When I moved to Emerald in 2005, I wanted to get involved in the environment - and Johns Hill Landcare was the perfect group – local, active, committed. I started with the Wednesday weeding group along the Puffing Billy Railway line at Menzies Creek, worked on plantings at various places and went to an AGM where I put my hand up to be Treasurer and was handed the proverbial shoe box filled with bits of paper.

Somewhere along the line I became President. Covid – the pandemic, the lockdowns, the fears and disruption to volunteering – has set us back, but we’re still here. MS Teams saw us through online meetings, and our Committee stayed together.

We have projects on Pepisland, at Butterfield Reserve, Avonsleigh Common – but my favourite is back where I started on the Puffing Billy line – with an Indigenous Garden on the Kilvington Drive crossing. Both Johns Hill Landcare and Puffing Billy agree that we can do so much better than a rusting pile of railway materials. We’ve already completed Stage 1 – the Grass Garden, and PBR has recently removed more stuff so we can start on Stage 2. When it’s completed, we will have all the indigenous species in a pleasant walk through garden.