Blue Heart | Sunshine Coast Council

Blue Heart Sunshine Coast is an innovative partnership-based project, committed to sustainable and adaptive floodplain management in the Maroochy River catchment.

It is a place, a project and a partnership.

Place

The Blue Heart is an area of more than 5,000 hectares on a natural floodplain in the Maroochy River catchment. The project area includes approximately 1,400 hectares of public land. This comprises council's Coolum Creek environment reserve network, the Queensland Government's Coolum Creek conservation park, and Unitywater's Yandina Creek wetland.

Surrounding this area are lands for:

rural and agricultural purposes
generation of renewable energy
open space purposes.

Blue Heart Sunshine Coast

Blue Heart map area

Project

The Blue Heart provides flood storage for the Maroochy River Catchment. Preserving flood storage within this area is critical to the ongoing flood management of the catchment and in particular the built environment.

The Blue Heart Sunshine Coast is a Transformational Action for council's Environment and Liveability Strategy - delivering a healthy environment and liveable Sunshine Coast in 2041.

Partnership

This project is an innovative partnership between council, the Queensland Government's Department of Environment and Science and Unitywater. The partners will proactively work together to achieve the Blue Heart project objectives.

Opportunities

Many opportunities will emerge as the Blue Heart area transitions over time.

Council hopes to work with landholders and local communities to explore new land-use options. These options would aim to build future economic and environmental resilience, while retaining a focus on flood hazard management and climate change adaptation. This will include leading discussions on funding from new industries, such as blue carbon and environmental offsets.

Throughout the life of the project, council will seek the support of partners, external agencies and major corporations.

It is also council's ambition to:

strengthen the Maroochy-Noosa Wallum corridor, an area of high biodiversity values recognised at a state and national level
provide parkland and open space areas for the community
attract more visitors to the region
provide high value ecotourism and cultural tourism opportunities.

Historic and current land uses in the Blue Heart

191ha of former can land that is naturally being restored to wetlands. It is used to deliver water quality nutrient offsets.

Blue Heart landholder information sessions.

Cane cutters on a Maroochy River property around 1930.

Cane harvesting on a Maroochy River farm in the early 90s.

Yandina Creek Wetland

Partner: Unitywater

Land size: 191ha

This area is former cane land that is naturally being restored to wetlands. It is used to deliver water quality nutrient offsets.

Find out more about this project on Unitywater’s website.

Sunshine Coast Solar Farm

Partner: Sunshine Coast Council

Land size: 49ha

The 15MV solar farm generates enough energy to offset 100% of council’s electricity consumption. In its first year of operation, the solar farm received five prestigious awards. Learn more about council's solar farm.

Coolum Creek Conservation Park

Partner: Department of Environment, Science and Innovation

Land size: 347ha

The conservation park helps to protect the endangered Casuarina ecosystems and other birds and mammals of conservation significance.

Yandina Creek hydrological study

Partner: Sunshine Coast Council

Land Size: 700ha

Council is undertaking a study (on land owned by council, Department of Environment and Science and Unitywater) to explore ecological processes, services and changes to revegetated wetlands, disused cane fields and some smaller areas of ongoing cane farming.

Coolum Creek Environment Reserves

Partner: Sunshine Coast Council

Land size: 550ha

This land assists to consolidate important biodiversity values through protection and rehabilitation activities.

Learn more about the Coolum Creek environment reserve network and recent land acquisitions.

Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary

Partner: Sunshine Coast Council

Land size: 112ha

This wetland is home to wet and dry eucalypt forests, rainforest, melaleuca forest, casuarina woodland, saltmarsh and mangroves. More than 200 types of birds, as well as crabs, butterflies and other animals call the wetlands their home.

Find out more about the Maroochy wetlands sanctuary and how you can explore the wonders of the wetland.

Recreation trail

Partner: Sunshine Coast Council

Land size: N/A

Recreation trails such as the scenic Maroochy River canoe trail and the planned trail from Nambour to Coolum contribute to the Sunshine Coast’s unique character, relaxed and healthy lifestyle and rich biodiversity.

Visit Adventure Sunshine Coast for more information on the recreation trails in the Blue Heart such as Dunethin Rock, Mount Ninderry or the Yandina Creek Wetland.

Maroochy River Environment Reserve

Partner: Sunshine Coast Council

Land size: 14ha

This reserve contains five different species of mangroves, some of which are up to 200 years old. It also contains a number of different vegetation communities that support habitat for various species of flora and fauna.

View the Coolum Creek environment reserve network and other recent land acquisitions.