An active participation, volunteer led organisation

NICA is supported by Noosa Council and applies for grants from the Queensland and Federal governments and other non-government organisations to assist in projects and programs that meet our Catchment Care objectives.

NICA is currently undertaking the following projects that raise awareness and improve the environment of the Noosa River Catchment.

• Bushcare; removing weeds and planting endemic species.  NICA auspices several local bushcare groups to enable them to obtain funding for projects.  Current externally funded projects are ‘Tread Lightly’ an Engaging Science Qld Govt grant and ‘Rally Round’ is a Qld Govt community sustainability grant.
• Water quality and nutrient testing in the river and lakes is carried out monthly and supported by Noosa Council.
• River rangers, supported by Noosa Council, patrol fortnightly collecting litter and alerting local authorities to any issues that need their attention.
• Monitoring shorebirds and waders, supported by Noosa Council, is undertaken once a month near the mouth of the Noosa River and the results are recorded in a national database.
• Urban Wildlife Gardens, supported by Noosa Council and other non-government grants, promotes biodiversity in Urban Gardens.  Membership includes an initial garden visit, free plants and resources, a regular Newsletter and monthly lectures or workshops.
• Clean up Australia Day in March, supported by Noosa Council, is the coordination of around 20 cleanup sites around Noosa and the hinterland.
• Friends of Kinaba group at Boreen Point, NICA auspices this volunteer group to obtain funding to carry out maintenance work on the Kinaba Information Centre.
• NICA has published 4 botanical publications that promote the use of native plants in the Noosa area: ‘Noosa’s Native Plants’, ‘Weeds of the Sunshine Coast’, ‘Grasses of the Noosa Biosphere’ and ‘Sedges, Rushes & Restiads of the Noosa Biosphere’.  NICA has also published a children’s book ‘Fussy Glossies’ on the vulnerable Glossy black cockatoos.
• A new book, ‘Noosa’s Native Plants – Flowering Now’ was published in December 2025 by NICA.  This book provides suggestions and advice about Native Plants suited for use in Noosa’s Urban Gardens.

As a NICA member and volunteer, your capacity to experience, enjoy and conserve the natural environment is limited only by your capacity to participate. Interested ?  Join us

The Noosa River Catchment

The Noosa River catchment encompasses an area of 854sqkm.  The unusually low-lying headwaters of the Noosa River are located on the Como escarpment, deep in the pristine Great Sandy National Park, charged continuously by fresh water springs draining sand deposits.   From there, the river flows generally north to south, fed by over 1,505km of streams, creeks and tributaries that drain six distinct sub-catchments featuring 27 broad vegetation groups including rainforests and scrubs, eucalyptus and melaleuca woodlands, heathlands, wetlands, mangroves and saltmarsh.

The catchment extends through an extensive, shallow and largely unmodified  system of freshwater, brackish and saline (tidal) lakes, marshes, heathlands and estuary and drains to the Noosa river mouth 60km to the south.  Located at the intersection of the Macleay-McPherson overlap, the catchment supports incredibly high biodiversity including 61 different regional ecosystems, 1,340 plant species, almost 350 terrestrial vertebrate animals and 217 species of birds including half of all known migratory shorebirds.

Almost one-third of the catchment is protected within the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park. The catchment also includes two nationally significant wetland areas (Noosa River Wetlands and Lake Weyba) and almost 6,000 hectares of protected fish habitat.  The catchment is home to over 30,000 residents located mostly in contiguous urban south of the catchment and rural hinterland villages.  The catchment forms part of the UNESCO-designated Noosa Biosphere Reserve.  The Noosa River is consistently rated amongst Queensland’s healthiest.