Latest Mackay Seaport News

MPA supports Mackay landcare conference

The Mackay Port Authority is a proud sponsor the Queensland Landcare Conference currently being held in Mackay.

The conference was officially opened by Mackay Mayor Julie Boyd last night and will close on Saturday, August 25, with a dinner at the Botanic Gardens.
MPA planning and environment manager Bill Boylson outlines the Kommo Toera Trail brochure and map to Queensland Landcare manager Emma Trigg and Reef Water Quality Protection Plan communications officer Helen McKee.

The theme for the conference is making a difference and is being hosted by the Pioneer Catchment and Landcare Group.

The conference includes trade displays, field trips and sessions by a number of keynote speakers concentrating on landcare and water management issues.

Member for Mackay and Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries Tim Mulherin will address the conference on Friday, August 24.

MPA planning and environment manager Bill Boylson said the authority was pleased to be associated with the 2007 conference.

The Mackay Port Authority is proud of is environmental credentials and is committed to the environment through sustainable conservation initiatives and policies covering landcare, water management, communications, training and planning at the city’s air and sea ports, he said.

The authority manages significant areas of land as conservation buffers. These areas provide enormous ecological value to our ports and are protected for future generations to enjoy.

Mr Boylson said the conference had generated additional interest in the MPA’s Kommo Toera Trail, or water walk, through the melaleuca conservation forest at Slade Point.

The 700 metre trail combines a pathway and boardwalk system that winds through the conservation forest. The trail gives visitors a first hand insight into the biodiversity of the area’s coastal flora and fauna.

These seasonal wetlands support an extensive range of native plants and animals from weeping paperbark trees to an abundance of seasonal water birds.

Interpretive signs have been positioned to compliment a detailed brochure that helps visitors traverse the trail.

The second stage of the “water walk” project was on the drawing board and would be linked to future development at the seaport. A quarter of the port’s land already has been set aside for conservation purposes.

The Kommo Toera Trail project was an initiative of the Mackay Port Authority and Mackay’s traditional owners, the Yuibera People and jointly funded by the MPA, State Government, Mackay Tourism and Development Bureau and the Heartland Community Development Employment Program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

The Kommo Toera Trail brochure and map can be downloaded on the MPA website http://www.mackayports.com/seaport/index.php