Dates for the Diary

CPPA Festive Season social at RMYC

Sunday, 11th December 11 am @ Royal Motor Yacht Club - Waterfront Beer Garden

It’s the Festive season and CPPA members and volunteers are invited to get together for some good food and a CPPA 'catch up' without having to test our mental capabilities with trivia questions or our muscles landcaring or our legs delivering Chronicles.

There is a 'cook your own BBQ' pack available for $12.00 - this included steak, sausage, bacon, salad and a bread roll. There will be entertainment provided including a jumping castle.

To get into the Christmas Spirit - a $5.00 Secret Santa gift, per person would be appreciated so we can all share the joy of giving.

Landcare EEL Awards and Xmas Party

Friday 25th November 4-7pm @ Landcare Resource Centre.
Lake Macquarie Landcare Environmental Excellence in Landcare Awards and Christmas party.RSVP by 22/11/16 ph 4921 0392

Toronto Streetscape

The team will be at Toronto Library every Wednesday morning from 9am if you’d like to drop by for a chat.

Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance Brainstorming session

3/12/16 2-5pm at Landcare Centre

Catch up with Sustainable Neighbourhood volunteers from around Lake Macquarie for an end of year celebration. Share a plastic-free afternoon tea, enjoy a project presentation, and discuss ideas to make Sustainable Neighbourhoods even better.

All welcome. Afternoon tea will be provided, but you’re welcome to bring along a favourite treat to share. Please avoid single use plastic wrap and packaging, and remember to bring a reusable container to take home leftovers.

Location: Landcare Resource Centre, 110 York St, Teralba

RSVPs essential by 25 November to the Lake Macquarie Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance, 4921 0117, admin@sustainableneighbourhoods.org.au.

For more information about Sustainable Neighbourhoods, visit www.sustainableneighbourhoods.org.au.

Community Gardeners

1st and 3rd Saturdays 10am-12 and 10am-noon Thursday at The Hub, 97 The Boulevarde

Carols by the Lake 2016

On December 15th Toronto Chamber of Commerce and the community will hold our Carols by the Lake 2016 on the beautiful Toronto Foreshore

Progress parlez

Chronicle delivery opt out option

The Chronicle is hand delivered by volunteers to 1500 local letterboxes. We do not consider it junk mail or advertising material but a community communication tool. We do respect your decision to refuse the newsletter though. Please advise us if you do not want to receive one in your letterbox.

Chronicle Sponsors

Sponsoring a space in the Chronicle is one way to support the CPPA and these sponsorships are truly appreciated but products and services are not endorsed by the CPPA.

DA’s and the CPPA

CPPA does its best to monitor and communicate Development Applications to the community as an awareness raising service. If locals are concerned about a DA the CPPA can share our experiences and can assist local residents to communicate their concerns.

LMCC’s Application Tracking website holds all the information related to DAs. The CPPA addresses DA’s with our primary objectives in mind, which are to enhance the natural environment by protecting preserving and regenerating the bushland and advancing social welfare, community spirit and sustainability through community education and engagement.

70 year old photos wanted

The CPPA was founded in 1946…70 years ago! This awesome achievement will be celebrated in April next year and we are hoping to make it a little bit special and compile some local images of the area over the past 70 years.

If you have any happy snaps of events at Progress Hall, picnics in the park, views from the lake or local icons we’d love to see them. Please contact one of the committee.

TSLS Tales

Thankyou TIN

The Threatened Species Last Stand (TSLS) project has been making amazing progress in regenerating our local reserves and public land thanks to a dedicated team of local landcarers and the support from Trees In Newcastle’s (TIN) volunteers, bush regenerators and project manager.

The partnership with TIN has recently come to an end and the CPPA would like to thank all involved at TIN for their support over the past four years.

The TSLS project will continue till 2018 and the CPPA will still be overseeing and coordinating the project maintaining continuity and supporting the local landcarers and landholders.

Show and tell and Carey Bay Preschool

Providing habitat for native animals is all about have the right furniture, the right size rooms and the right restaurant.

On 9/11/16 at Carey Bay Preschool a healthy habitat was created for the children. A rich soil foundation was laid down with mulch to protect it and keep the moisture in.

The furniture installed included logs for lizards to lounge upon, rocks for reptiles to sunbake on and hide under, prickly plants to protect birds from cats and dogs and nest boxes for shelter, as hollows take over 100 years to form.

The local wildlife eateries included flowers for feasting upon by possums and nectar feeding birds, seeds for snacking and cracking by parrots, native grasses for the small seed eaters and of course fresh water.

The Threatened Species on the Coal Point Peninsula is available to assist locals to care for their land and are happy to provide resources and advice on what furniture, rooms and restaurants the local wildlife are using in your backyard.

Landcare Report –Robyn Gill

October was THE RIDGE month and this year, since the burn in April, it’s possible to see both STANSFIELD RESERVE and the WEST RIDGE as part of the same “crowning glory” of the special part of the world that we care for.

The western part of the ridge contains the historic walking track used by miners and the few Coal Point residents & visitors who were around in the time when horse and a rowing boat were the other means of transport. The ridge vegetation had tended to be in almost pristine state but in this century the effects of increasing population and spread of garden escapes such as the Ground Asparagus were taking their toll and almost covered STANSFIELD.

As the council continued to buy land to add to the reserve, African Olive, Weed Wattles, lots of Formosan Lilies and even coastal Bitou Bush were adding to the mix and the landcaring load. The Lilies continue to be a challenge.

The presence of the great diversity of the natural vegetation is a joy to behold and helps to keep the local birds happy even as trees have come down in major storms, the resilience in the bushland means new plants are always popping up.

At STANSFIELD the challenge is big but native regrowth is amazing and gives hope that the invaders can be more effectively managed than before.

A happy surprise was provided recently when some of the VOLUNTEERS from TIN who have been landcaring with us as part of the TSLS Project decided to become local landcarers and continues to work with us.

TASNG Talk

Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group

Coffee grounds are great for the ground

The TASNG Waste group has been nose to the grindstone about coffee grounds. A survey of 12 coffee providers around Toronto has shown a definite trend in the move away from single use plastic cups and also the provision of coffee grounds for gardeners to boost organic matter and nitrogen in the compost heaps. Coffee grounds in the garden have other purported uses such as fertilizer, ph adjuster, mulch, slug ‘n snail deterrent and cat repellent.

	Plastic-free takeaway cups	Can fill your own  cup	Discount for own  cup	Coffee grinds for garden if pick up is set
Tinto Espresso Bar		Yes		Yes
Nabo’s	Yes	Yes		Yes
Double Take		Yes		Yes
Coffee Essence	Yes	Yes	0.50c	Yes
Belluno’s		Yes	Yes	Yes
Bean 2 Go	Yes	Yes
Queen of Tarts		Yes		Maybe
Miranda’s Cakes & Pies	Yes	Yes		Yes
Boulevarde 7	Yes	Yes		Daily
Michel’s Patisserie		Yes		Maybe
Greg & Audrey’s Ice Cream	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Char’s Cafe	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

The Birds and the Bees

Bye Bye Birdies

October was not a good month for our bird buddies. The local Powerful Owl chick was struck by a car, started to recover and then died as a result of its injuries. Additionally the CPPA was advised that the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is actively continuing its investigation into the deaths of magpies at Coal Point and possible misuse of pesticides.

“The EPA examined the magpies from Coal Point and tests show that the magpies were poisoned with a pesticide containing the chemical Fenthion.

Fenthion is a banned pesticide in NSW and its use is an offence under the Pesticide Act 1999.

The high concentration of chemical in the magpies suggests that the birds were deliberately poisoned.

The EPA are calling for more information from people living in the area who might have seen or heard something. If anyone has any information that may assist the EPA please contact the Environment Line on 131555.”

Image David Cook-Southern Boobook 

Boobook’s are back

Have you been serenaded off to sleep lately with the meditative calls of the Southern Boobook, also known as the Mopoke, one of the smallest most common owls in Australia?

The repetitive call is distinctive and prolonged and a feature of our local bushland. The Southern Boobook is a nocturnal feeder on insects, small birds and mammals (like mice).

These owls like to perch on open branches and tree tops to get a good view of what’s going on and then either pounce upon the ground dwelling prey or take flight to catch their flying food on the wing.

The plumage of Southern Boobook is dark chocolate above and rufous-brown below, heavily streaked and spotted with white. The bill is grey and the feet are grey or white.

These little owls need tree hollows to make a nest.

Image Rod Mackay 

Pollinators

Local bird enthusiast Rod Mackay has recently spotted some nomadic Musk Lorikeets feeding on gum blossoms. These medium sized, sturdy birds move about in flocks following the flowering gums of tall open forests and woodlands, like we have along the West Ridge and in many backyards. These pretty birds eat mainly pollen and nectar from eucalypts with their brush-tipped tongues but also enjoy seeds, fruits and insects. In the process of eating they are also pollinating.

The Muskies also need hollow branches and holes in living gum trees to lay and incubate their eggs as well as roost in at night.

Wild Pollinator Count is on 13-20 November

Australia has lots of wild pollinator insects that are often overlooked. European honey bees get a lot of attention because they are an adaptable, generalist forager, however many native insects also contribute to pollination in crops and gardens all around the country.

Australia has around 2,000 native bee species, all of which are important pollinators, there are also couple of thousand butterfly, wasp, fly, moth, beetle, thrips and ant species, some of which are documented pollinators. Unfortunately, there isn’t lot of information on the ecology of many of these insects, what flowers they pollinate, or where they are found.

You can contribute to wild pollinator insect conservation in Australia by counting wild pollinators in your backyard and help to build a database on wild pollinator activity.

Watch any flowering plant for just ten minutes sometime in the count week.

You don’t need to be an insect expert. You don’t need fancy gear.You may be surprised by what you see!

Find out how to count pollinators, identify the insects you see and submit your observations through the links at https://wildpollinatorcount.com/.

Native Bees of Lake Macquarie – Free Workshop

Thursday 24 November, 9.15am – 12.30pm

Join us for an informative morning learning about this diverse group of pollinators, how to protect them and encourage more into your own backyard.

Location: Landcare Resource Centre, 80 Toronto Rd, Teralba

Hosted by Lake Macquarie City Council. Bookings essential to Council by phone 4921 0333 or Eventbrite.

DA of the DAy

DA-1835/2016 151 Brighton Avenue TORONTO: Mixed Use Development Including Shop and 44 Residential Units: Submissions due 9/12/16

Eighteen concerned residents attended the CPPA November meeting to discuss the issues which have been detailed in a letter to Council and summarized in a flyer, both available on the CPPA website for downloading and sending in by 9/12/16

Some of the issues are:

The proposed development is adjacent to the foreshore at the extremity of the Toronto business area surrounded by low - medium density residences where foreshore building heights are 1- 2 storey single dwellings (Hirecraft marina area). This development is out of context with the foreshore development in Toronto and more broadly across the City. It sets a dangerous precedent for 4-storey developments on the foreshore.

The Local Centre zoning (B2) on which this development is situated is intended to support a range of retail and business uses, this development is primarily a residential complex with 34m2of commercial tenancy. The objectives of the B2 zone are not being met by this proposal. To the contrary the development will be utilising the public reserves for amenity and public parking for overflow without contributing any of the desired objectives of the B2 zoning.

The Toronto Recreational Land Plan identified the area as a major park expansion and playground extension. The outcomes of this planning document have not been finalised and the intent of LMCC to have this area as a community asset is worthy of consideration to achieve community outcomes.

DA UpDAte

2 Brighton Avenue: Demolition Structures, 2 into 1 lots & 19 Dwellings (multi dwelling houses)
Under Assessment

The developer has stated “Having discussed Councils letter with the consultant team the owners do not intend making substantial changes to the development and will not be withdrawing the application… the consultant team (will) attend to certain matters in the letter that warrant correction, clarification or further information. In particular this was to include elevations and revised Visual Impact Assessment with retained trees clearly identified and depicted on these plans. These are being provided to allow a more detailed assessment of these impacts.”
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DAs in Play

Please consult LMCC’s website for details and a complete listing. New listings are from the period 1/9/16 to 7/11/16

• 4 Alkira Street: Patio Cover: Approved
• 9 Amelia Street: Remove 2 trees: Under Assessment
• 2 Angela Close: B149 - Part - Deck: Awaiting Information Requested
• 2 Brighton Ave: Demolition Structures, 2 into 1 lots & 19 Dwellings (multi dwelling houses: Under Assessment
• 22 Brighton Avenue: Multiple Dwelling Housing, Subdivision and Demolition – Under Assessment
• 27 Brighton Avenue: Dwelling House (Additions and Alterations): Approved
• 93A Brighton Avenue: Demolition of Existing Structures, Dwelling House, Swimming Pool with Associated Safety Barriers and Garaging: Awaiting Information requested
• 123 Brighton Avenue: Dwelling Alterations and Additions: Approved
• 151 Brighton Avenue: Mixed Use Development Including Shop and 44 Residential Units: Notification/Advertising
• 43 Coal Point Road: Dwelling House: Approved
• 47 Coal Point Road: Attached Rear Fly-Over Patio fixed to Existing Deck.: Initial Assessment
• 144 Coal Point Road: Retaining Wall: Initial assessment
• 215 Coal Point Road. Detached Garage: Awaiting Information requested
• 242 Coal Point Road: Dwelling House and Swimming Pool with Associated Safety Barriers: Under Assessment
• 279 Coal Point Road: Water Recreation Structure: On Notification/Advertising
• 29 Hampton Street: Dwelling House: Under Assessment
• 25-27 Kilaben Road: 1 into 5 lot Subdivision: Awaiting Information Requested
• 11 Killara Close: Dwelling House Carport & Patio Cover: Under assessment 
• 1/17 Laycock Street: Child Care Centre: Awaiting Information requested
• 18/37 Laycock Street. Patio Cover: Awaiting Allocation
• 30 Mount Waring Road : Subdivision Works - Acces, Stormwater, APZ and Retaining Wall: Awaiting Information Requested
• 81 Skye Point Road: Studio Under Assessment
• 106 Skye Point Road: Dwelling Alterations and Additions and Pool with Associated Safety Barriers. Approved
• 111 Skye Point Road: Dwelling Addition and Carport: Awaiting Information requested
• 176 Skye Point Road: Dwelling House: Approved
• 206 Skye Point Road:Alteration & Additions to exisiting deck: approve
• 390 Skye Point Road: Water Recreation Structure - Slipway and Ramp replacement: Awaiting DA Determination