The Coal Point Chronicle: February 2022

Saturday 12 February 2022

Sustaining our environment and connecting community…the CPPA’s mission

It’s time to join the CPPA. With all the new and long-term members in the
community it would be wonderful to have your support for our local organisation which has been woven into the community fabric since its establishment in 1946.

The CPPA exists to sustain our local bushland and keep our community connected. The former is achieved through a long-standing and very active Landcare group undertaking environmental projects and the latter by encouraging community spirit through community education and engagement, hosting events (when possible) and producing the Chronicle.

In addition, the CPPA maintains the upkeep of our hall at 197 Skye Point Road which the founding members built in 1951 after purchasing the land. Over the past decade there have been many grant-funded renovations to improve sustainability and all-season comfort in the community space - such as underfloor insulation, rainwater harvesting for toilets, solar panels and air-con - to the point where electricity costs are now minimal. The hall, which includes a kitchen, stage and sprung floor, is available for hire at very reasonable rates. The Hall coordinator has the details.

The CPPA collaborates with like-minded organisations within the broader Toronto area and has a close working relationship with the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group (TASNG), with which our core values are intimately aligned. In the past we have had a joint membership process. However, memberships will now be managed separately. This is because any person who wishes to join TASNG must now complete a once-off membership form, the TASNG membership year is based on the financial year (whereas the CPPA’s is a calendar year) and membership categories are different.

With COVID impacting people’s capacity to travel perhaps now is a time to make a small investment in our local community to help us keep connected and care for our local bushland which is doing a great job in providing us with a calming and nurturing backdrop to our daily lives as well as a space to recreate.

Committee members are available to endorse any applications to join the CPPA which are $8/individual and $13/household and have 1 and 5 year renewal options.

CPPA Membership form

TASNG membership form- $5/individual

The Chronicle Distribution Dilemma

The feedback is always overwhelmingly positive, the community perspective it provides is a community service, the content is locally relevant and informative, and it is all done by volunteers. This is truly our Chronicle. The writing, collating, editing and distribution to 2300 households along the Coal Point peninsula, (including Toronto, Kilaben Bay and Carey Bay) is all done by over 20 volunteers, 11 months of the year.

Printing is, however, a financial cost and with the start of a new ‘Chronicle’ year we are seeking community support to cover this increasing cost.

Over the past two years the distribution of The Chronicle was gradually expanded by 800 households to include additional areas within the boundaries of the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group (TASNG), including Kilaben Bay and Toronto, to share the issues generated by the Bath St mixed-use development proposal and the Toronto Foreshore Master Planning process. The additional printing costs (and volunteer distribution) have to date been borne by TASNG and the Toronto Action Group (TAG).

The three organisations now involved in the production & distribution of The Chronicle (CPPA, TAG and TASNG), are reviewing the capacity to continue the expanded distribution in 2022 and are seeking your support to cover a cost of $50/month ($550 a year), an outlay that is hard for the CPPA alone to justify without a membership base in these areas. All funds raised will go towards the printing of the Chronicle.

Will you support the continued community communication via The Chronicle?

There are a couple of options.

You can join the CPPA or TASNG. More members especially in Toronto and Kilaben Bay means The Chronicle is providing a service to our members.
You can donate directly towards the cost of printing via our donation page

Neighbours Noticing Nature

So much wonderful wildlife still exists within our bushland suburb. These neighbours have shared their ‘faunal finds’ from a festive summer and made some forthright comments about walking on the foreshore with your four-legged friend.

Birds by the lake

There are several very old Casuarina trees on the water’s edge in front of my place.

An Australian Darter spends much of its time roosting on one of the Casuarina branches that overhangs the water on the Lake’s edge.

It “goes fishing” from this spot.

When it returns it rises out of the water to stand on a rock shelf immediately in front of the Casuarinas.

Here it spends quite some time, maybe up to an hour or more, preening itself and drying its feathers (it has a wingspan of approximately 95cm), before attempting to get to its roosting spot high up in the tree.

It then waddles over to the trunk of its tree and begins to climb/clamber up the tree using both its feet claws and its wings. Quite a feat for such a big bird and quite a sight to see!

Unfortunately when the darter is drying its feathers whilst sitting on the rock shelf it is susceptible to attack by dogs not on a leash, as recently was the case.

Another bird that has been in my yard numerous times during the last few weeks is a Buff-banded rail. A neighbour saw it and thought it was a quail, along with a couple of chicks. But it is too big to be a quail, this Bird is buff!

In response to ‘Waterfront Walking’-
(Community Quirks Dec Chronicle)

We greatly appreciate receiving the regular yellow newsletter and understand the
work involved in its compilation. As owners of a waterfront property in Toronto, we enjoy meeting the people who walk along the foreshore past our house and we acknowledge the long-standing tradition. We only ask that people keep their dogs on leashes and clean up after them.- KR

Your paragraph re Waterfront Walking is welcome information but as one of those absolute waterfront property owners I would appreciate walkers of dogs picking up their dog poo they continually choose to ignore. Perhaps if their dogs were on leads they might notice when they are pooing. It is difficult to have my small grandchildren playing on our waterfront when so many dogs are roaming free.

Locally we are very fortunate to have two leash free areas in our community, Gurranba Reserve (308a Skye Point Rd) and Puntei Park (bounded by Hampton Street and Excelsior Parade), and there’s the substantial leash free area at Speers Pt Roundabout.

Looking in the Lake

Some stunning sightings- The Gloomy Octopus aka Common Sydney octopus hasbeen spotted in an octopus’s garden off Rofe Street by a keen snorkeler.

Image (Sylke Rohrlach from Sydney, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

A Spotted Eagle Ray was sighted splashing in the shallows around Carey Bay by some regular swimmers; it circled around a couple of times to investigate the non-ray shaped object, an exhilarating experience.

Return of the Squirrel Gliders! Ye ha.

I watch for squirrel gliders every sunset, and it has been a long wait, but over Christmas I have spotted glimpses of what I was sure were gliders, and yes, I have just witnessed a glider land on an iron bark, scamper up a few metres and then glide down to a macadamia tree. Our block is now quite forested, and I have let the grasses take over. I am honestly so excited by this sighting, and it confirms my concerns for the continued loss of our old mature trees throughout the peninsula.

Not sure if you know but I believe Lyn and I were responsible for the gazetting of Coal Point as a recognised squirrel glider location on the National register.

Hope you all get a similar thrill from this sighting. I'm very thrilled.

PS I have now seen two gliders gliding together towards the same trees. I haven’t quite worked out where they’re coming from, but we have a number of boxes they could be using. I also have a couple of boxes I need to replace, which must now be prioritised.

PPS I’ve been watching the gliders again this evening and think I have a handle on what they are feeding on. We have two groves of lady fingers bananas (big block plenty of room). The King parrots like the ripe bananas and it now appears that the gliders like the flowers.

The gliders also like Cocos palm flowers which we had previously recorded and which we also have growing. I’m concerned that these little possums are relying on introduced plants, or maybe it’s simply a case of them taking advantage of a good food source. Kind regards Darrell, Lyn & Jye.

The Squirrel Glider is listed as Vulnerable NSW due to habitat loss, degradation & fragmentation, along with loss of hollow bearing trees, food sources and predation by exotic predators. There is a lot we can do locally to assist our local population survive. Installing nestboxes, providing food sources and responsible pet ownership are key to their continued survival in our fragmented landscape.

Does the Lake look murky?

After rain, especially heavy downfalls, the Lake never looks its best and this is largely due to stormwater pollution, the stuff that flows into the roadside gutters, or down the grassy verges, often through our reserves and out into the lake.

Living on a narrow peninsula where nowhere is more than a couple of hundred metres from the Lake, what goes down the drain we end up looking at, boating upon or swimming in.

The solution to our stormwater pollution is both ever present and very close at hand.

Stopping dirt, leaves, grass clipping, etc. from entering gutter and drains by sweeping hard paths and driveways regularly and putting the sweepings on the garden, in the compost or the green bin is something we can all do anytime. Have lots of leaves or bark clogged the drain? Contact council to get the street sweeper out (ph. 4921 0333), or take on some extra community-minded exercise.

If you get contractors to tend your garden please advise them not to ‘blow the lawn clippings into the gutter’ but put them in the green bin.

Picking up pet droppings and disposing of them in a rubbish bin, the garden or toilet is another must-do if you’re not keen on swimming in poo.

Washing your car on the grass, stopping soil and mulch washing off your garden and planting to stabilise slopes are other suggestions the Dept. of Planning & Environment proffer.

Can you get 5G?

Did you experience what Jan and Chris did? ...
5G Frustration

On the 9th of January we lost Telstra 4GX mobile internet service to our home in Coal Point Rd which we have had since moving back to Coal Point in 2016. We also noticed a deterioration in signal strength on our 4G mobile phones. This continues to be the case.

Successive chased up contacts and misinformation from Telstra over the next week eventually put us in phone contact with Telstra's Antenna division. They initially advised that they had recently made a 5G upgrade to the telecommunication tower in the Ridge reserve near Whitelocke Street and this had caused the interference and loss of our 4GX signal. They advised that they would investigate resolving the problem, possibly by the installation of an external antenna on our roof. Final contact revealed that they were not prepared to do anything to resolve the problem and advised us to seek our internet services elsewhere as we are assessed as being in a "4G no-go site". We are currently using the internet via hot spotting through our mobile phones. It also means that the upgraded 4GX mobile broadband equipment we purchased from Telstra less than 12 month ago is now redundant and worthless.

We immediately filed a formal complaint to Telstra about this "unplanned" disconnection of our internet service and the Antenna division's response to which the Complaints department is yet to reply to. We have also prepared detailed advice on Telstra's lack of action and responses for the presentation to the Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman in the probable eventuality of being unsuccessful with Telstra.

Hence we are wondering if any other residents of this area who receive their telecommunication services from Telstra via the West Ridge tower have recently experienced similar problems with a view to possible discussion of a plan to tackle this problem.

As a matter of interest, in relation to the implementation of Telstra's 5G services to our area, Telstra claims on their relevant website and directly to us from their Antenna Division that they now have complete 5G coverage over the entire Coal Point Peninsula. But if you are interested in updating to the 5G mobile internet plan currently on offer by Telstra, reference to the relevant website will reveal that unless you live in the immediate vicinity and in direct, uninterrupted line of sight of the West Ridge tower, you will not be able to implement such a plan due to the non-availability of minimum download speed of 50Mb per second required for 5G Home Internet to work.

If you’ve experienced a similar issue please contact Telstra’s Complaint department m.ackland@team.telstra.com.

A WEED A WALK - WAY TO GO!

Landcaring with Lois (Simpson)

What a season we have had. Our bushland reserves have responded with healthy lush growth and the native plants are looking great. The downside is, so are the weeds! Sadly, the weed invasion ultimately degrades the bushland and throws out the balance of life. Try as we might, your local Landcare team cannot keep on top of them!

Luckily, we do not battle alone. There is quite an army of locals who come out to walk and enjoy our reserves, and quite a few of them have joined the battle by removing a weed (or two or more!) on every walk. What a gift. Never think that removing even just one weed is not worth the effort. If we can remove it before it seeds, then we have saved our bush from tens, or even hundreds more invaders next season. The Landcare adage rings true - "one year's seeding means seven years weeding".

It's a little action with a big impact! Become one of our growing number of walking weed warriors!

Perhaps focus on one or two weeds that you may already recognise, such as 'farmers friends', formosa lilies, guinea grass or flea bane, and perhaps slip a small bag in your pocket in case there are seeds that need to be popped in the bin at home. And of course revel in the knowledge that you have added a little bending, stretching and flexibility movement to your exercise regime! ...and all the while helping to preserve our wonderful Aussie bushland for future generations.

This is Guinea Grass

Seeding prolifically and making the grassy verges look very weedy at the moment is Guinea grass, a fodder species that colonises roadsides causing problems when growing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

(Guinea Grass image by John Sharples)

For the walking weeders Guinea Grass provides a calming pause as the seed head stalks slide out of their grassy grasping tubes in a very satisfying way. A fun activity to encourage little people to walk along as well. There’s a fine crop ready for the plucking on Excelsior Parade alongside the Wetlands.

Sustainable Neighbourhood News

Repair Cafe pop-up : make and mend session- Toronto Library

Next date: Wednesday, 23 February 2022 | 10:00 AM to 01:00 PM

Have you got any clothing pieces that need mending?

Join Repair It Lake Mac for this free mini pop-up event and have items mended by our expert repairers, whilst learning new skills in a fun and friendly environment. Or simply come and chat about our major repair days around Lake Macquarie. Make a booking with a repairer and access to a machine, or drop in for a chat.

10am-1pm. RSVP by Booking in.

Sustainable Neighbourhood Gathering

Get together with Sustainable Neighbourhood volunteers from around Lake Macquarie for an afternoon to catch up and plan for a productive 2022.
● Hear about what other Sustainable Neighbourhood groups are planning
● Identify and develop our projects and priorities for 2022
● Get together face to face for some cake and conversation

All welcome! Saturday 26 February, 1.30-4pm, Charlestown
Registrations essential via humanitix by Wednesday 24 February.

We R Gonna Get U! Premiere 24/2/22 @ Lake Cinema, 6pm

Rathmines residents Keith Olbery and Meldi Arkinstall have made a short film on cyberbullying and it will be premiered on Thursday 24 February at 6pm at Lake Cinema in Boolaroo.

The film is designed to educate and empower young people about cyberbullying and follows the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online. The consequences are devastating for her and also for the bully.

Although the 20 minute film is targeted at teenagers, younger children can come with adult supervision. We are very fortunate to receive funding from Lake Macquarie City Council and LivingWorks Australia.

Keith is a father of 2, a primary school teacher and librarian, and has seen bullying in the classroom and experienced it himself as a young boy. This is why he produced the film.

Bullying has become a lot worse since the coronavirus pandemic started, so this film is more relevant than ever.

Refreshments will be served at 5.30pm and we're asking for a gold coin donation. The film will start at 6.30pm and there will be an open discussion afterwards.

Attendees will be asked to sit in the auditorium to eat their food, as per social distancing rules.

We were very fortunate to have some wonderful young actors volunteer, actors from Newcastle Theatre Company networks and also crew from the local area.

For more info: https://www.facebook.com/goodnetiquette