Habits for Habitat

Protecting Australia’s native animals is important for a variety of reasons. Firstly, many of these species are unique to Australia and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Therefore, they represent a valuable part of the country’s natural heritage and cultural identity. Additionally, many of these species play important ecological roles, helping to maintain the balance and biodiversity of their habitats and ecosystems.

Understanding the biology of our native animals is crucial to their conservation. This includes knowledge of their breeding habits, dietary requirements and behaviour, which can help identify strategies for protecting their populations. Additionally, knowledge of their habitats and ecosystems is important, as this can help identify key threats to their survival, such as habitat loss, climate change and invasive species.

In central Queensland, particularly Gladstone, there are several species of native animals that are of conservation concern. For example, the Kroombit treefrog is a critically endangered species that is only found in the Gladstone region. The area is also home to a number of other endangered species, including the koala, central greater glider, eastern curlew and spotted-tailed quoll.

To protect these species, it is important to identify their habitats and ecosystems and work to preserve them. This may involve measures such as habitat restoration, predator control and the reintroduction of species to areas where they have become locally extinct. Additionally, public education and awareness campaigns can help to promote conservation efforts and raise awareness about the importance of protecting Australia’s native animals.

Wildlife carers play an important role in the Australian community by rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing injured or orphaned wildlife. They provide essential care and support to animals in need, often in challenging and dangerous situations.

Here are some of the fantastic things that wildlife carers do in the Australian community:

1. Rescue and Transport: Wildlife carers often respond to calls from the public about injured or orphaned animals. They rescue animals from dangerous situations such as roadsides, bushfires, and urban areas. They provide emergency first aid and transport animals to veterinary clinics or wildlife shelters for further care.
2. Rehabilitation: Wildlife carers provide care and support to animals to help them recover from injuries, illnesses, or trauma. They provide proper nutrition, medication, and physical therapy to ensure that animals are healthy and able to survive in the wild.
3. Release: Once animals have fully recovered, wildlife carers release them back into the wild. They choose a suitable location that provides appropriate habitat and food for the animal’s needs. They also monitor the animal’s progress to ensure that they are thriving in their natural environment.
4. Education: Wildlife carers often provide education to the public about the importance of protecting wildlife and their habitats. They also provide information on how to coexist with wildlife and what to do if an animal is found injured or orphaned.
5. Advocacy: Wildlife carers advocate for the protection and conservation of native wildlife. They work with local and state governments, conservation organizations, and other stakeholders to promote policies and laws that protect wildlife and their habitats.

Overall, the work of wildlife carers is vital in protecting and conserving Australia’s unique wildlife. They help to ensure that injured and orphaned animals receive proper care and support, and that they can return to the wild to live healthy and fulfilling lives.

• Species: A group of living organisms that share common characteristics and can interbreed to produce offspring.
• Native: Something that belongs to a particular place naturally, rather than having been brought there from somewhere else.
• Wildlife: Animals and plants that live and grow naturally in the wild.
• Habitat: The natural environment where a living organism lives and grows.
• Ecosystem: A community of living and non-living things that interact with each other in a specific environment.
• Protect: To keep safe from harm, danger or damage.
• Conservation: The protection and management of natural resources and wildlife to ensure their survival.
• Threatened species: A species of plant or animal that is at risk of extinction.
• Rehabilitation: The process of restoring a living organism or ecosystem to its natural state or function after damage or injury.
• Biodiversity: The variety of life in a particular ecosystem or on the planet as a whole.
• Habitat restoration: The process of restoring a natural habitat to its original state or a close approximation of it.
• Vegetation: Plants and plant life in a particular area or ecosystem.
• Ecological: Related to the study of how living things interact with each other and their environment.
• Woodland: An area covered by trees, bushes, and other vegetation, but not dense enough to be classified as a forest.
• Wetland: An area of land that is saturated with water, such as a marsh, swamp, or bog.
• Rainforest: A dense forest located in a region with high annual rainfall.
• Estuarine: A region where a river meets the sea, characterized by brackish water and fluctuating salinity levels.
• Marine: Related to the sea or ocean, including the plants, animals, and other living things that inhabit it.

Central Queensland Gladstone area is home to a diverse range of native wildlife species, including:

Mammals:

• Koalas
• Kangaroos
• Wallabies
• Possums
• Gliders (sugar, squirrel and feathertail)
• Bandicoots (northern brown and long-nosed)
• Echidnas
• Bats (flying foxes, microbats)

Birds:

• Emus
• Australian bustards
• Peregrine falcons
• Wedge-tailed eagles
• Rainbow lorikeets
• Galahs
• Sulphur-crested cockatoos
• Eastern rosellas
• Kookaburras
• Fairy wrens

Turtles:

• Freshwater turtles (including the eastern long-necked turtle and the Krefft’s River turtle)

Reptiles:

• Goannas (including the lace monitor and the sand goanna)
• Snakes (including the eastern brown snake and the carpet python)
• Lizards (including the bearded dragon and the eastern water dragon)
• Geckos (including the leaf-tailed gecko and the house gecko)

Freshwater fish species that are native to the Central Queensland Gladstone area:

• Barramundi
• Murray Cod
• Golden Perch
• Sleepy Cod
• Jungle Perch
• Spangled Perch
• Eel-tailed Catfish
• Freshwater Sawfish
• Freshwater turtles (eastern long-necked turtle and Krefft’s river turtle) – these were mentioned earlier as turtles, but they also inhabit freshwater areas.

It’s important to note that some of these species are threatened or endangered and may require special conservation efforts to protect them and their habitats.

Gladstone Wildlife is a volunteer not-for-profit community organisation dedicated to the rescue, recovery, rehabilitation and release of native animals in Central Queensland.

Providing support and training for Carers, Community Education Services, supporting habitat enrichment and citizen science programs

Our volunteers can care for over 1500 of our local animals every year including macropods (kangaroos, wallabies), possums, gliders, birds, reptiles and freshwater turtles. With specialist raptor (birds of prey, owls, eagles, kites and hawks), water and sea bird (pelicans), echidna, emu and flying fox care provisions under our permit.

The team of dedicated volunteer carers at Gladstone Wildlife respond to thousands of calls for wildlife in need of care in the Gladstone region annually. Our carers open their homes to caring for wildlife entrusted to their care, providing for each animal’s individual needs for food and housing, keeping them safe until ready to return to their homes.

Supporting the RSPCAs 1300 animal, Team GW rescues, rehabilitates and releases a diverse range of native animals in the Gladstone region.

Incorporated in March 1998 Gladstone Wildlife is an incorporated not-for-profit volunteer organisation (IA9115) registered with the QLD office of fair trade under charitable sanction number 4656. Gladstone Wildlife supports our carers through fundraising, sponsorships and donations to offset the enormous costs of care that can sometimes put pressures on our carers families.

Gladstone Wildlife provides training and education sessions to our carers though specialised carer workshops and community education sessions, regularly visiting schools and community groups sharing our love our wildlife and environment.

Gladstone Wildlife relies on the kindness of our community to provide our wildlife with the right care from rescue to release, you can help us help our wildlife through sponsorships and donations.

https://www.gladstonewildlife.org.au

Central Queensland University ​is striving to deliver excellent regional arts programs and services to ensure that our Queensland communities are connected, creative and cultural communities to live and work.

We do this by:

• Assisting artists and arts workers to undertake professional development opportunities.
• Building strong arts and cultural networks across our communities.
• Supporting and delivering innovative cross regional arts projects by partnering with regional councils and community organisations.
• Providing support and advice for individual artists and arts organisations.
• Showcasing the incredible talent and remarkable stories that can be found across our communities.
• Deliver First Nations specific projects.
• Promote and advocate for the regional arts and creative industries.

The Regional Arts Services Network is an initiative of the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. CQ University is serving as the Catchment Three RASN provider from 2022-2025.

CQ University is Australia’s largest regional university and has campuses across Central Queensland in locations such as Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay and Emerald as well as a long history of working through distance modes.

​https://cqregionalarts.net