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. Read the rest of this entry »
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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 Read the rest of this entry »
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The following article was published in the Canterbury Bankstown Express newspaper and written by reporter ADAM VIDLER. We congratulate Adam and his article and express our sadness to Chris Bartlett’s family.
THE Mudcrabs, the Cooks River eco-volunteers, will hold a celebration of the life and achievements of group founder Chris Bartlett this Sunday.
The event will be held at 4pm at Rosedale Reserve, at Croydon Park, opposite the Beamish St footbridge on the Cooks River.
Mr Bartlett, of Earlwood, founded the volunteers group in 2005. He died on December 23 of after a battle with liver cancer.
The Canterbury Citizen of the Year in 2009 was born in England and migrated to Australia as a boy.
He worked as a patrol officer in Papua New Guinea before independence and as a school teacher in Sydney before retiring.
The committed environmentalist always travelled by bicycle.
The Mudcrabs group, which now has more than 450 members, is affiliated with the Cooks River Valley Association.
The Mudcrabs work most almost every weekend along the Cooks River and have removed thousands of cubic metres of litter from the over the past seven years.
They have also planted more than 10,000 native plants along the river.
Chris was a strong advocate of container deposit legislation to try to limit the amount of litter getting into the river.
He lectured to school groups about the benefits of natural resource management and how to bring the Cooks River back to health.
Mudcrabs member Peter Munro said Chris was also committed to animal welfare and would take in and care for many abandoned or stray animals.
“Chris will be sadly missed by all who knew him,’’ he said.
The following link shows the original article from the Canterbury Bankstown Express:- http://express.whereilive.com.au/news/story/goodbye-to-mudcrabs-founder-chris-bartlett/
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The following article is quoted from the Canterbury Bankstown Express for the information of those living beyond the paper’s circulation area. Our thanks to Jessica Clement for her fine reporting of this issue. Please note the Petition on the Cooks River Valley Association website. We recommend that you download the petition and circulate it amongst your friends and neighbours then forward it as noted on the website.
FOR more than 100 years, the Cooks River has delivered contaminated and filthy water to Canterbury, Campsie and Earlwood, through to Botany Bay.
A century-and-a-half ago it was the woolwashers and tanneries that contributed to the foul deluge.
Today, a university has found our ageing sewerage infrastructure is to blame.
Armed with this knowledge, residents led by the Cooks River Valley Association, have decided enough is enough.
“We need to show Sydney Water that this is the time to change their priorities and pay serious attention to the Cooks River,’’ association water quality co-ordinator Gayle Adams said.
A University of NSW study completed late last year pronounced the 23km waterway to be nothing but an “open sewer’’ carrying enough raw sewage to be deemed hazardous to human health.
The study, by Dr Stuart Khan, concluded that ageing sewers, some almost 100 years old, were leaking effluent into the river.
This confirmation has renewed calls for a clean-up.
“We’d hope that one day we could have this river restored to the point where it is safe to swim in at least one location,’’ she said.
Councils recommend nobody swim or kayak in the river. Fishing is banned.
A Sydney Water spokeswoman affirmed its commitment, in conjunction with councils, to protect the river’s health.
She said the organisation was designing plans to naturalise 1.1km of the river’s banks this year and would routinely monitor 19 stormwater drain in the catchment area.
PETITION
WHO:The Cooks River Valley Association has started a petition to clean the Cooks River and make it safe for swimming and human use
TABLED:They hope to have the petition tabled in parliament
HELP: Download the petition at www.crva.org.au or email info@crva.org.au
PLUS: Residents are also urged to contact their state MP to have the river cleaned
Canterbury Bankstown Express link to original article:- http://express.whereilive.com.au/news/story/waterway-nothing-but-an-open-sewer/
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The following gleanings are from recent Oatley Faura and Fauna Society Newsletters:-
CAMPHOR LAUREL: A PEST TREE
It was introduced to Australia as an ornamental species about 1822 and established in the Sydney Botanic Gardens in 1854. Its value as an ornamental tree was actively promoted in municipal parks, gardens and school grounds. 10 years ago, OFF News noted that this tree was a pest,
invading natural habitats all along the coast, with its root system damaging pipes, fences, foundations, and preventing the growth of other species. It reported that Kew Gardens in U.K. found the roots of camphor laurels to be covered with tiny oil exudation glands that seasonally pump toxins into the soil and water courses, and impact on native wildlife. Surprisingly still well regarded by some, camphor laurel is now a declared noxious weed, but not in all localgovernment areas.
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/
BIRDS IN OATLEY PARK
The Park provides a sanctuary for many species of birds, some of which nest within its boundaries Others simply use the park and itstidal boundaries as part of their wider search for food and shelter, returning regularly to the park, but nesting elsewhere. It is difficult to say exactly how many bird species can be found within the park at any one time; numbers vary depending on the season and availability of food.
BIRDS OF OATLEY PARK
In a recent email to OFF, Warren Mallard made some interesting comments on the birds he remembers from Oatley Park in the 1950s. He notes, “Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters were the most prevalent, and there were colonies of Dusky Wood Swallows nesting at the end of Lime Kiln Bay. Grey Thrushes also nested in the area. A White-breasted Sea Eagle nested for a number of years in a large Angophora costata at the end of Lime Kiln Bay,but left once Peakhurst houses sprang up. Southern Yellow Robins were common, nesting with Silvereyes in the Melaleuca forest of Lime Kiln Bay. There were two species of Quail also in the park, and there were no Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Noisy Miners, Rainbow Lorikeets, or Scaly-breasted Lorikeets. ”Warren’s notes open up the question of how different is the birdlife now. Official lists are from about 1975 basedon much earlier observations. One list contains 114 species; another more than 145, so there is a need for a new list for Oatley Park, Lime Kiln Bay, and Oatley Heights Park, noting behaviour and locations. It will take some time to complete, as a number of birds are summer visitors or only vagrants. The completed list will then go on the OFF website.
PROTECT OUR NATIVE ANIMALS IN THE BUSH
Stay on walking tracks in bushland.
- Admire wild flowers and plants – do not pick them.
- Leave natural features such as fallen timber on the ground.
- Leave yabbies, tadpoles, and water bugs in the creeks.
- Remove all your rubbish from the bush.
- Use your compost bin for garden green waste.
- Walk, rather than ride a trail bike.
- Keep equipment and boots clean. Spray with 70/30 mix of metho & water to stop spreading the fungal disease , Phytophthora
- Keep pets at home, particularly cats, and especially at night.
RECYCLING FOOD SCRAPS
Food scraps such as banana peels, apple cores, vegetable trimmings, bones, eggshells, and pizza crust are a wasted resource in landfill. As they decompose, they generate methane, but when composted, they produce oxygen, valuable to soil and plant health. They can now be safely collected and processed, and a growing number of municipalities provide special food scrap bins.
www.woollahra.nsw.gov.au/
Our thanks to Hon. Editor: John Davoren for his excellent Newsletter reports
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