Friends of Vernon Conservation Park

Friends of Vernon Conservation Park

Fraser Coast, Australia

Founded in 2022, Friends of Vernon Conservation Park are a small but dedicated group of volunteers working just west of Hervey Bay. This group specialises in pest animal detection and citizen science, as well as ecological restoration. Led by a desire to stop pest plants and animals from outcompeting native wildlife, Friends of Vernon Conservation Park have been awarded numerous grants to obtain, train, and deploy Tilly the detection dog. Tilly is an avid fox den sleuth, working in Vernon Conservation Park and beyond on a mission to rid the region of one of the biggest threats to wildlife: foxes.

On the community front, Friends of Vernon Conservation Park hold ad-hoc events in the park. You can join them for citizen science events, weeding, or tree planting. The group visits Vernon Conservation Park at least once a month, and no month is the same. If you’d like to get involved, contact Ted via the email button below or call 0409 803 568.

A group of five people, including elderly individuals, sitting and standing under a shaded area in a park. They are casually dressed and smiling, with a black dog sitting beside one of them.

A group of people gathered on a dirt track in a bushland setting, with one person, a woman in a hat, speaking while holding a stick. Others are listening attentively, wearing casual outdoor clothing and various accessories.

An older man with a backpack stands in a green, overgrown area beside a brown dog. The man is focused on something in the ground while the dog observes nearby.

About Vernon Conservation Park

Vernon Conservation Park on Butchulla Country is a little-known protected area, around 10 kms west of Hervey Bay on the Fraser Coast. The 684 hectare park protects a mixture of eucalypt woodlands and melaleuca forest. Well and truly off most tourist and locals’ radars, Vernon Conservation Park is an incredibly quiet and peaceful park to visit. Popular with bird watchers, and of coures the Friends of Park group, Vernon Conservation Park is a great place to unwind and enjoy the scent of Eucalypt leaves while listening to the chorus of bird songs.

There is one conservation-significant species residing within Vernon Conservation Park, the Wallum leek orchid (Prasophyllum exilis). Like most orchids, this plant is susceptible to poaching, despite having an incredibly low survivability rate outside of its natural habitat.

Vernon Conservation Park lies within the Traditional Country of the Butchulla people, who maintain strong cultural connections to the land and waterways.

While relatively quiet and less visited than larger parks, Vernon offers opportunities for low-impact recreation such as walking and nature observation, allowing visitors to experience the region’s natural beauty.