Dates For doing Feb Update

 

 Visit the calendar for updates

https://coalpointprogress.blogspot.com/p/calendar.html

CPPA Monthly Meeting 
Monday 9 Feb, 9 March 

3-4:30 pm Progress Hall, 197 Skye Pt Rd, Coal Point
contact cppasecretary@gmail.com

TASNG Meeting
Wednesday 11 Feb, 11 March 

5-6:30 The Hub,
97 The Boulevarde, Toronto

Progress Hall Open Day
Saturday 14 March

• Grow Me Instead weed display
• Native plants for sale
• Meet the members, join up
• Community conversations
• Cafe-style beverages and bites

Locals Landcaring -
Every Thursday 8am-11ish 

Check the Calendar for locations

Tools & training provided
Morning tea is always at 10am

• 29/1 Burnage
• 5/2 Gurranba
• 12/2 Stansfield- neet behind the hall
• 19/2 Puntei Creek 
• 26/2 Threlkeld
• 5/3 Kilibinbin
• 12/3 Hampton St link- Jabiru Street end
• 19/3 West Ridge
• 26/3 Burnage
• 2/4 Gurranba

Crocodile Point (TASNG)
1st &3rd Wed
8:30-10am. Meet under the Fennel Bay bridge

Want to join Us?
Receive weekly emails about landcaring and what we will be doing, send a request to Ros cppalandcare@gmail.com

Locals landcaring in August

Where we are landcaring this month?

Tools & techniques provided. A very social morning tea at 10am. Feel free to pop by and have a chat.

• 3/8 Gurranba
• 10/8 Stansfield- Nikinba
• 17/8 Puntei Creek Reserve
• 24/8 Stansfield- Nikinba
• 31/8 Puntei Creek Reserve
• 7/9 Hampton Steet Link

Crocodile Point

1st &3rd Wednesday of the month
8:30-10am. Meet under the Fennel Bay bridge

Want to join Us?
If you would like to receive weekly emails about where we are landcaring and what we will be doing? email cppalandcare@gmail.com

More information about the local landcare sites and the action plans are here

Spanish Moss, a weed in the winds

La Nina has been wonderful for our lawns and gardens over the last year or so. Sadly it has also boosted weed growth in both gardens and bushland. In particular, there has been an enormous growth of Tillandsia usneoides, commonly known as Spanish Moss or Old Man’s Beard.

This air plant has been introduced here from the Americas. It has been decoratively draped over fences, trees and shrubs in many local properties. Unfortunately, it has increased to the point where the host plant is so smothered that it is difficult to identify. Then comes the threat to our beautiful native bushland.

Spanish Moss is carried by the wind and by birds and has been observed in our reserves. It has the potential to form dense blankets smothering native vegetation, altering habitats and threatening whole eco-systems. Once established in the bush, it is almost impossible to get rid of as it can be so high in the tree-tops.

It is hoped that it is not too late to protect our bushland, by removing, containing and controlling the growth of this exotic plant in our neighbourhood. Garden escapes can be disposed of in our green bins.

Let’s work together to keep our local, unique eco-systems healthy, safe and strong.

Be inspired, be empowered, be a Landcarer.

Celebrate Landcare Week with us!

• Tuesday 8 August - Bus Trip

• Thursday 10 August - Landcare Info Session

Our annual bus trip will stop at Dora Creek Boat Ramp Landcare, Lakeview Road Morisset Park Landcare, and Wyee Point Reserve 2022 Landcare sites. Morning tea and lunch will be provided. Learn more and book your spot here by Friday 4 August.

We’ve also teamed up with Council’s Over 55’s Program to showcase all things Landcare. This includes a presentation by Landcarer Lois Simpson, a Q&A panel, and a ‘Create your own habitat garden’ activity. Please email lro@lakemac.nsw.gov.au if you would like to be a part of this day.

Tributary Flood study for Puntei Creek Catchment

Comments are due by 5pm Wednesday 28 July. https://shape.lakemac.com.au/lake-tributary-flood-studies

The Puntei Creek Catchment is 1.52 km2, collecting rainfall and stormwater runoff from Kilaben Bay, Carey Bay, and Toronto. The upper-mid catchment is heavily vegetated and the creek crosses Jarrett St via a boxed-culvert, the lower catchment contains the commercial and residential properties, the creek flows into Lake Mac under Excelsior Pde at Carey Bay.

Of the eight catchments studied in the report, the average annual tangible flood damages for Puntei Creek were the second most costly with projected figures of $814,000/yr. This measure is used to estimate flood damages over a range of flood events and represents the equivalent average damages that would be experienced by the community on an annual basis, by taking into account the probability of a flood occurrence over the long term.

The Tributaries Flooding report states the residents at the bottom of Puntei Creek are highly vulnerable to sea level rise. In flood events Puntei Creek runoff will produce significant inundation across Excelsior Pde. In the mid-lower catchment there are a significant number of properties subject to flooding, overland flow will occur through properties on Jarrett Street between the creek and Oakhampton Ct when the capacity of the Jarrett Street culverts is exceeded. The commercial/industrial properties on Excelsior Pde that back onto the creek, which are low lying, will also experience relatively frequent overland flow inundation. Some of the residential properties in the lowest part of the catchment, bounded by Ambrose St., Excelsior Pde. and Laycock St. are below 1.5 m Annual Height Datum, and will be affected by both Lake Macquarie flooding and local catchment flooding and may no longer be habitable with a rise of more than 0.5 m of the average lake level.

This timely report is using historical data and as we are all too well aware the increasing development of the catchment is underway, reducing vegetation and increasing hard surfaces, resulting in more and faster runoff...and on top of that the compounding impacts of climate change make commenting on this report a high priority.

Comments from the report include;

• (p5) “Some communities around the lake edge are highly vulnerable to sea level rise, notably those residents situated at the bottom of Puntei Creek...”.
• (p19) “The road crest (Excelsior Pde) is very low-lying …It is likely that Puntei Creek runoff will produce significant inundation across the road, particularly if there are coincident elevated water levels in the Lake Macquarie waterway downstream. Some of the houses in the downstream part of this catchment have floor levels less than 1.5 m Annual Height Datum (AHD).”
• (p77-78) The catchment summary 
• ”Puntei Creek…in the mid- to lower-catchment there are a significant number of properties subject to flooding. 
• Overland flow will occur through properties on Jarrett Street between the creek and Oakhampton Ct when the capacity of the Jarrett Street culverts is exceeded, as the low point in the road crest is not aligned with the creek. Water that overtops the road will flow through these properties and return to the open grass swale further downstream.
• The commercial/industrial properties on Excelsior Pde that back onto the creek are low lying and will experience relatively frequent overland flow inundation, with above floor inundation likely in a 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) event.
• Some of the residential properties in the lowest part of the catchment, bounded by Ambrose St., Excelsior Pde. and Laycock St. are below 1.5 m AHD, and will be affected by both Lake Macquarie flooding and local catchment flooding. Some of these properties will be inundated above floor level more frequently than a 10% AEP event. Flood risks for these properties will be exacerbated even further by Sea Level Rise, and may no longer be habitable with a rise of more than 0.5 m of the average lake level.
• The Puntei Park Dog Exercise Area is subject to low hazard flooding in the 1% AEP, escalating to high hazard in the Probable Maximum Flooding (PMF). A combination of rising access and unpopularity for use during intense rain means risks to life are low.
• The Paradise Palms Caravan Park is subject to low hazard flooding (H3 and below) in a 1% AEP event, escalating to high hazard (H4) during a PMF event. Rising egress is available from most locations in the site, so evacuation on foot will be feasible for mobile occupants. Occupants with limited mobility will be vulnerable to being trapped in hazardous flow in a PMF event”

The report states it is imperative that actions are taken to visit, interview and photograph immediately following any event (or collect from residents who have taken pictures during the event) debris marks or similar that could be used for model verification. Perhaps we could set up a citizen science project...Flood Watch?

Landcare Report –Robyn Gill

Recently we’ve been at Hampton St working around one of the little gullies of the Puntei Ck catchment above Carey Bay Wetlands and along the interesting Gurranba foreshore in the sunshine at times.  At both sites passers by have commented encouragingly on the changing scene. We are lucky that we have conditions for all occasions in our many reserves from the warming sun to the cooling breeze and sometimes the absence of these when the season is different. The views are great too.

In the recent showers one Thursday we had the amazing roll up of 5 energetic workers, 2 daughters, 4 grandchildren and 2 dogs to enjoy the occasion.

If you are interested in learning a bit about the bush, landcaring provides local connections to both people who share your interest and the wealth of resources available through the Lake Macquarie Landcare Network & Office.

Landcaring - Robyn Gill, CPPA Landcare Coordinator

The local Landcare group has been busy planting in great conditions as the best way we know to “head off” the weed problems that usually plague us in summer. We have needed to be a little cautious with the numbers of plants going in as hot days can make watering necessary but have been lucky so far. We planted 650 plants in 2011. Since the last Chronicle we have been at Gurranba and Burnage Reserves and Carey Bay Wetlands.
 
On February 2nd we will be at the wetlands in Excelsior Pde with the Green Team of additional volunteers and a professional leader from the Lake Macquarie Landcare Office. This wetland contains– Puntei Creek – the catchment watercourse for a lot of Carey and Kilaben Bays. This landcare project has been replacing a large area of  Blackberry and other serious weeds with native plantings that have thrived. It has been a big project. We have one serious advancing weed to struggle with – one of the Trumpet Creepers , a garden escape.