{"id":7390,"date":"2022-05-16T06:49:32","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T06:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/water-quality-science-forum-innisfail-copy-4\/"},"modified":"2022-05-16T07:34:05","modified_gmt":"2022-05-16T07:34:05","slug":"gulngay-wetland-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/gulngay-wetland-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Bringing back Gabun"},"content":{"rendered":"[mk_page_section bg_image=”https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/cardwell-and-edmund-kennedy-national-park-1675×683-1.jpg” bg_position=”center center” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_stretch=”true” enable_3d=”true” min_height=”500″ js_vertical_centered=”true” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” section_id=”donate” el_class=”donate-1″ sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”70px”][mk_fancy_title font_family=”none” align=”center”]GULNGAY WETLANDS RESTORATION PROJECT[\/mk_fancy_title][mk_padding_divider size=”67″][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][mk_page_section section_id=”great-1″ sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1563789112768{padding-right: 36px !important;padding-left: 0px !important;}” el_class=”great_header_left”][mk_padding_divider size=”100″ visibility=”hidden-nb”][mk_padding_divider size=”15″ visibility=”visible-sm”][mk_padding_divider visibility=”visible-tl”][mk_padding_divider size=”60″ visibility=”hidden-nb”][mk_padding_divider size=”20″ visibility=”visible-nb”][mk_padding_divider size=”5″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1652686297423{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Gulngay traditional owners are leading a new project to improve a Tully wetland system that flows to the ocean and Great Barrier Reef lagoon.<\/p>\n

Water-testing and fish surveys are underway at Gabun, or Barrett\u2019s Lagoon, as part of a bigger initiative that is also training up the younger generation and bringing them onto Country.<\/p>\n

Elder Doris Kinjun said Gulngay people were \u201criver people\u201d who remembered large numbers of \u2018gabun\u2019 – the Gulngay name for a small migratory gudgeon – in the lagoon system south-east of Tully.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we hardly see them there. This project is \u2018Bringing back Gabun\u2019,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is important here \u2013 the fish, the plants, the birds. We used to take grasses for weaving. The plants filter runoff from the land. Everything is connected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to bring life back to the lagoon. It’s a spiritual connection to us, to see the life return.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabun, or Barrett\u2019s Lagoon, is a deep freshwater wetland on the Tully-Murray coastal floodplain that borders cane farming land and is close to national park. At about six hectares, it is one of the district\u2019s largest wetlands and it links with other waterways and wetlands in wet season flood events.<\/p>\n

The Gulngay people\u2019s new project follows collaborative work over the last six years from cane farmers, traditional owners, Cassowary Coast Regional Council, Terrain NRM and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to remove hymenachne from the once weed-choked lagoon.<\/p>\n

For the new project, Gulngay people and Terrain NRM worked together to secure a Great Barrier Reef Foundation Healthy Water Grant. This project is funded by the partnership between the Australian Government\u2019s Reef Trust and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.<\/p>\n

Gulngay is working with Terrain to select sites for water quality monitoring – in inlet creeks beside cane paddocks and national park, at an outlet and in the lagoon itself \u2013 to gain a better understanding of lagoon health. Terrain is also helping with water quality monitoring training and data management, while TropWATER is working on fish surveys.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1563789122720{padding-right: 0px !important;padding-left: 34px !important;}” el_class=”great_header_right”][mk_padding_divider size=”170″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1652685899703{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\"\"[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1652686311654{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]The \u2018Bringing back Gabun\u2019 project includes training for Gulngay\u2019s young people in waterway weed management and using fire for weed control, as well as fish surveys, fish barrier assessments and project management.<\/p>\n

Results will be added to the region\u2019s water quality and coastal wetland data, and will be used for the annual Wet Tropics Waterway Health Report Card.<\/p>\n

Gulngay history and cultural knowledge will also be recorded.<\/p>\n

Clarence Kinjun is one of the traditional owners who recently began water sampling at the lagoon. He sees skilling up Gulngay\u2019s younger generations as a priority – to manage, restore and care for Country well into the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rivers, creeks, waterways and lagoons are important to Gulngay traditional owners,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cHealthy waters equal healthy reefs. We\u2019ve seen a lot of improvement at this lagoon over the years through working with everyone, and our hope is for our younger generations to carry on with this work in the future.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][mk_page_section el_class=”grean-btn-sec” sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column][mk_padding_divider size=”47″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_button dimension=”outline” url=”https:\/\/terrain.org.au\/what-we-do\/monitoring\/” align=”right” el_class=”green-btn” outline_skin=”custom” outline_active_color=”#175137″ outline_active_text_color=”#ffffff” outline_hover_bg_color=”#175137″ outline_hover_color=”#ffffff”]Read More[\/mk_button][mk_padding_divider size=”100″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][mk_page_section section_id=”great-1-blog” sidebar=”sidebar-1″][vc_column][mk_padding_divider size=”105″ visibility=”hidden-sm”][mk_fancy_title size=”28″ letter_spacing=”4″ margin_bottom=”0″ font_family=”none” align=”right” el_class=”terrain-title”]RELATED NEWS[\/mk_fancy_title][mk_padding_divider visibility=”hidden-sm”][\/vc_column][\/mk_page_section][vc_row fullwidth=”true” fullwidth_content=”false” id=”post_grid_filter_1″][vc_column][vc_column_text el_class=”grid_greate_3″ css=”.vc_custom_1598408950187{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\n

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