Dear Friends,

The last month of the financial year is already upon us and I suspect that like me, you are very busy in your professions, families and pursuits.

I just wanted to send a shout out to the people in our amazing industry. You work hard by delivering amazing and sustainable outcomes. You are passionate and persist, even when things are hard. You collaborate and bring your best ideas together.

I recently saw a completed project along Kedron Brook, in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, where our combined skills helped the community to recover from the 2022 floods. Local residents were impacted by the extensive damage to waterways and so the call was made for a crew of stormwater and waterway professionals to undertake the mammoth task of repairing the destruction. The combined efforts of these scientists, engineers, landscape architects, biologists, geomorphologists and construction crews have resulted in a successful restoration, while making the waterways more resilient and appealing to people and wildlife.

I also had the opportunity to join international experts on a walk through Hanlon Park/Bur’uda, as part of the Symposium on Urbanisation and Stream Ecology (SUSE). The rewilding of this beautiful waterway is an excellent solution for the preservation of native fish and birds, as well as many residents enjoying the transformed environment. If you aren’t familiar with this project, it recently won the Stormwater Australia Award for Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design. The ABC Gardening Australia did a segment on it in May this year, click here to view. I hope you will get a chance to visit and enjoy this tremendous achievement.

Wherever you are in the industry, keep up the good work. Don’t give up, you are making a difference.