Community
5 February, 2021
Wetland Wonderland
CATTANA Wetlands volunteers marked International Wetlands Day on Tuesday by inviting gardening enthusiasts and nature lovers with spare time on their hands to join their merry band of green thumbs.
The group, who call themselves the Jabirus after a variety of stork that inhabit the manmade lake system, meet at the wetlands every Tuesday to undertake general maintenance such as planting, revegetation and landscape management.
It was also the group’s first official day back for 2021 with members passionate to promote and protect their “hidden gem” after Cairns Regional Council (CRC) spent $1.5 million last year to upgrade the area.
“We would love more volunteers and we also want to promote people wanting to know about the Cattana Wetlands because the Council spent a lot of money in the last two years there upgrading all the pathways and interpretive signs,” said Jabiru founding member Prue Fitzpatrick.
“It’s beautiful, it’s a hidden gem.”
Ms Fitzpatrick said there was a role to suit anyone and at any level of fitness too.
“We’ve got someone who likes painting the park benches, we’ve got another one with a bad back who likes whipper snipping, another one likes blowing the pathways, someone else loves planting hedges so there’s a whole variety of jobs you can do,” she said.
The Cattana Wetlands volunteers are part of the CRC run Green Space Our Place program which provides opportunities for residents to maintain local greenspaces that are challenging to access.
New Jabiru recruit Elaine Harrison said her love of gardening drew her to the program but there were many more benefits to volunteering.
“I like to volunteer because I like the physical exercise but then I started to see the friendships forming so it keeps me coming each week,” she said.
Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Council’s Volunteer Supervisor on 4032 6648 or 0429 983 252.
