Listen to my interview with Kelly Higgins-Devine: 612ABC Drive.
See our own local Glow-in-the-dark Mushrooms.
April 1, 2011
Kelly explores glowing mushrooms on Mt Gravatt
Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, Forest Fungi, Gilled Fungi | Tags: 612ABC Drive, Bushcare, Butterfly, Echidna, Firefly Gully, Kelly Higgins-Devine, Mimosa Creek, Mt Gravatt Environment Group, Roly Chapman Reserve, species diversity, Wildlive corridor |[2] Comments
February 28, 2011
MEG blossoms in Southside Community News
Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Bushcare, MEG Activities | Tags: BOIC, Bushcare, Butterfly, Butterfly Encounters, Environment, Graphium eurypylus, Joseph Coat Moth, Leafwing, MEG, Mt Gravatt, Southside Community News |Leave a Comment
The visit by BOIC (Butterflies & Other Invertebrates Club) reported in our local Southside Community News. 
Correction and apology: BOIC President’s name was incorrect. My mistake: I provided the wrong name to the journalist.
Ross Kendall of Butterfly Encounters is currently BOIC President.
February 8, 2011
Help clean up our home – Sunday 6th March
Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under MEG Activities | Tags: Butterflies, Butterfly, Clean Up Australia Day, Echidna, Koala, MEG, Mt Gravatt |Leave a Comment
Join Mt Gravatt Environment 
Group (MEG) for Clean Up Australia Day 2011 and help clean up the habitat of some of our special animals.
Sunday 6th March 2011, 8 – 10 am. Meet at the Echidna Magic Cafe on the summit.
Access via Mt Gravatt Outlook Drive (UBD 201:B2).
Click to Register for Summit Cleanup.
Mt Gravatt Reserve is home to koalas, echidnas, fireflies and forty-five species of butterflies.
Clean Up Australia Day is an opportunity to experience this unique bushland and improve the habitat for our wildlife.
October 18, 2010
Blue Tigers visiting Mt Gravatt Reserve
Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Wildlife of Mt Gravatt Reserve | Tags: Blue Tiger, bushwalk, Butterfly, MEG, Mt Gravatt, Mt Gravatt Environment Group, Tirumala hamata, tourist, wildlife |[2] Comments
Keep an eye out for the beautiful Blue Tiger butterflies – Tirumala hamata visiting the mountain at the moment. Note the tiger like spots on the head.
When I could not identify any caterpillar (larval) food plants in the Reserve for these butterflies I contacted Dr Carla Catterall who kindly shared her extensive knowledge. It turns our Tigers are tourists just visiting Brisbane on holidays.
Dr Catterall advises that the Tiger Blue is a migratory species – so to 
understand why we are seeing them we need to search for info about its migratory habits rather than its food plants.
Because of these large-scale coordinated movements by many individuals at once (which are poorly understood), this species appears and disappears in large numbers from time to time (and apparently there are a lot of them in the Brisbane region at present). It is also known to migrate over water (for example, I [Carla Catterall] have seen them flying across the ocean between Gladstone and Heron Island).
The larvae would have hatched, fed and pupated somewhere else, probably a long way away from Toohey Forest (tens to hundreds of km).
Thank you Dr Catterall.
June 10, 2010
MEG’s Outlook on Mt Gravatt Summit
Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under BCC Action Plans, Mt Gravatt Outlook Development | Tags: BCC, Birds, Brisbane, bush, Bushcare, Butterfly, community, Echidna Magic, Environment, Koala, Lookout, MEG, Mt Gravatt, Tourism, tourist, Tree clearing, wildlife |Leave a Comment
In February, Mt Gravatt Environment Group proposed an alternative approach to tree clearing on the mountain: Restoring Unique Scenic Outlook Below is a copy of the Letters to Editor section of Southern Star – June 9, 2010. Click on image to enlarge for reading.
MEG is already working closely with BCC Habitat Brisbane on restoration of four Mt Gravatt bushcare sites and has expressed interest in restoration of the Mt Gravatt Outlook. However, as a volunteer organisation with limited resources our activities are critically dependent on careful planning and co-ordination with other Mountain stakeholders: allows elimination of rework and other unnecessary work. While we provided detailed comment on the 2008 Draft Land Management Plan, we have not yet received a copy of the Interim Land Management Plan which we understand is currently being used to support decisions such as tree clearing on the summit.
March 16, 2010
How much outlook do you want at a lookout?
Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Uncategorized | Tags: BCC, Brisbane, Bushcare, Butterfly, community, Environment, Mt Gravatt, Native Plant Species, Natural area, Tourism, tourist, Wildflower, wildlife |Leave a Comment
Our Mt Gravatt Outlook has featured on ABC Breakfast with Spencer Howson this morning.
Please have a listen and post your thoughts on this issue.
My comment on the MEG “the environmentalists” Outlook on this issue is below:
Mt Gravatt Environment Group (MEG) is working with BCC Habitat Brisbane, First Contact, Mt Gravatt District Historical Society, Cr Krista Adams and other local stakeholders to plan the restoration of Mt Gravatt Outlook to maximise the experience for visitors.
The focus for MEG is engaging visitors, both local and tourists, with a powerful environmental, cultural/historical experience through development of the distant city and river vistas while experincing the colours and scents of our local wildflowers, calls of King Parrots, the flash of colour as Imperial Hairstreaks cluster in the Acacias and the buzz of discovering a Koala asleep in a Tallowwood.
Our research of local plants and wildlife – Flora & Fauna of Mt Gravatt Reserve by Sue Jones & Michael Fox, combined with our bush restoration experience allows us to see huge potential in thoughtful development of the Scenic Outlook.
For detailed information on our environmental view of maximising the community and tourist experience of Mt Gravatt Outlook go to our blog post –
https://megoutlook.wordpress.com/2010/02/07/restoring-unique-scenic-outlook/
Michael Fox
Fox Gully Bushcare – http://www.foxgully.wordpress.com
Mt Gravatt Environment Group – http://www.megoutlook.wordpress.com
Posted by: Michael Fox | 17 March 2010 at 09:07 AM
February 27, 2010
New butterflies at Gertrude Petty Place
Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under Gertrude Petty Place, Wildlife of Mt Gravatt Reserve | Tags: Bushcare, Butterfly, Dusky-blue, Environment, Gertude Petty, MEG, Mt Gravatt, Native Plant Species, Splendid Ochre - Trapezites symmomus, Spotted Sedge-skipper - Hesperilla ornata, White-banded Plane - Phaedyma shepherdi, wildlife |[2] Comments
Geutrude Petty Place Buscare site is alive with butterflies at the moment. The work Sue and the team have done removing weeds and planting native grasses and shrubs is really paying off with the rain we have been getting this summer. With the weeds removed natural regeneration means a large number of different native grasses and sedges have returned a critical success factor for bringing back the butterflies.
I photographed two new butterflies this morning which have not previously been recorded on Mt Grava
tt.
A Spotted Sedge-skipper – Hesperilla ornata posed on some native Barbed Wire grass. Saw Sedge which is indigenous to the Reserve, is the laval food plant for the Spotted Sedge-skipper. With natural regeneration bringing back the native sedges we can expect to see more of these beautiful butterflies on Mt Gravatt in the future. This is particularly important because these butterflies are classed as “uncommon” in Braby’s Butterflies of Australia. 
I also found this male White-banded Plane – Phaedyma shepherdi.
At 55mm these are quite a large butterfly for Brisbane. The patterns on the wings identify this specimen as a male.
I also found Splendid Ochre – Trapezites symmomus and Small Dusky-blue – Candalides erinus butterflies.
Mike
February 26, 2010
The Mountain Needs YOU!
Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under MEG Activities | Tags: BCC, Birds, Bushcare, Butterfly, Clean Up Australia Day, Echidna Magic, Environment, Koala, MEG, Mt Gravatt, wildlife |Leave a Comment
Join us for Clean Up Australia Day at the Summit of Mt Gravatt – Saturday 7th March – anytime between 8am and 10am – sign out with the MEG Team here – www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/Mt+Gravatt+Summit
Mt Gravatt Environment Group is working with BCC Habitat Brisbane and the Echidna Magic Kiosk to plan the development and restoration of one of Brisbane’s iconic outlooks.
Clean Up Australia Day is a great opportunity to visit this amazing location where just ten minutes from the CBD you may see a Koala snoozing in a tree or simply be surrounded by the magic of bird song as you work beside some amazing individuals, pinic with the family or share the Echidna Magic with a coffee on the deck with Brisbane’s greatest outlook.
Do you want a CD copy of Flora & Fauna of Mt Gravatt Reserve?
Sign up today so I know how many copies to bring – www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/Mt+Gravatt+Summit
Michael J Fox
February 7, 2010
Mt Gravatt Envionrment Group finds its online voice
Posted by Mt Gravatt Environment Group under MEG Activities | Tags: BCC, Biodiversity, Birds, Brisbane, Bushcare, Butterfly, Community Education, Echidna, Environment, Gertude Petty, Habitat, Koala, MEG, Mt Gravatt, Native Plant Species, Roly Chapman, Walking Tracks, wildlife |[2] Comments
Mt Gravatt Reserve is a unique island of Queensland bushland ten minutes from Brisbane CBD and home to Koalas, Echidnas, twenty seven different types of butterfly and dozens of birds.
The Reserve is Queensland State Governement land held in trust by the Brisbane City Council which in partnership with the community manages recreation, conservaiton of biodiversity, scenic amenity, heritage and social values of the site.
The amazing biodiversity of Mt Gravatt Reserve can be appreciated by considering in 66 hectares 245 native plant species have been identified which is equal to 10% of the total plant diversity in the 32 million hectares of England, Scotland and Wales.
Mount Gravatt Environment Group (MEG) is an umbrella group for four active groups of BCC Habitat Brisbane Bushcare volunteers restoring different parts of this bushland. Restoration activities range from removal of weeds/rubbish and planting of indiginous plant species to researching and mapping of plant and animal species, community education and consultation with BCC land management teams.
MEG supports bushcare groups restoring:
- Gertude Petty Place
- Rover Street
- Fox Gully
- Roly Chapman Reserve
Mount Gravatt Environment Group 