An introduction

Australia has always been a place I had to explore one day; the hot roasted plains, the weirdly wonderful creatures, the charming laid back lingo of the locals. Thus when I was offered a place in the Master of International Nature Conservation programme (Lincoln University, NZ) I knew exactly where my required internship would take place. With the help of an Aussie at Lincoln University I was introduced to Alastair Freeman in the Threatened Species Unit (TSU) of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services (QPWS). 

From September 17th to December 7th I worked within QPWS. My main supervisor was Alastair Freeman - the last remaining member of the TSU of the Atherton Tablelands. The main projects I was involved in with Alastair were surveys and monitoring of the Johnstone river snapper (Elseya irwini). Alastair then helped me get involved with several other projects, much of this through two people: 
Jodie Eden: 
Volunteer coordinator of the Atherton Tablelands. My main involvement with Jodie was pest control and management, as well as threatened species surveys and monitoring. 

An exhausted team of volunteers after weeding for Coffea arabica  at Lake Barrine, Atherton Tablelands. 

Keith MacDonald:
TSU of the Atherton Tablelands. The activities with Keith centered around threatened plants surveys and collection.

Voucher collection of Denrobium johannis in Riniyurru National Park with K. MacDonald

I have been very lucky in the opportunities provided for me here; I was dragged up to Cape York and towed around the Tablelands with eyes wide at every passing new landscape and species. I have participated in monitoring programs for turtles, weed management, yellow bellied gliders, quolls and threatened plants. Then there have been surveys, habitat mapping and literature reviews. However, surprisingly enough, I feel I learned the most from the people that sit around the coffee table in the office or the campfire in the field. Rangers, resource managers, coordinators and researchers; all of these people have a fantastic insight into the inner workings of conservation in Queensland. I found that there is division in opinion over how much should be burnt and that although the public feels feeding cassowaries is a good idea it really is not in the species best interest. It has been interesting learning about the different laws and acts in Queensland and how people react to them as they filter down to their level. Those in the Atherton office, and in the parks I have visited, have welcomed me and have graciously answered the many questions I have thrown at them. I hope that within this internship I was half as useful and helpful to the people here as they have been to me.