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Upcoming Lone Pine Sanctuary Research Centre in Fig Tree Pocket To Help Save Koalas

Located in Fig Tree Pocket, the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is the biggest and oldest koala sanctuary in the world. Inside the sanctuary is an abundant community of koalas, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, wombats, various reptiles, and other species. To support the sanctuary, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk committed a $2-million koala research centre to be finished in June 2018.

The planned research station will be built on riverside land. It will be located at the general entrance to the sanctuary. The council will also help by contributing $1.3 million over four years to aid with the scientific research.

Plans are also underway to expedite the purchase of a 750-hectare, privately-owned koala habitat which will be used to plant more koala food trees for the sanctuary.

The Welfare of the Koalas

Mayor Quirk said that the concept behind the new research facility is to make it available to the public. With it, they hope to spread awareness on the life of koalas and how Australians can contribute to lengthen the koalas’ lives and boost their reproduction.

Some parts of the research centre will be open to the public to allow visitors to become more aware of the lives and the issues that koalas are facing now. In urban areas, koalas lead difficult lives due to the destruction of their natural habitat areas. There have also been reports of dog attacks and incidents of chlamydia, causing the deaths of the koalas.

The research centre also aims to bring together universities and other institutions to advance life-saving research about the species.

Koala Conservation

Concern for the lives of koalas is growing. Koala guru Ruth Lewis from Ipswich is among those who have taken action to protect the marsupial. Ms Lewis is happy and proud that her suburb is looking after the koalas really well. Based on a study by Dr Bill Ellis, Ipswich is one of the areas that still maintain a large and healthy population of koalas.

The aim of conservationists is to save the whole species by procuring large areas for conservation of koalas. Agreements were made with private land-owners and community partners for a more effective implementation of their move towards conservation.

Ending the Deadly Epidemic

A vaccine is also going through trial to stop the chlamydia epidemic that is killing Australia’s koalas. There is a huge number of koalas that have been reported dead due to the deadly disease over the last two decades.

Chlamydia is caused by chlamydia pecorum, which is a bacterium that spreads from livestock from Europe. Antibiotics work on the early stage of the disease, but these don’t see to be enough.

Peter Timms of the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland has been developing a single-injection chlamydia vaccine that can deliver long-lasting protection. They tested the vaccine on 21 free-ranging koalas in Queensland’s Moreton Bay region. Six had early-stage chlamydia, whilst the other 15 were already chlamydia-free. After six months, the chlamydia-free koalas were not infected, despite the fact that half of the koalas in their habitat were infected.

However, the vaccine wasn’t a success because after nine months, three of the 21 vaccinated koalas became infected. Nevertheless, it still slowed down the spread of the disease. Mr Timms remains motivated and plans to vaccinate 50 wild koalas in Petrie.

With the research centre’s impending 2018 opening in Fig Tree Pocket, more koalas in the area can enjoy a better quality of life soon.

Photo credit: CC-BY/Kim/Flickr

Beekeeping Event to be Held in Kenmore, Aims to Go Beyond Sweet Talk

In anticipation of Honey Month this May, the Queensland Beekeepers Association(QBA), a group of apiarists and passionate beekeepers all over Australia, will host a talk called “Beekeeping: More Than Just Honey” from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the Kenmore Library in Kenmore Village on Thursday, the 20th of April. The event is free but bookings are required.

Beekeeping in Australia started in the 1820s, when Australians started keeping apiaries. Since then, beekeeping has become a flourishing business in all parts of Australia, including Kenmore and other areas in Queensland, where interest in beekeeping is very much alive.

A Sweet Deal

Beekeeping helps boost crop productivity in the horticulture sector. In Australia, commercial pollination is a growing sector of the beekeeping industry. The biggest sector of the beekeeping industry, though, is still honey production.

Australia is an exporter of honey. All honey has antibacterial properties but the champagne of all honeys, manuka honey, is widely sought for its healing and medicinal properties.

Manuka honey is produced with pollen from the Leptospermum tree species. New Zealand has two species of this plant, while Australia has over 80 species.

New Zealand currently dominates the lucrative world market, in terms of manuka honey exports. Manuka honey sells for up to $40 per kilogram. In New Zealand, the industry is worth an estimated $75 million a year, so there is a lot of export potential for manuka honey in Australia given the diversity of Leptospermum species.

Liquid Gold

In 2015, Capilano Honey, Australia’s largest honey producer completed a multimillion-dollar takeover of KirksBees, the Australia-based manuka honey producer. It then financed a study to see how Australian manuka compares with its New Zealand counterpart. The study will also look at different types of honeys made from different species of plants. Comvita, a medicinal honey producer, is also helping finance the project. Initial results have shown very similar properties between Australian manuka honey and its bestselling New Zealand counterpart.

According to Trevor Weatherhead, the executive director of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, New Zealand doesn’t really have a monopoly on manuka. “We have exactly the same plant that they have,” he said, adding that made-in-Australia manuka is similar in quality to New Zealand manuka.

Professor Liz Harry of the University of Technology in Sydney says that, “We should be reaping the benefits of Manuka honey, for farmers, beekeepers and for the medical solution it delivers.” She also said that as the public became more aware of the medicinal properties in honey, the price of honey will rise for producers.

She is also quick to point out that Australia produces many types of honey from commercial beekeeping. “All honey is anti-bactericidal, so not only will the value of Leptospermum species of honey increase, but the value of all honeys will increase because of public perception,” Prof. Harry said.

Big business notwithstanding, most beekeeping enterprises in Australia are family-run and operated. Reaching out to the public with more information on beekeeping is precisely what Queensland Beekeepers Association President Robert Dewar wants to do, with talks like the one that they have scheduled in Kenmore.

Photo credit: Melanie Vujkovic / ABC News

QBA aims to help more people become aware of the benefits and issues surrounding beekeeping in Australia, and how it will impact their local beekeeping business and their community.

Photo credit: CC-BY / Don Hankins / Flickr

Kenmore’s Kitty Kindy, A Purr-fect Place for Pampered Pets

Sarah Warner opened Kenmore’s first kitten kindergarten at the Aristocrats Feline Day Spa last month. Formerly a groomer and veterinary nurse, the 29-year-old Sarah talked about how she first came up with her unique idea.

While training in Sydney a few years back, Sarah heard about puppy preschools and kitten kindergartens. The kitten kindergarten and puppy preschool were pioneered by Kersti Seksel, an Australian veterinary behaviourist. Sarah observed that kitten kindergartens helped cats have a more positive behaviour.

Photo credit: CC-BY/Rachel Fisher/Flickr

Sarah began asking her clients questions about their cats and their needs. Using the data she had gathered, she decided to put up a local kitten kindergarten, anticipating the growing need in Kenmore for facilities to help educate owners about their pets, and focusing on first-time cat owners and those who are concerned with their cat’s behaviour.

“Things like, a lot of clients would say their adult cat has been jumping up on the bench for the past five years and they want to know how to stop it. The behaviours we want to see in the future are much easier if taught from early on,” she said.

The Kitten Kindergarten holds classes to provide opportunities for cats to socialise with other cats. Sarah also educates owners about basic medical care, de-sexing, nutrition, grooming, training and behavioural issues. Her classes also teach the owners to train their cats at home in things like training their kittens to use their scratching post.

The opening of the kitten kindergarten in Kenmore has caught the attention of many, including Ros Taber, the Director of Brisbane’s Pawsitive Connection. While she has been aware of the kitten kindergarten concept for quite some time, she believes that it has been only recently that cat owners have really considered it for their pets. She thinks that this shows that more people are establishing a stronger emotional connection with their cats.

Photo credit: Heikki Siltala / Wikimedia Commons

The kitten kindergarten allows owners, specifically in Kenmore, to adhere to the Brisbane City Council’s cat ownership rules. Now that cat registration is no longer required by the Queensland Government, it is doubly important for owners to ensure their cat’s good behaviour.

With Kenmore’s kitty kindy, cats and their humans can benefit from a smoother integration in the home and outside, in the community. Good cat behaviour creates a “purr-fect” environment for our feline friends to flourish and thrive. And since learning works both ways, the kitty kindy also helps teach cat owners to take better care of their pets.

Funky New Pizza Restaurant Arrives In Kenmore

When it comes to having pizza, anytime is the perfect time. Last 23 March, Kenmore welcomed a Neighbourhood Pizza, a new addition to the neighbourhood at Moggill Rd. Jordan Lomas, formerly of Two Trees cafe, has opened this 53-seat that has made this cool Western suburb even cooler, with its creative pizza flavors, carefully curated beverage menu and good vinyl music.

After Two Trees cafe, Lomas knew it was time to venture in a different direction. After narrowing down what people love these days to pizza, good drinks, and cool interiors, he started working on this project. He drew inspiration from a trip to Japan, where he was pleasantly surprised to discover some of the best New York-style pizza that he has tasted. Lomas wanted to give the same experience to the locals at Kenmore.

In a bid to recreate his Japanese experience, Lomas and his team aim to keep things simple and to use only the finest ingredients for their pizza selection. His local architect Kirsty Hetherington, helped him recreate the clean, minimalist interiors with authentic New York pizza parlour touches that made his vision come to life. A neon sign outside the restaurant draws the locals to come in and see what they have to offer.

“We just want to be a place where you can eat great food. We want to have some fun with it so, for example, we’ll be doing eggplant parmie-crumbed eggplant-pizza and there will also be a meatball pizza. I guess we’ll be leaning more New York in style,” Lomas said.

Photo credit: The Weekend Edition / https://www.facebook.com/neighbourhoodbne/

The opening menu of Neighbourhood Pizza features five classic pizza options and several starters. For those who like pineapples on their pizza, their Hawaiian pizza is a must-try topped with capocollo ham and chili. The eggplant parmigiana is also worth digging into with its gooey blend of mozzarella, confit garlic, and basil for that delicious mouthful of flavours that go perfectly together.

Neighbourhood Pizza also conveniently pairs their pizza selection with boutique Australian wines like Mac Forbes and Ministry of Clouds. Their beer, which mimics American pale ale, is made by Lee from White Lies Brewing. A perfect cross between American and Australia, with touches of the Land of the Rising Sun in its interior styling, Neighbourhood Pizza is a blend of the familiar and the unique, with its out-of-the-box approach to down-home comfort.

Elevating the place to a funky new level is Lomas’ collection of vinyl records, which diners can enjoy listening to, while they enjoy the service and the happy hour deals that are planned for the coming months. At present, Neighbourhood Pizza offers dinner service, but stay tuned for their upcoming lunch service.

Photo credit: Google Maps

Measles Alert In Kenmore

A measles epidemic is spreading in Brisbane, after a Kenmore resident returning from overseas was diagnosed with it. The man is believed to have visited the Coles supermarket in Kenmore last week.

This is the 10th measles case diagnosed in Queensland this year. Measles, which is highly contagious, is a viral infection of the respiratory system. It is spread in the air through coughing and sneezing. The disease is characterized by a red rash of small red spots that spreads throughout the body. Initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, a runny nose, moist cough, inflamed eyes. Symptoms begin about 10 days after contact, and is considered contagious four days before the rash appears and up to four days after. A person with measles will contract high fever as the rash spreads throughout the body.

People who suspect they have measles should see a doctor for proper medication, and get full bed rest and drink plenty of fluids until after the measles runs its course.

Measles vaccines are also recommended for children and adults.

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Kenmore Traffic Jams Under Scrutiny: Is the $560 Million Kenmore

A Kenmore bypass study conducted by the RACQ shows that building it would help ease the traffic on the Centenary Motorway, which has motorists crawling on the highway especially at peak hours.

Current driving speeds at the Centenary Motorway can slow down to 19 km/h at peak hours. The speed limit is 100 km/h.
The 4-lane bypass (two lanes at each section), if built, would run from Mogill Road in Pullenvale to the Centenary Motorway at Fig Tree Pocket.

The Kenmore Bypass Planning Study has just finished, but currently there is no decision to fund or build it.