The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder is embedding First Nations wisdom and knowledge into The Flow-MER Program – their dedicated science program. This comes after a successful pilot program that took place in the Gwydir and Warrego-Darling catchments. The CEWH shared their latest edition of Rivers, the Veins of Our Country read their article about the success of the pilot program here.
World Frog Day is a day dedicated to raising awareness for frogs and other amphibians. Frog populations have been under threat and many species are disappearing, or have already gone extinct! Studying wetlands and floodplains means we encounter frogs during our monitoring frequently, particularly in times when flows in the systems are good. To celebrate World Frog Day we’re shared some frogs we’ve come across in the Guwayda (Gwydir) and Warriku-Baaka (Warrego-Darling) catchments.
The eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), called the wirlu-wirlu by the Kurnu-Baakandji, has the second most toxic venom of any snake in the world. This species of brown snake can be found in both the Warreg-Darling and Gwydir Selected Areas. In this story we highlight some interesting facts about this venomous species.
Check out our report for monitoring in the Guwayda (Gwydir) over September to December 2023.
The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s (CEWH) Science Program funds the Flow Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (Flow–MER). We would like to acknowledge the Kurnu-Baakandji Peoples, the Traditional Owners of the Warriku (Warrego) and Baaka (Darling) Rivers and surrounds. Thank you for sharing your Country and knowledge of the land, water and life with us. We pay…
Jeremy Shrubb, who works as an environmental consultant for 2rog Consulting, recently visited the Guwayda Warrambools (Gwydir Wetlands) for a waterbird survey. It was quite dry and waterbird numbers were low, but there was still plenty of other wildlife.
Newly titled Dr Lindsey Frost recently completed her PhD investigating how warrambool (wetland) food webs respond to environmental watering in the beautiful Guwayda Warrambools (Gwydir Wetlands). In this issue, Lindsey shares her experience of completing her PhD.
The Gwydir First Nations Environmental Water Group gathered for their second meeting on Sunday December 10th. The group has been recently established to provide a platform for Aboriginal people to have a voice and participate in environmental water management, programs and decision-making for the Gwydir Catchment. Read more about the group here.
Dr Ivor Growns is a Research Fellow and a member of the University of New England’s Flow-MER team. Ivor investigates how aquatic ecosystems respond to Commonwealth water for the environment delivered to the Warriku (Warrego) and Guwayda Warrambools (Gwydir Wetlands). Read about his favourite microbugs here.
Conditions throughout the 2022-23 water year (July 2022 – June 2023) were relatively wet. Within the Lower Guwayda and Gingham systems an estimated 60,000 nests were recorded of various waterbird species. Warrambool (wetland) vegetation continued to respond favourably to the wet conditions, however native fish populations have remained in poor conditions. Read the details in this issue.
