Mount Gravatt Environment Group

By: Michael Fox

Clean Up team sign-in

7am Sunday morning!

Site coordinator Heather Woods explained that an early start would avoid the heat and leave volunteers free for the rest of the day. After the team briefing, Heather deployed different groups:

• Fast-food Container Team headed down the road. Happy Meal boxes seemed to make up a large bulk of their clean-up, which suggests it is parents not Gen Ys littering the roadside.
  

  Team work produces results

• Kokoda Lantana Weed Busters joined me at the 2015 National Tree Planting site 

The Kokoda Youth Foundation supports young Australians, inspiring them to do extraordinary things. We challenge their deeply held beliefs, allowing them to explore their limits and abilities, and provide them with opportunities for personal growth.It was an inspiration to meet and work with these young people.

Cr Adams with Kokoda Lantana Weed Busters

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Cr Krista Adams joined the Lantana Weed Busters learning more about our Bushcare work as well as taking the opportunity to meet some of Australia’s future leaders.

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Lord Mayor Quirk with Clean Up team members

I had to opportunity to talk with Lord Mayor Graham Quirk as we cleaned up around the 2 Millionth Tree Planting at the Summit. I complemented the Lord Mayor on the Council support for our Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve. Now that Council officers lock the gate at night and clear up around the picnic area we have much less rubbish. Even the broken glass we were picking up seemed to be from older thin glass stubbies or older style beer bottles.

We also discussed the Pollinator Link project. I was proud to explain to the Lord Mayor of Brisbane that we now have our first first Certified Pollinator Link Garden in Sandgate and regular articles appear in Living in the Shires published by Harcouts Graceville. Now we just need to get our Council Parks meeting the Pollinator Link criteria with water for wildlife and nest-boxes.

Clean Up success

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Clean Up success. Thirty volunteers scoured the Reserve and even with half working as Lantana Weed Busters there was still a huge pile of rubbish collected. Even a microwave dumped at Federation Lookout.

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Clean Up team sign-in

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However, I think the prize need to go to the Girl Power team who collected so much rubbish beside the road they had to return for extra bags and still struggled back to the Summit with two more full bags of rubbish.