Art & Craft Show Opening Night

Opening Night is on Friday 29th June, 7:30-10:30pm, it’s a wonderfully social occasion with opportunities to obtain some collectibles and taste some delectables.

Tickets can now be purchased via Eventbrite or by contacting Barbara on 0409839428.

Opening night is an opportunity to connect with other members of the local and artistic community, acquire some exceptional art and quality craft and celebrate the completion of the Threatened Species Last Stand project.

The $10 entry fee will gain you some canapés to tantalise the tastebuds and a complimentary beverage, thanks to the generous sponsorship of Carey Bay Cellars. The hall has a limited capacity and bookings will be essential.

National Tree Day at Hampton Street Link

National Tree Day will be celebrated locally on Sunday 20th May 9am-12:30, at Hampton Street Link, the 20m wide- 200m long landcare site that connects Laycock Street to Hampton Street and contains a canopy of diverse and ancient gums, rainforest remnants and over 40 species of groundcovers. Here's a brochure describing the special features of the reserve.

The Laycock Street section will be receiving some community affection with a mulched border to reduce the need for mowing, there will also be plantings of groundcovers to replace the exotic grasses.

Earlier this year a team of bush regenerators removed a lantana patch in the middle of the site. The planting day will aim to reintroduce some plants to aid the recovery of the area that receives volumes of stormwater from the adjacent development.

A lunchtime BBQ will be on offer to thank those participating on National Tree Day but also to celebrate National Volunteers Week.

All the community volunteers that support the CPPA and TASNG through the various volunteering efforts are welcome to come along for the lunchtime social at 12:30. RSVP to coalpointprogress@gmail, to assist in organising the catering.

Repair Café

Have you got items of clothing that need basic repairs but you lack the skills or equipment to fix it?

Join us at the first local repair café of lake Macquarie where we will be focusing on clothing repairs.

Bring along clothing that is in need of repair and under direct guidance you can learn how to fix the garment yourself. Repairs will be offered such as hemming pants and skirts, fixing holes, patching split seams or small tears, replacing fasteners such as buttons, zips and press studs, taking in or letting out simple seams. (We won't be refashioning entire garments.) And if you have nothing to repair, you can simply enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, be inspired by the reading table, learn some new repair skills from our volunteers or lend a hand with someone else’s repair job.

There will be someone from Warners Bay SNG for advising and assisting with sharpening of hand tools.

Help grow the repair café and let us know of items that you'd like to get advice about for repairing. 

Where and When?

Saturday 19th May 1-4pm
Toronto Community Centenary Hub 97 The Boulevarde, Toronto

May Grower's News

Growing advice from The Hunter Organic Growers says there is a chill in the air and the change of seasons appears to be under way. Regardless of the conditions in your little patch of paradise, there is still loads to do this month.

Still some good planting time left so pop in some Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. Peas and broad beans can also go in, as well as radish, turnips, swedes and spinach.

It’s time to get happy with herbs, so try some chamomile and lemon grass. You could give mint and lemon balm a go as well, but be careful to contain them as they can take over!

Why not try some lovely flowering stuff in your patch as well, like: cornflower, calendula, dianthus, pansies, viola, snapdragons, stock, ageratum and marigolds. These are great at attracting pollinators and beneficial insects to your patch, and the flowers look good as well.

DA upDAte

DA1865/2017- 20 Laycock Street

As of the 5/5/18 the developer has 28 days to address a raft of issues including obtaining the owners consent (the preschool owns the carriageway that accesses the development) and revising the stormwater management plan as flows have not been adequately determined.

Flora surveys for threatened species are required and tree retention needs consideration to support the corridor connectivity for the Squirrel Glider or offsetting proposed. There are issues around the tree retention and the impact of the development upon them.

Landscape issues included addressing the privacy between the development and the preschool, setbacks of various units along with the visual impact within the community and the landscape plan’s relation to the retained trees.

A Soil and Water Management Plan is required to address erosion and sedimentation and a Waste management plan is required detailing how waste ongoing will be managed. 

DA1835/2016 151-155 Brighton Ave (Hirecraft Marina)

Over the past few months a suite of additional information has been provided around landscape design, architect plans, view sharing, traffic assessment, disability access, acoustics and more. LMCC is still trying to resolve the vehicular access off Wharf Rd and has identified that the public jetty and surrounds will be part of the Toronto Foreshore masterplan, not the DA.

DA’s In Play

9 Lorron Close One (1) Into Two (2) Lot Subdivision

Please note: 

These summaries have been compiled  from LMCC's Application Tracking website to support community awareness. To see all of the documentation related to the DAs please visit the LMCC Application Tracking website .

Bird Monitoring Final Report- Tom Clarke

Seasonal Surveys - Summer 2013 to Summer 2018.

Over the course of five years, these bird surveys have produced a strong data set that when analysed tell many stories. This report is based on several of these stories selected for their relevance to the project and our general understanding of the Coal Point environment.

One aspect that has not changed at all is the continued dominance of those widely and often recorded species, the noisy and aggressive types, common to urban reserves. This is not a situation that is particular to just Coal Point but one that exists across the whole urban landscape where remnant bushlands have become isolated and more linear in shape.

It is interesting to read from the very first trip report; “The bushland appears to be dominated by Noisy Miner, Rainbow Lorikeet and other large, loud types and a serious lack of small bush birds (passerines) such as wrens, honeyeaters and thornbills. This paucity of smaller species may be seasonal but the condition of the understory within much of the forested sections gives little cover from the more aggressive types.

Five years on and the statement continues to be completely valid. This is not to say that some change in the future is not likely but only if continued effort with restoration fails to strive for long-term goals. Now that much of the primary treatment of exotic plants has been achieved, a focus on restoring the shrub layer and a strong and healthy forest floor should be a priority. This will prove to be a lengthy process but if achieved will certainly provide structure and habitat for a range of small bush birds and other creatures of the forest floor.

In addition to all the good restoration effort in these bushland sites, the community should be encouraged to make their backyards friendly for wildlife. The creation of additional habitat in backyards near the reserves would augment these natural areas. Thoughtful placement of suitably dense structure may provide some extra protection for small birds for instance. Also the planting of habitat buffers between cleared ground (playgrounds, parks etc.) and bushland will restrict access of urban predators as well as illegal dumping of rubbish.

It is evident that during the last five years we have seen a decline in small bush birds but the chances of future offspring from those currently living in larger bushlands to the west, searching for places to live is high. With the establishment of suitable habitat at Coal Point, eventually these spaces will be filled again.

The Full report can be downloaded from the Animals in our Bigger backyard page. 

Mega-Mural Update

The mural on the Hunter Water Reservoir celebrating the local flora and fauna is well and truly underway thanks to the artistic endeavours of students from Coal Point Primary and Toronto High Schools and the local community.

During April, 66 mural-minded people were mentored by Graffiti Dan in the art of aerosol. Some awesome orchids, terrific Tetratheca, tremendous trunks and groovy grasses were created.

Since the auspicious inception of the Mega-Mural, Graffiti Dan has been adding the zhush with some amazing animals, large and small. You can see time-lapse photography of the creations on the Coal Point Mega Mural facebook page .

The mural will be completed at the end of May and community walks to celebrate the completion are planned for World Environment Day, 5th June. Meet at the Whitelocke St gate to the Hunter Water Land at 7am and 5pm. The walks will visit the reservoir and then continue along the ridge and return to Whitelocke St. A wonderful way to celebrate World Environment Day along a local well-formed bushland track.

Auditor Wanted

Our amazing auditor of the past several years, Alan Fletcher, has officially retired from annually reviewing our accounts. The CPPA sincerely thanks Mr Fletcher for his volunteer services.

The CPPA’s financial turnover is not huge and we are not legally required to annually audit our accounts but do so for good governance and transparency.

If you would like to support the CPPA by being our Honorary Auditor please contact Ian or John to discuss what’s involved. The CPPA financial year is a calendar year.

Plants-a-Plenty Orders- extension till 18/5/18

Did you mean to order some plants but it slipped your mind? Don’t worry, there’s still limited time to place an order. The plants are 3 for $10 and there is a selection that will suit most garden features. Borders, bird-attracting-berry producers, feature grasses, and enthusiastic climbers.

Orders, images and details of the plants available can be viewed on the CPPA website .

Orders can be lodged online via a survey or by hardcopy order form available on the CPPA website and posted to PO Box 329, Toronto.