Upcoming Events

NATIONAL TREE DAY IS COMING- 31/7/22

National Tree Day is fast approaching on July 31, 2022. Five Bays Sustainable Neighbourhood Group and ReLeaf Lake Mac have registered a National Tree Day event at Blackalls Park, near Todd Oval, South Parade. 

It is the only official event in western Lake Macquarie. Kay Fraser, Mayor of Lake Macquarie and Dan Repacholi, Federal Member for Hunter will be attending. Start time is 10am with the official ceremony at 10.30am.

If you interested in coming up to Blackalls Park, we would love to see you! Registrations can be made at this site. Or just come on the day. Remember to bring your hat, gloves and something to dig with. Closed in shoes are a MUST.

Carey Bay Toronto Scouts Fundraiser

Landcare Longings

National Tree Day was Tree-mendous

On the last Saturday before lockdown (31/7/21) 23 locals, visitors and Mayor Kay Fraser, spent a glorious morning planting for National Tree Day and the sharing BBQ lunch on the grass at Gurranba Reserve.

The month-long preparations to get the 2m strip bordering the path relatively weed free meant the 200 Lomandras and Dianellas could be planted and watered with a tender touch. The aim of this planting was to provide a protective edge to the unique foreshore vegetation, to hopefully stop the encroachment of the exotic grasses into the native vegetation and reduce the need for mowing.

It was a very happy day for one and all thanks to the wonderful organisation and collaboration between CPPA and TASNG as we celebrated Our Tree City status and wallowed in the spectacular outlook from Gurranba in the company of like-minded mortals.

(Lois sharing her landcaring wisdom with the Tree Day crew)

Beating about the Bush- Lois Simpson

Has Australia ever been so physically fit!?! So many people out and about walking!

And then you realise just how lucky we are, living in our bushland suburb, where, even unconsciously, our souls are soothed, our well-being is enhanced and we are armed to return to our more isolated existences.

Take opportunities to move slowly through the bush in our reserves. Nearby, a couple of grey butcherbirds are nesting (photo John Sharples). Their song begins early and finishes at sunset. How can you not admire their musical talents? Next, a flash of emerald as a king parrot swoops by. For them, habitat hollow real estate is at a premium.

Did you know that 75% of Australian birds need hollows to nest in...and that trees take decades, or even centuries to form those hollows? Every tree is precious, even a dead one, for our feathered friends and meandering marsupials.

After fire, flood and drought, nature has given us its best this spring. The vegetation is lush and alive as each species takes its turn to parade its colours - and when the vegetation is healthy, it underpins the health of the whole web of life.

Now is the time to breathe in the bush, to listen to its music and to admire its display. Covid has wreaked havoc, and yet has provided us with this one good chance.

Mother-of-millions on the March

Whilst the community effort at Gurranba has greatly reduced the number of Mother-of-millions, this prolific spreader is increasing in abundance outside of reserves, along the verges and footpaths in our community.

It has been growing prolifically over this last year because of the rain but can thrive in the harshest of environments. It is a constant battle, as every tiny branchlet will grow into a new plant...and the little branchlets will fall to the ground unnoticed and colonise immediately. It is spreading from yards and roadsides faster than we can spread the word, but fight on we must, as this poisonous plant has no known enemies in our country.

It is high on the government weed list and it is illegal to sell it in many parts of Australia.If you clean some up from your yard or verge, please bag it and place in your landfill bin. Every little bit helps...and our city's natural places will be ever so grateful, along with the landcaring locals who spend many an hour mindfully removing Mother-of-millions so that our local plants can continue to thrive.

Photo by John Sharples with landcarer Rod and a mega Mother-of-millions, (Bryophyllum delagoense) 

Hansard Hero from 8th June 2021

Recognition of a community champion went into Hansards earlier this year. Whilst Lois' (left in above pic) kept it quiet, CPPA and TASNG felt a bit of local recognition was merited.

From Hansards

Mr GREG PIPER (Lake Macquarie)—Lois Simpson from Toronto has worked tirelessly to protect flora and fauna throughout Lake Macquarie for more than two decades. She has volunteered with numerous environmental projects and organisations over that time, and her dedication to bush regeneration has been relentless.

Lois says she always feels comfortable in the bush and has long recognised that looking after our bushland is not about aesthetics but about maintaining a stable web of life.

As Lake Macquarie Landcare Volunteer Network's deputy chairperson, she worked hard to make sure Landcare continued to operate during COVID-19 and personally replanted much of Toronto Lions Park.

She is passionate about educating the next generation on delicate ecosystems and has worked with Fire and Rescue NSW to build a model fire retardant garden at their Toronto station.

Lois has also been involved with the Coal Point Endangered Species Project where she worked to save valuable habitat. She is also secretary of Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group, a member of Toronto Lions Auxiliary and spent nearly 20 years volunteering with Toronto Scouts as a cub leader.

I congratulate Lois and thank her for all she has done for our local community.

Two local National Tree Day (NTD) events

All hands on deck on 29th July to finish the “Coal Point School’s Naturespace & Community Hub” project!

So close! We just need to do some planting and the CPPA Landcare group will be helping out for two mornings in July. Can you help too? No experience is needed.

• July 22 - weeding and preparation for planting
• July 29 - planting & mulching. If you can help, we'd love to see you. Unfortunately COVID will prevent the students from participating this year, but we can still plant out the Naturespace.

We're lucky enough to have a great selection of plants grown by a local volunteer (thanks Ros!). 

Entry is off Rofe Street near the top gate. We will be COVID safe with sanitiser on hand.

Please RSVP through the Facebook Page 'Coal Point Primary School Naturespace & Community Hub' or coalpointprogress@gmail.com if you'd like to be part of this great community initiative.

Hope to see you there! - Lindy Hulton-Larson (The Naturespace Team)

Getting Grounded at Gurranba on 31st July

The Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group and CPPA Landcare are hosting a planting as part of the National Tree Day celebrations across our Tree City of the World, Lake Mac, and we’ll be sharing a BBQ lunch and morning tea treats for all attendees.

On Saturday 31st July, 10am-noon at Gurranba Reserve (308a Skye Pt Rd) we'll be popping in a few trees to boost the canopy and planting a Lomandra buffer, bordering the foreshore bushland, to prevent the spread of weeds and recognise that remnant veg lives here.

We’ll be engaging in another favourite pastime too, the mindful removal of Mother of Millions; these camouflaging specialists are a great treasure hunt for little ones, and easy to remove.

Please wear a hat, gardening gloves, long sleeves and covered shoes, and bring a water bottle. If you have your favourite gardening tools bring them along too.

To assist with catering please RSVP at https://treeday.planetark.org/site/10025384,

Gurranba Reserve has been the site of both goodness and grief over the past few months. It holds a special place in our local landcare history being the site of the very first landcare working bee in 1995, which involved ropes and a 4WD to remove the Lantana that covered the foreshore slopes. A whispering Casuarina grove now stands tall on that spot.

The Landcare crew have continued to regularly visit and nurture the site with a much more tender touch, to the point where the delicate extrication of Mother of Millions (MoM) resulted in 1.5tonnes of the menacing ‘mother’ taken off-site to the tip.

This huge haul would not have been possible without the concerted effort of caring locals who regularly filled the MoM crate on the foreshore on their morning walks. 

Additional efforts from the Gill family translocating Kangaroo Grass (Themeda), mulching and getting on top of the Farmer’s Friends (Bidens Pilosa) before they became the next big weedy worry, has resulted in amazing progress on this perpetual problem patch.

Unfortunately, with the good also came the grief. The discovery of over a dozen foreshore trees felled to clear a view corridor for a reserve neighbour. 

The intent behind the action of destroying what belongs to everyone for personal ‘gain’ was distressing to the landcarers who have been protecting and preserving this special foreshore reserve for all.

Without hard evidence, such as photos, Council can take no action. Perhaps the neighbours with a good view of the site might like to keep an eye out for any further incidents, take a photo and report the vandals.

All neighbours are welcome to come along to the National Tree Day planting and discuss view corridors and get to know the people who care for our trees and the public land upon which they live.

Community consequence of COVID

The COVID19 ripples are still resonating throughout daily community life, shaping the way we communicate and the availability of social activities…but it’s not all bad especially if you can master the video-conferencing technology that’s now available.

The local art group that was meeting at the hall moved their meeting to video conferencing very quickly. It turns out that the social glue that binds the group remained sticky with increased benefits of not having to pack up the art materials and no travel time. Unexpected benefits were more extensive sharing of skills and critiquing of art work with everyone being involved, more time for art and an extra art session was easily accommodated. The group continues to happily meet online.

Local yoga moved online, downward dog from the comfort of your private space. Some studios were providing recordings for whenever the mood and time allowed, creating new flexible opportunities. Yoga is now back with face to face options.

Some of the national events that CPPA has been involved with in the past have had to make the call to do things differently this year.

National Science Week, in August, is providing the Scinema Film Festival for free to anyone! You can stream a wide range of award-winning science films by signing up to get the films delivered to your inbox!.

National Tree Day this year may have been cancelled by Planet Ark, but this is not deterring landcarers from popping a few plants in the ground around this time of year…it’s a good time for planting.

We’ll have 80 plants at Burnage Reserve on Thursday 30th July between 8am and noon as part of the regular Landcare session. If you’d like to lend a hand whilst out on your morning constitutional feel free to drop by and help with planting. Everyone is welcome, there’ll be suitable spacing, and morning tea is at 10am, BYO beverage.(The image is from 2001...those plants have grown)

COVID-19 is also mobilising and connecting community groups that can see the possibilities of a seismic shift in the way society operates, a window of opportunity to change direction, and build on the changes COVID has inspired.

Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE), an internationally recognised climate change think tank, has recently commenced the Hunter Diversification research and engagement project - which will run 2+ years. BZE has also released the Million Jobs Plan showing that 115,000 new jobs can be created across the Hunter over the next 10 years, with rapid start up in industries such as Hydrogen & Green Steel manufacturing, Home Retrofits, Fly Ash Reuse, Electric Buses and Land Regeneration.

With energy production and mining a core part of our community, alternative employment opportunities that will fill the gap after coal will be needed. The Hunter Case Study of the BZE Million jobs plan can be viewed online 

National Tree Day Success Stories

The two community plantings for this year’s National Tree Day both made an important

contribution to our local environment.

The Coal Point Public School plantings created gardens for the native bees and the community planting at Yural Reserve has helped to protect the remnant foreshore vegetation and raise awareness where the boundaries of the reserve are, so everyone can enjoy this special foreshore place.

At Yarul reserve, 2a Laycock Street, two areas were mulched and bordered with plantings to protect the remnants from mowing and to slow down exotic grass encroachment. One area is obvious at end of the street, the other area is more out of sight on the eastern boundary of the reserve, adjacent to the waterfront house, extending up the slope.

The eastern planting was an opportunity to reclaim the public perception of the reserve boundaries as the waterfront property has recently changed ownership. Encroachment on public reserves is something the landcare group

deals with quite regularly. With Yarul reserve being so small, highlighting the full extent of the reserve means that people can sit or play on the shady flat grassed area, swing on the swing and walk down the track with the knowledge that they are on public land.

The eastern boundary ‘landscape features’ including, garden bed, paving, concrete slabs and retaining wall, are actually all within the public reserve. The CPPA has written to council seeking advice on the encroachment and requesting the fence be relocated to be indicative of the reserve boundaries.

There are still plants to go in and mulch to move. If you visit this reserve and would like to assist with the watering of these young seedlings please feel free to water at will.

Thank you to all who came from near and far to make National Tree Day a memorable one.

28th July National Tree Day 2019

...at the cloud watching place, Yarul Reserve 28/7/19

This year we’ll be giving Yarul reserve, at the northern end of Laycock Street a bit of a boost of grasses and shrubs to form a protective perimeter around the small remnant struggling to survive the strangling buffalo grass.

2003 - Before the stabilisation and planting

There’ll be some exotic grasses to remove and plants to plant at this scenic lakeside reserve. BYO gloves and favourite tools.

There’ll be Bocce/Boules to play and a BBQ at noon to celebrate this social occasion.

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 12:00. RSVP to coalpointprogress@gmail, to assist in organising the catering.

World Environment Day... So much to celebrate

On World Environment Day 2012 the CPPA was advised it had successfully applied for a $250,000 Environmental Trust grant. Six years later the project is in its final month and there is still a flurry of activity. 

National Tree Day it was super

The community National Tree Day planting at the Hampton St Link site had 700 plants added to the biodiverse corridor that links Laycock and Hampton Streets. The vision splendid is that one day it will be a lovely shady walk to the shops with the birds a-chirping and the butterflies fluttering by during the day, and at night the Squirrel Gliders will scamper through the canopy hiding from the Powerful Owls cruising overhead. 

The amazing landcare crew and community volunteers have put in over 200 hours preparing the site. This involved dealing with the extremely invasive Guinea Grass that seems to be increasing in every reserve and roadside verge. The planting required digging hundreds of holes into some rather unforgiving substrate, moving a mountain of mulch and watering well the newly planted tube stock. 

World Environment Day 2018

On Tuesday 5th June 2018, there’ll be several low-key community activities on offer for willing participants who’d like to celebrate World Environment Day in our local environment.

Guided Walks on the West Ridge

At 7-8am and 5-6pm there will be guided walks along West Ridge, meeting at the crest of Whitelocke Street. We will wander and wonder at the completed Mega-Mural on the water reservoir, experience the morning glory or go roaming in the gloaming. No matter what part of the day it’s a beautiful walk and a great way to get to know your bigger bushland backyard. Wear walking shoes.

Plotting a path at Hampton St Link

8:30-11:30am Lend a hand with the landcare crew plotting an informal path from Hampton Street to Laycock Street and plant the final 40 plants. Medium activity level. Wear sturdy shoes. Meet near the Carey Bay Cellars, look out for the Landcare banner.

Join the Ploggers to beat plastic pollution

Anyone can join the Coal Point Ploggers, an anonymous group of individuals you may see picking up plastic as they jog, walk and shuffle around the peninsula. There are even dog-ploggers out there. If you do happen to pick up your dog’s bog as you plog, please don’t throw it and the bag in the next bit of bush you see. The plastic bag keeps it fresh for many months and bag and bog don’t seem to breakdown. All ploggers enjoy the sense of satisfaction that you have made the world a better place when you place the proceeds of your plogging in the right bin.

Wikipedia describes Plogging as a combination of jogging with picking up litter (Swedish: plocka upp). It started as an organised activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018, following increased concern about plastic pollution. As a workout, it provides variation in body movements by adding bending, squatting and stretching to the main action of running

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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.

National Tree Day Planting perfect for Threatened Species

This year’s National Tree Days have been a celebration of community enthusiasm. 

On Schools Tree Day 120 Stage 3 students and Kinder buddies from Coal Point Public School planted 240 Blue Flax Lilies and native grasses as a border to the expanding Squirrel Glider Garden that has been growing since 2015. The joy and skills exhibited by these students was inspirational.

On the community-planting day, Sunday, The Rotary Club Toronto Sunrise pitched in and

planted with perseverance and purpose, 1260 plants forming an instant forest on the site of the decommissioned water tank and Whitelocke Street edge of Hunter Water’s land.

Thanks go out to Hunter Water for providing the resources not only for making the planting possible but also for providing professional bush regenerators to tackle the weed infestation that was compromising the integrity of the West Ridge Reserve.

Overseeing the planting were our resident high profile Powerful Owl duo (Ninox strenua). The avian intel is that the pair have produced another chick this year due to the amazing hundred year hollow that is home-sweet home.

Rod Warnock, Wildlife Photographer, captured some amazing photos of the Powerful Owl on National Tree Day. He’s also taken this photo of a Regent Honeyeater that was at Blackalls Park recently, just a flutter away. The Regent Honeyeater is listed as endangered because it has been badly affected by land clearing. A lot of the planting of winter flowering plants that has been undertaken for the Threatened Species Last Stand project is an attempt to increase the numbers of nectar producing trees for Regent Honeyeaters and Squirrel Gliders. If you see the Regent Honeyeater please share the joy it’s quite rare.

More information about it is on the Birds in Backyards website http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Anthochaera-phrygia.

Want to plant a tree in your backyard for your own personal National Tree Day?

Tuckeroo

There’s lots of good reasons to plant a tree, the recent native tree workshop hosted by Lake Macquarie Landcare provided some great information about local native trees. 

Ann Loughran from Warners Bay Landcare & Trees In Newcastle provided list of suitable not too tall, local native trees that could serve a variety of functions such as shade, privacy, screening, windbreaks, be ornamental, bird attracting, have featured flowers, edible fruit and just look real pretty.

Seven local lovelies  

Banksia serrata

Forest Oak - Allocasuarina torulosa
Grey Myrtle Backhousia myrtifolia
Old Man Banksia - Banksia serrata
Willow Bottlebrush - Callistemon salignus
Tuckeroo - Cupaniopsis anacardioides
Blueberry Ash – Eleocarpus reticulatus
Snow In summer – Melaleuca linarifolia

The Landcare Resource Centre at Teralba sells local native plants to the public. Phone 49210392 for more information on plant availability.

National Tree Day Sunday 30th July

Be inspired by nature this National Tree Day, Get down and gritty for our local community planting day on Sunday 30th July 9am-noon.

Research from Planet Ark repeatedly shows that spending time outdoors provides a range of health and wellbeing benefits, by making people happier, healthier, and calmer. A new 2017 report from Planet Ark also shows that learning outdoors can help kids develop the crucial skills Australian teachers say they will need most to face major global challenges, like climate change, critical thinking and problem solving, ‘grit’ or resilience, and emotional intelligence.

National Tree Day is a fulfilling opportunity to do something good for the environment and experience the many positive benefits associated with spending time in nature.

Schools Tree Day

The Threatened Species project is supporting Coal Point Public School to continue the creation of the Squirrel Glider Garden on Thursday 27th July. 240 plants will be planted around the perimeter providing food and habitat for critters that Squirrel Gliders like to eat.

Community Tree Day

Thanks to the support of Hunter Water on Sunday 30th July from 9am - noon a community planting of over 1000 plants will be undertaken on Hunter Water land on Whitelocke Street and on the site of the decommissioned water tank. These plantings will provide a buffer to the bushland to protect it from garden escapes and also aid in the regeneration of the ex-water tank site.

All community members are welcome to attend. The Sunrise Rotary crew will be on hand to ensure that the planting targets are met.

Registration on the National Tree Day site is helpful for catering purposes.

National Tree Day

Everyone is welcome to an autumn National Tree Day planting on Sunday 17^th April from 9am-noon at the Angela Close end of the Carey Bay Wetlands. A  border-buffer of local native plants, Blue Flax Lily-Dianella, will be planted to protect the Endangered Ecological Community that is the Carey Bay Wetlands. 

The planting will be along the back fence lines of neighbours to the reserve. This planting aims to protect the edges of the wetland from weed invasion.

A BBQ for all and a Treasure Hunt for children is on offer. Please BYO gloves and any planting tools you have.

Planting Prowess

The National Tree Day plantings in April were a resounding success with 20 people putting 650 plants in a well prepared place to lay down their roots, and some drenching follow up rain to settle them. 

Many thanks to local Carey Bay business, Matthew R Morgan Pty Ltd, (Hessian, Jute, Poly products and Safety gear distributor) for coming to the rescue with the supply of water during the plantings.

NTD to support EEC at CBW

National Tree Day (NTD) will come early this year with a mass planting of 700 Lomandra longifolia planned for the April school holidays at the Carey Bay Wetlands (CBW). The site preparations are underway with a two metre strip being treated by killing off the exotic grasses in readiness for planting and mulching. 

The Autumn planting program hopes to ensure the plants are well and truly settled in before next summer and provide multiple opportunities for locals to do their bit to protect the Endangered Ecological Communities (EEC) in the Carey Bay Wetland complex.

One of the aims of the planting is to define the edge of the wetland to prevent the dumping of garden waste. The invasion from exotic grasses is a threat to the EEC. Thousands of hours of landcaring effort are being given to rectify the historical problems generated by such past actions. 

Unfortunately, very recently, another quantity of lawn clippings was dumped just inside the edge of the EEC and is suspected to be from unaware mowing contractors. Please let your contractors know that the Endangered Ecological Communities of the Carey Bay Wetlands are not for dumping garden waste. 

Will you adopt some local shrubbery?

Last year 1270 plants took up residence in our reserves. You may notice them as you wander past; they often have a white tipped stake alongside them. 

If you have some extra water in your bottle feel free to give your tree or shrub a drink each time you pass. A little water can go a long way to ensuring their survival.

National Tree Day

Two National Tree Day (NTD) plantings were held at Gurranba Reserve this year. On Schools NTD 400 native grasses were planted to create a boundary buffer to the foreshore bushland. At the community NTD, 154 low growing habitat haven and food supply plants were planted for the Squirrel Gliders and small birds underneath the mature Eucalyptus in the mulched ‘islands’.

Over the two NTD events there were 120 planting people, including 107 Coal Point Public School students and supporters. A total of 266 hours was volunteered and 554 plants were watered, planted, watered and mulched.  

The tubestock that was planted included Kangaroo Grass-Themeda triandra, Hairpin Banksia – Banksia spinulosa, Blue Flax Lily-Dianella caeurlea, Conesticks-Petrophile pulchella and Prickly Moses-Acacia ulicifolia  

Sincere thanks to everyone who gave of themselves for the greater good.  

Grevillea sericea

If you didn’t get to plant you can still enjoy the local flora. A wander along the West Ridge will show many shrubs that are starting to flower including the Black Sheoak- Allocasuarina littoralis, Sydney Golden Wattle-Acacia longifolia and Grevillea sericea. At ground level, the terrestrial orchid, Pixie Caps-Acianthus fornicatus is appearing in dense patches.

National Tree Day at Gurranba Reserve

Preparations for National Tree Day are well underway at Gurranba Reserve with the solarising sheets of plastic secured against the elements. Stray sticks were used to spread the stress of the pegging process. With four weeks to go until the planting event it will be interesting to see the effect of this non-chemical treatment of weeds.

A pile of mulch will be arriving at the reserve in the week before the planting. A thick layer of mulch will be spread after the planting to suppress and control the weeds in the new planting of Themeda grasses.

Themeda Grass growing at Gurranba

Coal Point Public School students will be undertaking the major planting of the native grasses on Friday 25th July between 12:30 and 1:30pm. Parents are welcome to attend.

The community event on Sunday 27th July between 10am-noon will complete the planting and mulch the site. Refreshments will be provided. All are welcome, BYO buckets, mulch-forks and wheelbarrow.

Stray sticks were used to
help spread the stress on the plastic
and prevent them lifting
in the wind (again)

If you have any questions about the National Tree Day planting process at Gurranba Reserve please contact Jason Harvey ant the Landcare Resource Centre on 4921 0392.

The plastic sheets help
trap the heat and kill the weeds