Queensland’s bushfire season officially started on 1 August, and the warning from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) is that this season will be busy. The combination of existing drought conditions with predicted below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures is set to produce more opportunities for bushfires to take hold throughout the state.

According to the climate scientists, drought and bushfires are going to be more frequent in our region. The Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection names that we can expect average higher temperatures, hotter and more frequent hot days, harsher fire weather, fewer frosts, less rainfall in winter and spring, and more intense downpours. The CSIRO even names that by 2050, the average temperature in our region will increase by at least 4.5 degrees if current trends continue.

St Mary’s College, Toowoomba has led the way in inspiring the boys to undertake intimate conversations with others, especially our local, older residents. Their friendships with Darling Down elderly citizens have gone from conversations to publication. Launched during Queensland Seniors Week, the book “Wise Humans of the Downs”, is a special project by not-for-profit organisation YellowBridge QLD in partnership with the college.