Other Groups

Former Bushcare groups
           Australian Catholic University
           Cannery Creek
           Colac Street
           Dawson Parade
           Glen Retreat
           Grinstead Park
           Sparkes Hill
Boondall Wetlands
Kedron Brook Wetlands
Hillbrook Anglican College
Keperra Golf Course
Brisbane Airport
Hickey Park Frog Restoration site

FORMER BUSHCARE GROUPS

Bushcare activities have been undertaken along Kedron Brook for many years. As situations have changed or projects are completed or members move from an area, some groups are no longer active.

'Alderley/Grange Bushies and Friends', now a small bushcare group, has conducted stirling catchment management work in Grange Forest Park for many years under the leadership of Alf Harvey. It is believed that their work area is mainly in the western section of the forest along Mornington St, Grange 4051 up to the Brook. The adjacent work group, the Greenbrook Association, tends to work more along the eastern section of the Grange Forest Park, mostly north of Blandford St up to the Brook. Frank Box, an energetic leader of the Association for many years, retired as Bushcare Leader in 2010 with Greg Smith taking over this position.

Dawson Parade Bushcare Group stopped activities in 2010 after a solid period of riparian revegetation. A Fish Snapshot site, it is situated upstream from the footway causeway between the Leagues Club grounds and Leslie Patrick Park. It is usually surveyed every year by KBCB.

Grinstead Park Bushcare Group stopped activities in late 2012 after many years of solid habitat care and maintenance. The location is well sited and the past years of careful industrious care by volunteers and BCC staff have left good areas of diverse native vegetation and natural habitat.

In May 2011, Sparkes Hill Bushcare Group closed as a formal Habitat Brisbane group. For over nineteen years, Leader Bob Robbie was a legend as an energetic volunteer with habitat management on this water reserve.

Earlier bushcare activities undertaken by the community within the catchment are outlined in the following sections below.

Australian Catholic University

The McCauley Campus of the Australian Catholic University was located on a small tributary in Mitchelton Reaches of Kedron Brook. 

This University-based group was active for several years. Activities involved the systematic control of weeds to allow natural regeneration to occur. The future of the site is now shared by new landowners and the Brisbane City Council since the re-location of campus in 2002.

Vegetation in the area is Paperbark open forest, nearby parkland with mature eucalypts, areas of abandoned land associated with industrial land. The upper reaches of the channel were choked with Bulrush (Typha orientalis).

The paperbark forest in this area is one of the few old growth stands remaining along Kedron Brook that is maintained in an almost natural state. Small woodland birds (finches) and ground dwelling wildlife use Bracken in the paperbark forest understorey for cover and to nest.

Threats to the natural features of the area include

• Invasion of remnant paperbark forest by smothering vines
• Poor water quality due to well-established urban and light industrial areas in catchment
• Clearing of habitat due to site re-development. Paperbark stands and mature eucalypts are at risk.

Hopefully, the new occupants of the site can continue the work commenced by the Australian Catholic University. The BCC have set up a significant forest park area adjacent and to the East of the paperbark forest . See another web page that reflects on the progress made particularly in the management of the paperbark forest up to 2001.

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Cannery Creek

Cannery Creek is a tributary of Schultz Canal. The tidal channel was the site of Bushcare activities in the 1990’s. There are no active groups known to be working in this area at present. The Golden Circle cannery lies on the creek and has been involved in earlier community projects.

The channel is mangrove lined with small areas of saltmarsh and saltwater couch grassland adjacent. Scattered tall eucalypt and paperbark trees are present on land adjacent to the creek.

Several mature trees with visible hollows near channel.

Dollarbirds nest in dead trees on the site. Noisy minors are common and nest in eucalypts.

Small fish were plentiful in the channel on incoming tide.

Water pollution threatens natural values as the tributary drains a predominantly industrial area. Wetlands in the area are in poor condition with native vegetation dying at some sites.

Monitoring of tributary water quality is required.

Glen Retreat

Useful revegetation work was carried out by a small group of volunteers but the group appears to have ceased as an entity. Brisbane City Council keep up general maintenance in the area. See an archived web page for past progress.

Teachers from nearby Mitchelton State High School and Mitchelton State School promote a strong environmental interest by students within their classes and encourage them to participate in small revegetation projects.

CONTINUING LOCATIONS AND ORGANISATIONS OF INTEREST

Boondall Wetlands

Strictly speaking, most of the Boondall wetlands site is drained by the Nundah and Nudgee Creeks and thus is just to the North of Kedron Brook Catchment. However, the interacting nature of these wetlands close to the Brook's outfall at Nudgee Beach suggests there is some commonality even though it is fairly minor. Certainly, the mangrove forest area just South of Nudgee Beach is subject to the saltwater ingress from both sides of the Nudgee road that links the small village to the Town of Nudgee.

The Boondall Wetlands are amongst Brisbane's largest protected and important wetlands and include more than 1000 hectares of tidal flats, mangroves, saltmarshes, melaleuca wetlands, grasslands, open forests and woodlands. The Boondall Wetlands Environment Centre is located at 31 Paperbark Drive, Boondall. See more at the Brisbane City Council web site.

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Kedron Brook Wetlands

If there was actually an officially-named area called 'Kedron Brook Wetlands', it certainly is now a mere shadow of what it was before the present Brisbane Airport first runway was first constructed about 1988. Since 2014, construction towards a second runway has virually mashed up any significant remaining wetland area on the eastern side of the Kedron Brook Floodway downstream from the Southern Cross Way bridge over the the Schultz Canal section of the Brook.

West of the Schultz Canal bounded by the Southern Cross Way, there is still a significant area that often gets flooded and most of the year there are large areas of wetland where significant numbers of migratory and locally-based water-birds use as feeding grounds. (e.g. see UBD Map 121 ref E20 and F18). It's debatable whether any significant 'wetland' will remain much longer on the eastern side of the Floodway along the remnants of Jacksons Creek but downstream of the Nudgee Tansfer Station on the western side there is a significant strip of wetland mangrove running on the eastern side of Nudgee Creek.

A relatively recent BCC brochure, 'Sharing Shorelines with migratory shorebirds' (2012) shows an area named 'Kedron Brook Floodway' on the eastern bank of the Floodway (located near the second runway of Brisbane Airport). Regardless of the relevance of these names, any remaining residues of wetland must be kept to ensure the future of migratory birds depending on our wetlands.

Hillbrook Anglican College

This School Group has been active for many years rehabilitating tributary of Kedron Brook and the southern bank of main Kedron Brook channel. Activities involve weed removal and replanting with native forest trees and understorey plants. Smothering vines threaten the planting but are kept in control by manual removal.

Parkland and sport fields lie adjacent to the Brook in this reach. Abandoned land in the immediate vicinity of the channel supports a dense grassy and weed cover. Scattered tall eucalypts are present in parklands and near the channels. No nesting hollows were observed in the tall trees however, 3 nesting boxes have been mounted in the trees. A pair of galahs uses one regularly.

The Hillbrook tributary drains parkland and receives stormwater runoff from urban and light industrial areas. Frogs (Striped Marsh Frog) reside in the drainage line and a Keelback snake observed. Forest birds frequently visit the planting site in the school grounds.

Along this reach the Kedron Brook, the stream bed is sandy and shallow. This section of Kedron Brook is relatively natural;

• streamside vegetation is dense and continuous
• snags are present in watercourse
• the stream bed meanders within the channel.

Steep earthen banks are prone to erosion during high flow. Past flooding has caused excessive bank slippage. Threatening some of the adjacent playing fields. Further planting of deep-rooted and long-lived species is required to stabilise Kedron Brook banks (i.e. figs, Elaeocarpus grandis). Such plantings should extend as far as possible away from the embankment although this extension is limited by playing field location.

In recent years, the College has organised a Sustainability Day Environmental Expo with displays, workshops, forums, recyling initiatives, sustainable waste options, nature presentations, and entertainment, together with suitable food stalls.

Keperra Golf Course

Ferny Grove reach of Kedron Brook

No established group however current land management protects important wildlife resources

Parkland with mature paperbark (Melaleuca quinquenervia) and eucalypts. Mown and shrubby areas present. Streamside vegetation continuous and forested. Larger bodies of deep off stream water. Some remnant eucalypt open forest remnants present in Moreton Bay Regional Council reserves on margin.

Tall trees, potential for nesting hollows in paperbarks and eucalypts. Shrubby layer present in places along channel in places.

Large open space with limited human – related threats. Dams forming standing water bodies.

Lorikeets, cockatoos and noisy minors. Wallabies may occur on this site.

Threats

           Habitat modification and management

           Water pollution form chemicals used in park management.

           Loss of habitat for ground dwelling wildlife and birds due to lack of shrubby cover.

          Severe storms in 2008 and 2009 caused wide-spread damage by the removal of large trees and branches. Huge pioneer trees were felled throughout this golf course.

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Brisbane Airport

Littoral reach

No formal bushcare group operates here however environmental management and monitoring is undertaken.

Grey mangrove (Avicennia marina) dominated forests, saltmarsh areas; planted She-oak (Allocasuarina littoralis) dominate woodlands – A strategy to maintain low diversity to prevent birds congregating and causing air traffic hazard. Phragmites australis dominated grassland and freshwater swamps.

Scattered remnant mature eucalypts providing nesting hollows and tall perching sites for birds.

Tidal reaches of Kedron Brook are deep and therefore an important marine species breeding site. Limited number of shallow tidal areas support mangrove and saltmarsh.

Land surrounding the Kedron Brook tidal reaches and adjacent Boondall wetlands has been identified as an important raptor nesting habitat. Only known roosting site of grass owl in Brisbane.

This area is a feeding or breeding site for waders that migrate to the area in spring.

Downstream sections of Kedron Brook provide habitat suited to the endangered False Water Rat, no specimens have been found in this locality despite systematic searching.

Further development in the area will threaten wildlife habitat. Freshwater swamps and remnant mature trees are particularly vulnerable.

Feral species threaten ground-dwelling fauna. Foxes, pigs, rabbits occur in the area although the population of the latter appears to be declining. Fire ants have been identified in this area. This poses an extreme threat to native invertebrates and the species reliant on them. Ground dwelling wildlife will also be threatened.

Retention of landscape linkages along the channel and on surrounding land along the length of Kedron Brook. This means any bridging or other works traversing Kedron Brook should ensure design allows for movement of wildlife and retention of vegetation continuity as far as possible. 

The recent massive duplication of the Gateway Motorway and preparation towards a future second runway parallel to the existing major runway are causing some environmental concerns. See news item on recent infrastructure construction projects.

Hickey Park Frog Restoration site

A frog restoration site was recommended for Hickey Park in 1996 where an earthen stormwater drain was excavated and bunded to retain water in an off-stream habitat. Rocks were laid to reduce Para grass and assist in the retention of stormwater.

The area surrounding the drain was planted with Acacia sp., Cissus antarctica, Lomandra longifolia, Melaleuca quinquenervia, Syzigium sp., and Themeda triandra.

Currently the status of the site for frog breeding is unclear. The site supports a dense swathe of Para grass and Panicum sp. Introduced Easter cassia (Senna obtusifolia), Singapore daisy (Wedelia trilobata) and small bushes of lantana also occur in the vicinity of the drain. Exotic vines such as Madera vine and Morning glory are present but the (planted) Native grape (Cissus antarctica) is growing vigorously and is predominant in places.

Rocks placed in the channel appear to have had no effect in inhibiting the development of dense grasses. The channel is fed from a stormwater drain and by overland flow from the surrounding parkland. Both enter at the same location and carry debris and refuse into the frog-breeding site. The dense grass prevents movement of sediment and rubbish in the channel this it has accumulated near the inflow where a small pool is surrounded by a sediment dam. No tadpoles were observed in this section of the drain, other sections appeared dry at the time of observation despite recent rainfall.

Detailed assessment of the Hickey Park channel is required to determine its effectiveness in providing frog-breeding habitat. Shading plants and native vines have been unsuccessful in excluding dense exotic grasses; further planting is required. Garden refuse has been deposited within this drain.

Hickey Park is still in need of the custodianship of a Bushcare group.