IRF News: September Update

September has been a hectic month for the IRF team, with less than four weeks to go before the 22nd International Riversymposium. We have quite a number of events, activities, and launches scheduled for this years Symposium, including:

• IRF's Resilient Rivers Blueprint Founding Partners and Guiding Principles Launch
• Healthy Land and Water's Report Card Launch
• Griffith University's Ian Potter Launch
• and of course the 20th anniversary Riverprize Gala Dinner

If you're in Brisbane in October, we encourage you to come to the Riverprize Gala Dinner, which is open to everyone, whether you're attending the Symposium or not. Full registration pricing and the group discount deals for the Riversymposium ends next Monday 30 September. We hope to see you there to enjoy the exciting five-day program we have prepared!

Thank you for your continued support,

The International RiverFoundation team

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated!

With over 1000 events and activities across 6 continents and more than 70 countries, we hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and a big thank you for helping us celebrate World Rivers Day 2019.

"Your effort to protect and restore rivers is vital to the future health of our planet, a message that is resonating with many around the world. And to see what is now one of the planet’s biggest environmental celebrations focusing on our waterways is very special." - Mark Angelo, WRD Chair

Thank you to everyone who tagged or mentioned us in their posts, your participation and initiative is what makes World Rivers Day a success every year.

Sponsor Spotlight: Benefits flow beyond borders | Ipswich City Council

Ipswich City is fortunate to have the Bremer River flowing through the city centre and the Brisbane River along our northern boundary. These rivers – which weave their way through mountain peaks, rural landscapes, suburban backyards and urban centres - add enormous value to our city. A number of creeks within Ipswich feed into both rivers, and while the majority of the local government area lies within the lower Bremer River catchment, the upper catchment areas are within Scenic Rim catchment while the north-eastern and north-western parts are directly on the Brisbane River catchment. Thus Ipswich supports a cooperative regional approach to catchment management.

Ipswich City Council is a proud member of the SEQ Council of Mayors Resilient Rivers initiative, which enables that important cross-boundary approach to improving the health of our waterways and their abilities to recover from disturbances such as extreme weather events. An example of the positive outcomes this collaborative approach can achieve was recent project in the Upper Black Snake Creek catchment where 10,550 native trees were planted to establish deep-rooted vegetation on the upper mid-slopes of the surrounding hills of Marburg and Tallegalla. With the catchment’s salinity and pathogen levels identified as a key risk to the operational security of the Mount Crosby Water Treatment Plant (and the drinking water supply of three million people) it was an important regional project with a long-term aim of lowering the saline ground water table, improving the stability of the slopes and slowing the movement of surface water.

When it comes to the resilience of our waterways and the regional health of our catchments, Ipswich City Council is proud to work in collaboration with our neighbours and other stakeholders so the benefits can flow throughout the whole system.