FIELD TRIPS
Field trips are included in full conference and Wednesday registration. Please select with your registration which field trip option you would like to attend on Wednesday 22 May 2024. Afternoon tea is included and please note that numbers are limited per tour. Please note that the long tour departs at 1.00pm. All field trips return by 5.30pm.
FT 1: Long Bus Tour – Referable dams (departs at 1pm)
South East Queensland has many dams that provide a flood mitigation and/or water storage function to assist the residents of Brisbane. Dams whose failure would put 2 or more people at risk are known as referable dams and are regulated under the Water Supply (Safety and Reliabilty) Act 2008.
This tour will visit a number of referrable dams located in South East Queensland, each dam differing in scale, purpose, operation and ownership. The tour seeks to present the history, function and operation of these dams and their role in recent flood events.
FT2: Short City Cat tour – Creating a Resilient River City
Brisbane seeks to be a city that lives well with flooding. This means ensuring that flooding is expected, designed and planned for. It means adapting our built form to the natural movement of water. It means developing communities that are resilient to weather extremes. Brisbane’s FloodSmart Future Strategy promotes an integrated mix of flood management tools, such as land use planning, emergency management, resilient buildings, assets and infrastructure and flood awareness. This tour seeks to explore some of the floodplain management tools in place in Brisbane.
FT3: Short Bus Tour – Delivering the Norman Creek Master Plan
Brisbane City Council’s Norman Creek 2012-2031 project aims to return the Norman Creek catchment to a more natural state. It also aims to revitalise it to be an environmental and recreational asset. This project covers an entire catchment of almost 30 square kilometres. It is the first whole of catchment urban water resources management project in Australia. It draws together all existing plans, ideas and rehabilitation activities to create a ‘big picture’ guide for the future of the catchment.
The project goals focus on:
- improvements to the health of the waterways and ecosystems
- sport and recreation opportunities
- living with Brisbane’s climate – flood and drought
- strengthening community connections (physical and social) within the catchment.
FT4: Short Bus tour – Kedron Brook
The Kedron Brook catchment comprises over 110 square kilometres of land in the north Brisbane suburbs of Ferny Grove, Mitchelton, Everton Park, Keperra, Enoggera, Stafford, Lutwyche, Kedron, Wooloowin, Clayfield, Nundah, Northgate, Toombul and Nudgee. The Kedron Brook was one of the hardest hit locations by the February 2022 severe weather event, with key sections of the bikeway, creek and surrounding green spaces critically impacted.
Many of the flood impacts in the brook are a result of large volumes of fast flowing water, which resulted in erosion and sediment movement. While these are natural processes in waterways, the sheer consistent volume and speed of water that resulted from this weather event contributed to damage across many locations in the Kedron Brook.