About Reef Catchments
Reef Catchments is an independent, community-focused not-for-profit, working alongside landholders, Traditional Owners and local partners across the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region.
Our region
Our region runs across four catchments, the Proserpine, the O’Connell, the Pioneer and the Plane Creek. Cane fields and cattle country, creeks and wetlands, rainforest and beach scrub, all the way out to the islands and the Reef. For more than 20 years, we’ve been bringing people together to look after this place, and we’re committed to being part of its future.
Our people
Our people are out in the community with you every day. We’re on the same walking trails, at the same football games, camping in the same spots. We work with the scientists tagging barramundi, the researchers tracking koalas, and the specialists solving local challenges. We connect the right people to turn good ideas into real on-ground change. When you need to know something about the land, the water or the Reef, we’re the people this region turns to for answers.
Our story
Our story is one of collaboration. Traditional Owners have cared for this Country for thousands of years, and our story continues because of that partnership. Generations of families have lived, worked and raised kids here. It’s the crew mustering cattle at first light, the family catching a feed of mud crab, the kid who’s grown up walking rainforest tracks and swimming the creeks. It’s every local who brags about this place to visitors because it really is that good. Our region gives people stories worth telling. Our job is to make sure it still can, for good.
The difference we make
We lead with what changed. Every year, our Impact Report shows what our work delivered for landholders, waterways, wildlife and communities across the region.
What is Natural Resource Management (NRM)?
Natural Resource Management is how we look after what our region and its industries depend on: water, soil, plants, animals and the Reef. It means making decisions today that keep our land, rivers and coast healthy and productive for generations.
How we work
We’re the convenor, not the sole expert. We bring together landholders, Traditional Owners, scientists, councils, industry and State and Federal governments, and we credit the people whose knowledge and effort make the work possible. Our projects are funded by partners including the Queensland and Australian governments and industry, and delivered by local people.
What we do
We work in five areas, always with local people.
Sustainable Agriculture
Working with landholders on practices that improve land condition and productivity, while reducing sediment, pesticide and fertiliser run-off.
See Grazing, Holistic Farms and the Mackay Whitsunday Water Quality Program
Waterways
Restoring creeks, rivers and wetlands, and helping fish and wildlife move through them.
See Streambank Stewardship and the Regional Wetland Working Group
Biodiversity
Looking after threatened species and the habitats they depend on, from the Red Goshawk to koalas.
Great Barrier Reef
Improving the water quality and resilience of the Reef, from the catchments to the coast.
See Coral Nurture Program and Seagrass Restoration at Pioneer Bay
Healthy Rivers to Reef
A regional partnership that brings organisations together to monitor and report on the health of our waterways.
What we believe
A healthy environment and well-managed land and water are the foundation of a healthy region, a strong economy and a strong community.
Our team
Our team lives and works in this region, from our offices in Mackay and Proserpine. Many of us grew up here. We take pride in our work and we look after each other.
Get involved
Share your knowledge, give your time or join the team.