The Nelly Bay part of Magnetic Island Creek Rescue will start to be rolled out next Sunday (23 June) and all are welcome to join in. The details are in the flier below but, for those with less than 20/20 vision, the key details are:

Meet at the top of Kirk Street at 9am
Bring sturdy shoes, hat, sunscreen, shovel, drinking water
Free BBQ lunch if you RSVP to [email protected] by noon Saturday.

The Horseshoe Bay component of Magnetic Island Creek Rescue will kick off this Saturday with a free community barbecue onsite – the inland side of the creek behind the Horseshoe Bay shops at the end of Henry Lawson Drive. Research by the Magnetic Island History and Craft Centre has established that this is a part of the beautifully named ‘Wellbeloved Creek’.

Magnetic Island Creek Rescue is an Everyone’s Environment grant project funded by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection. It will see the community work with professional contractors to rescue specific creeks in the various island bays from the ravages of weed proliferation and littering associated with human activity.

The project aims to clean up areas of five island waterways – Butler Creek in Picnic Bay, Kirk Creek in Nelly Bay, Peterson and Alma Creeks in Arcadia and Wellbeloved Creek in HSB. The work will improve the quality of water in creeks that flow to the Great Barrier Reef; protect creek habitats and increase their natural resilience; and improve the overall beauty of Magnetic Island.

The work will depend a lot on the assistance of volunteers, and everyone is invited along to the barbecue to learn about what is planned and how they can be involved in restoring some of the natural beauty if our Island.

You are warmly welcomed to come along on Saturday, 1 June at 4pm, end of Henry Lawson Drive (east). See you there!

With great excitement, locals on Magnetic Island welcomed Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior 3! 

She is presently anchored just off Bright Point at Nelly Bay. Come on down and celebrate this exciting event and support the protection of our great Great Barrier Reef - our opportunities to save it are running out.

Tomorrow (Saturday 13), 180 (pre-booked) locals will have the privilege of being taken onboard for a tour. Tomorrow will also provide a great opportunity for locals to meet and talk with the crew, and perhaps even Captain Peter Willcox*, at Nelly Bay terminal between 9am and 4pm. There will be an information display at Nelly Bay terminal, focusing on the current campaign to protect the Great Barrier Reef from the proposed massive expansion of the coal industry, which threatens the reef directly through the development of ports and, indirectly, through climate change.

* Peter Willcox, captain of the ship, was also the captain of the original vessel which was sabotaged and sunk in New Zealand in 1985.


Click here for more info and live updates from Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior.

Click here to watch live webcam of the Rainbow Warrior.

Come Friday, Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior 3 will be sitting at anchor about 2 nautical miles off Nelly Bay!

On Saturday (13 April) a pre-booked 180 locals will be taken out from the Nelly Bay terminal for a 20 minute tour of the boat. 

Other interested locals will also be able to meet and talk to members of the crew and Greenpeace at the Nelly Bay terminal between 9am and 4pm on Saturday where a display including current campaign info to protect the Great Barrier Reef from the expansion of the coal industry will be on show.

With the environment ministers meeting next week on 11 April we have reached a crucial point in the Container Deposit campaign.  

We are pushing for a firm undertaking about a national CDS.  This is essential because the industry are pressing for an indefinite delay - which would allow Coca Cola to win.  So we need maximum pressure on your Environment Minister. Send them a strong message!


QLD: [email protected]

NSW: [email protected]

VIC: [email protected]

WA: [email protected]

NT: peter.chandler@nt.gov.au

ACT: [email protected]

SA: ministerhunter@sa.gov.au

TAS: Brian.[email protected]


Or go to our action page.  

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Thanks!
Jeff Angel, Boomerang Alliance

A great opportunity to work outdoors while sharing your knowledge with keen young gardeners...

A small School Veggie Garden was started last year and it would be great to have some community members involved with it this year. We need help with weeding, planting and general advice. Particularly about local planting and natives.
The children in our Garden Crew work together at lunchtimes on Tuesdays and Fridays and if any of your members has children at school or hold a blue card they could come along then (1.15 – 1.45 pm), alternatively I sometimes need help on a Saturday or Sunday morning when a blue card is not an issue.
 
If anyone is interested just ask them to get in touch with me – contact details are below.
 
Many thanks once again,

The Magnetic Island Creek Rescue project, funded under the Queensland government's 'Everyone's Environment' program, is designed to, as it says, rescue some of the Island's creeks that drain into the Great Barrier Reef from the ravages of weed invasion and human carelessness.

The project, being jointly managed by MINCA, MI Community Development Association, Geoffrey Bay and Olympus Crescent Coastcare groups and North Queensland Conservation Council, will be focusing on five creeks - Butler in Picnic Bay, 'Kirk' in Nelly Bay, Alma and Peterson in Arcadia, and the creek behind the Horseshoe Bay shops (which the History and Craft people think is part of the delightfully named Wellbeloved Creek).

Over the next two years, community volunteers, backed up by contractors for the heavy work, will be joining together to remove rubbish and weeds from the creeks and allowing native vegetation to regenerate and/or replanting areas with locally grown native vegetation. 

All Islanders are encouraged to take part in the project - and individual 'launches' will soon be announced for the individual creek programs.

The first of these will occur on Saturday 23 March, when people are invited to come along to 'kick-off' project at the Peterson Creek. If you are interested in learning more about the projects across the island, or helping to plant a tree, meet at the corner of Hayles and Horden in Arcadia at 8am. This will be followed at 10.30am by morning tea at the Bowls Club and a public discussion with TCC and others about catchment management plans for Geoffrey and Alma Bays.

Urgent action required:

This Friday, the Prime Minister plans to hand over most of the Australian government's powers that can stop damaging developments in sensitive environmental areas to, in Queensland's case, Campbell Newman - who recently described the commonwealth's 'vulnerable' listing for the koala as “mindless green tape”. 

There is an article on Magnetic Times by Jo Bragg that outlines the possible impacts and includes links to actions MINCA members can take - http://www.magnetictimes.com.au/article-4121.html


And why it's so important that the Federal Government NOT hand over powers to the states?

Take a look at the proposed Ella Bay development to our north. The state government has recently approved a large-scale urban and tourist development plus a golf course that will include 860 units and 540 permanent residences. 

This site is surrounded by the World Heritage listed Wet Tropics and the Great Barrier Reef, and is adjacent to nationally endangered littoral rainforest and is prime cassowary country. 

At present the Federal Government has the power to take a closer look at developments such as this and either disallow them or impose strict conditions through the EPBC Act.  And while this power was, surprisingly and disappointingly not exercised with the Cockle Bay Transfer Station here on Magnetic, divesting it's powers so as to be no longer be able to intervene, particularly in Queensland - where their is no upper house to review decisions by the state government -     is very worrying.  It leaves any future and more environmentally-minded federal government in a much weakened position to act against damaging, short term gain, state-based, environmental actions.


To take action on both these linked issues go to the following links...but please do it this week as time is running out. 

Places You Love     http://placesyoulove.org/take-action/

The Greens petition    http://greensmps.org.au/content/petition/minister-burke-dont-hand-your-powers-states

CAFNEC (Ella Bay info and petition)      http://cafnec.org.au/2012/11/help-protect-ella-bay-sign-here/


More Info

National Times story 

http://www.nationaltimes.com.au/opinion/politics/labor-endangers-environment-by-appeasing-states-20121126-2a2np.html

Island resident Eric Vanderduys has written a fabulous book called The Field Guide to the Frogs of Queensland.  It will be launched from 5.30pm for a 6pm start this Friday November 30 at Mary Who? Bookshop, 414 Flinders Street Townsville. MINCA members interested in attending should RSVP (and reserve a book) Mary Who? Bookshop on (07) 47713824 or email:[email protected]
For more info on Eric and the book check out the Magnetic Times article.

Come along on Sunday 18 November (9am-noon) and be part of the community planting of trees along a stretch of Gustav Creek that has been thoroughly cleared of weeds and debris by MINCA member Charlie McColl over a period of years. 

Native species seedlings are being provided by Council and Magnetic Islanders are invited to join with Charlie, MINCA and Townsville City Council staff who are also running a free barbecue as well as providing drinks and a free native plant to take home after the event.

The planting will run from 9am to 12noon and best access is via The Grove towards the entrance to the School grounds in Nelly Bay.