The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s (GBRMPA) Reef Guardian Program joins this project by assisting Mackay Regional Council (MRC), a Reef Guardian Council, to coordinate community involvement, particularly by Reef Guardian Schools and local community groups such as Conservation Volunteers Australia and Landcare Groups.
This project carries on from an initial stewardship program coordinated by GBRMPA over the last couple of years to engage with farmers, Council, schools and community in the focussed geographic area to deliver on-ground and educational messaging activities around sustainable use and management of the Gooseponds/Janes Creek system.
The specific focus on raising awareness that all users of the land and water resources in the this catchment can impact on water quality and its overall health and that by their responsible use and management of the land and water in this catchment, they are contributing to keeping the Reef healthy and building its resilience to impacts such as Climate Change.
This initial project also aimed to extend the action of an existing draft catchment management plan developed by MRC for the Gooseponds catchment, work with Mackay Canegrowers, the Pioneer Catchment and Landcare group, Glenella State School and compliment the Reef Catchment’s Mackay-Whitsundays Healthy Waterway Alliance to deliver two major outcomes:
1. Promote public recognition of current Best Management Practices carried out in the primary production landscapes of Jane’s Creek and support on-ground actions to enhance the adaptability and resilience of farming businesses and landscapes there, and
2. Enhance community awareness and ownership of Reef Guardian Council activities undertaken to manage the natural and built environmental values, ensuring ecological resilience of the Gooseponds and the linked coastal reef ecosystem.
