Blue Heart Sunshine Coast
The Blue Heart Sunshine Coast is an area in the Maroochy River catchment that contains important features and acts as a critical flood storage.
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.
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.
Sunshine Coast solar farm
Coolum Creek Conservation Park
Coolum Creek Environmental Reserves
Maroochy Wetlands Sanctuary
Maroochy River canoe trail
Maroochy River Environment Reserve
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.
191ha of former can land that is naturally being restored to wetlands. It is used to deliver water quality nutrient offsets.
Project awards
- DRIVENxDESIGN Brisbane Design Awards 2020: Marketing Branded Experienec (Gold)
- DRIVENxDESIGN Government Design Award 2020: Graphic Design Corporate Identity and Branding (Silver)
- City Powers Partnership 2020 Climate Awards: Regional Innovation Partnership (Winner).
More information
- Blue Carbon frequently asked questions fact sheet (PDF, 210KB)
- Blue Heart landholder frequently asked questions fact sheet (PDF, 476KB)
- June 2021 landholder sessions summary (PDF, 703KB).
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For more information contact the project team via email: [email protected]