North Queensland Conservation Council

North Queensland Conservation Council, based in Townsville, is a membership-based Environmental Non Government Organisation run by an elected Management Committee and supported by volunteers. Campaign Manager Tarquin Moon has worked for the organisation since early 2018 and is normally the first point of contact with the public. 

Staff

Tarquin Moon - Campaigns Manager

Tarquin has always been interested in the environment, starting out with a love for Australia's unique animals and landscape. While studying environmental management at Griffith University in Brisbane, she started volunteering for the Wilderness Society on the land clearing campaign in 2003. She has travelled across Cape York twice working as an environmental campaigner supporting a world heritage nomination for the region.

Tarquin moved to Townsville with her husband and daughter earlier this year and finds it a wonderful place to live. From volunteer to environmental campaigner, Tarquin loves to share her passion for the environment and inspire people to use their power to make the difference! 

Tarquin was appointed to the position of Campaigns Manager in 2018. Previous staff members have been known as "Coordinators" and in the last fifteen years have included Jeremy Tager, Carol Booth, James McLellan, Gail Hamilton, Wendy Tubman, Maree Dibella (2016-17) and Russell Kelly (2017).

 Tarquin Moon

Crystal Falknau - Community Campaigner

Crystal joined the Management Committee in 2017, not long after arriving from Toowoomba where she had completed her Bachelor of Science in Environment and Sustainability at the University of Southern Queensland. During her studies, she developed a passion for environmental advocacy and joined the environmental movement. 

Crystal acted as interim Co-ordinator from late 2017 to early 2018, returned to the Management Committee for most of 2018, and was appointed Community Campaigner in November of that year.

Crystal Falknau

Management Committee (as of September 2019)

Peter Hanley - President

Peter Hanley has lived in North Queensland for more than 30 years. His interests include human rights, social justice, sustainability and community development, with a particular penchant for creative performances to educate and inform. Peter is also a convenor of the Amnesty International Townsville branch and writes a blog, "True North".

Peter Hanley

Cam Leitch - Treasurer

Cam has a passion for promoting an ecologically sustainable future for our (one and only) Earth and is particularly interested in working towards reducing our greenhouse emissions and keeping coal in the ground. Cam retired from his job as a structural engineer in 2014 and so he now has more time to devote to his other pursuits, including being an active member of the NQCC Committee which he joined in 2017. 

Cam Leitch

General Committee Members

Linda Davis - Currently a teacher of science to migrants at Townsville State High School. Background in ecology and marine biology and worked in freshwater ecology for several years. With deep concerns for the state of our terrestrial and marine environments has supported NQCC for many years.

Linda Davis

Alastair Birtles - One of the founders of NQCC returns to the committee after a very long gap.

Alastair Birtles

Volunteers

NQCC’s task would be harder without the assistance of many other volunteers. If you would like to offer your skills for a short or long term, please click here.

We have a great team of about 20 volunteers who assist with events as they occur. We also want to acknowledge the wonderful contribution of regular volunteers:

Presiding over NQCC’s Public Fund are Mary Vance, David Kault and Wendy Tubman.

Malcolm Tattersall has been a website/IT volunteer for several years and a committee member intermittently since May 2017. He stepped down from the committee at the AGM to focus on the IT work. 

Here is a directory of different groups providing volunteer opportunities with on-ground conservation or environmental projects in the local region:

Conservation Volunteers Australia projects in Townsville region – check this website to confirm correct dates, meeting location and contact details. Projects include Creekwatch (water quality testing and surveys), Friends of Cape Pallarenda Quarantine Station and native revegetation nursey.

On Sunday 14^th of August, NQCC hosted a fundraising dinner to celebrate our community of past committee members, donors, volunteers and staff. Additionally, former NQCC Coordinator Susan Brown was visiting Townsville after spending the past 11 years in Geneva working for WWF. We thought a dinner at the NQCC HQ would be a good opportunity for our community to gather.