Friends of Whites Hill Reserve

31/08/2026

Here's a great initiative designed to protect local wildlife AND IT'S FREE!
Leave It has teamed up with Brisbane City Council to offer free dog training sessions in local parks.

On SATURDAY 19TH SEPTEMBER from 8.30 to 9.30am

they will be hosting a free session at Whites Hill reserve
Follow this link to register https://www.leaveit.com.au/free-dog-training-brisbane-city/
These short, practical sessions focus on two of the most important cues for keeping your dog and wildlife safe:
🗣️ Recall (come when called)
🐨 Leave it (ignore wildlife and distractions)

Join a free dog training session at a Gold Coast park with Leave It. Teach your dog recall, calm behaviour, and wildlife awareness.

26/08/2026

Learn about wildflowers on our doorstep this coming Saturday!

This wildflower walk will take you through both established and newly planted areas coming into bloom.
With a focus on flowering native shrubs, groundcovers, grasses, and small trees, the regeneration site showcases how you can grow a " wildflower pollinator garden" in your own backyard and attract diverse native bee, butterfly, moth, beetle, and bug species.

To find out more and register click here

Join us for a guided interpretive session at Mt Gravatt Showgrounds Wildflower Forest exploring pollinator insect-flower relationships.

25/08/2026

Bird Flu is here. If you see a sick bird don't touch it, but report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline @ 1-800-675-888

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19YRerTqBM/

This is my first post about bird flu. I’ve found it difficult to write because, like so many others, my heart breaks for our wildlife.⁣⁣

What I haven’t seen reported is when did bird flu become so deadly in the first place.⁣⁣

Avian influenza has existed naturally in wild birds for millennia, usually in relatively mild forms. But the highly pathogenic H5 lineage behind today’s crisis was first identified in poultry overseas in 1996. It became established across poultry populations, including high-density industrial farming. We didn’t eradicate it, allowing the virus to persist and evolve.⁣⁣

So a virus that had existed naturally in wild birds for millennia passed through an agricultural system created by humans and spilled back into wild populations in a far more devastating form.⁣⁣

Since 2020, one descendant, H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, has spread extraordinarily successfully through wild birds, travelling through Europe, North and South America, Antarctica and now Australia.⁣⁣

I feel this history is important. If human systems created the conditions for today’s crisis, we also have a responsibility to help wildlife facing the consequences. Protecting habitat by reducing land clearing and old-growth logging, controlling invasive species and reducing other pressures gives birds greater resilience to withstand outbreaks like this.⁣⁣

For updates in Australia go to BirdFlu.gov.au follow Wildlife Health Australia and BirdLife Australia

We can also help track its spread. If you see sick or dead wild birds or marine mammals, don’t touch them. Record what you see and call the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline: 1800 675 888. AVOID, RECORD, REPORT.⁣⁣

We may not all be able to direct funding or make policy, but we can listen, support and cheer on those pushing for better funding, protection and care for birds.⁣⁣

I’ve been fortunate to know scientists, ornithologists, wildlife carers, conservation-focused zoos and museum curators who care deeply. We live in an imperfect world, but there are still so many good humans trying to right our wrongs. Let’s help them however we can.⁣

Photo of Adélie penguins nesting in East Antarctica by Dr Louise Emmerson for the AAD.

22/08/2026

We had a fun and productive time we had at our planting event on Friday with a group from Engeny Consulting who came along to help us with some Bushcare in the reserve.
After meet-up and introductions near the playground Gary led the group across to the Jones road side of the reserve, taking the opportunity to enjoy the views from the Summit, learn about the reserve and spot a few koalas along the way.
On arrival at the creek area we enjoyed a tasty morning tea before we got to work planting and weeding.
Our team of volunteers planted Lomandras and trees to rehabilitate along by the creek and did a great job watering all of our recent plantings in preparation for the expected dry weather to come.
Thanks for your help guys and I hope you had a good time.

20/08/2026

Looking for an outdoor activity this coming Sunday morning? Join the Whites Hill Walkers as they take a ramble through Whites Hill Reserve. We meet at the Jones Road entrance for 8AM and usually spend an hour or more looking for wildlife - especially koalas - and early flowering plants. No charge and open to anyone, any age. No need to register, just rock on up!

16/08/2026

We had a good crowd along for our monthly Bushcare event this morning. We were working again in the dry creek near Jones road planting, weeding, watering and tending to the fauna drinking tubes. We had a few groups on the go doing various jobs and as we had the luxury of the Ute loaded up with water we were able to give all our plantings young and old a good drink.
Once the planting was done we spot weeded some polka dot plant and also the guinea grass popping up around our established Lomandras.
The drinking tubes got new straps so they are a lot more secure and we now have four other people who are competent at tube servicing level 1! ;) Gary may have lost his job?!
Phyllis yet again provided a tasty morning tea and a couple of volunteers were presented with their Bushcare shirts in a most moving ceremony.
I expect our September Bushcare to be in the same location and it will be watering judging by the weather forecast.

12/08/2026

What a cracking sunny morning we had for session 6 of our junior Bushcare group.
Being the Ekka public holiday, we were blessed with a good turnout which included members of the Camp Hill girl guides.
After checking everyone in and arming them with binoculars we headed off for a short bushwalk to the Summit hoping to spot a few interesting things. We learnt how Whites Hill got it’s present name from Robert White, the late 19th century owner, and how his tea house at the summit was once the most popular recreational destination in Brisbane. It has over the last 60 years seen life as a quarry, a city dump and is now, once again, a very popular sports and recreational destination.
On our walk we spotted 5 koalas, learnt a bit about the geology (it’s very rocky), the koala trees, the native plants and the weeds and how the local animals are being squeezed by surrounding development.
On our return we played a very entertaining and educational game of ‘Predator and Prey’ during which the kids learnt it’s hard to survive when your habitat is shrinking and even harder when feral animals such as cats make life harder still.
After all that excitement it was time for morning tea and a chat about the local Australian Conservation Foundation Wild At Art contest https://www.acf.org.au/wild-at-art.
The competition is a fantastic opportunity for primary school children to unleash their artistic creativity while learning about Australia's threatened animals and plants.

09/08/2026

Today's Bush Walk Sunday August 9th 2026 - With our 'Peaks to Points' guests we were 43 walkers today, spotting 14 koalas in all, which included several at the top of the stairs overlooking the quarry. Below is our friend Sharyn Bartlem's excellent walk summary. Thank you Sharyn
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HnLJWZBVU/

09/08/2026

Thanks again to Sharyn for some wonderful photographs from our guided bushwalk today

07/08/2026

Bushwalk Sunday August 9th - Meet the regular Whites Hill walkers and their 'Peaks to Point' guests at 8AM this Sunday. We'll begin at the children's playground and spend about two hours on a ramble through the Reserve. And we'll follow that up with conversation and goodies at our complementary morning tea afterwards. Everyone welcome. See you there!