October 21, 2025

Councillor Column Councillor Kate Milton 21 October

In the Natural Resource Management part of Hinchinbrook Shire Council, all is going well with Council staff controlling the eradication of weed species as identified through our Biosecurity Plan and management of feral pigs. There have been no positive reports of yellow crazy ants and no reports of any bird flu infestations.

Although there aren’t any reports of Varroa mite infestations in bee hives here yet, workshops are being held to inform beekeepers on ways to manage Varroa mite in their hives. If you are a commercial or recreational beekeeper, or even if you are interested in keeping bees, I would recommend that you attend these free workshops — they are very informative.

The next workshop is on Wednesday, the 19th of November at TYTO from 5:00pm–7:00pm. To register, ring Carla on 0467 236 135.

On Friday, the 7th of November, from 8:45am to 12pm, Council is partnering with Greening Australia to plant 1,500 native tree species in our TYTO Wetlands.

The area to be planted is infested with para grass and other weed species.

In an effort to control the weeds sustainably, we will be planting these trees and are asking anyone who is interested to come along, get their hands dirty, and enjoy planting the future with us.

Make sure you wear sun-protective clothing and closed-in shoes. You will be rewarded for your labour with a sausage sizzle after the event. It would be great if some of our schools were interested in joining us. Please register your interest (so we have enough snags!) by calling Council on 4776 4600.

A big shout-out to our Parks and Gardens staff who have been working very hard getting our parks looking lovely in preparation for the upcoming Maraka celebrations this October.