Increasing Community Engagement in Townsville Coastal Catchments for Biodiversity Project
Funded by the Australian Government's Caring for our Country program.

Activities and Events

Bluewater Creek | Bohle Northshore | Bohle Riparian | Bohle Wetland | Clemant Wetlands | Cocoa Creek | Community Nurseries | Creekwatch | Cungulla Foreshore | Cungulla Wetland | GBR Habitat | Geoffrey and Alma Bay | Horseshoe Bay Habitat | Horseshoe Bay School | M.I. Weed Awareness | Mundy Creek | Nelly Bay Catchment | Nelly Bay Turtle | Northern Beaches | Oak Valley Finch | Paluma Catchment | Petersen Creek | Rainforest Birds Book | Ross River | Rowes Bay Foreshore | Rowes Bay Wetlands | Saunders Beach | Toomulla Foreshore | Town Common Bike Trail | Town Common Concept | Town Common Volunteers | Townsville Planning Scheme

Short Title: Paluma Catchment

Paluma ECO-village Catchment Management Strategy

Location: Paluma catchments

Organisation: Paluma Community Catchment Care

Project Summary: 

This project follows on and is linked to the Paluma community Collective Social Learning (CSL) Workshop conducted by Townsville City Council (TCC) Integrated Sustainability Services (ISS) on 14 May 2011. The workshop was titled “Paluma – A Place to Be” with the focus question being “How can we interpret Paluma and give visitors an understanding of the areas history, rainforest flora and wildlife?”

A number of objectives emerged from the workshop associated with environmental interactions including:

• Access to environmental experiences;
• Development of facilities and infrastructure;
• Awareness and education;
• Natural resource management.

This project will use the views from the Paluma community expressed through the CSL workshop as a starting point for developing a catchment management strategy to protect the environmental values of the Paluma catchments while enhancing the environmental experiences of residents and visitors.

Completed actions and events:

Activities:
•    CSL workshop - May 2011

•    Meeting with Bill Pyne to discuss potential project – 17 August 2011

•    Meeting with community members at Paluma to discuss the project - 30 September 2011

•    Meeting with Bill Pyne to prepare the project outline - 25 November 2011

•    Project proposal confirmed to proceed - January 2012

•    Meeting at Paluma with Bill and Ros Pyne, Roy and Colwyn. Site visit with Bill Pyne including walking tracks in the vicinity of Paluma village - 18 May 2012

•    Catchment Strategy framework prepared - May 2012

•    Site visit to Paluma and walk Paluma Dam tracks with Wilfred. Discuss management options with Bill Pyne and Wilfred - 25 November 2012

•    Site works at Paluma with Simon Igloi (TCC) and CVA – 28 November 2012

•    Site works at Paluma with Bill Pyne and CVA – 29 November 2012

•    Site works Paluma CVA and Bill Pyne – 30 November 2012

•    Site visit to Paluma with Simon Igloi (TCC). Catch up with Bill Pyne. Finish works and collect materials. VRM bugs spray out. Check on Wandering Jew at Smith Crescent and National Park (Witts look out track). Remove rubbish from CVA works and return unused materials to Rowes bay – 14 December 2012

•    CfoC CEG funding application (Paluma Perimeter Invasive Species Control for the Wet Tropics WHA) – April 2013 [Project Description: The project addresses invasive plant species 'escaping' from Paluma village gardens into the surrounding National Park and reserves in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WHA). While the initial assault on pest plants will require experienced natural resource management intervention the catchment care group, with support from Townsville City Council (TCC), will be engaged to undertake ongoing monitoring and maintenance. The project will include a significant community awareness program to enable identification and control of pest plants at the interface between private properties and public areas and within publicly visited conservation areas. This awareness program will be coordinated through TCC's Integrated Sustainability Services (ISS)]

[Project Activities: The perimeter of Paluma is approximately 2.6 kilomtres and with an average management zone width of 20 metres equates to an area of approximately 5.2 hectares. The additional area to be monitored will be based on the network of walking tracks within the National Park near Paluma and the Paluma Dam catchment (unquantified at this stage). Monitoring will identify pest plant outbreaks to be addressed as a priority action with small/isolated outbreaks addressed as part of the monitoring process. Larger outbreaks are noted along with an estimate of resources required to control and manage the outbreak/s if eradication is not feasible. The project will engage with the Paluma community (30 people) as well as visitors and conservation volunteers].