Cairns’ Cattana Wetlands is getting a helping hand from a group of locals under a new volunteer program Jabirus.

By Hannah Watt

Volunteers: Jabiru volunteers pulling out some weeds.

The Jabirus may be small in number but the volunteers are enthusiastic and dedicated people who spend their time weeding, planting, collecting seeds and generally helping the wetlands to look their best.

The volunteer group meets every Tuesday from 9am till noon at the Wetlands near Smithfield on the James Cook University Cairns campus.

Division 8 Councillor Jessie Richardson says the group has recently planted the picnic area with native species.

“It looks just beautiful,” Richardson says.

“Thanks to these wonderful volunteers, there is always a project on the move.

“They do so much to complement the great work done by staff in maintaining these areas for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.”

The Cairns Council has since rehabilitated the Cattana Wetlands that was formerly 80 hectares of cane land and sand/gravel mining operations at Smithfield.

The Wetlands is now home to six lakes, rainforest boardwalks, recreation areas and bird lookouts.

With the Jabirus devoted weekly work, the Wetlands is looking the best it has ever looked.

“Cattana Wetlands is such a spectacular place to visit and is becoming increasingly popular with visiting bird-watchers and anyone interested in our tropical environment” Richardson says.

New members are always welcome to join Jabirus as well as other volunteer groups based at the Cairns Botanic Gardens.

Contact Cairns Regional Council for more information or the Council public relations and volunteers officer Louisa Grandy on 4032 6648.

Carpooling is set to relieve the stress of finding a park for both students and staff at James Cook University.

By Madeline Whiting

HITCH A RIDE: The online registration system allows users to interact and form a group to carpool with.

James Cook University has introduced a carpooling program in an effort to solve campus car parking problems and reduce carbon gas emissions in Cairns.

The program entitled GreenRide allows students and staff to register online where they are travelling from and if they need a ride or can provide one to others.

TropEco Manager Adam Connell says that the Greenride program was designed specifically for the Cairns campus.

“There are other programs out there being used by other universities and workplaces, but there were shortfalls in using these so we decided to build our own system that catered specifically for the Cairns campus,” Mr. Connell said.

James Cook University Environmental Coordinator Lania Lynch says the program could prove to be most valuable within the first few weeks of semester.

“Parking is a real issue at the Cairns campus in the first few weeks of semester and students already organise car pooling among themselves; this simplifies the process,” Ms. Lynch says.

“If you have a couple of seats spare in your car, you simply post a listing on GreenRide then receive notifications from compatible users.”

Ms. Lynch hopes that the program’s popularity will grow as carpooling can prove to be a better alternative to public transport.

“It’s also a good way to make new friends and can help with the running costs of your car.

“Its also likely to be a cheaper alternative than the public transport option.”

GreenRide will not only relieve some parking issues but it will reduce carbon gas emissions which is something TropEco supports strongly.

Until then, Ms. Lynch suggests finding another eco-friendly mode of transport to university.

“Another sustainable transport option is to ride a bike, then you have no CO2 emissions and can eat as much chocolate as you like.  That’s my preferred option!”

GreenRide is currently being trialed on the Cairns campus only but there are plans to expand the program to Townsville in the near future.

If you are interested in partaking in the program you can register at greenride.jcu.au.

Two Cairns JCU students have taken out the 2013 Australasian Campus Towards Sustainably (ACTS) Student Conference Scholarships.

By Marion Walker-Campbell

Bachelor of Sustainability students Sharon Holden and Wesley DeMuth took out this year’s scholarships, both from JCU in Cairns.

Ms. Lena Taylor, the Sustainability Project Officer in Cairns says the students are an inspiration and she is proud of the fact they are being nationally recognised.

“I think that really says a lot about the ground of support and student activity that we are seeing across the University, but particularly in Cairns,” she says.

This is the only scholarship that supports sustainability projects and the criteria are based on the student’s passion in and outside of their studies. The three primary criteria are that they have a scholarly background in sustainability, that they actively support it and plan to have a career within the industry.

“The students both went beyond the call of their studies. They have shown a huge commitment to their community actively volunteering and getting involved with JCU’s internal activities,” Ms Taylor says.

Ms Holden says she became interested in the scholarship when she found it involved a conference where she could meet professionals and hear them speak about the problems they face in sustainability, and how to educate the community on environmental issues.

“My whole objective is to do networking and learn from as many people in the field and that’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since I started my study.  I just saw it as another opportunity to get to know more people in the future,”  Ms Holden says.

JCU is also a finalist in the ACTS award scheme in the area of student initiative.

“It’s great that we’re finalists but if we win, it will be even better because we have two students there,” Ms Taylor says.

The conference will take place in Sydney from September 24-27.