The Peregian dunes near the skate bowl are showing the effects of many footprints enjoying the area.  On Sunday 27th November, 33 volunteers joined the North Peregian Community Nature Conservation group to rehabilitate the dunes near the main entrance to Peregian main beach.

Noosa and District Landcare facilitated the planting activities and were impressed with the locals' enthusiasm. “We are thrilled to assist volunteers to take care of their ‘other backyard’ down here by the beach,” said Anita Russel from Noosa and District Landcare.

“It is important to keep the dunes healthy to stabilise the beaches and provide significant habitat for the wildlife including wallabies, lizards, birds and even turtles,” Ms Russel said.

The North Peregian Community Nature Conservation group are one of many groups across the Sunshine Coast who volunteer on a regular basis to keep the bush in a healthy condition. “We remove weeds that would otherwise take over and then we plant it with native plants to give it a helping hand, to minimise the amount of weed regrowth,” said group member, Barry Abraham.

“It is such a friendly and fun learning environment. I learn something new every time and it is so rewarding to see the difference we make to the bush that I love in this area. After all, this is a big reason why I chose to move here, so I should help look after it,” Said group member Vicki Bradbury.

Noosa and District Landcare and Coolum Community Nursery jointly supplied 506 coastal plants for the plantings. The seeds for these plants were hand collected by local volunteers at local nature sites and propagated at these local not-for-profit nurseries.

Morning tea was kindly supported by Peregian shops Baked Poetry Cafe, SushiWave, Raw Energy, Peregian General Store and the Peregian Surf Club. Prizes were donated by local supporters Annies Bookstore, SushiWave and Shanghai Sally’s. “The array of our favourite local foods was a real joy and a wonderful thank you for our efforts,” said group volunteer Judy Tulloch.

“We wanted to thank the volunteers who keep the area special. The natural beauty of Peregian is a reason why people visit. It’s good for business and we believe in caring for the environment too,” said Vicki Pearson from Raw Energy.

Noosa and District Landcare have been doing other high quality regeneration and revegetation works to protect the dunes. The group regularly remove bulk environmental weeds which gives native vegetation more of a chance to survive. So much is happening to beautify our beautiful Biosphere.

“Protection, enhancement and sustainable management of natural areas is a key component of the Community Nature Conservation program,” said Gemma Wright of Noosa and District Landcare.

The North Peregian Community Nature Conservation group meet on the fourth Sunday of every month, 8:00am-10.30am. A complete list of Community Nature Conservation groups and their meeting times for the Noosa district can be found at: http://www.noosalandcare.org/bushcare.php.   Everyone Welcome!