More than 100 wildlife carers and conservation groups from across the state will receive Queensland Government funding to help care for vulnerable and threatened species and their habitat.
Animals like koalas, echidnas, shorebirds and kangaroos often need tailor-made care facilities to meet their specific needs including purpose-built enclosures or milk formula that is costly and difficult to source.
This latest round of funding is providing grants of up to $5000 to individual wildlife carers or grants of up to $10,000 to wildlife carer organisations to purchase milk formula and feed, upgrade facilities and equipment including ICU incubators as well as project grants for environmental organisations including some in Noosa.
Noosa & District Landcare Group received almost $20,000 for weed removal and a greater glider survey in Yurol, Ringtail and Tewantin National Parks, almost $24,000 to remove weeds and plant 2500 trees at upper Pinbarren Creek and about $32,000 to conserve 12 threatened rainforest plant species.
They also received almost $25,000 to assess linkages and gaps for greater glider movement through identified habitat from Doonan to Cooran and more than $47,000 to undertake riparian and hill-slope erosion remediation in the Kin Kin Catchment area by planting native trees.
Noosa Bushland Beach and Creek Care and Noosa Integrated Catchment Association received almost $45,000 to hold 45 working bees to remediate Sunshine Creek through weeding and planting of 6000 trees, $20,000 to rehabilitate ecosystems in Noosa and Tewantin national parks and Sheep Island Conservation Park and more than $16,000 to support swamp stringybark trees in Noosa and Tewantin national parks and reserves.
Sunshine Beach Bushland Care received almost $23,000 to rehabilitate 0.75ha of Cooloosa Urban Wetland.
Coolum District Coast Care Group received $20,000 to weed in Noosa National Park and conduct surveys to determine the presence of the Black-breasted Button quail in the Peregian Section and Noosa Headland.
North Peregian Bushland Care Group received almost $11,000 to weed Peregian Beach and Osprey parks and plant 500 native plants.
Also benefitting will be wildlife care at Australia Zoo with $250,000 for salaries of veterinary staff at the wildlife hospital, $100,000 to upgrade the bird and possum rehabilitation facilities and more than $92,000 toward a project to assess the conservation benefit of releasing rehabilitated koalas back to the wild through a collar and monitor program.
The funding is part of the government’s Community Sustainability Action Grant program started in 2016, with more than 643 projects sharing in $22 million.
The program provides funding to eligible community organisations and individuals for innovative solutions that address climate change, protect our unique wildlife and conserve our natural and built environment.