Photo credit: Vetstreet
Who doesn’t love dogs? A whole lot of people in Brisbane, it seems,as it is home to over 100,000 registered dogs. And the city’s top choice of breed? A labrador retriever!
The Brisbane City Council’s latest dog registration data shows that there are 9,195 registered labrador retrievers in the area, making it the city’s most popular dog. Other popular dog breeds include Maltese, Staffordshire bull terrier, poodle, and border collie.
Dogs such as dachshunds, pugs and French bulldogs are also popular in the city. Forest Lake shows that residents here have mostly owned dachshunds, with record showing 56, whilst there are 26 pugs registered in Bracken Ridge, and 22 French bulldogs in Morningside.
Still, the data reveals that the Brisbane suburb most populated by dogs is Forest Lake with 2,450 registered dogs.
| Rank | Suburb | No. of dogs |
| 1 | Forest Lake | 2450 |
| 2 | Bracken Ridge | 2342 |
| 3 | The Gap | 1920 |
| 4 | Carindale | 1690 |
| 5 | Ashgrove | 1493 |
| 6 | Camp Hill | 1438 |
| 7 | Manly West | 1427 |
| 8 | Brighton | 1426 |
| 9 | Wynnum West | 1313 |
| 10 | Wavell Heights | 1261 |
There are 25 suburbs where residents are living among more than 1k dogs.
On the other hand, suburbs with the least number of dogs are Moreton Island (1), Eagle Farm (1), Enoggera Reservoir (2), Karawatha (4), Kooringal (4), Lake Manchester (1), and Lytton (3).
The council continues to encourage the community to register their dogs as it is also under state government law. Dogs three months of age must be registered and you can check out the fees here.
Register your dogs here!
Photo credit: Spice4Life
Christmas is a time of giving and a Forest Lake resident made sure that she gives more than she receives.
Ms Elizabeth Ferguson first posted on the Forest Lake community page weeks before Christmas looking for strangers to have lunch with on Christmas day. She specifically posted that she’s looking for someone “who has nowhere to go and might not be able to have a nice X’mas lunch due to finances.”
The lunch will be for four adults in their 60s and 80s. Her kids couldn’t come for Christmas lunch so she was left with two empty seats. However, she thought that no one would come having no response for a few weeks but at the last minute, two adults turned up, one from Spring Lake and the other from Forest Lake.
Ms Ferguson was very happy to have the empty seats filled and the fact that she has gotten to know these strangers more.
According to her, she always wanted to open her home to the less fortunate and lonely but her family discouraged her in the past. This also comes from her parents dying many years ago and how she would always feel sad during Christmas day.
Next year, she plans to start a register to connect people spending Christmas alone with families willing to open her homes.
Photo credit: Ray White Forest Lake
Forest Lake residents have formed a group opposing several housing developments in various areas within the suburb.
The group is called FLAG, which stands for Forest Lake Action Group and they are taking action towards property developments within the area which they consider to be “unsuitable.” These developments are:
- 150 Lovat St., Ellen Grove – 41 Townhouses
- 35 Roxwell St. Ellen Grove – 44 Townhouses
- 50 Crossacres St. Doolandella – 94 Townhouses
The group consists of real estate agents, solicitors and residents who are urging the Brisbane City Council to refuse the approval of these developments. The group believes that their suburb deserves better than these high-density developments.
For instance, traffic congestion is getting worse on streets with recently completed townhouses such as the one on Roxwell St. To add insult to injury, the suburb is also tackling issues about illegal dumping, further adding a burden on already congested streets.
Related article: Forest Lake Is One of The Leading Suburbs With High Cases of Illegal Dumping
Cr Charles Strunk shares the same sentiments as the residents of Forest Lake and said that the council should put more thought into the level of high-density developments in the suburb.
On the other hand, responding to the negative feedback, the council has requested the Ellen Grove development on Lovat St. to be reduced from 41 townhouses to 36. However, the group does not think this is enough and said that even if it gets reduced to 36, it still doesn’t comply with the Brisbane City Plan 2014 and the Local Government Infrastructure Plan, which cites that Lovat St. is an emerging community zone that only allows 18.8 dwellings per net developable hectare.
Another concern of the residents is the sewerage capacity which may not be able to accommodate increased density dwellings. However, the residents are concerned about sufficiency of sewerage capacity, despite assurances from Queensland Urban Utilities.
Photo credit: RunSociety
Forest Lake will soon be welcoming the iconic fitness and community-building initiative, parkrun.
Runners from Forest Lake have met with a parkrun representation this month to talk about a potential track. It is a 5km route that would follow a bush track behind St John’s Anglican College from the oval on Forest Lake Boulevard to the end of Blunder Rd.
However, the ambassador for the event, Kristen McGuire said that nothing has been made official yet but she is confident that an event will push through early next year.
parkrun organises free and weekly 5km timed runs all over the world. It is open for everyone plus it’s free! All people of every ability are encouraged to be a part of this event and it aims to hold an event in every community that wants one. They have already hosted over 30,000 events in 260 locations all over the world.
Tim Oberg, the person responsible for bringing this to Australia met parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt in 2010 in Wimbledon, where Tim asked Paul if he could bring the parkrun concept Down Under. Not long after that, he was given the go-signal, and that’s when it all started. In 2011, parkrun was officially launched in Australia.
Photo credit: BrisParks
Situated in the heart of Forest Lake in Brisbane, Lake Parklands is one of the best places to go to if you want to get a taste of Queensland’s wildlife and take in the beauty of mother nature. Just recently, Cr Charles Strunk revealed the masterplan for a revitalised Lake Parklands area.
Following an election promise, Cr Strunk guarantees that he will restore the area. The $50,000 masterplan will be signed off by the end of 2017. The plan includes an ampitheatre at the lake stage to host council movie nights, bands and other events. There will also be an exercise park near the lake boat ramp.
Large areas would also undergo re-turfing along with the installation of new seating and barbecues in several locations. Rotundas will also be restored.
Cr Strunk held a public consultation meeting with the residents and said that all their feedback was being considered before the final draft is adopted.
Photo credit: Brisbane Kids
A new $6 million STEM program will be piloted at 100 preschools in Australia in 2018. The Forest Lake Child Care Centre is one of the preschools that has been selected to take advantage of the program.
The child care centre is committed to introducing preschoolers to new and exciting learning opportunities. The first app will introduce the concepts of sorting, ordering and patterns through activities such as making decorations. The program will begin next year.
Having been selected for the program, the preschool will receive free workshops and be the first to use ELSA apps and resources to incorporate STEM practices into their preschool program. The practices include exploring locations, patterns, making, spatial reasoning and designing.
Even if these activities are based through applications, this program or way of teaching doesn’t mean children will be indiscriminately exposed to technology. In fact, STEM is in action through physical activities, making children future thinkers in an active way.
The 100 selected preschools were selected based on geographical locations and socio-economic backgrounds. This program will include six apps, with four apps focused on playful learning experiences. Children under the program should bring their own devices to school.
Photo credit: acclaimtree.com.au
Some Forest Lake residents are expressing their disapproval against the Brisbane City Council’s tree-felling plans. They are saying that the trees that are to be removed are native trees and they don’t look like they pose any threats to merit their removal.
Trees marked with a blue “R” are prevalent in the suburb, which means an arborist confirmed indicated removal. A local who lived by the lake voiced out his concerns and said that he has never had problems with the trees that have been marked. He also thinks a simple removal of dead or protruding limbs or trees that really show signs or rot will suffice but most of the marked trees are in pretty good condition.
The council couldn’t confirm the number of trees that will likely be removed, but reports indicate that at least two dozen around the lake have been marked.
The unnamed local also pointed out that marking the trees are vandalism. A council spokeswoman said that that investigation of the trees are ongoing in the area following complaints from residents about the trees in the suburb that are impacting their properties adversely and posing safety risks for parkland visitors. In turn, the arborists were deployed to inspect the trees in the area. Some of the marked trees are subjected for further investigation.
There is no confirmation yet whether the council will replace the trees that are to be removed in the area. According to current procedure and guidelines, there is a one-for-one replacement policy for the removal of hazardous trees.
Photo credit: Pinterest
Queensland is on its wettest October on record yet and the abominable rainfall is set to continue. It’s only the start of the wet season in the state but some towns are already experiencing horrific summer storms. Southeast Brisbane is the most affected region, and this includes Forest Lake.
According to the recent National Roads and Motorists’ Association (NRMA) data, the southeast Brisbane area such as Cleveland, Belmont and Capalaba were the most affected region in the state last financial year. Reports show that close to half of home claims in the state last year were related to storm damage.
Five most storm-affected suburbs in Brisbane
- Forest Lake
- Capalaba
- The Gap
- Carindale
- Chapel Hill
Forest Lake is also included in the top five most storm-affected towns and suburbs in Queensland along with Proserpine (1st), Cannonvale (2nd), Mudgeeraba (3rd), and Capalaba (5th).
In the wake of cyclone Debbie, the suburb also had a high amount of fallen debris and trees.
Although severe weather is no longer new to Brisbane, the Brisbane City Council continues to work hard to ensure plans and resources are in place. This includes making sure that the communities are prepared for the quick recovery of the city when storms or other disasters hit.
In fact, the council has a communication campaign called “Be Prepared” that informs communities on preparing for severe weather, This promotes public awareness of the council’s online tools such as their severe weather Early Warning Alert Service and Flood Awareness Maps.
An All Hazards Disaster Management Plan is also in place that outlines prevention, preparation, response and recovery arrangements in the communities. You can view more about these guidelines here.
Photo credit: mdahlem.net
The ibis belongs to one of Australia’s protected species. In the south of Brisbane, specifically in Forest Lake, there is a huge number of them in the suburb’s Bird Island — to the point that they have caused damage to the area.
Due to the thousands of Ibis that have taken residence in the area, Bird Island is now also known as “Bin Chicken Island.” However, despite the jokes about the island, some residents are not happy with how these birds are causing havoc to the area. Trees have been stripped of leaves, leaving other birds with no place to live.
Not surprisingly, bird droppings have also caused an unpleasant smell around the area. Locals who frequently walk by the area have started to avoid it because it has become such an eyesore and the smell can sometimes be too overpowering.
A popular theory as to why these birds have taken refuge in the area is because of the high number of people who feed the lake’s ducks and swans with bread. There have even been sightings of people throwing as much as an entire loaf of bread for the birds. With that amount of food available, a lot of birds, including ibis, have been conditioned to stick around.
The Brisbane City Council is aware of the ibis problem. They are now closely monitoring the growing population of ibis in the suburb. They have also started to implement some rules, such as reducing food sources and installation of signages that warn visitors not to feed the birds. Cleansing of picnic areas has already begun as well.
Other efforts being done by the Council that are also applicable to other suburbs are the installation of covered ibis-proof litter bins, implementation of a bird management program in problem urban areas, and adopting a coordinated approach to ibis management with other councils in the city.
BCC also urges residents to make an effort to contribute to the reduction of the numbers of ibis in their properties. The guidelines to follow are listed here.
Photo credit: Transurban
A Forest Lake resident has renewed the call for tolls to be removed from the Logan Motorway. Residents are demanding the removal of the toll because motorists are clogging up residential streets in the area just to avoid paying it.
To make things worse, the toll increased by 5c and now many motorists are using Forest Lake Boulevard to avoid paying. Congestion has become worse, even posing a risk to children playing in the streets.
This is not the first plea regarding the removal of the Logan Motorway toll. Former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale also called for the removal of the toll in April, a move which gained plenty of support.
However, it seems that the toll at the motorway in not likely to be be gone until 2051, much longer than the original plan, which supposedly would only last until next year. This development follows after a set of complex and expensive ownership shuffles, which privatised the motorway in 2011.
Just this June, the $512 million Logan Enhancement Project started, which involves the upgrading of the Logan and Gateway Extension motorways to help improve congestion and safety.
The motorway tolls are managed by Transurban Queensland. They have recently come up with a new idea to lessen the traffic in motorways through express lanes. Toll fees will fluctuate depending on the hour, with different rates for peak and non-peak hours, giving motorists the option to take a faster route depending on their preference.
