An electrifying success at Twisted Gum Wines on 22nd February. We had 16 electric cars, 12 e bikes, a robotic lawnmower, electric golf buggy, farm ATV and an electric ride on mower, not to mention the 50 or so people in attendance. Thanks to Tim & Michelle for hosting us and to everyone who brought their vehicles.

Granite Belt Sustainable Action Network (GBSAN) and the Ballandean Primary School have teamed up to protect the endangered Bell’s Turtle.

The Linkages team is preparing to commence planning for Stage 2 of the Landscape Linkages Project in early March. And our new magnetic car sign.

The Bushcare group worked at Haley’s property, Sugarloaf, on Wednesday, 11th February 2026. This follows up on support provided to the Quoll Society’s planting efforts at the same site in 2024,

Great news! We have received funding from the Philanthropist group NED (Nurturing Evolutionary Development) to implement our year-long GBSAN/Ballandean SS Bell’s Turtle Project.

We invite members of the community to lend a hand with the assembly of the float on Friday, 6th March, starting at 9:00am at 25 Lock St. Support will also be needed to help dismantle the float after the parade on Saturday, 7th March at Lock St. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Electric Vehicle Show & Shine Sunday 22 February, from 2-4pm.

Visitors can chat to the owners and find out what they like about their vehicles. FREE entry.

Stanthorpe has been selected to take part in the Ready Communities program, a nationally recognised place-based approach that supports regional towns to shape their own future, on their own terms. The first step is a series of community forums on 10 and 11 February, open to anyone who cares about Stanthorpe’s future.

The outcome of our grant application to the Queensland State Government’s Grassroots Environmental Grant for the Granite Belt Landscape Linkages project is still pending, with an announcement expected in February.

The Bushcare group will be kicking off activities for the year with a tree planting event at Haley’s property on Wednesday, 11th February 2026.

GBSAN has commenced work with Granite Belt schools, starting with Ballandean State School, to incorporate local biodiversity into the curriculum.

Our GBSAN float for the Grand Parade at the Apple and Grape Festival on Saturday 7th March is well under way. Come and join us at the Farmer’s Market on Sat 14^th Feb anytime between 8:00am and 11:00am to join in the fun of preparing items for the float.

The 2025 Waste and Recycling in Queensland Report is now available.

We’d love to showcase local stories about using renewables and energy efficient changes. Let us know if you’d like to contribute your own story to this series.

GBSAN and Twisted Gum Wines are hosting an Electric Vehicle Show & Shine on Sunday 22 February, from 2-4pm.

2025 has been another very successful year for GBSAN in terms of the activities of the Teams, our recognition and standing in the community and a marked increase in community engagement which has resulted in an increase in membership and supporters. As a result, we are in really great shape to embark on the next phase of the organisation’s evolution.

COP30 has come and gone; key outcomes are an acknowledgement an expected temperature rise of 2.6 degrees C by 2100 at current emission reductions targets.

GBSAN volunteers Lyn Rowley, Terry Pinney and Catherine Arden have formed a new recycling team to continue with, and hopefully expand on, projects originated by local community member Elaine, and Phillipa and Sancha from GBSAN, at the WhistleStop Heritage and Community Gardens.

Our Bushcare group had a great turn out on the 5 November, to plant 400 native plants at Rick and Mary’s place at Thorndale. Fantastic preparation with 400 holes 400mm wide dug by Bobcat saved a lot of back work and also prepared the ground well for the roots of the new trees to spread. We also had Andy Ferrier on board with his tractor and rake to pile up the mulch to tuck these beauties in. Seedlings, grown by Mole River Native Nursery, included local Eucalypts and Angophoras as well as understory of wattles, melaleucas and callistemons. This planting will hopefully assist in speeding up the natural revegetation occurring on the edge of some magic bushland. Our fantastic team had these new trees all sorted within 2 hours!

GBSAN is working on connecting with and collaborating with local schools to include local biodiversity and cultural awareness into cross curriculum activities. We have commenced a pilot project with Ballandean SS with a focus on the endangered Bell’s Turtle.