Plant life in parks

FEP has been involved in preparation and publication of books relevant to the plant life found in the parks where members volunteer. 

A plant life page has lists of plants found in several of the parks and details of plants featured in the Hancock Street Microforest. The seed collection page holds instructions provided by Crows Nest Community Nursery for collecting seeds of native plants found in the parks and lists of when and where to undertake collection.

Parks Week

Parks Week is an annual Australia wide event celebrating the vital role parks play in enhancing our lives and improving our wellbeing. FEP showcases one of our bushland parks each year, inviting the community to participate in bird, butterfly, plant, and spotlighting walks, and information stalls.

Our 2023 Parks Week event at Charles and Motee Rogers Reserve featured the book launch of the FEP publication “Plants of Charles and Motee Rogers Reserve” by Greg Spearitt.

The 2024 event was held at J E Duggan Park and featured a bush kindy experience led by Ms Tiffany Gessler, a proud First Nations woman and a geology talk and walk by Dr Edwin Willey, honorary Senior Lecturer University of Southern Queensland.

In 2025 FEP planned to showcase Williams Park, a unique rainforest gully in Highfields. Unfortunately the planned date coincided with the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Alfred and the event had to be cancelled.

In 2026 FEP has planned the equivalent of its Parks Week showcase to coincide with the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers. FEP’s Carnival in the Bush will take place in Duggan Bushland Park on Sunday, 20 September with a varied program of events for all ages and abilities.

Land for Wildlife

Duggan Bushland Park, Nielsen Park, and Hancock Street Park now have Land for Wildlife status.

Hancock Street Park Microforest

In 2022 FEP members were inspired to regenerate a neglected parcel of land to create an authentic forest ecosystem that would provide habitat for local species, and contribute to climate cooling and carbon storage. Bev, the Park Care coordinator for Hancock Street Park, and Rob ,the Park Care coordinator for Nielsen Park, identified the perfect location for this project which was a 600 m² plot at the southern end of Hancock Street Park in Rangeville. This land belonged to Hancock Street Park but had been cleared of all vegetation and was supporting only grass. The location was significant as it could extend the endangered ecosystem of Hancock Street Park and provide a wildlife corridor to adjoining private bushland.

FEP applied for a Queensland Government Sustainability Grant, alongside a Toowoomba Regional Council Environment Grant, was successful in both, and commenced planning the microforest. This process followed the Miyawaki method of mini-forest creation. This method creates a climax forest community on barren land through careful soil preparation, dense planting of all layers of an ecosystem, and mulching. Plants are then tended by regular watering and weeding for the first one to two years of their life.

We identified the correct species composition for this ecosystem, prepared a plant list, and enlisted the support of Crows Nest Community Nursery to grow the plants for us, using local genetic material wherever possible. Planting has taken place in three stages over three major community planting days with more than 150 participants in total. Approximately 1500 plants have been planted and the project has been very successful. It is the first project of its type in South East Queensland and is part of the worldwide mini-forest movement. Further information is available on the Microforest project page.