There was no coup at the recent
AGM, just a handful of Committee folk keen to keep progress happening around
Coal Point and beyond. The new Committee
looks very similar to the old Committee only wiser, their contact details are
on the back of the Chronicle.
At the outset of this report I
would like to acknowledge the tremendous work that The Committee has done over
the past year and encourage any community minded folk to get involved in your
passion project. The Progress Association can be a vehicle to both give to the
community and gain from the experience, there is a lot of evidence that
supports community mindedness being a key to happiness.
The AGM provides an opportunity to reflect on the past 12
months and some of the shimmer from these reflections is below. 2012 proved to
be an eventful and exciting year for the Progress Association and the community
in general. Special mention goes out to Treasurer John Gill and auditor Allan
Fletcher for their financial tenacity in maintaining a beautiful set of
balanced books.
Formation of the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood (TASNG) group was a significant
highlight for the year which brought interested locals under a well structured,
LMCC supported, umbrella, ‘The Alliance’ and a plethora of opportunities for
working towards sustainability emerged across the Toronto community in the form
of the Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan.
The benefits of the TASNG include
- Providing clear project
objectives to work towards
- Good council
contacts
- Governance support
The working groups that sit under the TASNG are working on
- Community Garden
activities
- Pedestrian /access
ways with safety issues being identified and community feedback sought
- Increased Landcaring
opportunities
- Waste reduction
issues
Congratulations to John Gill and
Nico Marcar and the TASNG team realising the formation of the group.
Obtaining and delivering grants was another highlight in
2012.
Receipt of the six year Environmental Trust funded Threatened Species Last
Stand on the Coal Point Peninsula (TSLS) project aims for a weed free
environment that supports the ongoing survival of the local threatened species.
The project will provide opportunities a plenty to
- Get on top of the
weeds
- Learn about and love
the local wildlife
- Secure succession of
CPPA
- Provide a social
events program
Completion of the recently delivered LMCC sponsored brochure tied in
well with the TSLS project in providing local information to locals about the
local community. The compilation of the content of the brochure highlighted pedestrian
access points that need further work to get officially recognised by LMCC and a
process to get them publicised for the community. Thanks go to Robyn Gill for
her support in compiling the content for the brochure.
The CPPA owned Hall continues to be well utilised providing
a community space for yoga, painting and parties. The Hall hire rates were
reviewed based upon CPI and new fees set with discounts available at the
discretion of the Committee. The fees for 2013 are
- Commercial uses =$14/hr
- Incorporated Community groups=$12.50/hr
- Social groups=$8/hr
- Small Parties (upto 30ppl)=$75
- Large parties =$150
- Party bond $350
Renovations are afoot to tile the
toilets and provide onsite secure storage. If you know of a business or organisation
that would like to assist please pass on the details.
Sincere thanks to Margaret Vero for
her ongoing generosity in coordinating the bookings for Progress Hall and to Tony
Dynon for keeping a watchful eye on maintenance issues.
The Fundraising highlight of the year was the Art &
Craft show. The funds raised have ensured the running costs for the Hall can be
met for another year. Thanks to Barbara Lawrenson and the Art & Craft
Committee for doing a great job and contributing over 1000 voluntary hours towards
the event. The Art & Craft show showcases the local talent and provides a
wonderful opportunity for local artists to collaborate.
The Chronicle was
distributed eight times this year and with the support of the sponsored spaces
generated funds to almost cover the Association’s insurance needs. The Chronicles
are produced by Suzanne Pritchard and letterboxed by 12 locals. This year 204
hours of volunteer time made it happen. Content and suggestions for what you’d
like in the Chronicle are always appreciated.
Community assets were
the topic for discussion towards the latter stages of the year and will
generate the undercurrent for Progress activities in 2013.
- Removal of public
toilets will be questioned
- Sale of public land
93-95 Skye Point Rd will be investigated
- The sale of Progress
owned land adjoining the Stansfield Reserves will be investigated
- Support for work on
public and private land will be provided through the TSLS grant
The local landcare team continued to work wonders and a full
report is provided by Robyn Gill our local Landcare Coordinator
As we work over 10 reserves… Coal
Point Landcarers are a keen bunch… even after the excitement of realizing that
we would soon be seeing paid professional bush regenerators working with us as
part of the Threatened Species project, we didn’t put down our tools.
We enjoy our reserves so much
that (with the help of a skilled spread sheet manager) we are able to report
that in 2012 we worked a total of 858.5 hours OR 21.4 weeks of 40 hours (morning tea time only
allowed).
During those hours we planted and
cared for (especially in the dry time) 650 seedlings. The Landcare group varies
between 3 and 6 workers weekly and our aim is to spend as much time as possible
replacing the problematic plants that enjoy the conditions as much as we do.
Left alone these often take over from native plants that, given a chance, do a
great job of maintaining the balance of the environment and are quietly
beautiful.
We try to spread our work as well
as possible through the reserves but can see that last year Gurranba and
Burnage had a lot of attention because of special projects we were working
on. At Gurranba we removed a large
amount of Asparagus Fern and Mother of Millions replacing them with a variety
of Westringia, Dianella, Tuckeroos, Wattles, Allocasuarinas and Casuarinas and
especially Kangaroo Grass which does very well in some quite harsh conditions
on the point. At Burnage we had a “breakthrough” in a gradual process of
removing Lantana while replacing it with Wattles and other lowish plants that
quickly provide some canopy to suppress weeds.
We are always mindful of not
taking too much bird and animal shelter and sometimes they prefer weed cover to
nothing. We enjoyed the sight of a rapidly shivering and curving pathway of
Trad. (often known as Wandering Jew) as a Rail ran among it totally invisible
except for leaf movement. The area where that happened is rapidly becoming fern
covered – even more shelter. At Carey
Bay Wetlands a Red-browed Finch has nested in a Melaleuca with spiky leaves
specially planted for small bird shelter on National Tree Day about 5 years ago
and a Regent Bower Bird’s brilliant blue bower has definitely been noticed by a
female lately. Sightings like these help to make the work a joy.
To now have the pleasure of
working, as part of “the big project”, with professionals who encourage us,
share and hugely enlarge what is achieved is definitely the “icing on the cake”
for us. Many thanks go to Suzanne Pritchard who pulled off this dream project
design with a huge, complex and unrefuseable grant application and is now
coordinating the groups involved to the benefit of our environment and
community.
