Upper Primary School Environmental Education Program
 |
| One of the many invasive weeds on the block - Kudzu. Is there still a chance to stop it? Keep your eyes out for this fast growing vine with the characteristic large lobed leaves. It quickly grows up and over any trees and shrubs and smothers their further development. |
The Kedron Brook Catchment Branch of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland has prepared an educational program on catchments and ecological monitoring. The program is tailored to schools within the water catchment of Kedron Brook and was first introduced to some schools in 2007. An experienced educator and a biologist prepared the two hour hands-on environmental science program.
The classroom component is facilitated either by the Kedron Brook Creek Ranger, a KBCB educator, or the teacher, while the outdoor activities are facilitated by educators with experience in waterway monitoring. Go to our webpage on education in our projects section for more information.
School Resources
Most of our web site sections have useful information about Kedron Brook and more broadly catchment management. These are readily linked via the navigation bar just under the top banner. Look particularly at 'Bushcare Groups', 'Kedron Brook Environment', 'References', 'Educational Resources', and 'Projects'. Our 'News and Events" section gives access to a range of specific subjects. This latter section also links to archives of KBCB-WPSQ Newsletters from the 'Downloads' sub-section.
The following specific links point to a range of references and guidelines about Kedron Brook and catchment management in general. You'll also find the search box above most useful to poke around on this web site. Don't forget that this search box is set to find keywords exclusively on this web site alone! Note that the order of located links to be found by this process is not necessarily in that of most relevance to you. Skim through while reading the brief descriptions for their relevance. Do play around with the use of different combinations of keywords in your searches.
Moreton Bay Regional Council (MBRC) Remember that although most of Kedron Brook is within Brisbane City Council (BCC) area, this council controls and nurtures a significant portion in the upper reaches of the stream. Their web site has particularly useful information in their 'Environment' section.
Men of the Trees (QLD) Inc (MOTT) is a non profit, non political, international society dedicated to fostering a tree sense, and the planting, maintenance and protection of trees. The organisation works in both BCC and MBRC areas. They have been working within Kedron Brook catchment, specifically at Cedar Creek (eastwards from Arbor Park), and Keperra Picnic Grounds, both within Ferny Grove. An article by Andrew Burrows gives additional information to that on our Cedar Creek web site.
Focus on Kedron Brook, its history, development, flora and fauna, and catchment management.
Know your creek - Kedron Brook This is the Brisbane City Council (BCC) special brochure about our Brook including understanding catchments and waterways. It also gives a useful section on the past influences of the aborigines followed by the European settlement.
Information about Kedron
Brook Catchment This is the link to our Kedron Brook Environment section on this web site
Kedron Brook Fauna
Habitat Study This links to our detailed report on the Brook by Dr. Seonaid Melville. Remember the title says 'Fauna Habitat' so the report will say a lot about the conditions and suitability of their environment as well as the fauna. This report informs and it is still relevant up to this day!
Enoggera & Districts Historical Society Inc is a non-profit organisation helping the local community discover it's history. In particular, their publication, 'Between Kedron Brook and Taylor Range-Historical aspects of seven suburbs', 2004, gives information about Kedron Brook, military influences on the district, institutions and communications, primary industries and Iindustrial firms, recreations, sport and eminent people from the past. The web site seems to be frozen at 2002 but serves as initial contact to the present organisation at Enoggera Memorial Hall.
Environmental Sustainability
Brisbane City Council
– Environmental garden Green choice gardening, appropriate to an urban catchment.
Brisbane City
Council - Towards zero waste Towards zero waste for Brisbane residents and businesses and less down our creek!.
Brisbane
City Council - Weeds How to identify weeds, their cost to our community, and means of eradicating them.
Brisbane City Council - Habitat Brisbane The program of assistance given to specific community bushcare groups along catchments.
Environmental monitoring
Waterwatch is a national community water quality monitoring network that encourages all Australians to become active in the protection of their waterways. A very practical site in the provision of suitable resources for understanding and application.
The water quality measurements (Fish Snapshots) taken at selected points along the Kedron Brook over the period 2002-2009 is available in a Powerpoint summary report (657 KB pdf file).
Environmental
inquiry is a web site that provides ideas for running inquiry based
investigations in science.
Landcare management
Water management issues
The Junior Landcare Home Page gives a different slant on our environment relating to land use as well as to such factors as biodiversity and climate change but also deals with waterways, marine and coastal concerns.
 |
| This large SQID is at the stormwater outfall from Tomsett Park just opposite the Ferny Grove Railway station. The water flows into the left hand section where large solids are retained by a metal screen. The outfall runs into the large settling pond with aquatic plants designed to slow the flow and help the finer solids settle. A small gravel wall dams the flow but allows egress into Kedron Brook flowing from the right towards Ferny Way road bridge. (Photo Feb 2004) |
Water management issues
The South East Queensland Healthy Waterways is a collaboration between government, industry, researchers and the community. This web site covers a comprehensive compilation of important facts on water with a particular focus on South East Qld. It also provides useful links relating to water education in general. Try another of their web sites, 'Water by design'. Look particularly at their 'Guidelines and Resources' section including useful factsheets and a huge resource,
'Concept design guidelines for water sensitive urban design (WSUD)' .
The Interim Brisbane Flood Flag Map
This useful resource from BCC shows watercourses, streets, properties and parklands. In particular, it shows overland flow paths and where flooding may occur from creeks, rivers and storm tides.
Planning and Building Rules Covers Brisbane City Council requirements to manage growth and change in Brisbane, and thus our catchment. The Sustainable Planning Act 2009 is the Queensland legislation that is providing the push behind the improvement of water quality in developing urban areas as examplified in the next link.
Bushland and Waterways details Brisbane City Council's general approach. See various documents under the headings of 'Catchments and waterways', 'Urban stormwater management', 'Stormwater quality improvement devices (SQIDs)', 'Natural channel design (NCD)', 'Erosion treatments for urban creeks', and other important related applications on their Technical documents page.
MBRC-Waterways Management This links to Moreton Bay Regional Council's Waterway management sub-section in their Environment section. Surf up as well as down the links for some great information on all aspects of catchment management. Find gold within some of their management strategies, (e.g. Stormwater.)
Cleanup Australia Points out the problems of mislaid wastes and a way of helping to clean up the mess. Conduct a separate Google search on 'shopping trolleys' for an individual look at new, used, mislaid and abandoned trolleys.
The River Styles Management Framework This website introduces a geomorphic approach for examining river character, behaviour, condition and recovery potential. This provides a physical template for river management. Useful concepts to compare the Brook's behavioural patterns from source to the Bay.
Wet land Information - Qld Dept Environment and Resource Management. A valuable resource for studying wetlands including riverine, estaurine and marine wetland types. Excellent diagrams and also links to Heatlhy Waterway Conceptual diagrams.
Caboolture- Large scale Wetland Information Map (9.5 MB file) Interesting but though it covers most of Brook it is at too small a scale for much use.
Weeds and their effect on habitat
About Weeds This web page gives a general introduction to the subject with emphasis on how weeds affect the Brook.
Weeds - Brisbane City Council This is the Brisbane City Council's web site covering weeds, their cost, identification, weed control methods, pest plant species declared by the State, and by the Council, weed-related links, how weeds affect our wildlife, weed fact sheets and the Brisbane Invasive Species Managment Plan. This excellent web site is supported by the BCC discussion forum, Wipe out weeds. You may need to register to participate but current weed problems within the BCC area are often discussed and images of identified plants shown. Non-registered 'guests' can still roam through the questions, discussions and answers given by qualified BCC staff.
Environment - Moreton Bay Regional Council This web site has important information about the environment and particularly useful for information about weed on their 'Environmental pests and weeds page'.
Department for Environment and Resource Management (Qld) A launch home page to a host of information but also includes the Wetland Pests and Weeds, useful to find links to invasive species, weed fact sheets, and weeds of national significance. The old Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries web site may still be linked (but only until it is revamped elsewhere in DERM). It is particularly useful for information on weeds relevant to Queensland. Start at their 'weeds' page from which you can find links to an A-Z photo guide, lists of National and Queensland declared plants, impacts of weeds, control methods and links to other weedy references.
Weeds in Australia - Australian Government A web site jointly administered for a number of relevant Australian Government departments. Includes a discussion of what constitutes a weed, problems caused by weeds, weed identification (database and images), weed prevention, early detection and eradication, National weeds list. A useful weed identification tool may be linked
James Cook University North Queensland weeds This web site gives a more botanical look at northern Queensland weeds; many of which are to be found in SE Queensland.
Dyschoriste and Camphor laurel weeds in Kedron Brook This is a short report about two different types of invasive weeds along the Brook.Kedron Brook Catchment Weed Project Report This is a mammoth detailed study of weed invasion in some vital forest remnants along Kedron Brook (2005-2006) by Nathan Kirby.
Community involvement
Transition The Grove Interesting web site with the aim of involving local communities within the upper Kedron Brook valley in ways of improving our environment.Teacher Resources
Practical School ground projects - Click here for illustrations of some practical school yard projects which will enhance students appreciation of catchment protection issues.
Professional Development
(Refer to Student Links also)
Dept of
Environment and Resource Management– Science & SOSE Modules
NOVA - Science in the News -
Australian Academy of Sciences
Sustainability -
Australian Academy of Sciences
Please send any great links that you think would be useful on this page to
Copyright © 2012 Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland Kedron Brook Catchment Branch (Inc.). All Rights Reserved
This web site is presented for the purpose of disseminating information free of charge for the benefit of the public. While all reasonable care has been taken
in publishing and maintaining this website, Kedron Brook Catchment Branch - Wildlife Queensland and the sponsors of any material presented on this website
accept no liability or responsibility whatsoever for, or in respect of, any use of this site or any reliance upon material contained on this website or any linked website.
CI 27/01/2012