April Activities Details - (CHANGE OF DATE DUE TO EASTER)

Pepe Clarke

CLUB MEETING: 

Date & Time: 7 pm, Friday 10 April 2026

Speaker:  Pepe Clarke

Title: Nature Conservation in Outback Australia

Summary: Pepe Clarke is a conservation policy specialist based on the Sunshine Coast with 25 years’ experience working to protect nature in Australia and internationally. His work focuses on large-scale habitat protection and conservation policy. From 2017 to 2022 he worked with the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Outback to Oceans program, collaborating with governments, indigenous organisations and community partners to secure new protected areas and strengthen support for conservation across remote landscapes. This included major commitments to new national parks, Indigenous Protected Areas and Indigenous ranger programs. Pepe has also held senior roles with WWF International, BirdLife International and the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, contributing to conservation initiatives in Australia and around the world.

Venue: St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba. The speaker's presentation is followed by official business and supper. 

CLUB OUTING: Rejuvenation of an Urban Laidley Block 

Stone channels created 
to manage water flow

Meeting Time: 9.00 am

Where: Lions Park, Vaux Street, Laidley

Description: Put a soil scientist and a stone wall specialist on a denuded steep urban block and marvel at their achievement over the last thirty years. The owners have managed their sodic soils around water management with deep channels, pools and drainage to a neighbour’s dam while regenerating with local plants (many obtained from the Tanglewood Nursery). Some of the species now present include Alphitonia, Brigalow, Silky Oak, Bloodwood, Moreton Bay fig, Cassia brewsteria, White cedar, Pittosporum, Syzygium, native Bauhinia, Brachychiton, Eucalypts and Melaleuca with attention given to butterfly host plants. Vines and grasses help replicate natural vine scrub. Many lichens grow on trees and rocks.

An area for ponded water
created to retain flood water 

Activities: Car pooling from Lions Park is suggested as parking at the property is limited. After an interesting morning with Pam and David we will return to the Lions Park before driving to the Cunningham Crest Lookout for lunch.

Facilities:  Toilets at Lions Park, Laidley. No facilities at Cunningham Crest Lookout.

What to Bring: Come with morning tea, lunch, chair, water, sun protection and an enquiring mind.

March Activity Details - Outing Cancelled

CLUB OUTING: CANCELLED, 8 Mar 2026

The possibility of significant rainfall is too high to ignore.

The outing will be rescheduled for later in the year.

Vine Scrub at Mount Kingsthorpe

CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 6 March 2026 

Mt Kingsthorpe hovea

Speaker: Dr Jen Silcock is a Research Fellow at the School of the Environment, University of Queensland. She spent her first 20 years on the Darling Downs before heading into the drier country further west in search of cryptic species, lost oases, ecological mysteries, obscure local history and the elusive perfect swimming spot. She has worked for various Government Departments and, for the past decade, at the University of Queensland, on projects relating to rangeland ecology, grazing land management, threatened species, wetland ecology and ethnobotany.

Title: Ecology and conservation of two cryptic and threatened outback mammals: the yellow-footed rock wallaby and greater bilby.

Venue: St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba. The speaker's presentation is followed by official business and supper. 

February Outing Report - 08 February 2026 Franke Scrub and Rogers Reserve

 Outing Report: Sunday 08 February 2026 Franke Scrub and Rogers Reserve (Adapted from an article and photos D Johnston)

Franke Scrub
from Google Maps

Franke Scrub is a small patch of Semi-Evergreen Vine Thicket remaining in a gully along Franke Road.

Semi-Evergreen Vine Thicket is widely scattered along the northeast of Australia. With the arrival of European farmers much of the SEVT types have been extensively cleared so many SEVT ecosystems have only 5% or similar surviving. They contain a large variety of flora (and dependent fauna) but small patches can suffer considerably from isolation.

Weeds choking roadside

Locals formed a group to look after the patch in the days of Crows Nest Shire Council, and with the assistance of Steve Plant and some crew from CN council removed most of the invasive weeds. After the council amalgamation with Toowoomba Regional Council the local weeding volunteers have been managed by TRC and have managed to keep most of the weeds in the gully under control.

Discussing the sign

Much effort cataloguing the biodiversity has been done. Lists of birds, butterflies and regenerating flora are available for those interested with notes on species that would be expected to be seen as regenerating seedlings. Inside, the dense edge the SEVT has been coping well, showing old vines and new seedlings growing with the competition of choking invasive weeds.

Vines in Franke Scrub

After morning tea we moved to Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve which was donated to the Crows Nest Shire Council in the 1990s. It had been a grazing paddock with numerous tall remnant eucalypts and mostly a grass understory. In the early 2000s council and the local Landcare group had a controlled burn in the northern part and planted a lot of extra trees, mostly from stock in or near the park. Crows Nest Shire Council also had explanatory notes for sites along the walk for visitors.

Species List for Franke Scrub     

Birds: Spotted Dove, Crested Pigeon, White-faced Heron (flying overhead), Cattle Egret (flying overhead), Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, Pale-headed Rosella, Superb Fairy-wren, Brown Honeyeater, Noisy Miner, Eastern Whipbird, Torresian Crow, Silvereye, Mistletoebird, Double-barred Finch.

Mammals: Red-necked Wallaby

Insects: Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly, Graphic Flutterer Dragonfly, Black-faced Percher Dragonfly.

Entrance to Reserve

Aerial View of
Charles & Motee Reserve
from Google Maps

Species List for Charles and Motee Rogers Reserve      

Birds: Common Bronzewing, Rainbow Lorikeet, Laughing Kookaburra, Noisy Miner.                

Insects: Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly, Sand Wasp (Bembix sp.) Lots on the path into the reserve. Shooting dirt out of their burrows.

Sunday 8th February 2026 - Franke Scrub. and Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields.

Meeting Time: 8.30 am.

Small-leaved Tylophora
Tylophora grandiflora
found at Franke Scrub
and should be flowering
in February
Photo: L Beaton

Where: Peacehaven Botanic Park at 56 Kuhls Road, Highfields to car pool as car parking is limited at Franke Scrub.

Description: Franke Scrub is a small but incredibly diverse rare dry rainforest remnant with 38 types of rainforest trees, 21 types of shrubs, 15 types of climbers and 40 other native plant species on the local volcanic red soil. Nearby the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve consists of remnant dry rainforest and eucalypt woodland plants. Both areas are managed by volunteer workers who meet regularly to maintain and weed these endangered ecosystems.

Activities: The terrain down to the gully is quite steep while a gentle walk along the roadway has many informative signs identifying the easily seen nearby plants. More about Frank Scrub here.

After morning tea, return to Peacehaven Park (for use of toilet facilities) before continuing north-east on Kuhls Road. For those arriving independently – turn left onto Clarke Road, right onto O’Brien Road, next left onto Polzin Road and left onto Rogers Road. Off road parking is available on the left. The well-defined walking tracks through this Reserve allow for easy walking. More about the Rogers Reserve here.

Facilities: None. Toilets at Peacehaven Botanic Park.

What to Bring: chair, lunch and morning tea, water, hat and sun protection.

Our first function for 2026: Peacehaven Botanic Park, 56 Kuhls Rd, Highfields

Happy Naturalizing New Year 2026

Marvel at the changes since our first visit to the park in December 2009.

TFNC Members with Robert Campbell in 2009

By time-honoured custom we do not have an evening meeting or an outing in January. Instead we have a members' get-together.

Meeting Date & Time:  Saturday, 17th January, commencing at 4pm.

Where:  Peacehaven Botanic Park, 56 Kuhls Rd, Highfields.

Description: We will meet on the grassy area near the rotunda. There will be several tables provided for food items.

Activities: Those wishing to have a wander around the park are of course welcome to arrive earlier. 

Level of Fitness: Easy, graded and surfaced paths.

Facilities: Toilets.

What to Bring: please bring your own chairs, nibbles to share and drinks. Insect repellent might also be advisable.

This is always a good opportunity to catch up, and to welcome new members. 

November 2025 Activity Details - Friday meeting, and the Sunday outing to two localities in the Mt Tyson area.

Flora types at Irongate
Photo: M. Simmons

CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 7 November 2025  

Speaker: Robert Ashdown presenting Wild in the suburbs

There is no escape from wild creatures. Whether we like it or not, they do their best to share the space we humans jealously call our own.

Rob has always been interested in photographing the more unusual species - often overlooked or even persecuted - found in our backyards, towns, or on the edges of places. From bats beneath our feet, spiders under the lawn, weird green cicadas in the hedge, strange slugs on the footpath to tiny resin bees inside walls, Rob will present some of his favourite images of urban creatures. 

Rob Ashdown has recently retired after more than a decade as Education Officer with the Queensland Museum and more than two decades as Senior Ranger with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. He now has a little more time to pursue his interest in photography, which has been a passion of his for many years. 

He is interested in the classic tradition of a sequence of images that tell a story and enjoys writing about natural history topics. Link to his blog.

St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba. The speaker's presentation is followed by official business and supper. 

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 9 November 2025. Two locations in the Mt Tyson area.

Meeting Time:  8.30 am

Where: Behind the State School at Biddeston. 

Directions:  Approximate travel distance round trip from Toowoomba 120km. Car pooling is advised. Members, please refer to your newsletter for details. Non-members, please email toowoombafieldnaturalists@gmail.com if you need more information.

Activities: 1. A Land for Wildlife property south of Mt Tyson has approx. 70 ha of retained habitat which is a mixture of Mountain Coolibah, Belah, White Cypress, and an understorey of acacia, vine thicket species and grasses. Our walk will be mainly along a cleared fence line allowing easy access for all participants. 

2. Irongate Conservation Park.  Following morning tea on the property we will continue approx. 10km to the park on Wallingford Road.  The park preserves three fairly distinct vegetation groups based on Mountain Coolibah in the north east, Brigalow along the road to the west and Belah forming an arc around the southern boundary. This 29ha ‘accidental’ reserve was sold to the state government in 1976 and in 1994 a Pittsworth Landcare project led by John and Ruth Walter oversaw the creation of a 1500m easy, well maintained walking path through the park. 

What to Bring: morning tea, lunch, water, chair, sun protection and please wear closed shoes. 

NB. Please check our blog, or our Facebook page or email    toowoombafieldnaturalists@gmail.com as activities are subject to change if there are adverse weather conditions. 

Bush Orchid in a Mountain Coolibah
Photo: M. Simmons

Neil Mahoney’s seat of knowledge
Photo: M. Simmons

October 2025 Activity Details - Friday meeting, and Sunday outing to three attractions in the Murphy's Creek area.

Black-striped Wallaby Macropus dorsalis 
Photo: By Queensland government, the State of Queensland.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species-search/details/?id=914, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=141450561

CLUB MEETING: 7 pm, Friday 3 October 2025  

Speaker: Libby Moodie
Title: ‘The Reintroduction of the Grey Wolf to Yellowstone National Park: A Howling Success?’

Summary: In 1982, Libby spent the American Summer working as a volunteer for the US National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Yellowstone National Park. Over that  Summer, she was engaged in rewriting and updating management plans which included reintroducing wolves to the park, as well as travelling to the far reaches of the park with the Fish and Wildlife staff, assisting with backcountry stream surveys.
The last wolves were deliberately extirpated from Yellowstone National Park in 1926. With the advantage of knowledge from long-term ecological studies of predator-prey relationships, park policies changed.  The first Grey Wolf  was  reintroduced to the park in 1995,  where they have since thrived.  The reintroduction of wolves to the park, after an absence of many decades, has caused significant changes to the ecology of the park, affecting the dynamics of both flora and  fauna in positive ways.

St. Anthony’s Community Centre, Memory Street, Toowoomba. The speaker's presentation is followed by official business and supper. 

CLUB OUTING: Sunday 5 October 2025. Three attractions in the Murphy's Creek area.

Meeting Time:  9 am

Where: Jessie's Cottage, Murphy's Creek.

Directions:  Follow the New England highway north and turn right at the Mt. Kynoch lights, (clearly signed Spring Bluff and Murphy’s Creek) for 14 kms. to the town. Turn left over the railway line and left again around the perimeter of the sports oval to the cottage (signed 'Jessie’s Cottage'). More about the cottage.

Activities: 1. A brief orientation and tour of this historical museum. This cottage was built by the Taylor family (early Scots settlers) in 1899. The neighbourhood trust of Murphy’s Creek restored the cottage in 1996 as a community hub and is now a local history museum with information of locals from surrounding areas.

2. We leave at 9:45 for Second Chance Macropod sanctuary to meet our hosts, Catherine Buchanan and John Kirk.  While we have morning tea Catherine will talk of their long- term experiences and endeavours in the rescue and rehabilitation of macropods and other wildlife. Morning tea will be here.

From Humane World for Animals website:

"Second Chances spans across 128 hectares of heavily forested land dominated by eucalypts, acacia species and native grasses. Wildlife present on the property includes red-necked wallabies (Macropus rufogriseus), eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), black-striped wallabies (Macropus dorsalis), brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) and various microbats. Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) have been heard in the area. A wide range of birdlife including wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax) and yellow-tailed black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus) are also seen throughout the property."

3. Spring Bluff Railway Station. We will retrace our route to have lunch at this historical venue. This station was built in 1864-1867, employing 1600 men, with engineer Robert Ballard. It was the main Ipswich – Toowoomba line (5- hour trip). The Main Range (later Spring Bluff) station carried passengers, timber, dairy and other produce. The area was quite a social hub. The station and gardens are now maintained by the Spring Bluff Trust. There is an easy walking circuit (approx. 20 minutes) with interesting bird life and vegetation. More about Spring Bluff Railway Station.

What to Bring: suitable footwear for walking in the bush, a chair, morning tea, and lunch.