Two CSIRO mineral scientists who usually have their hands dirty working on new coal or magnesium technology are showing that individuals can make a difference to their local environment.

In Brisbane's western suburb of Pinjarra Hills at CSIRO's Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies (QCAT), there's a small creek surrounded by original vine forest and inhabited by uncommon species of plants, lizards and frogs.

Andrew Taylor and Steve Peck first started to investigate the potential of One O'Clock Creek when they became concerned about the plants being used to landscape the new buildings on-site.

"We were keen to see native plants used rather than exotics," said Steve. "The site managers told us we could have our say about the nearby creek area if we left the landscaping to the gardener."

"Since then we've had two working bees to put in a 750m walking track, clean out weeds and plant more than 280 native trees along the creek."

In fact, QCAT staff are so enthusiastic about the project that they started flora and fauna lists, with more than 75 species of bird already identified.

Andrew said they had also identified at least 20 different species of native vines, along with the uncommon Great Barred-frog and the endangered Collared Delma legless lizard.

In their enthusiastic investigation of the site, Andrew and Steve also discovered that current site maps were wrong about where the creek actually flowed.

QCAT Executive Manager, Dr John Read, said this meant building plans had to be changed to protect the creek site. A car park planned for Stage 2 of the QCAT development will need to be moved so it doesn't impact on the creek.

"We think it's important to care for the local environment here and the creek area is the most important part of that environment," Dr Read said.

"This area is also important for staff morale as people like working in a pleasant environment, and if anyone is feeling frustrated at work they can always go for a walk along the creek and take a few deep breaths."

Andrew and Steve plan to continue their restoration of the creek area with help from QCAT staff and local community groups.

"We plan to label trees and plants in the area and extend the walking track along the creek for another two kilometres", Andrew said. "This will make it a great educational facility for local schools in the Western Suburbs wanting to come through."

QCAT has almost 228 people on site working for a range of organisations including:

CSIRO Exploration and Mining, Minerals, Manufacturing Science & Technology, Coal and Energy Technology, the Cooperative Research Centres for Mining Technology and Equipment, Cast and Alloy Solidification Technology, Landscape Evolution and Mineral Exploration, the Australian Centre for Minesite Rehabilitation Research and commercial firms Digicon Geophysical Ltd, Cutting Edge Technology Pty Ltd, and Batstone Technology Ltd.

QCAT was established in 1990 by a $18 million agreement between the Queensland Government and CSIRO. The completion of Stage 2 in two years time will expand the number of people working on-site to 350. Dr Read said initial investment in QCAT has already paid off through research outcomes and technology value to mining and exploration companies.

More information:
Dr John Read, Executive Manager, Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies 07 3212 4460
Mr Andrew Taylor, CSIRO Coal and Energy Technology 07 3212 4505
Mr Kent Quigley, Manager QCAT Public Affairs, 07 3212 4448 (w), 07 3202 8683(ah)

Photo captions:
Dr John Read (left) looks at a specimen of the Collared Delma legless lizard with Andrew Taylor (middle) and Steve Peck (right).
Steve Peck shows the endangered Collared Delma legless lizard he found in the One O'Clock Creek area.

QCAT research outcomes:
New designs for highwall mining operations.
Navigation and guidance system for highwall mining equipment.
Development of spectrometric nuclear logging tools.
Development of a cruise control for the swing and dump cycle of a 3000ton dragline.
Development of a new coal preparation system called - Turbo-flotation.
Development of new disc cutters for hardrock mining.
Development of a new generation mineral processing system (QEM*SEM) for quantative evaluation of minerals during the processing of mineral ore.