Welcome to the August 2025 Southern Queensland Landscapes Newsletter
Stay informed with the latest project updates, upcoming events, regional stories and our ongoing initiatives.
Message from the CEO
Gillian Meppem
The Southern Queensland Landscapes Board recently gathered in Charleville to acknowledge and celebrate retired Board Members Karen Tully and 'Barcoo' Bruce Scott. Director Graham Cooke took a moment to acknowledge and celebrate the outstanding contribution of long-time supporters, Karen and Bruce.
As Karen spoke of her experience working in the NRM sector, I reflected on how much the sector has changed but also on how much remains the same. The funding has certainly changed significantly, with the reduced expenditure now directed toward specific programs of work, often across specified geographies, rather than the previous model of funding local community organisations whose stakeholders would then determine the local priorities. It is not for me to judge which is better but simply acknowledge that it has changed. What remains the same is the humbling dedication of individuals and organisations across communities and landscapes who remain willing and able to support natural resource management.
Introducing Our Latest Project: Growing Climate Smart Grazing in the Condamine River Basin
We are excited to announce the launch of a major new initiative under the Australian Government’s Regional Delivery Partners (RDP) program: 'Growing Climate Smart Grazing in the Condamine River Basin'. This multi-year project is focused on supporting our region’s landholders build more sustainable, productive and climate-resilient grazing systems.
What’s on offer?
• Pasture Renovation
• Multi-species Cover Crops
• Water Management and Erosion Control
• Innovative Ground Cover Strategies
• Perennial Pasture and Legumes
• Cultural Fire Management
• Workshops and Training
• Guidance on Environmental Markets
Contact our team today to discover how you can get involved and benefit from this fully funded program!
Protecting the Currawinya Lakes Ramsar Site project aims to reduce key threats from sedimentation, pests and inappropriate land management practices while building resilience to climate change and extreme events.
In March of this year, the lower Paroo catchment, home to the Currawinya Lakes Ramsar Wetlands Site, experienced the largest inflow of water in many years. Two months later, a collaborative team from Southern Qld Landscapes, Dr Fish Contracting, QPWS Rangers, and others braved cold winds and icy water to survey what had returned to the newly filled system. The good news is that they discovered juvenile Yellowbelly, Spangled Perch, Bony Herring, and Catfish were thriving. Unfortunately, invasive Carp had also re-entered the Lake Wyara system, a region that had been carp-free for several years. Carp compete with native species, disturb sediments, and degrade water quality, posing a real threat to the health of these wetlands. Monitoring is underway to track their spread and assess whether a future dry spell could once again remove them from the lake.
The Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator (SAF) is an important initiative funded by the Australian government through Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The project objective is to encourage and support improved knowledge and practices in relation to sustainable agriculture. We are fortunate to have two people working in the project undertaking this role; Lorinda Otto, based in Roma and Piper Beaton, in Goondiwindi.
In the SAF role, Lorinda and Piper implement a range of engagement activities to stakeholder audiences about climate-smart initiatives, sustainable agriculture practices, biodiversity and carbon markets, and practices for emissions reduction and climate resilience. A significant component of their role is facilitating partnerships and connections that assist farmers, landholders, community groups and agriculture industries to work together to achieve sustainable agriculture outcomes.
We are recruiting for a number of available positions in the program delivery team: Program Manager, Projects Lead and Project Officer. These positions may be based at any of our offices, and we support flexible work arrangements. Please reach out if you would like to discuss any of these opportunities.
Board Vacancies Southern Queensland Landscapes is a skills-based board. Expressions of Interest are now being sought from members of our region for election to the Board. Further information, including a nomination form and guidelines around requirements for appointment, can be obtained by expressing your interest to Pam Murphy, Company Secretary.
Southern Qld Landscapes to Support the National Soil Monitoring Program
Jayne Thorpe, Business Development Manager at Southern Queensland Landscapes said, “In total, the QLD South cluster will collect 565 soil samples over the course of the project. That will work out as 11.3 tonnes of soil sent for analysis!” Read More ►
Monitoring to Protect Threatened Habitat in Southern Qld
Project Officers Katrina Higgins and Erin Landsberg recently joined Rose and Weston from Boobook Ecological Consulting in Roma, to complete field monitoring in the Murweh and Maranoa districts. This monitoring measures the value and health of Coolibah, Poplar Box, and Brigalow habitat. During this time, we deployed acoustic recorders and motion-sensor wildlife cameras, and took DNA samples from nearby water sources to ascertain the fauna within these threatened habitats. Read More ►
What's On
Explore our events and other NRM events in the region.
Southern Queensland Landscapes is proud to join with 11 other regional Natural Resource Management organisations through NRM Regions QLD to provide coordinated, supportive services across the state.
NRM Regions Queensland is the representative body for NRM in Queensland. They coordinate statewide programs and provide a forum for these organisations to collaborate and support each other.
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