The physical and mental wellbeing of our volunteers and visitors is very important to us at Gecko. We understand that the recent outbreak of Coronavirus has had an effect on everyone’s everyday life, including visiting Gecko Office.Firstly, please visit the Australian Government website for updates, medical advice on how to keep yourself safe. The office will remain open with restricted staff; enquiries phone 55341412.

On 27th September the Gold Coast City Council called for public submissions on amendments (changes) to the planning scheme (City Plan) and established a number of pop-up information sessions at various places throughout the city. Gecko urges all residents of Gold Coast to check out these proposed changes to the City plan and put in a submission. The amendments (changes) are intended to improve the City Plan and the way our City responds to the ongoing population growth. Not everyone will agree that all amendments are an improvement and this is why your submission is vital.

The State Government has been developing a koala conservation strategy for several years in response to the alarming decline in koala numbers over past decades. This is mainly due to loss of habitat, 74% since 1967, vehicle strikes, dog attacks and disease. A Expert panel examined the situation and provided the Government with a number of recommendations to respond to this situation. The Government has accepted all of the recommendations and the Strategy and mapping is the first of several actions to address the situation

One summer in Antarctica turned Gold Coast scientist, Richard Skinner, into a passionate believer in the scientific importance of the frozen continent. Now he’ll share what captivated him there, both scientifically and personally, and how you can be involved.

The toll on wildlife throughout the eastern states of Australia has been high, but many small and large wildlife care organisations are trying to rescue and care for injured and orphaned wildlife with limited resources. These organisations will need help for many months to come so regular donations would be appreciated

Eco Discoverers Kids Club is run each Friday afternoon 3.30-5.30pm during term time. Email ecodiscoverers@gecko.org.au to enquire further

On the 29 October 2019, Gecko celebrates its 30th anniversary. The organisation is planning a year long calendar of celebrations to mark the occasion. Gecko is a volunteer, not-for-profit, non-party-political organisation operating on a volunteer base of approximately 100 active volunteers. The organisation is steered by a Management Committee which is elected once a year at an Annual General Meeting. There has been a lot of activity at Gecko over the past 30 years. Apart from campaigning, Gecko educates approximately a thousand of children and students annually through GeckoEd. coordinates Clean Up Australia Day on the Gold Coast, Gold Coast Green Week, Annual Environmental Awards, monthly Gecko Talks as well as participate and host numerous one-off events. We also operate a variety of field work and citizen science activities such as Elanora, Tarrabora and Nicoll Scrub bushcare groups and Clean Creeks water testing program. Gecko is in the process of starting two new citizen science projects; Cane Toad Challenge and Osprey Nesting Platform monitoring at Currumbin Creek beachfront. Gecko is also the major shareholder in Regen Australia, a regeneration company on the Gold Coast, and as such involved in the overseeing the operations of the business.

Following several letters from Gecko asking about the future of The Spit master Plan the Government finally put forward a Bill “The Implementation of The Spit Master Plan” and called for submissions from the public which closed on 16th December 2019. Gecko made a submission

Gecko is generally pleased with the result with the exception that Philip Park is still at risk of being taken over by the cruise ship terminal. Since the completion of the Master Plan the Government has committed $60 million to its implementation over 4 years and recently announced initial expenditure of $6.8 million to improve access to the Spit.

Cruise Ship Terminal – Now Called the Oceanside Terminal – the next stage In the 2019-2020 Council Budget a sum of $1.2 million was allocated to continue to gather information for various reports on the cruise terminal and an Initial