AFTER THE VIRUS - IN S.E.QUEENSLAND

Volunteer conservation in local bushland parks - the value of ecological restoration

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GUEST: Rob Brodribb, President of Friends of Escarpment Parks

 Introduction to this episode:

Globally, over the last 40 – 50 years, there have been massive declines and loss of wildlife, forests, and the other natural areas in which species live. In Australia, these trends have also been strongly pronounced with large areas of natural woodland being cleared, and much wildlife and natural places either being threatened with extinction or already having gone extinct. The recent 2019/2020, catastrophic bushfires in this country have greatly worsened these trends, with estimations of billions of individual animals and plants having been destroyed.

It is in this context that protection and restoration of bushland in or close to suburban areas becomes very important within an overall goal of increasing the area and environmental health of natural places and the wildlife they contain. In this episode of the 'After the Virus' series my guest is Rob Brodribb, President of the Friends of Escarpment Parks (Toowoomba) Inc or FoEP. The ‘Friends’ are a non-profit community group interested in the management, maintenance, development and public use of a number of bushland parks that straddle the escarpment of the Toowoomba range area of S.E. Queensland. I talk with Rob about the current work of the Friends and ask him for his vision of how suburban bushland protection and conservation might evolve in this area in the future.

INTERVIEW TALKING POINTS – location with approximate time elapsed in minutes

  • Guest self-introduction – 3.49
  • Brief history and aims of Friends of Escarpment Parks – 8.15
  • Examples of FoEP’s work in 2021 (Nielsen and Redwood parks) -11.30
  • Links between FoEP’s work and promotion of public health and wellbeing – 15.30
  • Guest’s longer-term vision for regional bushland restoration – 21.40
  • Guest’s shorter-term suggestions for some immediate actions - 31.30
  • Summary and take-home ideas – 34.33
  • Final take-home ideas -35.25
  • Close – 37.17

    • RESOURCES AND REFERENCES MENTIONED IN THE DISCUSSION

    • Friends of Escarpment Parks
  • Nielsen and Redwood Parks near Toowoomba
  • Toowoomba Regional Council – Green Infrastructure Strategy
  • Toowoomba Regional Council – Eco Gym program
  • UN Decade of Restoration
  • Value of Green spaces to support human health and biodiversity
  • Impact of cats on native animals and biodiversity in general and in Australia

    •  GUEST AND CONTACT DETAILS:

    Guest: Rob Brodribb, President of Friends of Escarpment Parks E: [email protected]

    WEBSITE  Facebook,

    Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment (HOPE):

    T 07 4639 2135 E [email protected]                                              W http://www.hopeaustralia.org.au/     https://www.facebook.com/Householders.Options.to.Protect.the.Environment/

    Production:

    Produced for HOPE by Andrew Nicholson. This episode recorded in Toowoomba, S.E. Queensland, Australia on 28th April 2021

    Artwork: Daniela Dal'Castel  Incidental Music: James Nicholson

     

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    AFTER THE VIRUS - IN S.E.QUEENSLANDBy Householders’ Options to Protect the Environment