Yandina Creek Wetland maintenance
Preserving and enhancing access to a vital wetland ecosystem while monitoring water quality
Maintaining wetland systems to support water quality and ecosystem health.
Healthy Land & Water is supporting the ongoing maintenance and monitoring of Unitywater’s Yandina Creek Wetland. This project is funded by Unitywater as part of its commitment to sustainability and the environmental goal of net-zero nutrients to waterways by 2040.
The Yandina Creek Wetland maintenance project focuses on maintaining safe access throughout public walking tracks and wetland viewpoints, preserving vehicle access on designated restricted tracks, and enhancing environmental quality through strategic weed control and regular monitoring.
The project addresses the challenges of maintaining this 191-hectare coastal lowland property that was historically drained and cultivated for sugar cane production. Since Unitywater acquired the site in 2016, it has been transformed into an estuarine tidal wetland that serves as a nutrient-offset project while improving water quality in the Maroochy River..
What we are doing
Assessment of water condition.The project focuses on:
- Maintaining both public and restricted access tracks to ensure safety and accessibility.
- Implementing strategic weed control to improve environmental quality.
- Conducting regular vegetation and water quality monitoring to track ecosystem health.
- Supporting Unitywater's corporate sustainability goals.
Measuring success
As a result of the projects, the following will be achieved:
- Management of declared and environmental weeds to protect native ecosystems.
- Track and public access maintenance to ensure community safety and accessibility.
- Vegetation monitoring on six plots.
- Evaluation of trends in tidally inundated vegetation communities.
- Assessment of water quality to monitor environmental trends and changes as the site develops into a complex and thriving estuarine ecosystem.
Why these project are important
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After Unitywater acquired this 191-hectare coastal lowland property in 2016, select tidal gates along Yandina Creek were removed in 2018, allowing the return of tidal saltwater to the wetland. The site now serves multiple important functions, including operating as a nutrient offset site and improving water quality in the Maroochy River. Through collaboration with the Sunshine Coast Council, which purchased adjacent property in 2019-2020, public access paths have been established, allowing the community to connect with and appreciate this valuable ecosystem. |
Project snapshot
| Project name: | Yandina Creek Wetland Maintenance |
| Project manager: | Margie Dickson, Healthy Land & Water |
| Catchment: | Maroochy |
| Timing: | 2023-2025 |
| Partnerships: | This program is funded by Unitywater. |
Project collaborators
This program is funded by Unitywater.
