bardon Archives - Page 9 of 9

Koala Survey to Help Create Green Zones in Bardon and Other Koala Habitat

A koala survey is being conducted to help create green zones that will protect bushland in Bardon, Mt Coot-tha, Wishart and other locations with high koala activity.

Brisbane City Council is using sniffing dogs to detect koala presence in 20 sites. The dogs are trained to locate koala scats (koala poo), which they can detect even after several months that the koala has moved away. Aside from detecting koala presence, the research is also studying gender, migration patterns and diseases plaguing the at-risk marsupial species.

“Between May and July, two highly trained detection dogs sniffed out 20 sites that Council has acquired as part of its Bushland Acquisition Program, to provide information on koala health, genetic diversity, breeding and movement behaviour,” said Acting Mayor Adrian Schrinner.

“The survey identified the presence of koalas at 17 of 20 sites explored, of which ten sites registered a significant amount of koala activity.”

Extremely high koala activity was observed in half of the bushlands surveyed over the past months. Among the areas with high koala activity are areas in Bardon, particularly in the Mt Coot-tha Reserve, Monoplane Street Park, and Bardon Esplanade Park.

Other areas with high koala activity include Belmont, Burbank, Mount Coot-tha, Wishart, Kuraby, McDowall, Anstead, Moggill, Alderley, Nathan and Mt Gravatt.

“Just three sites in the city’s southwest region were found to have no recent koala activity, Wally Tate Park (Kuraby), Blunder Creek Reserve (Doolandella), Fort Road Bushlands and Rocks Riverside Park (Seventeen Mile Rocks),” Cr Schrinner said.

Significance in Habitat Protection

The koala survey is important as it will guide the council in its Bushland Acquisition Program. The council purchases bushland and with significant koala activity.

“By identifying locations with high levels of koala activity in areas including Bardon, McDowall, Moggill and Alderley, Council can preserve koala habitat with targeted land purchases to create green wildlife corridors and wildlife movement zones along roadways,” Cr Schrinner said.

“Close to 500 hectares of bushland has been purchased by Council since 2016 and an additional 250 hectares is planned for purchase by 2020, with priority given to areas adjoining confirmed koala habitat.”

Aside from green corridors and bushland acquisition, the council also implements other actions to protect the koalas. Find out more about the Council programs protecting Australia’s most iconic animal.

Bardon Among Inner West Suburbs Targeted by Thieves

Bardon is one of the reported suburbs where thieves are actively targeting homes, garages, and storage cages.

In a Sept 25 report from the Inner West Patrol Group warned residents that thieves have been reported in the following Inner West suburbs:

Residential Dwellings

Bardon: Coolibah Street.
Ferny Grove: McGregor Way, Bunowen Street.
Everton Park: Warringah Street, Gordon Parade.
Toowong: Bent Street.
Ashgrove: Mclean Parade, McCormack Avenue, Moola Road, Panorama Street.
St Lucia: Boomerang Road.
Kenmore: Alkina Street, Holdway Street.
Enoggera: Wardell Street
Ferny Hills: Amaroo Avenue.

Communal/Residential Garages/Storage Cages

Toowong: Landsborough Terrace.
St Lucia: Bellevue Terrace.
Ashgrove: Waterworks Road.
Everton Park: South Pine Road.

Things that have been stolen from these locations include laptops, wallets, handbags, jewellery, cash, game consoles, bicycles, tools, and vehicles such as cars and motorcycles.

Home Security

Photo credit: CC BY/ Eastlake Times / Flickr

Thieves usually enter homes through unlocked doors or garages or by smashing doors and windows. They may also access garages and storage cages by cutting or manipulating locks and padlocks.

Other times, stealing may happen even when the residents are home.

The police have provided these simple tips to make your home more secure:

Install reliable security screen doors on main external entrances.
Remember to key-lock your security doors and remove the key from the lock.
Fit deadlocks on all external doors.
When moving in to your home or apartment, install new locks on entrance doors.
Never leave notes that indicate your absence.
Always take your door key with you, do not hide it, and never put your name and address on your key ring.
Get to know your neighbours.
Observe and report suspicious activity.
Keep foliage trimmed back around your property so others can view suspicious activity.
Keep vehicle keys secure.
Don’t leave garage doors open or unlocked.
Don’t prop or leave open communal doors to garages.
Use high-quality locks and chains to secure storage cages.
Use screening material to cover storage cage contents.

More Safety Tips

As thieves continue to target Inner West Suburbs, police have increased patrols in the area and strongly advise residents to be vigilant.

Locals are also encouraged to appropriately secure their homes, storage areas, and vehicles, as well as record details of electronic equipment and take photos of valuable items such as jewellery.

Residents who want to check the level of security in their home may take advantage of the police’s ‘Free Home Security Audit Service’. Just call the Indooroopilly Crime Prevention Unit on 3377 9421 or the Ferny Grove Crime Prevention Unit on 3872 1542 to make an appointment.

To report any information for the police, call the Policelink on 131 444 or use the online form.

You can also anonymously provide information about a crime to Crime Stoppers. You may contact the organisation 24/7 by calling 1800 333 000 or by visiting their website.

A New Refined Fresh Market Opens in Bardon

The Bardon Shed is a refined fresh market that has recently opened its doors at 8 Runic Street, Bardon.

More than just a specialty grocery store, The Bardon Shed offers fresh produce, bread, and flowers, as well as a gourmet deli and an espresso and juice bar all in one place.

Since their opening this May, locals have been impressed by their delicious coffee and selection of fresh juices.

They also offer an array of tasty bites which includes light meals, wraps, and cakes.

Looking for a specialty ingredient for your gourmet cooking? Their gourmet grocery boasts a range of high-quality specialist food brands from jams, oils, pasta, sauces, coffees, teas, and more. The store also houses an extensive Gluten free and Organic section.

The Bardon Shed’s fresh produce is filled with locally grown fruits and vegetables that are sourced daily from Australian growers.

Their gourmet deli offers a vast selection of local, national, and international delights from antipasti, olives, hams, and cheeses, to salamis, prosciuttos and dips. The deli serves handmade sandwiches and wraps guaranteed to be made with the finest ingredients from their fresh produce in the store.

Need a quick way to brighten up your (or someone else’s) day? The Bardon Shed also sells fresh flowers that are hand selected and wrapped daily. All their flowers are sourced directly from local growers and suppliers. Their staff can customize your order to make your gift extra special.

Whether you need a quick caffeine fix or restocking your pantry, The Bardon Shed could be the new go-to place, ready to satisfy you with the freshest produce and gourmet delights.

The Bardon Shed is open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. Check out their website or Facebook page to learn more.

Bardon Ranks Second in Western Suburbs with Greatest Education Advantage

Children living in Queensland’s western suburbs were found to have the best educational advantage in the state, with Bardon hailed as the second best area with the greatest educational advantage in Queensland.

The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre‘s Educate Australia Fair report published in July 2017 shows that Fig Tree Pocket enjoyed the greatest educational advantage in the state. Bardon ranked second followed by St Lucia, Chelmer – Graceville, Pullenvale – Pinjarra Hills, Sherwood, Brookfield – Kenmore Hills, East Brisbane, and Ashgrove as 10th best. The educational advantage were based on family background, demographic characteristics, and geography.

Heat Map of Educational Disadvantage in Queensland Source: Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre

Children in the western suburbs of the state were found to have better educational achievement and access than any other place in Queensland. The report includes analyses of years of NAPLAN results, school attendance rates, census information about family make-up, and even internet access, as well as unemployment figures and data from the National Early Childhood Education and Care Collection .

As stated in the report, “Children living in the least disadvantaged areas will achieve on average double the score in reading, writing and numeracy tests than those living in the most disadvantaged areas.”

Source: Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre

The report also revealed the areas that scored in the bottom ten on the educational disadvantage index are most likely located in the remote and very remote regions across the State. A number of these areas are also Indigenous communities.

Interestingly, whilst areas at the bottom 10 are most disadvantaged, preschool attendance in some of these areas are still higher on average than national figures. This suggests that for a number of areas across Queensland, such early investment in children will eventually pay off in the coming years.

The average NAPLAN scores of the disadvantaged areas may be lower than the overall national average, but they are relatively higher than the most disadvantaged areas located across other regions of Australia.

This report from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre’s Focus on the States series aims to better understand the education journey taken by children; to explore the degree to which improvements in education outcomes are evenly distributed across the full range of equity groups; and to support effective policy development on an issue of central importance to Australia.

Taneka Kovchenko Announces Retirement From Diving Ahead of Commonwealth Games

A rare mum and daughter team would have been present at the Commonwealth Games diving events. Little Ducks Childcare Community’s manager in Bardon, Michelle Kovchenko would be tallying up the scores manually, whilst her daughter Taneka competes at the Gold Coast Games. However, a sudden turn of events forced Taneka to retire from her diving career after 14 years due to health reasons.

Taneka took to her Instagram account to announce her retirement due to her safety. She narrated that since the end of last year, she had been feeling chronic headaches and neck pain. It was only recently that she had herself checked and found out that she has a health condition and a dive gone wrong could turn her into a ventilated quadriplegic.

View this post on Instagram

Pt.1 This past week I’ve had to make one of the hardest decisions of my career so far and I would like to firstly say thank you to medical professionals at SASI for being so diligent throughout this process because without them life could have be a lot worse. Yesterday I announced I am having to retire from diving due to my safety. Since the end of last year I have had chronic headaches and a lot of pain in my neck. We decided it was time to get it check out last month so I had a few scans done, not thinking much off it. From the first scan we found I have a fairly common genetic formation where my scull formed before my brain finished growing which seemed to pose no immediate problems but my Doctor wanted to send me to the neurologist as this can sometimes cause a build up of fluid in the spinal cord. I had a few more scans done in flexion and extension of my neck which found my neck is hyper flexible and my c1 and c2 are compressing my spinal cord and the bottom of my brain when in these positions. The neurologist and Doctors where very clear that if a dive was to go wrong that the result would be being a ventilated quadriplegic. This was a super scary moment. I thought of every scenario to try and continue diving till at-least the end of this season however the risks highly out weighed the options of continuing to dive and sadly had to make the heart breaking decision to stop diving. I have had an amazing 14 years diving chasing my dream of representing Australia. I am great full for every experience and opportunity I have been given. I am leaving the sport as an athlete proud of my accomplishments and with so many life skills. I have learnt so much from this sport including courage, determination, inner strength, persistence, confidence, self belief, to aspire, support and empathize with teammates even if it’s a primarily individual sport. This may be the end of my diving career but I’m not going to be a stranger to the sport, I’m still in love with it.

A post shared by Taneka Kovchenko (@tkovchenko) on Apr 1, 2018 at 5:19am PDT

Not taking any more chances, Taneka decided to retire for her health and safety. She thanked her supporters and the people who have been there for her throughout her athletic career in her two-part Instagram posts.

View this post on Instagram

Pt. 2 I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has played a roll in making my years in diving such memorable ones from the highest of highs to the heart breaking lows, it’s all been worth it. To my teammates off to the Gold Coast for comm games thank you for the support and inspiration not only through this week but also over the years. I love you all and I wish you all the best next week I’ll be cheering you all on 💪🇦🇺 To my coach Michel Larouche I am beyond grateful for being able to be guided by you these past 3 and a half almost 4 yrs my longest standing coach to this day. I thank you for pushing me to my limits and beyond. I’ve learnt by pushing the limits it enables us to change, learn and improve our selves. Thank you to @sa_sports_institute for everything the support and guidance you have given me over the past three and half years has been amazing in and out of the pool. You are all like family to me and I now truly have a soft spot for SA ❤️ @divingaus thank you for your support over the years these past few have been beyond my wildest dreams and I’ll be forever great full for the opportunities given to me to represent Australia in diving. Last but not least thank you too my family for everything I love you all so much and am internally grateful for your love and support ❤️ over the many years. I am sad that this chapter is closing but excited for what might be around the corner. No matter what I know one thing will never change I’ll always strive to be my best and continue chasing my dreams.

A post shared by Taneka Kovchenko (@tkovchenko) on Apr 1, 2018 at 6:08am PDT

In March, Taneka and Melissa Wu competed at the Diving World Series in Beijing, China where they won bronze with 299.46 points.

Taneka has been diving since she was eight and has been competing since she was 12. She relocated to Adelaide after she acquired a scholarship and a Canadian coach.

The Commonwealth Games was supposed to mark Taneka’s debut into the international multi-sport event along with Matthew Barnard and Matthew Carter.

Lewin Street Store In Bardon Has Just Become The Perfect Weekend Stop

The only cafe on Lewin Street in Bardon has just expanded its products. You can still get your Allpress Roasters coffee at the Lewin Street Store, but prepare to do more than that.

A Touch Of Greenery

Green thumbs out there will appreciate that the cafe and general store is now offering plants. Now, you get to select from a wide selection of plants that are up for purchase.

Photo credit:
Lewin Street Store / Facebook

This makes it the perfect weekend spot — coffee, good food, and your plant needs.

Live plants have become a trend. Whether indoors or outdoors, these plants just give more life to any area. The good news is that Lewin Street Store carries plants that require low maintenance. So, if you’re new to the “plant world,” no worries, you’ll get the right plants for newbies like you here.

Everything’s Fresh

Some 40 years ago, it was a local butcher shop that turned into the house of a spiritual healer. Now owned by Michelle and Jess, Lewin Street Store aims to provide warm hospitality and local produce not just for the locals but for other people in nearby suburbs who come by.

The cafe also gets its supplies straight from locals. A gentleman who lives nearby brings fresh honey from his beehives, while two ladies bring fresh basil and kale.

There is also a group of special ED students who pick and bring vegetables to the store through the help of a market program.

Brunch, Anyone?

The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch. They offer basic food selection such as their fruit salad and a selection of toasts. These may look simple but they taste superb and they are the perfect meals to help you power through the day.

Settle in with a good beverage. They offer Allpress coffee and Barambah Organics milk, which are a perfect combination. Pait it up with organic bread from Leavain, or choose from delicious treats such as muffins, ice creams and banana loaf with hand-churned butter.

On weekends, enjoy some pastries from Crust & Co.

The store is not just about coffee and pastries. It also serves as a mini-convenience store with heaps of stuff that you can find, such as toothbrushes, olive oil, Vegemite and much more.

Address: 109 Lewin St.

A Revamped Bardon Community Market Is Coming

On 18 February, a bigger Bardon Community Market will be available for the locals. The last Bardon Community Market took place in December last year. This year, the market will be under new management and will showcase new stalls.

What’s going to make it bigger and better is that some stallholders from the now defunct The Gap Farmers Market will be joining the 30 vendors at this community market.

Sara Ashmore-Smith, who runs the farmers market in The Gap, said she handpicked two of the best coffee people and a good breakfast stall from the previous market, The Stanthorpe apples and the butcher from The Gap markets will also be there.

Make sure that you drop by Parrydise stall for that delicious antipasto platter. They have tasty duck eggs, duck egg pasta, marinated Olives, feta and Backas small goods.

For those looking for a sugar fix, don’t miss out on J’Adore Les Crepes.

Delicious coffee and farm fresh breakfast from Amalua farm will be here as well. Feast on delicious omelettes and breakfast wraps!

The new Bardon Markets will be held every Sunday from 6:00 a.m. You will find it at the corner of Baroona and Rainworth Roads, next to Norm Buchan Park.

UnitingCare Facility in Bardon Plans to Expand, Neighbours Oppose

A Bardon facility to provide an emergency home for girls aged 12 to 17, UnitingCare in Bardon, has been the site of a ruckus lately, as news about the potential expansion of the facility caused an uproar among the residents who live nearby.

Established in 1960, UnitingCare is a leading provider of community services across Queensland. In Bardon, neighbours have been enduring the chaos brought on by some troubled girls living at the facility. Reports of vandalism, stone-throwing, and foul language are some of the things that the neighbours say they have had to put up with for years.

Most of the neighbours endured such problems only because they believe in the initiative of the organisation. However, things changed upon learning that the facility has a new plan to expand and accommodate more troubled youth, including teenage boys. It seems that such a development is the last straw for the affected residents.

On the 22nd of November, they called for a meeting with the facility along with officials from the Department of Communities and Child Safety. They were upset to find out that there is nothing that they could do to stop the possible expansion from happening. A spokeswoman for the organisation said that they have responded promptly to issues raised by the neighbours and they will work on a number of solutions to change how they care for the children, thus hopefully changing their behaviours as well.

The organisation also made it clear that the improvement of the site isn’t just about the youth that they care for; rather, they have also considered the welfare of the neighbours before they set things in motion.

LNP Candidate Pushes For Upgrades To Jubilee Terrace in Bardon

Bardon residents have long been complaining about Metroad 5 and the traffic delays on the corridor. The biggest culprits are the intersections of Jubilee Tce and Coopers Camp Road and Jubilee Tce and Waterworks Rd. This corridor is known as the slowest stretch of road in southeast Queensland, something that an LNP candidate is keen to help change.

Robert Shearman, LNP candidate for Cooper has said that if he wins the election, fixing this Bardon road would be his top priority. He also said that upgrades to the road are strongly supported by LNP transport spokesman Andrew Powell, adding that he will make sure that this also becomes his top priority in the LNP budget.

Mr Shearman has also uploaded a video on his Facebook page showing the congestion on the road.

Mr Shearman also said that the State Government has all the requirements already to pursue road upgrades. Cr Steve Toomey for The Gap supports the upgrade as well.

Morning commutes on Metroad 5 are the worst, and in the evenings, the road is the second slowest road corridor in Brisbane.

Despite the obvious congestion on this road, RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said that although Metroad 5 obviously needs an upgrade, prioritising the South Pine Rd/Stafford Rd intersection seems to be more significant as of now.

For the residents of all the affected areas, hopes run high that whatever improvements happen sooner, rather than later.

Bardon Home Wins Top Award for Renovation

The Master Builders Housing & Construction Awards has awarded a Bardon home renovation project with the award for the best luxury renovation project of 2016. The Ashgrovian Queenslander home was renovated inside and out by Corella Construction, who fitted it with mosaic tiling, high quality fixtures, detailed carpentry work, spotted gum flooring, and an exposed shaft elevator. They also added a C-BUS based lighting system, a glass lift, and modern LED strip lighting, multi-zone air conditioning, and a fully glass tiled pool.

Corella Construction was awarded the National Alterations/Additions Award for 2016 for projects over $1 million.

The awards recognize construction companies at the forefront of building innovation and quality craftsmanship in the construction industry. Queensland swept the awards, winning nine in total.

Here’s a visual tour of the finished renovation project, called Bardon Renovation.