Department of Environment, Science and Innovation

Exciting changes are happening over here! 👀 Following the allocation of Ministerial portfolios at the beginning of the month, our department has been renamed the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI)! ✨ We're still waiting on LinkedIn to grant us our official name change, but in the meantime, you can expect to hear more about our new portfolio. Our new Director General, Patricia O’Callaghan, spoke at DestinationQ yesterday to introduce the newly formed department, sharing our vision for Queensland’s future. From marketing and technology to sustainability, the event was packed with valuable discussions on how to shape a successful future for Queensland tourism. These changes bring an exciting opportunity to unify our divisions under the renewed department structure, integrating the outstanding work being done in Tourism into our portfolio, and we warmly welcome our new colleagues! 👋 Tourism and Events Queensland #TourismWeek2024 #DestinationQ2024

Queensland Science - then and now ✨! From clusters of beaker stands and wooden furniture to sample robots and auto titrators! We've come a long way from this chemistry lab at Gatton Agricultural College (now UQ) compared to our Chemistry Centre lab now! 🤯 The Chemistry Centre has a rich history starting with the first Agricultural Chemist in 1897. Our humble beginnings started with an Agricultural Chemistry Laboratory Branch established to support Queensland through scientific research in chemistry for agricultural practices 👨🌾. Over the years, it has expanded and diversified to where we now perform more than 120,000 tests per year, using over 150 analytical methods to provide analytical chemistry services that inform research and decision-making in natural resource, water quality, environmental and agricultural management in Queensland, Australia and overseas 🌏. To learn more about our Chemistry Centre and what we do, visit 👉 https://lnkd.in/gWJwpf6Y It's great to look back and see how far we've come and exciting to think about how our chemistry labs will change in another 100 years! Image courtesy of State Library of Queensland #QueenslandScience

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2024 Queensland Women in STEM Prize Awards! 🥳 Last week the ninth annual Queensland Women in STEM Prize awards ceremony was held presented by the Queensland Museum in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation and the Office for Women 🏆. The Queensland Women in STEM Prize recognises and rewards the extraordinary women who exemplify innovation, leadership, and a relentless pursuit of knowledge and discovery and casts a well-deserved spotlight on Queensland women making profound impacts and driving transformative change in STEM fields. 👩🔬 This year's winners are: 🌟 Taylah Griffin - Winner of the First Nations STEM Award - A proud Gangalu woman and an Aerospace Engineer, Taylah has contributed to the flight testing of the autonomous MQ-28; the first aircraft to be designed and built in Aus since WW2 and promotes the value and possibilities of STEM education with First Nations students, young women, and girls. 🌟 Dr Jillian Ash - Winner of the Breaking Barriers Award - As a Social Scientist, Jillian champions development of infrastructure that fosters social value for marginalised groups (including women, youth, First Nations people and people with disabilities) and minimise negative impacts for communities in the state across the mining, transport, water and renewable energy sectors. 🌟 Associate Professor Susanna Cramb - Winner of the Judges' Award - Using innovative statistical methods, Susanna’s research has enhanced the understanding of disease outcomes and helped develop solutions to reduce health inequities across the state. She also is involved in extensive community outreach that explains complex statistical concepts to young audiences advocates for girls to choose a career in statistics For more information about this year's winners, highly commended and finalists, visit 👉 https://lnkd.in/g8jq2T_4 #QueenslandScience

It's #NationalRecyclingWeek! ♻ This week is a great opportunity to reflect on what we can all do to boost our recycling habits in the workplace!   With many workspaces now expanded to additional home offices, work/life balance is up but so is the number of tech devices owned to facilitate and unfortunately, the number of e-waste generated. The Global E-Waste Monitor 2024 reported that e-waste has increased globally by an average of 2.3 billion kilos per year since 2010 😵. Here's some office necessities you can actually recycle to reduce waste: 👇 💻 Computers and monitors - More than 90% of the components in your computer are recyclable. 🖨️ Printer toner cartridges - Inkjet cartridges, toner cartridges and toner bottles are all recyclable. 🔋 Old batteries - Keeping batteries out of landfill prevents hazardous toxic materials leaching into the soil and groundwater. 💻 Mobile phones and tablets - 95% of the materials in mobile phones like metals, plastic, and glass can be recovered and used to make new products. All of these products can be dropped off to specialised areas at most groceries stores or office supply stores to recycle properly. Unsure of an item, or where to find a recycle point near you? Check out Recycle Mate for quick, reliable recycling information specific to your council here 👉 recyclemate.com.au   By recycling our e-waste, we’re not just clearing out our drawers—we're creating a cleaner, brighter future! 💚 #ReduceReuseRecycle

📢 Job Opportunity Alert 📢 1️⃣ Business Manager 2️⃣ Resource Ranger 3️⃣ Senior Coordination Officer More info in the comments below 👇   #QueenslandEnvironment

Did you know that Queensland is home to six of the world's seven species of turtle? 😯 So it's not surprising that our state also has Australia’s longest history of turtle conservation and management, and that we developed TurtleNet; the one-stop location to access global information on marine turtles for education and communication use! 🐢🌏 Developed in collaboration with Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), TurtleNet has been used by school children, community groups, scientists and inquisitive minds from all over the globe to create maps and graphs of population trends, and view videos showing the route of tracked turtles since its launch in 2021. Sea turtles are a fundamental link in marine ecosystems and have important cultural and social values for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in our coastal areas 🌊. With all six of the seven species of turtles that call Queensland home being listed as endangered, it is important that we utilise and develop these kinds of tools to work together to manage and conserve populations. 🤝 Check out TurtleNet here 👉 https://arcg.is/WreTu #QueenslandEnvironment

Introducing Australia’s Indigenous Women Rangers Network (IWRN – Australia)! Larissa Hale is a proud Jalunji Warra woman from Yuku Baja Muliku, Archer Point in Far North Queensland and the first Indigenous women ranger coordinator in Queensland. Larissa always felt there needed to be more women within ranger teams and led the development of the Queensland Indigenous Women Rangers Network (QIWRN) in 2018. Starting with 26 members, QIWRN has now grown to 244 members across Queensland, from Lake Eyre Basin to the Torres Strait Islands. Winner of Prince William’s prestigious Earthshot Prize in the Revive our Oceans category in 2022, Larissa and the QIWRN team are scaling the network nationally starting with Australia’s first Indigenous Women Rangers Network forum in March 2025! See the IWRN 2025 website for more details: https://lnkd.in/gjdH8xdy The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation is proud to have supported the fantastic work of Larissa Hale and QIWRN since its inception and into the future. Make sure you follow the Queensland Indigenous Womens Ranger Network to see the impact Larissa and her team will make to connect, support, recognise and amplify opportunities for Indigenous women rangers across Queensland and Australia https://lnkd.in/gguj2Aag #QueenslandEnvironment #IndigenousWomenRangersNetwork #QueenslandIndigenousWomenRangersNetwork #IndigenousWomenRangers #WomenRangers #CaringforCountry #Rangers #RangersFor30x30 Indigenous Women Rangers Network Yuku Baja Muliku Landowners and Reserves Ltd

It's World Tsunami Awareness Day! 🌊 Did you know that the most notable historical example of a tsunami in Queensland is in 2007? The tsunami was generated by a massive undersea earthquake near the Solomon Islands, and it affected the coastal areas of northern Queensland, causing some localised inundation and damage. 😯 Even though tsunamis are a rare natural hazard, it's important that we have an understanding of tsunami flooding hazards along our coast to help inform Queensland's disaster preparedness. Our Hydraulics Lab has played a huge part in tsunami awareness through our extensive wave monitoring and storm tide monitoring data collection and analysis, conducting detailed tsunami inundation model studies, and involvement in developing and implementing tsunami warning systems and evacuation plans. ⚠ Learn more about the Queensland Government Hydraulics Laboratory (QGHL) where this work is conducted here: https://lnkd.in/eYhUE2ns #QueenslandEnvironment #WorldTsunamiAwarenessDay

Have you ever wondered how scientists determine if a species is endangered? 🤔 There are currently 1069 known living species listed as endangered in Queensland 😯, and many factors contribute to the meticulous evidenced-based scientific systems in place to assess classification and develop conservation management. We take threatened species recovery and conservation very seriously and our actions are guided by research, monitoring and evaluation. We work with First Nations people, landholders, researchers, businesses, non-government organisations, volunteers and local communities to implement actions like habitat restoration, population recovery, and research.🤝 Check out our blog to learn more about what goes into endangered species classification, what we're doing to save threatened species and how you can help here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gaja56-S Together we can make a difference to our endangered wildlife. 💚 #QueenslandEnvironment

Congratulations to our Chemistry Centre for maintaining the NATA accreditation for 30 years! 🎉 Australia’s leading national accreditation body, @National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia, has recently announced that we have been continually accredited for our Environmental Analytical services at our Chemistry Centre since 1994! This significant milestone is a great achievement and highlights the commitment that the Centre has to providing high-quality analytical services and key contributions to environmental chemistry in Queensland and across Australia. 🧪🔬 A big congratulations to all the diligent chemists, technicians and professionals at our Chemistry Centre whose dedication and hard work has contributed to maintaining these high standards each year. 👏 To learn more about the Chemistry Centre and its services, visit: https://lnkd.in/gWJwpf6Y #QldScience #QueenslandEnvironment