Had a great chat over breakfast with KOCA President Blake Miller about the great work his organisation does building communities and networks with old collegians. I demonstrated Greenbrand.org and highlighted all the positive activities undertaken by the current residents. We are working on an exciting future model of sporting tour sponsorships using Greenbrand.org to bring extra value into the transaction; for not only the sponsor and the team, but also the environment and community.

The fast food companies really do need to take some responsibility for educating their customers and cleaning up their mess. Leaving their mess is so disrespectful for local residents.

Back at the Biobasin. Collected a bag’s worth of rubbish washed in by the recent rain. I cleared around the latest plantings and removed many immature glycine vines which would grow into a much larger problem. There were some much larger vines removed from the eastern edge that can be seen in the second photo.

It was so refreshing to see that there was so little rubbish on the beaches or in the waters of the Whitsundays. I did pick up this Australia shaped piece of plastic though in beautiful Butterfly Bay. I’m in a shirt as I didn’t have a stinger suit. Every little action counts!

Start of our Whitsundays boating trip. I removed numerous Glycine vines from the charter company garden. An employee was very happy with what I did. He mentioned that invasive vines are a huge problem on the islands 😢

Sunday April 22 I finished off removing the Glycine vine along the fence line of the Biobasin. Removed as much as I could by the roots, cut what remained.

I spent an hour on Sunday removing Glycine vine on the fence line of the Biobasin. It’s a hard to reach spot and was making its way into the tree canopy. I got about a third of it done.

It’s like unwrapping a living present. Question: What is wrapped by Glycine vine here??? Answer: A Lillypilly!

Here is an example of what can be achieved with simple actions and a little bit of work. Under the glycine vine was not one but two trees; a Brush Box and Silky Oak. Hopefully, with follow-up, both these trees get to grow another 30m tall.

All the rain we’ve had in Brisbane recently has meant the invasive vines have gone crazy with growth. I’m seeing whole parks being swallowed 😢 So I spent 2 hours removing vines on Padstow road near the Sunnybank Rugby club. I’ll post a couple more stories with before and after pictures.

I attended the wonderful networking event held by the Rotoract Club of Brisbane International on Thursday evening. Among the inspirational speakers was Brisbane City Councillor Emily Kim. We had a really great chat about Greenbrand and the opportunities where it can be used by residents to record important environmental activities.

On my way to King’s College for a catch up, walking through the redeveloped and revegetated UQ lakes. I notice a young Glycine vine, which, if left alone it will totally smother the native plants. So I pulled it out by the roots. Problem, for now, solved.

I was inspired by the Queensland Trust for Nature’s story on how the Containers for Change refunds can be donated to charities. QTFN uses these funds to buy and install nest boxes for Australian wildlife. Have my $8.20!!!!

After the heavy rains of Cyclone Alfred I came to the Biobasin expecting a lot of rubbish. But there wasn’t. There are HEAPS OF WEEDS though, and I spent an hour clearing around the saplings I’d planted, and with the soft soil I pulled out at least a 100 glycine vines, some of which were quite large.

Attending King’s College’s first Bushcare session for 2025! Ably led by legend Jack!

Caught up with Brian and Sandy, Mum and Dad's great friends on mum's anniversary.

We are so lucky in Brisbane to have urban bush, parks and wildlife. Tōkyō is an amazing city, the largest in the world, with an energy to match. But I saw only two species of bird in 3 days, a few crows being one of them. Very few trees as well which doesn’t help, tree canopy at only around 7% and declining. Bird numbers are also declining https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/science-nature/environment/20241015-216633/ We should do all we can to keep and improve what we have in Brisbane. They are an asset the world will love come 2032.

The Kyoto/Osaka region has over 19 million residents, but the streets are much clearer of rubbish compared with Tokyo, despite there still not many rubbish bins. Less tourists or different attitude of the locals??