More than 80 hectares of the Petrie Mill Redevelopment site will be rehabilitated thanks to a new natural areas management plan adopted by council.
At council’s Coordination meeting this week, council awarded a tender worth more than $279,000 for the management of natural areas at the site.
Division 7 Councillor Denise Sims said the project would involve removing weeds, maintaining fire and wildlife trails and creating better opportunities in the future, once current site works are completed, for nature based recreation such as bush walking and bird watching on the site at Petrie.
“Removing weeds is an integral component of natural area management, improving biodiversity, helping natural bushland regeneration and creating opportunities for wildlife to move across the sites with greater ease,” Cr Sims said.
“This plan, which adds to the 19+ hectares of weeds removed during 2017/2018 will also ensure the useability of the land for years to come that will cater to the needs of our growing region.”
Cr Sims said council has also undertaken a number of initiatives in the local area to help preserve the local environment including:
550 koala habitat trees and 5,000 understory species planted across 1.6 hectares at Bickle Road, Murrumba Downs in 2017/2018. This is in addition to the 600 koala habitat trees planted as part of National Tree Day 2016 in John Oxley Reserve, Murrumba Downs.
The planting of 6,100 koala trees and plants at 6,300m2 of John H Walker Reserve at Eatons Hill
2,200 new trees at Scouts Crossing Road Park, Brendale; and
The region’s first fauna rope bridges near the intersection of Kremzow and Old Northern Road.
“The koala habitat planting in John Oxley Reserve and at Bickle Road, Murrumba Downs continues to enhance the east- west wildlife corridor and is regularly used by koalas.
“The tree and shrub planting John H Walker Reserve is flourishing. We have retained a dense grassy ground cover to provide refuge and foraging habitat for not only koalas by also for wallabies and bandicoots.
“Council also recently commenced the next stage of its koala protection program at the Petrie Mill Redevelopment site following the identification and tagging of 45 mature koalas around the site.
“Council together with Endeavour Veterinary Ecology (EVE) are now tagging koala joeys, in addition to continuing real-time koala monitoring and ongoing veterinary health assessments and treatments to ensure the koala population’s health.
“The Petrie Mill Redevelopment site will have more than 110ha of environmental reserve, and also involve the establishment of new koala habitat in degraded areas of the former paper mill site to deliver a net ecological benefit.”
The project will commence next month and will take 12 months to complete, weather permitting.