thurs 2 Feb
  • World Wetlands Day at Mundy Creek Sat 4 Feb
  • "Franklin" screening Wed 22 Feb
  • Green Drinks (date TBC)
• Opportunities
• Further Reading/Actions

Things really are heating up here in North Queensland - in every sense of the word! Temperature records are breaking and we're flat out, delivering updates, actions and events. We hope you can get involved with us in some way in this action-packed month!

We are also excited to present our activities and achievements from the last financial year in our 2021/22 Annual Report!

As always, we thank you for your support and hope you enjoy this edition of Paperbark!

In this edition:

• NQCC Updates:
  
  • Meet the Management Committee!
  • Townsville Tree Policy Update
  • Hells Gates Dam not funded
• Actions & Events:
  • #NotAnotherDollar action outside NAB
  • Renewables and Biodiversity: webinar
  • Trivia Night and Mega Raffle
  • TIDY Up Townsville Cleanup
  • Green Drinks
• Opportunities
• Further Reading/Actions

We (NQCC and the Townsville Tree Advocacy Group) have been fielding quite a lot of questions and concerns from our community regarding the removal and harm of trees on Council land. 

It has been twelve months since Townsville City Council adopted their Public Tree Management Policy, so we thought it was a good time to take some of these questions and concerns to the Council staff responsible for the care of our urban forest and learn more about how the Policy has been implemented since October 2021.