Garbutt residents and local community groups came together on Saturday, 1 August, to link Landcare and Indigenous culture along Mundy Creek.

Local Indigenous group – Grassroots Walk the Talk Collective together with Mundy Creek Environmental Arts Collective identified a need to bring the community together to acknowledge the Indigenous cultural and environmental values of the land. Mundy Creek Project spokesperson Bernadette Boscacci said “This area has cultural significance for the Wulgurukaba and Bindal people.”

She said “As a group we want to develop a culture of care in our community through arts, culture and the environment.”

Participants took part in discussions around Indigenous connections to the land and the values of local plants and animals. These conversations were interspersed with on-ground activities including tree planting, creekwatch and rubbish clean-ups. These activities drew attention to the importance of habitat connectivity, “Mundy Creek provides a habitat stepping-stone connecting areas like the Town Common wetlands, Castle Hill and Rowes Bay,” Ms Boscacci said.

The event was supported by local businesses, residents and project partners, “Yates provided a landcare pack that was won by one of our hardworking volunteers, and the site’s neighbour Cherie Clark allowed us to access her water for the plantings.” Townsville City Council, Coastal Dry Tropics Landcare, Conservation Volunteers Australia, North Qld Cultural Heritage Pty Ltd and NQ Dry Tropics also supported the event.

NQ Dry Tropics Project Officer, Kirralee Donovan said NQ Dry Tropics was proud to provide support to the project through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme.

“Mundy Creek is a unique project as it brings together a diversity of stakeholders, industry and groups with a common vision of improving the environment and the well-being of the community,” she said.

For more information on the Mundy Creek project contact Bernadette Boscacci bowerbirdbb@yahoo.com or visit Mundy Creek Natureway Regeneration Project on Facebook.