2022-11-14 GC Agenda - Item 3 - Attachment 1 - Draft Eastern Beaches Foreshore Management Plan

9. Partnerships
Noosa Council works with a wide range of partners and stakeholders to manage the EBFRs.
Council works with dedicated volunteers, and various government, education and community
organisations to protect and enhance the natural, cultural and social values of the EBFRs.


Community Bushland Care Program
Community Bushland Care volunteers are very active across the Eastern Beaches, with seven
groups working at multiple sites in and next to the EBFRs. Eastern Beaches Bushland Care
Groups include Burgess Creek Bushland Care, Castaways Beach Bushland Care, Marcus Creek
Bushland Care, Noosa's Bush, Beach and Creek Care, South Peregian Beach Bushland Care,
North Peregian Bushland Care and Sunrise Beach Bushland Care. Some work twice a week,
others weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Some groups work on more than one site, and some
individuals work with multiple groups.

The Bushland Care groups weed and plant in their work areas, and some apply for grants,
administer large ecological restoration projects and contracts, run community events, and fund and
implement community infrastructure and community education projects. They are supported by
Community Bushland Care officers in Council’s Natural Areas Team.


Turtles
Turtle monitoring and response in Noosa is a combination of community volunteers and Council
officers. A team of volunteers from Coolum and Northshore Coastcare maps and monitors sea
turtle nests, protects them from foxes with mesh, relocates nests when they are endangered by
storms or tides and monitors turtle hatchings.

Coolum and Northshore Coastcare also lobby for better protection and management of turtle
nesting sites and conducts community education on how the community can help turtles. They
work closely with Sunshine Coast Council, Department of Environment and Science, and Council’s
Natural Areas Team. The Natural Areas team also monitors North Shore Beach for turtle activity
during the laying and hatching season and responds to North Shore turtle strandings.


Working with educational institutions
Noosa Council has a Memorandum of Understanding with University of Sunshine Coast, primarily
targeted towards collaborative research projects, and this can extend to paid internships and other
workplace learning opportunities. Similar arrangements and on ground projects could be
developed with other institutions such as TAFEs, secondary and primary schools. Current projects
include 4D beach mapping with University of Sunshine Coast as well as satellite-derived
bathymetry trials as part of Council’s Coastal Monitoring Plan.


Environmental and social research opportunities
Council hosts or participates in several research projects, including turtle monitoring with local
volunteer groups, wallum frog monitoring conducted by Mary River Catchment Coordinating
Committee, and algae monitoring.

Other partners in the management of the EBFRs include Noosa & District Landcare, Noosa
Integrated Catchment Association, Unitywater, Sunshine Coast Council and Queensland
Department of Environment and Science.


Eastern Beaches Foreshore Management Plan – Draft (V4 26.9.22 – for public consultation)       Page 22