Over 60 members of the community were present at the  unveiling of a sign to celebrate the protection of a crucial lot in an important habitat corridor that connects two World Heritage Areas in the heart Mission Beach.

A buy back of Lot 66 was made possible by decades of community commitment and partnerships focused on saving the cassowary and their special environment at the popular seaside tourist destination. 

See Boat Bay campaign blog

Today I had the great pleasure to meet Iain McCalman, acclaimed historian and author of recently published 'The Reef, a Passionate History'.

Friends of Ninney Rise (FoNR) members, Tony O'Malley (Terrain), Peter Rowles (C4) and myself representing (CCA) were invited to meet Iain who was in town as a guest of Mission Beach Tourism (also a member of FoNR) to discuss the Turning of the Tide project.

Queensland heritage listed Ninney Rise, John Busst's home, was bequeathed to the Qld government on the understanding it would be  conserved as National Park, but it was never gazetted.

by ANNE WILKINSON

Adventure unlimited – this delightful aspect of life is ready and waiting for everyone here in the north.

It doesn’t have to be daring or hard to achieve. Almost anything, a gentle walk on the beach or in the forest, for example, can turn into a journey of discovery.

It is the same with wetlands. Wetlands in so many ways represent a stream of lifeblood in the wild world because so many creatures need them and congregate in them. Australia, the driest continent on earth, is privileged to have some of its best wetlands.

As we all know, the environment of the Cassowary Coast is very special but it is also very fragile. It is a cyclone adapted environment, but development, tourism and two severe cyclones in only 5 years have taken their toll and participating in the plant outs has shown me how fragile such an environment is.

A healthy foreshore vegetation is key to stable sand dunes, the most effective barrier against erosion.

Congratulations to all who have been involved in the many plant outs along the foreshores of our beaches.  It is an acknowledgement of how intrinsic the value of the natural environment is to our community, lifestyle and well being at Mission Beach.

Hundreds of volunteers have spent countless hours over many months planting thousands of native trees and shrubs to help repair the damage to our dunal system as a result of cyclone Yasi. 

The Cassowary Coast community as a whole deserves  acknowledgement for the exceptional effort that is being made. 

Hello from Coquette Point,

Another week of perfect weather, hot dry days, clear cool nights, what wonderful conditions for growing food.  In the vegetable garden lettuce and cabbage are forming hearts and tomatoes are swelling.  In the orchard the harvest of citrus has been particularly good with trees laden with sweet, juicy mandarins, lemonades, oranges and more, all providing a good dose of vitamin C to chase away winter colds. In the rainforest the seeds of the black bean trees are falling to the ground.

Aboriginal rainforest people made flour from the seeds but only after a long process of leaching the alkaloid from the poisonous seed. The flour was made into bread, hearty and warming on cold nights.  What good timing when nature delivered an abundance of these meaty seeds at the onset of the winter months.

WILDWATCH:  by  ANNE WILKINSON.

Wandering the Cassowary Coast beaches, bird watching is always a pleasure. It is a family rule always to carry a light pair of binoculars and, for me, a sketchbook.

There are so many different kinds of birds for which the beach and the sea are focuses.