Diary Dates

Monday 7th February 6-7pm at Progress Hall

Youth Week Activities Workshop 

Monday 7th February at Progress Hall

Progress Committee Monthly Meeting

Monday 14th, 21st, 28th  February 7-8.30pm at Progress Hall
Vege TT able talks. How to grow vegetables in your backyard

Thursday 17th February 9.30-12 at Scout Hall

Toronto District Garden Club- Native grasses talk by Robyn Gill-free native plant from CPPA

Local Landcaring each Thursday

Focus reserve for February is the Carey Bay Wetlands.

 Ring Robyn for details  4959 1507 

Thursday 24th February 6.30-8pm at LMCC Council Chambers

Project Aware Information Session

Monday 7th March 7-8pm at Progress Hall

Coal Point Progress Association Annual General Meeting. Election of new Committee

Welcome to 2011

It’s the Year of the Rabbit and the International Year of Youth and of Forests.These big themes will ripple down to the local level through the activities of the Coal Point Progress Association (CPPA) this year.

The Year of the Rabbit is a time to catch your breath and calm the nerves, with a focus on local relationships and peaceful lifestyles. We'll be doing some local socialising with a Flood Fundraiser in March, planning for the future of the organisation at the AGM on March 7th  and supporting growing your own vegetables through talks and garden visits.

The International Year of Youth is a good time to think about what we can do to support local youth in our community. There are LMCC Youth Week grants open at the moment for activities during Youth Week, April 1-10, the theme is Own It!  Young people 12-24 years old must be involved in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the events / activities. If you're young and want to help organise a local event come along to a workshop at 6pm at the Hall on Monday 7 February to get ideas and the application underway, which is due on 16/2/11. It won't happen unless you Own It!.

The International Year of Forests will get its share of attention as we continue to landcare in the urban forest which surrounds us. Additionally grant funded projects at Stansfield Close and Yural Reserves will get finished this year and a brochure celebrating our local bushland will be delivered into everyone's letter box.

Since the last Chronicle there have been a few significant occurrences. The Art & Craft show came and went and in the process raised $3400 towards painting the Hall. It was an amazing event with such a wonderful display of local talent filling every corner of the Hall. Congratulations to the sub-committee who did a fantastic job on making it all happen and to everyone who came along and shared in the community joi de vie. Special thanks to Whitakers Jewellers who donated the major raffle prize, and Anacapri and Double Take cafes for the additional prizes.

On the last day of the Art Show there was also a meeting of like minded people interested in helping locals transition into backyard vegetable gardening as part of the Transition Town (TT) project. The Vege-TT-able group was formed and has had its first meeting to plan the project.

At the Lake Macquarie Environmental Excellence in Landcare Awards local landcarer Robyn Garret was recognised for being “continuously and thoughtfully supportive of the work of the Coal Point Landcare Group". Congratulations!

We were also saddened at the loss of a long-term Progress stalwart and gentleman, Geoff Teague, whose talents in cello and calligraphy were often admired and shared. Geoff's local commitments to caring for the Carey Bay wetlands and Chronicle distribution for over 15 years were respected and appreciated. Our condolences go out to Olive and her family.

Suzanne Pritchard, President

Vege TT able

As part of our Transition Towns project the CPPA aims to support residents who want to develop a backyard vegetable garden. Many already have a productive garden and are reaping the benefits of nourishing, home grown vegetables. 

By growing your own you save money and have fresh, not old cold-store, artificially & chemically ripened fruit and vegetables. You also play your bit in lowering greenhouse gases by reducing long haul transportation and refrigeration emissions.

In years gone by almost every home had a backyard vegie patch. People took pride in their ability to grow their own and share their knowledge, as well as vegetables, with their neighbours. Many still do and many would like to join them. 

The good news is that help is on the way in the form of introductory lectures on how to start a garden, what plants need such as soil, water, light, warmth, food etc. These talks will be down to earth and non technical.

The talks will happen on Monday 14, 22 and 28 February 7.00-8.30 pm at Progress Hall. Interest from these meetings will then determine what happens next. We're hoping that we can continue to provide support with home visits for ideas to set up, trouble shoot or admire local vegetable gardens.

Flood Appeal Fundraiser

The Progress Association is looking for local talent to strut their stuff at a community fundraiser in March with proceeds going to the Flood Appeal.

If you can sing, dance, sculpt balloons, recite bush poetry, have a band or an animal with a rare and unique talent that you would like to share, this is golden opportunity. 

We're hoping the night will be fun as it is a fundraiser with a mix of talent and trivia to entertain and also an opportunity to catch up with friends in a friendly atmosphere. 

If you would like to be involved as talent or in the organising subcommittee come along to the February Progress meeting or contact Suzanne. The March Chronicle will have all the details.

AGM & Membership

The Progress year runs to the calendar year, this means around December-January membership renewals are due and if you're a member you get the honour of being able to be on the Committee and vote at meetings in addition to supporting the organisation.

If you would like to join up and get the full 12 months of benefits from being a member contact Barbara, the Treasurer for a membership application on 4959 1259.

Each year around March at the AGM a new Committee is elected to coordinate the activities of the Association. This year we will be seeking new Committee members for all of the positions, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and general Committee. If you have a hankering to be involved in we'd love to hear from you.

A Link With the History of Coal Point

Robyn Gill -Coal Point Landcare Coordinator

In recent years Lake Macquarie City Council has acquired 16 lots of land zoned for voluntary acquisition to help link parcels to create a significant reserve area along the top of the ridge. 

Locally unique, as all but one other of  Coal Point’s 13 reserves adjoin the lake, it suffers less from the problems of drainage carrying seeds of exotic plants from gardens. Exotic seeds sprout enthusiastically further down the catchment in the foreshore reserves with their moist, nutrient rich refuges.

This ridge reserve also contains very special and rarer plants that we don’t see in any other areas around here due to the hilltop geography and geology. It provides a window back in time for the local vegetation.

This reserve also contains the remnants of the track that was used by miners walking to work at the Ebenezer Coal Mine, the first commercial activity on Coal Point. The track was developed by the Christian missionary  Rev. Lance Threlkeld who worked with the Aboriginal philosopher and linguist Biraban to compile the first dictionary of Awabakal language (An Australian Grammar 1834) from which many of our reserve names have come.

Recently volunteers of Coal Point Landcare Group worked in this reserve as a group for the first time along with some volunteers from the Landcare Resource Office and two professional bush regenerators and were happy to see so much plant beauty with fewer weeds giving us a somewhat more achievable targets than usual.

If you'd like to come landcaring and get a very different perspective on our local bushland give me ring on 4959 4019.

Project Aware

LMCC ran a coastal summer activities program in January and if your were lucky enough to get in you would have experienced the joys of learning something new about our local marine environment.

Ocean & Coastal Initiatives (OCCI) held a series of exploratory sessions on seagrass and razor clams which involved discovering the amazing sea life that calls the seagrass beds home. In a half hour search in the seagrass a multitude of life was found including three different types of young prawns, several juvenile fish and pipe fish, a sea hare, sea-urchin and assorted mollusks. 

It proved conclusively the value of seagrass as a nursery and critical part of our marine ecosystem. 

An information session on how to get involved in OCCI's marine conservation community education project is available on Thursday 24 February  6.30-8pm at LMCC Council Chambers.

At this session you'll hear about Project Aware a hands-on learning experience involving expert tutors, 4 evening sessions, 2 field trips and an awards presentation.

The course commences on Thursday 10 March and there is a participant commitment to attend all lectures, field trips and complete a voluntary project within your community to share what you have learned.

Enquiries and bookings can be made with Janet 4975 5715 or Gina 4358 4763, 0414414291. www.occi.org.au/Project%20Aware%20Info.pdf

The Razor Clams have increased in numbers in the Lake in recent years. They play a role in the life of the Lake as filter feeders and their  presence indicates a healthy waterway.

They don’t move, live up to 20 years and are extremely sharp. Be careful when walking through seagrass. 

Community Exchange

A new section in the Chronicle where you can place wanted, for sale or exchange items.  Three line limit for a donation.

WANTED A lockable, clean garage space for a car, which is available for rent.
Contact Jan & Ian Hissey, H 4959 1382

Council in Our Community

• In December LMCC gave the go ahead for a 120 place childcare centre to be built at 135 Excelsior Parade. 
• The Leash free area has been officially relocated to Gurranba reserve from Biriban reserve
• A Toronto Sustainable Neighbourhoods group had its 1st gathering

Just Jude Celebrating 19 Years

Jude McDonald started working at 'Just Judes' Hair Salon on the 13th December 1991. 

“The past 19 years have been a huge pleasure for me, I've seen children grow from babies to young adults, formed life long friendships with my clients and sadly lost some dear friends along the way.” Jude said

Jude doesn't think she'll be working for another 19 years but for the time being she is still celebrating. 

Congratulations Jude and thank you for being such a wonderful support  in the community.

Psychological and Emotional Benefits of regular exercise

from the HYPE Team at Carey Bay

Aerobic exercise is linked with improved mental vigor, including reaction time, acuity, and math skills. Exercising may even enhance creativity and imagination.

According to one study, older people who are physically fit respond to mental challenges just as quickly as unfit young adults. (Stretching appears to have no such effects.) 

Both aerobic and non-aerobic workouts have been shown to reduce depression. According to one study, exercise was as effective for improving mood in people with clinical depression as some common forms of psychotherapy. Either brief periods of intense training or prolonged aerobic workouts can raise levels of important chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine, that produce feelings of pleasure, causing the so-called runner's high. One study found that teenagers who were active in sports have a much better sense of well being than their sedentary peers; the more vigorously they exercised, the better was their emotional health. 

Regular brisk walking will cut in half the incidence of sleep disturbances in people who suffer from them. It should be noted that exercise late in the evening, however, can cause sleep disturbances. Rhythmic aerobic classes and yoga exercises may be particularly helpful for combating stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness.

No matter what age or what level of fitness you are at, regular exercise can be nothing less than beneficial.