2022-10-24 General Committee Meeting- Item 7 - Attachment 1 - Noosa Oyster Ecosystem Restoration Project - Final Report (1)

TNC – Australian Government Reef Builder project

In 2021, TNC successfully secured an additional $1.2m for marine restoration in Queensland via the Australian Government-
funded national Reef Builder project. TNC decided to use these funds to add value to the Noosa project.

The additional funds allowed TNC to:

    •    Increase the shoreline length of the restoration footprints from the planned 160m to 497m (combined all sites).
    •    Increase the restoration footprint of the reef patches from planned 1000m2 to 2268m2 (combined all sites)
    •    Employ an outreach project coordinator for 18 months to lead on:
              o Construction communications, products, stakeholder liaison and complaints management
              o Partnership projects management –- Shuck Don’t Chuck, Oyster Gardening, Senior and Junior schools
                  projects, Sediment Accumulation Study
              o Community outreach products and actions – special information sheets for stakeholders and businesses,
                  project signage and aids to navigation, Tewantin interpretive signage, community presentations and
                  Shellebration.

Reef Builder Noosa funds remaining beyond 30th of September 2022 will be used between 1st of October 2022 and 30th of
June 2023 to resource:

    •    Outreach coordinator position

    •    Reef seeding

    •    Oyster gardening

    •    Noosa Sediment Accumulation Study

    •    Monitoring reef condition - rubbish, public complaints

    •    Maintaining aids to navigation at the restoration sites

    •    Imbedding oyster reefs and marine restoration into local culture through actions with Kabi Kabi traditional
         custodians, local riverside businesses, NC and the wider community

    •    Continuing to support NC and local groups with river science, where possible

Reef Builder funds are managed separately by TNC in partnership with the Australian Government. The national Reef Builder
project ends on the 30th of June 2023. Actions undertaken against Reef Builder funds will be reported to NC at the end of the
Reef Builder contract period. TNC will continue to provide updates on relevant activities to NC, on request, for example, to
update the Noosa River Stakeholder Advisory Committee, and in line with permit conditions.

TNC will provide additional resources beyond 30th June 2023 to meet its obligations towards oyster reef management,
monitoring, evaluation and reporting as per the project permit conditions (see Finances).




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