Turning Rubble to Reef in the Mackay Whitsundays
The Biodiversity team at Reef Catchments works on a range of projects to protect and preserve the biodiversity of the Mackay Whitsunday Region. Our focus areas include wetlands, priority protected species (flora and fauna) and bring the community together to manage invasive species and improve habitat health in a changing climate.
The Biodiversity Team at Reef Catchments works on a wide variety of ever-changing projects. Some of our focus areas include:
Threatened species
The Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region hosts a range of threatened species and threatened ecological communities, including koalas and Eastern curlews, Threatened Ecological Communities (beach scrub and broadleaf tea-tree woodlands). The Biodiversity Team leads a range of projects to protect these species and communities. Works in recent years have included bio-condition assessments of threatened ecological communities, fencing, revegetation, and treating invasive pests including weeds, foxes and feral pigs.
Wetlands
The Mackay Whitsunday Isaac host important coastal wetland habitats including a number of DIWA (Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia) which are critical habitat for local flora and fauna (including migratory species). Wetlands also play a vital role in capturing nutrient and fine sediment runoff and improving the water quality entering the Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Reef Catchments has been working across the entire region to treat key obstacles to fish movement through the installation of fish passages, improvement of farm practices and wetlands remediation to increase the biodiversity functionality of our wetlands.
Current Projects
Pests
Traditional Owner Reference Group (TORG)
See below links for further Current Projects
Resources
- Coastcare newsletters from 2017 to 2022
- Cockermouth Island Turtle Case Study June 2023
- Flaggy Rock Creek Fishway Remediation Case Study
- Goldsmith Island Weed Management Case Study
- Local Coastal Plans (Mackay region)
- Marine turtles in the GBR area
- Lights out there are turtles about
- Mackay, Whitsunday and Isaac Landholder Pack
Fact sheets and brochures
- Aboriginal Cultural Heritage on Private Land
- Local Coastal Plans (Mackay region)
- Are your garden plants going bush?
- Species and ecosystem profiles
- Shorebird identification sheets
Completed Projects
Community Action Plan – Protect the Great Barrier Reef
Coastcare
Tackle Bin Project
See below links for further Completed Projects
Koala Image credit Charley Geddes.
Current Projects
Regional Wetland Working Group
A Wetland Working Group was formed in 2014 to promote the sustainable use and management of natural and constructed wetlands in the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac NRM region. The group includes representatives from Reef Catchments, DAFF (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry), GBRMPA, Mackay Regional Council, Whitsunday Regional Council, Isaac Regional Council and the regional Landcare […]
Catchments Loads Monitoring Program
The Catchments Loads Monitoring Program monitors the annual loads of pollutants generated from terrestrial runoff in the GBR catchments.
Estuary Pesticide Monitoring Project
Targeted pesticide concentration water quality monitoring at eight specified estuarine sites.
Beyond Barriers: Mackay and Isaac Coastal Wetland Rehabilitation
A transformative initiative aimed at revitalising two critical coastal wetland ecosystems within the the Mackay Whitsunday Isaac region.
Completed Projects
Marine Classroom Program
The Mackay Marine Classroom aimed to reconnect students, in the greater Mackay region, with the coast and marine environment.
Seagrass community monitoring
Every year, volunteers come together to collect citizen science data from five seagrass sites across our region.
Eastern Curlew
The eastern curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’. We’re working to help protect this beautiful migratory bird.
Island Rescue
Reef Catchments aims to conserve and restore biological diversity on Australia’s islands.
Sandringham Wetlands Complex
The Sandringham Wetland Complex Project is a sub-component of the overarching ‘High priority coastal and island restoration for the protection of significant ecological communities and species project’ informally known as the Coastal Priorities Project.
Coastal Priorities project
The Coastal Priorities is supported by Reef Catchments through funding from the Australian Government’s Reef Trust. It comprises five distinct components.
Mackay Whitsunday Isaac Reef Community Action Plan
Be involved and help to protect the Great Barrier Reef.
Related resources
Project contacts
