Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve: 2017

Friday, September 22, 2017

Confirmed Koala Sighting at Rogers Reserve Highfields

22nd September 2017

We have received a confirmed Koala Sighting at the Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve on 22nd September 2017. The Koala was seen "spotlighting" with a thermal camera about 9pm by two local ecololgists. It was located near the big split stump in a small tallowood on the edge of the forest straight opposite the highschool. About 100m down Polzin road where the path goes in.

We are very grateful for the email report of this sighting from a trusted source.

J.G.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Locals collecting litter regularly at the Reserve

Local resident, Liam is one of the many local people in the Highfields region who picks up litter in the Rogers Reserve and surrounding streets and parks, to keep them looking their best. Thankyou Liam for this update on your work.

" Out this beautiful morning in Highfields walking through Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, near the library. I picked up half a bag of rubbish. McDonald's cups, pizza boxes, ice cream wrappers. Plenty of rubbish for everyone to pickup. We can bury our heads in the sand or we can help Mother Nature." Liam Kelly, 27 July 2017

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Last Chance to have your Say about the Future of the Charles & Motee Rogers Busland Reserve

Tomorrow, Friday 7th July is the communities last chance to have their say about the future and fate of the Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve.

If you have not already done so, please sign the following petitions and leave your feedback for TRC on their Have your Say site:

For further information on the impact that the proposed Highfields Town Plan will have for the Endangered Ecosystem - please visit this link on our site.

On behalf of the Friends of Rogers Reserve and the extended Rogers family, I would like to thank everyone who has signed the petition, spoken up at meetings, written to councillors and the newspapers and offered support. The rest now is up to the TRC Councillors.... may they be inspired by this poignant quote from former Crows Nest Shire Council Mayor Geoff Patch.

Judi Gray

Monday, May 8, 2017

Highfields Iconic Parks Walk

The general public is welcome to join The Friends of Rogers Reserve, this morning in a walk through of Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve at 9am or 12.30pm. Find out more about the Reserve and the work that volunteers have been doing over the last 3 and a half years. Meet at 9am at the community court entrance next to the sports centre.

Friday, April 28, 2017

Save the Rogers Reserve - Episode 2 2017

The Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve consists of over 6 hectares of Remnant Dry Rainforest Vegetation, and is one of the last remaining examples of it's kind in the Highfields Region. It is classed as an Endangered Ecosystem (Regional Ecosystem 12.5.6) under Queensland Legislation's National Vegetation Management Act and a Biodiversity "Area of Ecological Significance" on the Toowoomba Regional Planning Scheme.

Toowoomba Region Council have proposed a new Highfields Draft Cultural Master Plan, which treats with contempt, a generous bequest of land made by Charles & Motee Rogers almost 24 years ago. We are not protesting plans for a new library or community space, but it is an environmental crime to encroach on a precious endangered ecosystem, iconic to our town, in any way for these plans.

VIEW ALL OF THE DETAILS HERE:

http://rogersreserve.blogspot.com.au/p/save-reserve-2017.html

An opportunity to respond, telling council that we would like the library, but not on the site of the precious reserve is not offered to us, hence the need for this petition.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION HERE

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Native White Punk Fungi discovered at Reserve

During the Clean-Up Australia Day 2017 volunteer Event at the Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve this year, one of the volunteers noticed this unusual looking large white fungi on the ground amongst the forest floor mulch under some Sydney Blue Gum trees. It resembled a piece of old foam from a distance, until closer inspection discovered that it was in-fact a large fungi.

Photos were taken in comparrision with hand-size and sent off the Fungi experts at South East Queensland Fungi Group for identification.

Megan Prance tells us that the fungi is Laetiporus portentosus which holds a funny common name of "White Punk". Megan says that "It would have been growing a few metres up a nearby Eucalypt. The insects eat out the flesh and leave a skeleton like mass. A new one will probably grow on the Eucalypt".

Laetiporus portentosus White Punk Fungi, Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields, March 2017

Thank you Megan for sharing your expertise for the identification of this massive fungi.

J.G.

Further Details:

Laetiporus portentosus

White Punk

Conservation Status: Not Listed

Scientific Classification

Class:

Agaricomycetes

Order:

Polyporales

Family:

Fomitopsidaceae

Genus:

Laetiporus

Species:

portentosus

Clean Up Australia Day 2017 Rogers Reserve Highfields

The fourth annual Clean-Up Australia Day Event was again held at the Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve in Highfields, organized by the Friends of Rogers Reserve Volunteer Group.

A large number of volunteers and children turned out to do their part to 'Keep Australia Beautiful" and to show their love for the reserve.

It was another successful event with 2 1/2 bags of rubbish and one bag of recycling collected. This is a very good result for such a large area frequented by the public.

We are grateful for the members of the public who pick up rubbish within and around the Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve on their daily walks, and also for the new installation of a wheelie bin at the reserve entrance by Toowoomba Regional Council, so that people can dispose of their rubbish correctly and conveniently.

Thank you to everyone who attended and for your community spirit. See you again next year!

J.G.

A few of the Clean-Up Australia Day 2017 Volunteers about to begin the clean-up at the Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields, Toowoomba Region.

Our youngest and cutest volunteer this year, young Zeb and his mother Talisha who did a fabulous job during the Clean Up Australia Day Event at Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve Highfields.

Clean-up Volunteer, young Zeb, keen to get started in a messy spot off the reserve walking track.

Some of the Clean up Australia Day Volunteers, before starting the Clean-up in a messy patch within the reserve. It didn't take long to transform this area back to now nature intended it to be.

The 2017 Clean-up Australia Day final result, before we took it off for disposal and recycling at the Kleinton Refuse Station.

Judi Gray & Gary Alcorn from the Friends of Rogers Reserve Volunteer Group with at the end of the event.

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Nocturnal Animals of Rogers Reserve Highfields

7th January 2017 - A night time walk through a small section of the Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, discovered some beautiful nocturnal native animals. Our list from this visit included: