.png){kind=logo}
BIEPA Environment Team volunteers have been out and about on Bribie Island National Park's ocean beach, in a great show of cooperation across community, local business and government.
The conservation values of Bribie Island National Park are under extreme pressure from the high number of visitors that use the beach for 4WD recreation. The beach being a legally sanctioned road brings challenges for the ecology, but it also means that clean-up days have been difficult to organise, mainly due to concerns for the safety of volunteers working near a busy road. Recently, BIEPA approached Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) with a proposal for a small scale clean-up, with an emphasis on mitigating safety concerns, Arrangements were agreed to, and the first trial event held last Wednesday, 24/4/2024. A crew of 12 volunteers set off into the National Park in 4WD Minibus kindly provided by local tour company G'day Adventure Tours. Volunteers then scoured 2.5km of beach and dunes above the high tide line on foot. Over approximately 3 hours a wide variety of items were collected, including rubbish left on the beach by visitors and other marine debris washed ashore. Once all the debris was collected and transported off the beach, it was sorted as per the Australian Marine Debris Initiative guidelines and the collection figures sent off to the Tangaroa Blue database, which tracks information marine debris. City of Moreton Bay staff met the cleanup crew at the end of the afternoon and disposed of all the rubbish. Thanks again to G'day Adventure Tours for transport and logistics, QPWS, City of Moreton Bay, Friends of Parks Queensland, and to the fabulous BIEPA volunteers who took part! The Environment Team is scheduling regular cleanup activities around Bribie Island, so be sure to check the BIEPA Events Page for upcoming opportunities. With around 25km of ocean beach in National Park, we will continue to push for National Park cleanups will be included in the program.
