Botany Bay and Catchment Alliance

Excitement is building in our campaign to achieve World Heritage Listing of the “Royal Reserves” – that is, the trio of Royal National Park and its adjacent Heathcote National Park and Garawarra State Recreation Area.

The immediate stimulus comes from completion of the draft of our comprehensive Mosley Report, drafted by Dr Geoff Mosley, Australia’s leading authority on national parks.

We have at once circulated it to many individuals and groups for review and comment, and we’ve already received excellent responses, including suggestions for improvement.

Basic to the argument we must present to the Commonwealth Government (and through it to the United Nations agency UNESCO) will be our coverage of the cultural international values of the Royal Reserves, on top of the already well established features of the natural environment.

Cultural? That is, the changes to the three Reserves brought about since the 1860s and 1870s by impacts from public re-creation (from picnicking to fitness and health) and Park management. Such a study will throw light on the wider Australian national park movement; and that in turn will have significance for the worldwide national parks movement.

In tracing these cultural influences, three examples spring to mind.

First was of course the establishment of Royal in 1879 as the world’s first “national park”, thus termed, remarkably a national park wholly within a city (the addition of “Royal” did not come till 1955).

Second was the early concentration of park management on nature conservation, over other possible uses.

Third was the realisation that this first national park could not stand alone – so it has contributed to the push for national parks (and wilderness reserves) in every state.

In the three examples, the developments at RNP were representative of the best worldwide changes of attitude to the natural environment.

For the rest, our final Report will detail the outstanding values of our natural environment, its biogeodiversity and its beauty/aesthetics. By the biogeoheritage we mean the Park’s incredibly numerous life-forms (species), and its many soils and rocks, and the host of interactions among them – considerations that link us to the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and the megadiversity of the whole Sydney Basin.

Dr Mosley has supplied a list of management recommendations aimed at achieving better conservation of the world heritage values of the Royal Reserves, and at maintaining their integrity as required by UNESCO. Our spokesperson Bob Crombie has welcomed the suggestions: “We will discuss them in future articles”, he says.

Bob Walshe, Chairman, First National Park, ph 9528 0444

For more information:  www.firstnationalpark.org.au/

THESE are the shocking images that have provoked an overwhelming response of disgust from our readers.

Tonnes of waste from engines to filing cabinets and thousands of plastic bottles lines the banks of the Cooks River through Canterbury, Campsie, Hurlstone Park and Earlwood.

The Express visited three sites along this short stretch of river at Picken Oval, Croydon Park; Lees Park, Ashbury and the renowned “PET cemetery’’ of Tasker Park, Canterbury, where thousands of plastic bottles have been collected in the mangroves.

The litter is an environmental shame but it reveals only what is visible to the naked eye.

The invisible threat of fecal contamination and dangerous levels of E.coli is the river’s biggest enemy.

Test results released by the Cooks River Valley Association reveal E.coli levels 60 times higher than those acceptable for human contact or swimming, and nine times higher than acceptable for secondary contact, such as boating. (more…)

The following figures were given on a daily basis for beaches within the Botany Bay and Georges River for the three weeks commencing Sunday 22/01/2012. The pollution is said to be caused by stormwater overflow from various land sources. A high percentage is from sewerage outflows.

* Rainfall data has been used to predict the likelihood of bacterial contamination at swimming sites in Botany Bay and lower Georges River. When pollution is likely, swimmers may be at increased risk of contracting illness and swimming at these sites should be avoided.

Statistics from “Beachwatch” website, NSW Department of Environment and Heritage

The following are excerpts from the January Oatley Flora and Fauna Conservation Society Newsletter.

GEORGES RIVER

The Georges River begins its journey approximately 60km south-west of Sydney in the town of Appin. From here the river flows north towards Liverpool, through the Chipping Norton Lakes Scheme, then east until it reaches Botany Bay. It was an important focal point for Aboriginal life and culture in the southern Sydney region, offering both food, transport and dreamtime links. The early 1800′s saw European settlers migrating to areas along the river and it became increasingly important as a transport route. There is some evidence of agriculture associated with early settlement, but this was limited by the ruggedness of the landscape and limited suitability for farming. Widespread clearing and expansion of urban development after WWII changed the landscape of the river and impacted on water quality. The prevailing view at the time was that intertidal areas (wetlands and swamps) were wastelands, unsightly and a threat to public health. Removing mangroves made it easier to dump waste to raise the ground to a “healthy” level suitable for sports grounds. Opposition to this devastation lead to the establishment of O.F.F. and other environmental groups from the 1950s. The NSW National Parks and

Wildlife Service (NPWS) was established in 1967 and the Georges River Combined Councils Committee [GRCCC] in the 1970s. www.georgesriver.org.au/

NATIVE VEGETATION – GEORGES RIVER N P

Georges River National Park (NP) is a small urban reserve of over 500 hectares with fifteen disconnected portions of mostly vegetated land that lie north and south of the river between Sandy Point and Salt Pan Creek, Lugarno. North of the river, the Park lies within an urban-residential setting.

The largest portion of the reserve is on the southern banks between Sandy Point and Mill Creek, and its southern boundary links to the Woronora Plateau. The first declaration of the Georges River reserve was in 1962 responding to dramatic human induced changes to the catchment area. It was designated a national Park in 1992.

Some remarkably undisturbed examples of the original environments remain. However, despite its proximity to a large urban population, the native vegetation had not been the focus of a detailed vegetation mapping study. NPWS saw the need for such a study with the results to be added to a recently completed map of native vegetation across the Sydney Catchment Area (SMCMA). This study h a s  n o w  b e e n  c o m p l e t e d . T h e first draft of its report was published in November; the final report will be out soon. www.environment.nsw.gov.au/parkmanagement/

DHARAWAL STATE CONSERVATION AREA

“The Bulli Seam Operations, BHP’S 30 year plan to longwall coalmine in the Appin to Wollondilly region, was approved 3 days before Christmas. The plan has been modified from its original proposal and now excludes any mining activity in more than 98% of the Area. (more…)

The follow is and excerpt from Rockdale City Council Environmental News

Bushcare

Been wanting to get involved in a hands on environmental activity that gets you outdoors where you learn new things? Check out our upcoming bushcare days below, no experience necessary, children welcome!. Please give the relevant bushcare contact a call if you are coming down.

Coolibah Reserve

Meet at end of Hannam St, Turrella

Wednesday 15 February 5:30pm to 7.30pm for bushcare & planting

Wednesday 14 March 5:30pm to 7.30pm for bushcare

Bushcare contact: Mia Dalby-Ball mia@dfe.net.au, 0488 481 929 (more…)