NATIVE coastal plants at the Mossman Nursery are getting ready to improve coastlines and grow jobs in Douglas Shire.
Douglas Shire Council staff are carefully growing a variety of native plants as part of the Reef Assist program – a $10 million Queensland Government program aimed at creating environmental jobs in the Great Barrier Reef catchment areas.
Council has partnered with local business, Papillon Landscapes, to deliver a coastal rehabilitation project and give local jobseekers hands-on horticultural experience.
As part of the funding program, Council has also employed a nursery technician to care for plants at the nursery.
Papillon Landscapes’ Kim Murphy and DSC Nursery Technician Michael Sawyer are growing beach lettuce for upcoming coastal re-vegetation projects.
Project Manager Melissa Mitchell said the project will see more native plants, such as beach lettuce (scaevola taccada), pop up on Douglas coastlines.
“The coastal dune rehabilitation project will help Council protect its sensitive foreshore vegetation,” she said.
“Our team is putting a lot of work into growing these plants and getting them ready to be on the frontline of dune protection.
“We are really excited to work with Papillon Landscapes to give local jobseekers a valuable experience in horticulture.”
Council is also developing Foreshore Management Plans for Wonga Beach, Newell Beach, Cooya Beach, Four Mile Beach and Oak Beach.
A Foreshore Management Plan is designed to guide the management of foreshore zones within the Douglas Shire.
They are being developed to better identify how the natural character of the area, as well our foreshore zones can be managed to maintain as protecting their environmental, cultural, recreational and social values.
The plans will inform dune protection, including weed species for removal, native vegetation species for regeneration, and pedestrian and vehicle access management.
There will be several opportunities for people to get involved in the development of the Foreshore Management Plans and the first opportunity is a survey which can be accessed online here:
The survey closes on 23 April 2021.
