Reedy Creek

Reedy Creek Reserve, home to an intact patch of endangered Queensland coastal forest, has some very special neighbours.

One of them, the Loggerhead Turtle, is among the biggest marine turtles on earth, and regularly comes in from the Coral Sea to nest on nearby beaches that Bush Heritage manages. Another is the rare Grey Goshawk, which has been spotted within the reserve.

And then there are the most recent arrivals: people who've joined a nearby residential project that underpins our conservation work here.

Called Sunrise@1770, it's part of a 600-hectare coastal strip bought by Michael Myer in the 1990s.

They kept a quarter of the land for housing and shared areas of native vegetation, and donated the rest to Bush Heritage to manage as a nature reserve. Residents pay a levy that funds management of the reserve.

This is a superb example of how humans can help our non-human neighbours.

What we’re doing

‘The people who live at the neighbouring residential development Sunrise@1770 play an essential role in the protection and restoration of this reserve.'
– Reedy Creek's Reserve Manager, Mat McLean

As well as paying an annual environmental levy to look after the reserve, they also have to meet strict environmental guidelines, including using local native plants in their allotments.

Some residents even help with a turtle nest monitoring program on the beach abutting the reserve.

With the aim of protecting turtle eggs and young turtles, we regularly take concerted action to control foxes.

Revegetation work is also being carried out on the foreshore, to stabilise the dunes and protect nesting turtles from light pollution.

Further revegetation work is happening in cleared areas using endemic tree stock, and we're carefully managing areas of rare vine thicket rainforest, which have been degraded by unregulated recreation.

Because this reserve abuts a residential area, fire management is a priority for ecological and safety reasons.

Take a look around

Reedy Creek is open to visitors and includes a short but spectacular walk that will take you into the heart of a very special paperbark forest, rarely seen in such pristine condition. More on visiting Reedy Creek.

Cultural values

This reserve contains cultural heritage materials of interest to Aboriginal people. A cultural values assessment is planned to better understand the significance of the reserve.

When Michael Myer bought this land he gifted an additional parcel of land to the Traditional Owners.