Recently Completed Projects and Events
2025 SPRING BIRD WALK
Our Spring Bird Walk, led by Damon Oliver from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, was a great success with 16 participants heading out to Stony Creek Nature Reserve on Sunday 26 October.
The weather was a little “touch and go” at the start but thankfully the rain held off. The walk was a great chance to learn more about the birds that call our local area home.
One of the best things about these community events is the chance to meet like-minded people who share our passion for nature. We heard the melodic calls of magpies, the colourful flashes of rosellas, and the cheeky antics of kookaburras and there was plenty of opportunities to have a chat and swap stories along the way.
Damon has kindly provided his list of birds sighted/heard in the reserve:
Grey fantail
Crimson rosella
Black-faced cuckoo-shrike
Gang-gang cockatoo (hollow)
Rufous Whistler
Weebill
Striated pardalote
Australian magpie
King parrot
White-throated treecreeper
Noisy friarbird
Red wattlebird
Yellow-faced honeyeater
Sacred kingfisher
Brown thornbill
Pied currawong
Wedge-tailed eagle (nest only)
Mistletoebird
Noisy miner
Spotted pardalote
Australian raven
Brush cuckoo?
Crested pigeon
Photos courtesy of Fran Curtis
2025 THE GREAT SPRING CLEAN-UP
Queanbeyan Landcare together with QPRC hosted the Great Spring Clean-up along the Queanbeyan River on Saturday 20 September.
15 volunteers tackled rubbish along Buttles Creek, collecting everything from plastic and glass bottles, paper, and takeaway wrappers to some more unusual finds like shopping trolleys, cutlery, dinner plates, a vacuum cleaner, golf and tennis balls, and even underpants!
QPRC provided a tasty BBQ (thanks Emery!) at Queen Elizabeth 2 Park at the end of the event to thank all our volunteers.
Photos courtesy of Fran Curtis
WATTLE DAY 2025
It was a great morning on Mount Jerrabomberra on Saturday 30 August for the National Wattle Day Educational Walk organised by QPRC as part of Biodiversity Month.
NATIONAL TREE DAY 2025
National Tree Day in 2025 was held on Sunday 27 July at The Scar off Southbar Road, Karabar. Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC), Queanbeyan Landcare and more than 120 community volunteers started the task of turning a disturbed, bare site into a multi-species, structurally diverse area of native vegetation for wildlife and urban cooling.
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY QUEANBEYAN RIVER PLANTING 2025
On Sunday, 15 June Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council held a community planting to celebrate World Environment Day. The event commenced at the end of Dane Street and extended for some distance upstream. It brought together community members, regular Landcare members and about 40 volunteers from the Shah Satnam Ji group, known for their dedication to community-focused tree planting activities. Together the volunteers managed to plant over 200 seedlings before the rain set in.
A variety of native plant species were selected for their suitability to the local environment and their ability to support biodiversity.
They included:
• Eucalyptus viminalis and Eucalyptus pauciflora
• Ovens and Red-stemmed wattle
• Hakea and Leptospermum
• Grasses such as Lomandra, Carex, and River Tussock
To ensure the survival and growth of the newly planted vegetation, tree guards were installed to protect them during their crucial first year. Queanbeyan Landcare has committed to regularly monitoring these plants and maintaining previous plantings in the area. This initiative aligns with ongoing efforts under the major Urban Rivers project, which aims to improve the health and sustainability of local waterways and their surroundings.
Queanbeyan River Corridor and Habitat Rehabilitation - Queanbeyan-Palerang.
Photos courtesy of Michele Dovers and Fran Curtis
QUEANBEYAN LANDCARE CELEBRATES WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2025
On 8 June, Queanbeyan Landcare marked World Environment Day with a walk along the Queanbeyan River. Starting at Dane Street, our group explored the river upstream to Barracks Creek footbridge, learning about major floods from 1925 to 2010. A Platypus even made an appearance!
The walk showcased revegetation efforts by Council and Landcare, vital habitats for bird species like superb fairy wrens and red-browed firetail finches. In total, 91 bird species are recorded in the area, with private lists exceeding 100.
Several larger birds such as the great cormorant, white-faced heron and black duck were observed, along with some smaller species including red-browed firetail finches, yellow-rumped thornbills, superb fairy wrens and white-throated treecreeper.
Jed from Waterwatch displayed aquatic invertebrates indicating great water quality, though concerns remain with introduced snails and declining frog numbers. Feral deer sightings were also reported near Dane Street.
Morning tea was held among flourishing young Casuarinas, and Emery from Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council shared news of a Commonwealth grant for replanting and weed removal.
Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us!
Photos courtesy of Leanne Coleman
HERITAGE FESTIVAL 2025
OLD SYDNEY ROAD WALK
As part of this year’s Heritage Festival, with the theme “Unearthed – revealing the past, bringing to light lesser-known histories and stories,” Queanbeyan Landcare organised a guided walk along remnants of the Old Sydney Road in Cuumbeun Nature Reserve on Sunday 4th May.
NATIONAL EUCALYPT DAY 2025
Launched 2014 to raise the awareness of Eucalypts and to celebrate them, National Eucalypt Day was held at Bicentennial Park on Sunday 23 March 2025.
Did you know not all Eucalypts are Eucalyptus. Eucalypteae is large tribe of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Members of this tribe are known as ‘Eucalypts’. In Australia, they are known as Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora. There are about 900 odd species of Eucalypts, over 700 of which belong to the genus Eucalyptus.
22 attendees participated in the walk led by Queanbeyan Landcare members Tom B, Helen H, Sandra D, Paul H, Bill W, Ian J and Steve D.
Attendees were also treated to many bird sightings including 24 different species and 63 individual birds.
Check out the bird sightings at https://ebird.org/checklist/S220143055
TIDY TOWNS BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION WINNER 2024
Queanbeyan Landcare was thrilled to receive the 2024 Tidy Towns Biodiversity Conservation Award.
The judges highlights of our entry included:
“Queanbeyan River Corridor Rehabilitation project is an exemplary initiative that combines ecological restoration with community engagement to enhance both biodiversity and recreational value”.
“The project's success demonstrates the power of collaboration and volunteerism in achieving meaningful conservation outcomes, with long-term benefits for both nature and the local community”.
“The "Queanbeyan River Corridor Rehabilitation" project excels in several key areas. Its success in halting the spread of invasive species and significantly increasing riparian vegetation showcases effective ecological restoration efforts, which have directly improved wildlife habitats for species like the platypus and rakali”.
NATIONAL TREE DAY 2024
In late 2023 and throughout 2024 the group has tended to the 2023 planting site and prepared the 2024 site. Mulching, mowing, spraying, staking and replacing damaged tree guards took place. Most of the plants were thriving, though some were damaged due to a tree fall and we suspect feral deer. The 2024 site was an extension of the 2023 site, continuing along Barracks Creek towards Queanbeyan River.
ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORKING EVENT 2024
The Environmental Networking event with community groups, local environmental organisations and passionate members of our community was held on 5 June 2024.
Queanbeyan Landcare President Ian Johnson was one of those who participated.
QPRC’s waste team provided information about some of the challenges they are managing and the success of the food and organics (FOGO) collection that has been rolled out in Queanbeyan.
The Ecosystems and Threatened Species team from the NSW Government's Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water provided information about some of their current initiatives. This important work supports the recovery of threatened native species, including the flame robin and woodland birds and well as ecological communities.
Thank you to QPRC for organising the event and everyone who participated and shared information about environmental initiatives in our region.
Organisations that took part include:
ACT for Bees
Braidwood Urban Landcare
DCCEEW with NPWS
Canberra Nature Map (NatureMapr)
Molonglo Conservation Group
Molonglo Waterwatch (Upper Murrumbidgee Waterwatch)
Queanbeyan Landcare
Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment Network
QPRC Waste and Sustainability teams.
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2024
The World Environment Day Education Walk on 2 June 2024 was a great success. Over 50 people turned up to Queanbeyan River to learn and share information about the history and ecology of the river.
The highlight was the fantastic display the platypus that lives just upstream of the Barracks Creek Bridge put on for the entire group.
Special thanks to our group leaders and organisers Steve, Tom, Michele and Ian. Also thanks to Jed from Waterwatch who provided a great display of the aquatic invertebrates that live in the water.
Local residents and members of the Field Naturalists Association of Canberra enjoyed the morning tea provided by QPRC who organised, promoted and participated in this event.
FIFTEEN TREES
A grant was received from the Fifteen Trees organisation in Victoria in late 2023 to co-fund the purchase of 1430 native trees, shrubs and grasses. 6 landholders in Carwoola participated sharing over 800 plants and the Wandiyali Restoration Trust planting approximately 600 plants. Cool Country Natives, Pialligo supplied the plants for delivery and planting in autumn 2024.
Ian Johnsson from Queanbeyan Landcare managed all aspects of this project including the grant application and reporting, co-payments, species selection, plant orders and delivery. Members advised on planting methods, supplied equipment and volunteered their labour.
The objectives of these plantings varied between landowners: e.g. restoring habitat lost in the 2017 Carwoola bushfire, expanding stands of existing native species vegetation to improve habitat for local vulnerable species, re-creating vegetation corridors, stabilising gully erosion and improving property values.
NATIONAL TREE DAY 2023
Queanbeyan Landcare and Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council worked together to plant 400 native trees, shrubs and grasses for National Tree Day on 30 July in 2023.
Over 160 volunteers joined the planting which took place at Barracks Flat Creek in Karabar, over an area of 600 square metres
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Planting 2022
Queanbeyan Landcare participated in the Planting of Trees for The Queen’s Jubilee Program which provided up to $15.1 million of grant funding to eligible groups and organisations for community-based tree planting events across Australia .
Queanbeyan Landcare's proposal for a Street Beautification Project at Fernleigh Park focussed on increasing the density of existing roadside plantings in Fernleigh. The planting took place on Sunday 23 October with details and photos of this event in the section, Current Projects - Fernleigh Park.
Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council also organized a planting for this event. It was held on Sunday 6 November 2022 at Garryowen Park. See Our History and Achievements - West Queanbeyan Remnant Bushland. The flyer for the event is shown as is a poster QPRC developed to recognise the role of Queanbeyan Landcare in the history of Garryowen Park and reinforces the close ties between Queanbeyan Landcare and Council.
The formal commemorative event for both plantings was held at Garryowen Park. The ceremony, held on Friday 25 November 2022 included the unveiling of a plaque which is secured to a rock at the site entrance and the planting of a Grevillea.
A plaque for the site at Fernleigh was also presented and can be found attached to the Community Centre.
The Honorable Kristy McBain MP, Nicole Overall MP, Kenrick Winchester (mayor of QPRC), Esma Livermore (Deputy Mayor), members of QPRC and Queanbeyan Landcare and local residents attended. Kristy McBain and Esma Livermore spoke. Refreshments served included a Jubilee cake made by a local business.
Left to right: Nicole Overall MP, Honorable Kristy McBain MP, President Queanbeyan Landcare Bill Hall, Esma Livermore (Deputy Mayor).
