TSLS Annual Report Summary

The past month saw the annual report submitted for the local Environmental Trust funded project. The report summary follows.

This year volunteers have contributed 5148 hours towards to support the Threatened Species Last Stand on the Coal Point peninsula project. Landcarers have contributed 54% of this time to onground work, expanding the primary weeding areas and following up on all the previously worked sites

The project has positively engaged people to protect and enhance the corridor values. Squirrel Glider nestboxes were installed at 27 locations on public and private and an outpouring of community concern at the potential loss of a strategic link in the corridor to a development, saw people and Council take a stand for the Last Stand and the development withdrawn.

Training opportunities have been provided to landcarers and the community to enhance landcare skills and a trial of a landholder audits to provide information and training has shown that this level of engagement will be very effective in supporting on-ground outcomes on private land.

Surveying of local species has identified significant areas of Tetratheca juncea throughout the peninsula and Grevillea parviflora previously unrecorded, and the presence of Squirrel Gliders, in one of the newly installed nestboxes. These findings confirm that the local environment has significant values worthy the protection and effort being contributed by this project.

The Lake Macquarie Australia Day celebrations saw The Coal Point Progress Landcare group and Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood group share the honour of Community group of the Year.

The three most important outputs for the year were

1. Squirrel Glider Nestbox installation:  27 nestboxes installed, 10 on private land. Occupation has confirmed the installation height was appropriate
2. Onground effforts:  The Landcare crew have been able to increase the gains made against weed incursions due to the additional support provided by TIN Landcare and The Green Army
3. The identification of multiple Tetratheca juncea clumps throughout the peninsula and the presence of Grevillea parviflora have confirmed the value of the surveys and guiding principles of the project