Author: Kate Blank
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The Future of the C4 Environment Centre: An update
C4 has now submitted its Expression of Interest to CCRC for the buildings and facilities at 55 Porter Promenade, Mission Beach. We are now waiting to hear the outcome from Council and will update members and the wider community when we have more to share. Our submission proposes that C4 continue its long association with…
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Council approves Alexander Drive development application for tourist park
Cassowary Coast Regional Council has approved the development application for short-term accommodation, a tourist park, function facility and produce packing operation on Alexander Drive in Mission Beach. In total Council received 47 properly made submissions along with a petition with approximately 40 signatures. C4 made a submission on the proposal during the public notification period…
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Keep an eye out: bird flu preparedness
Ecosure has just released a regional bird flu preparedness plan for the Northern Great Barrier Reef, covering the coast from Cape York down to Townsville, on behalf of the Queensland Government. It maps out the birds and sites most worth watching, and it lists our own Barnard Island Group and Sister Islands, just offshore from…
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Helping the Mission Beach foreshore recover after Cyclone Jasper
We’ve recently wrapped up a funded project helping a stretch of the Mission Beach foreshore recover from the impacts of Cyclone Jasper. The project focused on cleaning up organic and inorganic waste from the foreshore, reducing weed pressure, and supporting the natural regeneration of native coastal vegetation. It was funded by the Department of Environment,…
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What the scientists are seeing: climate change and the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area
Our region’s rainforest is a big part of why the Wet Tropics is a World Heritage Area, and it’s also on the front line of climate change in Australia. A recent online panel discussion, “Data Science in the News: Impact of climate change on the World Heritage values of the Wet Tropics,” brought together some…
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Bird flu has reached Australia: how you can help
You may have seen recent news that H5 bird flu (high pathogenicity avian influenza, or H5N1) was detected on the Australian mainland for the first time in June 2026. As of early July, five cases have been confirmed in wild migratory seabirds with four in Western Australia and one in South Australia. There are no…
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Working with landholders to control African tulip in Maria Creeks
We are pleased to announce a new 2 year conservation project funded by Terrain NRM and the Queensland Government’s Natural Resource Management Expansion Program that will tackle one of the Wet Tropics’ emerging environmental weeds: African Tulip (Spathodea campanulata). Working alongside private landholders, the project will target African tulip infestations across more than 19 hectares…
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Queensland is the only state still taxing privately protected conservation land
Queensland remains the only Australian state that levies land tax on land protected through Nature Refuges and similar conservation covenants. You may have seen the news this week where C4 President Peter Rowles spoke publicly about the ongoing application of land tax to Nature Refuges and other protected conservation land. As conservationists, landholders and community…
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Future of the C4 Environment Centre
Many of our members may have noticed that Cassowary Coast Regional Council recently released an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the future use and management of the community precinct at 55 Porter Promenade, Mission Beach. This is the site that many of us know as home: the C4 Environment Centre, our nursery facilities, the Norm…
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Crews tackling towering guinea grass at Fenby Gap restoration site
Work continues at our Fenby Gap revegetation site along the El Arish–Mission Beach Road, with the onsite crew currently battling dense infestations of guinea grass across the steep roadside restoration area. In some sections of the site, the grass has grown over three (3) metres high, creating extremely difficult working conditions for crews undertaking the…
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Volunteers wanted to help protect turtles and shorebirds across the Cassowary Coast
CCRC is calling for community members interested in volunteering for a new environmental monitoring program focused on protecting shorebirds and sea turtles across the region’s coastline. The program aims to establish a coordinated network of trained volunteers working across priority beaches and nesting areas throughout the Cassowary Coast. Volunteers will assist by observing nesting activity,…
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Students join foreshore recovery efforts in Mission Beach
Work continues along the Mission Beach foreshore following recent cyclone activity, with students from Carey Baptist Grammar joining the C4 team to help restore impacted coastal environments. The students spent time on-ground assisting with the removal of plastics and other inorganic debris trapped through beach and vegetation areas within the foreshore project site. Alongside the…