End-of-Year CPPA Volunteers, Members and Sponsors Lunch - Dec 18

Before the year winds down, we’re gathering to say thank you, to our Landcarers, Chronicle deliverers, members and sponsors who’ve all helped make our community a little more connected.

Join us for a friendly End-of-Year Lunch at Progress Hall, Thursday 18 December, 11am–12:30pm.

This year, the invitation is extended to all members and sponsors, a wonderful chance to catch up, see the new kitchen in action, share stories and enjoy local camaraderie.

It will be catered, with a $10 contribution towards the catering. 

Join in the $5 secret santa which always provides a laugh and plenty of festive spirit.

If you’ve been meaning to join the CPPA, drop by and fill out a form while you’re there, new faces are always welcome.

Please book your spot for the lunch by Monday 15 December to help with catering numbers. 

As we wrap up the year, we offer heartfelt thanks to every volunteer, neighbour and friend who’s helped nurture our bushland, brighten our hall and strengthen our community spirit. We couldn’t do it without you.

Can you help...Organise social events, donate for the comfy corner, join our hall helpers roster?

Celebrating 80 Years of Progress – Our Oak Anniversary

Next year marks the Oak Anniversary of the Coal Point Progress Association, 80 years strong and still growing. Like our local she-oaks, we’ve stood strong through the years, weathering storms and change, our roots deep in community care, for our people, our bushland and our beloved Progress Hall.

To celebrate this milestone, we’re planning a few special events in the hall and are forming a small sub-committee to help make it happen. If you enjoy bringing people together, sharing stories or lending a hand, we’d love you on board.

Come along to the Volunteers Lunch on Thursday 18 December for a chat, or speak with a committee member. Let’s make our 80th, our Oak Anniversary, a year to remember, and celebrate this rare and remarkable community achievement.

Hall helpers wanted

Our freshly renovated Progress Hall is busier than ever, and we’d love a few more hands to help keep it sparkling, comfy and welcoming.

We’re creating a “comfy corner” with a couple of easy chairs, a rug and a coffee table. If you’ve got any of these items you’d like to donate, please send a photo to cppasecretary@gmail.com and we’ll be in touch.

If you can spare a little time for hall care, we’re putting together a cleaning roster to share the load. The jobs are small, the company’s good, and your help makes a big difference. Chat with one of the committee members or drop us an email if you’d like to lend a hand.

A Well-Deserved Recognition for Suzanne

We couldn’t let this edition go out without giving a huge congratulations to our long-standing President and newsletter editor, Suzanne Pritchard, for receiving the Paul Harris Award from the Rotary Club of Toronto Sunrise NSW. This award recognises Suzanne’s many years of tireless service to our community, and although she was humbled by the honour (and would have preferred we didn’t make a fuss), the committee felt it was important to share the news. Suzanne has given so much of her time, energy and heart to the Coal Point Progress Association, Landcare, and many other environmental pursuits, and this award is a fitting acknowledgment of her contribution.

The Paul Harris Award is presented by Rotary to individuals who have made a significant and sustained impact in their communities. While Suzanne is usually the one quietly working behind the scenes, this time we’re shining the spotlight on her—and rightly so! Congratulations Suzanne, and thank you for all that you do.

Wanted - Walkers and Hall Maintenance Coordinator

Hall Maintenance Coordinator

The Coal Point Progress Association is a volunteer organisation that owns its own hall.

The Hall, like any building, requires a bit of maintenance every now and then. For the past decade Ian Dennison had kept an eye on what needed to be done and organised working bees to do it.

Since Ian's retirement the CPPA has been looking for a new Hall maintenance coordinator to fulfil this role. 

In consultation with the Hall hire coordinator and the CPPA committee any maintenance tasks are identified and then a process and to address them is considered.

If you are interested please email cppasecretary@gmail.com or talk with Suzanne.

Newsletter deliverers

The Chronicle is a local newsletter, produced and delivered by volunteers, with the printing supported by sponsors.

It is hand delivered to 2370 letterboxes in the Coal Point, Carey Bay, Kilaben Bay and Toronto areas.

Walkers are wanted to deliver the almost monthly Chronicle. You will be assigned an area to letterbox. The newsletters are delivered in bulk to your door where you get to fold them and deliver them.

The runs take about an hour to deliver.

Contact Nico if you'd like to lend a hand.

Progress Hall ready for action in 2023

A highly productive working bee was held in January sprucing up the hall for another year of community activities, with 13 amazing members contributing 41 hrs of effort which resulted in the:

• grounds, surrounds, paths and alcoves looking glorious, and the windows are sparkling, reflecting light of the slightly luminous walls.
• stage in now being a multipurpose members place, where resources will be available to share, archives collated, art supplies stored, and progress administration conducted.
• kitchen is continuing in its transmogrification to tidiness and every surface within reach received a dirt detail, from the corners of the kitchen to the cracks in the floorboards.
• the relocation of the excess chairs to new homes already.

Progress Hall is available for hire for very reasonable rates to community groups and members of the community. All enquiries to Cath cppa.hall.bookings@gmail.com

Hall maintenance coordinator needed

Do you know what is needed to maintain a community hall? We’re looking for a Hall Maintenance Coordinator. A person who can see what needs to be done and help coordinate working bees to ensure the hall remains a solid and safe community asset.

The role would require semi regular inspections and discussions with the committee about any maintenance needs. If you’re interested, please get in touch with one of the Committee on the back page.

Landcare is back and brimming forth with enthusiasm.

Last year the Landcare crew worked their bush regenerating magic over 11 of our local reserves and put in 859 hours of enthusiastic effort.

It was a challenging year with so much moisture and warmth making everything grow verdantly.

This year the tasks ahead will still be many, but the highly social and very skilled crew will continue to meet weekly each Thursday and enjoy the best bits of bush in our community. 

Anyone interested in some enjoyable outdoor exercise and stimulating social interaction is most welcome to come along for whatever time you’d like to give between 8am-noon. Morning tea is a 10am ritual. 

If you’d like to find out the details of where we landcare each week contact cppalandcare@gmail.com to be added to the weekly email. Tools and training provided.

You can see where the reserves are, review action plans which guide our activities as well as the calendar on the Local's Landcare page

Landcare as Community Service - Austin Jones

There is no doubt that Landcare provides a service to the local environment, a helping hand against the threat of weeds, and the Landcarers provide that community service.

Recently, Austin Jones, a local high-school student, joined in Landcaring with our locals as part of his school’s Community Service Assessment. His reflections give us hope for the future.

Fig 5 - Mother of Millions          Fig 6 Austin (foreground) Lois and Rod background

Landcare is a local movement which is dedicated towards maintaining natural wildlife and reducing environmental issues. During my community service assessment, the Landcare group was located at Gurranba Reserve, and was focused on the removal of invasive flora such as Mother of Millions, Black-eyed Susan and Guinea grass.

These invasive species, known as weeds, take over the natural cycle the ecosystem withholds, and enforces an imbalance of biodiversity. Weeds also harm native flora by taking over resources such as sunlight and water and may also carry diseases and toxicity into the natural ecosystems. For example, the mother of millions plant also known as ‘devil’s backbone’ is native to Madagascar, and was introduced to Australia as a garden plant, but is now a serious weed especially along the east coast of New South Wales. If eaten by native fauna, this weed can be very toxic and harmful, therefore it is important to remove these weeds, and ensure the root is removed in the process to disallow regrowth. During my volunteering, our group was able to successfully fill multiple large bags of weeds.

The volunteering was fun, and it involved providing for a good cause of helping with maintaining our natural environment, which encouraged me to continue with the volunteering. It built social connections and enhanced the natural beauty of the reserve we had worked at.

A difficulty I had experienced though was the ease of pulling out the weed from the root. For example, the guinea grass may have a root which is firmly held into the ground, in which I had to use a shovel to forcibly dig around the root and remove it that way, which induced difficulty. Another example was the Black-eyed Susan, a large weed which wraps a far distance from its root in the ground and all the way up and around a tree in some cases, wrapping around and strangling the tree branch. This would provide difficulty in attempting to unravel the plant to allow myself to eventually find the root and pull it out. But overall, it was a great experience, a lot of progress was made and I had learnt a lot about invasive species in our area.

Before and after Black-eyed Susan removal

Car Boot Catch-up Registration Open

As plans and details get firmed up the information will be updated on the Car Boot Catch-Up page.

On Sunday 30 October, between 8am and noon, the Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group (TASNG) and Coal Point Progress Association (CPPA) are hosting the Car Boot Catch-Up, a community event to meet your neighbours, have fun and put into practice some of TASNG’s aims, to recycle and reuse unwanted household items (This is not a market for new items).

The Car Boot Catch-Up also aims to support local community groups and businesses to showcase their activities and services. There will be face painting and a drumming workshop, plenty of room to fly a kite and have a picnic.

LOCATION

The venue will be Puntei Park (The Old Pony Club) at Carey Bay, bounded by Excelsior Parade and Hampton Street, a great expanse of parkland with some special bushland bits to explore with a Landcare Treasure Hunt

COST

If you are already a member of TASNG the $5 fee secures your spot.

If you are not a member of TASNG the registration fee provides you with membership to TASNG which includes Public Liability Insurance coverage for this event. You will be required to sign the membership form on the day.

REGISTRATION

To book your spot visit the registration page.

By paying the registration fee you are agreeing to the Terms & Conditions of the Car Boot Catch-Up

VOLUNTEERS WANTED

If you would like to volunteer to assist on the day or with the planning please get in touch with Nico via TASNG, torontoareasng@gmail.com.

Lake Macquarie community invited to assist with seagrass restoration

Operation Posidonia, a project led by marine ecologists from UNSW Sydney and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, aims to restore endangered Posidonia australis seagrass meadows in Lake Macquarie with the help of local citizen scientists. 

Posidonia meadows are an incredibly important habitat for a variety of fish species, capturing large amounts of carbon and protecting shorelines from erosion. They have been declining at an alarming rate in NSW’s most populated estuaries due to human pressures. One of the most significant ongoing threats to Posidonia meadows is traditional swing moorings with heavy chains that scour the seafloor.

Operation Posidonia is combining seagrass rehabilitation with environmentally friendly moorings, which don’t have a swinging chain component, while also restoring the species to old mooring ‘scars’ where the seagrass has not recovered naturally. Operation Posidonia has developed a restoration method that doesn’t require removing donor material from remaining vulnerable meadows. 

Citizen scientists known as the ‘Storm Squad’ are asked to collect naturally-detached fragments of the seagrass that wash ashore in strong winds. If fragments still have a rhizome (anchoring structure) attached, they can be replanted underwater. Operation Posidonia is focusing its efforts around Belmont and Marks Point, where most of the Lake’s Posidonia meadows are found. Replanting of seagrass collected by citizen scientists began in May near Belmont Baths.  

 

Most of Lake Macquarie’s Posidonia meadows exist on the Eastern side of the lake, between Swansea and Belmont. Small pockets exist elsewhere, such as at Coal Point. Depending on wind conditions, however, it is possible to find Posidonia fragments in almost all corn

ers of the lake. You can expect to find washed-up fragments around Coal Point and Toronto after strong southerly and easterly winds.  

 

There are moves afoot to get a collection station at the Toronto Baths, but in the meantime fragments can be deposited at Belmont Baths.

 

Find out all the information you need to join the Storm Squad at operationposidonia.com/lake-macquarie  

Clayton Mead | Research Assistant , UNSW Sydney

Eco-Advocate Events with LMCC

LMCC’s Eco Advocate What’s On is published fortnightly and is dedicated entirely to the latest environmental events and opportunities in Lake Macquarie. You can subscribe to receive the eco-advocate directly into your inbox.

Make your own worm farm: 

Saturday 14 May, 10am-noon Toronto Hub, 97 The Boulevarde:

Reduce your local food waste and create wonderful organic garden fertiliser.
Join Lachlan Storrie from Treefrog Permaculture to make your own worm farm from reclaimed materials. This workshop will take you through the steps to create your own worm farm (including worms) to take home.
All materials and worms are supplied. Please bring a pair of gardening gloves. Suitable for adults and supervised children aged 10+.
Registrations are essential at events.humanitix.com/make-your-own-worm-farm.

National Volunteer Week celebration with Landcarers, Sustainable Neighbourhood groups, and Community Ecosystem Monitoring volunteers: 

Saturday 21 May, 10.00am – 12.30pm. Blackalls Park picnic shelter.

The day will feature a talk on Seagrass by Landcarer and Community Ecosystem Monitoring volunteer, Janet White. There will also be a nature walk.
Morning tea and lunch will be provided. Please BYO water bottle and coffee cups.

Visit humanitix.com to register by Tuesday 17 May.

Pay It Forward (M) Free movie screening 

Friday 20 May, 5.45 for 6.15pm screening. Rathmines Theatre, Stilling Street, Rathmines

As part of National Volunteers Week, LMCC are holding a series of events that celebrate and recognise our wonderful volunteers and your valued contribution to our community.

All Lake Macquarie volunteers are invited to this free movie screening, to say thank you for volunteering your time and your skills to enhance our neighbourhoods, our people and our environment.

Pay It Forward. Rated M

Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded.

Registrations essential at eventbrite.com.au. Complimentary popcorn and soft drink on arrival. Cash bar available.

Chemical CleanOut: 

Sunday 15 May, 9am – 3.30pm Rathmines Boat Ramp off Dorrington Rd, Rathmines

Problem waste such as oil and water-based paints, car batteries, gas bottles, motor oil, as well as chemicals including pool chemicals, garden chemicals and poisons are accepted.

Only household quantities (20L or 20kg), except for paint. Up to 100L (in 20L containers) of paint accepted. For more information call the Environment Line on 131 555 or visit cleanout.com.au.

Community Comments sought from Council

Lots to read and process from the corridors of Council, who “are committed to ensuring your voice is heard when it comes to the decisions that affect your lives, your future and our City”… “your feedback may result in changes being made.” CPPA committee members have been perusing the council documents to glean the local relevance for our community.

To explore the CPPA's review visit the links below

• the Tributaries Flood Study (Puntei Creek) 
• Lake Activation Strategy and 
• Volunteer Engagement Strategy

Volunteer Engagement Strategy

Comments due 26 July
https://shape.lakemac.com.au/volunteer-engagement

The Volunteer Engagement strategy is an interesting document emphasising;

• How Council will be transitioning volunteering to a strategic operation of council (ensuring all volunteer positions align with a council objective or target)
• Standardising the recruitment process of volunteers (establishing a web portal)
• Embedding volunteering in 75% of the LMCC’s departments and
• Ensuring staff are trained and providing meaningful volunteer activities for participants. 

The strategy aims to implement the vision that “ by cultivating our volunteers, sharing our aspirations, and sustaining those who volunteer with us, we will evolve to a new level of working together.” 

The highlight of the document is a great photo of CPPA landcarers on p10.

p10 Jenny Rome, Rod Mellor and Robyn Gill championing Coal Point Landcare

Volunteer Tributes for Gwen Johnston and John Benning

The Toronto Community Centenary Hub recently celebrated the life and dedication of two community stalwarts, Gwen Johnston and John Benning.

Gwen Johnston was a tireless community spirited person. Words that come to mind when we think of Gwen are intelligent, determined, independent and community minded.

She was a single parent to six children and somehow managed to retrain as an accountant and still have time to work as a volunteer. Gwen started volunteer work over 40 years ago with the Toronto Pensioners & Citizen Association that was based in Carey Street, Toronto.

When the organisation was moved, Gwen with a dedicated group of members, liaised with the council for over ten years to establish a new Seniors Centre at 97 The Boulevarde, Toronto. After many setbacks this was accomplished in 1997 and the hall was finished in 2000.

The hall is still a fantastic asset to the community and still being used by local seniors. We are reinstating the gardens with volunteer help and dedicating the front garden as “Gwen’s Garden” as without her vision we would not have such a great place to be in.

John Benning was the perfect neighbour for The Hub. He became ‘The grounds keeper’ maintaining immaculate lawns (just like his) and ‘The Gatekeeper’ with his cheerful, friendly manner greeting many enquiring visitors and tradespeople.

John was frequently in his garden or shed and often ready for a chat, making many friends and lending to the “home away from home” feel of the place. He would know who was coming or going, when and why, keep the custodians in the loop and be counted on to open or close the hall or supply keys when needed.

John continued to be our gatekeeper right up until he was hospitalized in early February 2021. We have lost a valuable member of our team but even more so, a wonderful friend.

We will dedicate the Banksia tree as ‘John’s tree’ in his honour as the garden grows better there with the tree overlooking it just as John looked over our garden.

How will you be Fighting for Planet A?

The CPPA is getting on board with the Fight for Planet A: Our Climate Challenge. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s the ABC’s latest do-gooder campaign hosted by Craig Reucassel which explores how we can all reduce our individual and collective carbon emissions. The documentary series aims to empower and motivate Australians to take action on climate change and they provide a Carbon Counter and a community solutions plan too.

One of the community solutions put forward by ‘The Fight’ is to take part in the

‘Walk Safely to School Day’ on September 11.

Transport is a huge contributor to carbon emissions. Walking is not only good for the environment, but also has a favourable impact on our long-term mental and physical health – plus it’s free!

The CPPA, Toronto Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group (TASNG) and Coal Point Public School have taken up the challenge and will be putting our best feet forward by having a go at getting a Walking Bus on the move. 

What’s a Walking Bus?

A walking bus is a fun way for local children to walk to school together, thanks to adult volunteers and parents who walk with the group. The Walking Bus is accompanied by at least 2 adult volunteers, a ‘driver’ at the front and a ‘conductor’ at the rear.

For the Sept 11 event, which routes will be walked and the number of children who can join in will be determined by how many adults are keen to get on board.

COVID has changed many of our habits, our work days are different, our commute is not what it used to be. This is creating an opportunity to try something different. A way to build some exercise in the day, have a wander through some of our amazing bushland and enjoy some quality time with the kids and break down the fear of walking as a way of getting to school safely.

If you’d like to be a part of this community drive to reduce driving and help our kids get comfortable with walking to school get in touch with Suzanne by phone 0438596741 or email coalpointprogress@gmail.com. A video conference will be held on 31/8/20 with interested adults to work out what we’d like to see happen and map out a route.

Here are links to more reading about the Walking Bus concept.

The National Walk Safely to School Day site 

How to start a Walking School Bus Resource page. This includes a how to start guide, parents survey, participation pledge and certificate 

A 4-page pdf guide on how to get a Walking started  

Have an individual stoush for the Planet.

To celebrate National Science Week the ABC launched its Carbon Counter that allows you to see how much CO2 you could save with just one change to your lifestyle. If you want to do something about climate change but aren’t sure where to start, the ABC Science Carbon Counter can help you identify simple ways to reduce your carbon footprint – and see how much CO2 you would save.

Could you have shorter showers? Or try eating kangaroo instead of beef? What difference would composting make? You can compare the savings from different challenges to choose the one that suits you.

Climate change is a daunting problem that requires society-wide solutions. But Carbon Counter shows that individuals can also make a difference, especially if we work together.

A caring community

Since the March Chronicle there’s been a mighty shift in what it means to be a part of a community. The CPPA Committee contemplated the role we can play in the current crisis, utilising our strengths in local knowledge and a hand-delivered communication channel.

Activities at our Hall have ceased due to gathering and distancing constraints. The CPPA and TASNG committees along with the Art group are meeting online. Landcaring has been officially called off by LMCC.

We sincerely hope everyone is keeping safe, appreciating the beautiful bushland suburb we live in and finding ways to support our neighbours, friends and family.

Here are our suggestions for sharing and caring locally:

Send your neighbour a contact card.

 

Introduction Card

Have you thought about dropping a hello card into

Connection Card

your neighbour? Everyone loves a letter that’s not a bill. The connection card in this Chronicle makes the introduction easy. Knowing who lives across the road may ease concerns of isolation. There's also a simple introduction card or a piece of paper will do.

Do you need a hand or want to lend one for shopping? 

The CPPA is setting up a register to connect ‘at risk’ locals, who need a hand with shopping, with those who don’t mind picking up a few extra items when they’re out. The CPPA will collect names and phone numbers and put people in touch with each other, the rest will be up to the helper and the recipient. Phone m: 0438596741 or email Suzanne coalpointprogress@gmail.com.

The Lake Macquarie Sustainable Neighbourhood Alliance has contact cards 

Explore our amazing bushland tracks and landcare sites and some not so obvious access points. 

Did you know you can walk:

• Into Toronto along the foreshore from Ambrose Street gaining access from the lakeside reserve.
• Along the Coal Point Ridge by joining the track at the crest of Whitelocke Street…exploring the Water tank mural is always fun.
• From the Carey Bay Shopping Village to Puntei Park by a pathway at the rear of the shops.
• From the Fire station on Ridge Rd to Kilaben Bay along the firetrail.

There is an online brochure ‘Wandering around the Coal Point Peninsula’ which shows the access points to many hidden treasures within our community and some greater detail in a post on a footpath strategy from 2011 

Safe Walking

 True. Walking on the right hand side facing the oncoming traffic lets you see approaching traffic and enables you to make sure that drivers have seen you. Be extra careful where the view of oncoming traffic is obscured.

Go on a Fuzzy Fauna Hunt.

Put out a stuffed or toy animal in your front window or wherever is visible from the street so when families are getting exercise they can get involved with a Treasure Hunt. The CPPA is supplying the wildlife for The Carey Bay Shopping Village which will be changed each week. You can post pictures of your findings on our Facebook Page or the Bear Hunt Lake Mac group https://www.facebook.com/groups/bearhuntlakemac/

Join a real bio-adventure. 

This is an online identification game that will open your eyes to the amazing and beautiful life all around us in our bushland suburb. The CPPA has set up team, if you want to join it get in touch.

By taking photos of as much life as you can you score ‘game gold’ for every sighting, with extra gold if you can identify what you’ve found. And even more gold if you can find something rare or interesting.

QuestaGame is a fun experience with nature, friendly competition learning about life in all its forms, and it helps protect biodiversity as all sightings are shared with CSIRO’s Atlas of Living Australia.https://questagame.com/the-game

Donate to Pampercare. 

If you’d like to help out those doing it tough and rough you can donate vouchers or gift cards to the Pampercare project by dropping them in at the Woodrising Neighbourhood Centre. They helped 11 local families in March.

Volunteer for Toronto Meals on Wheels 

Meals on Wheels are always ready to welcome new volunteers to support the work they do. If you’re interested in becoming one of their volunteers go to www.mow.net.au and follow the links to join as a volunteer by completing the paperwork. You could be delivering meals, or even catching up with people over the phone in the Have-a-chat program to support isolated elderly people in our local community.

From the Meals On Wheels GM, Damien Isaacs: We’d like to remind everyone that we are here to support the community. People over 65, people living with disability, and anyone in the community who may need a little bit of support with a meal or two per week delivered – for whatever reason.

Making a World of Difference through volunteering

Every month CPPA volunteers are making a difference locally. There are meetings to mull

over, a newsletter to write and distribute, our own hall to maintain and our landcare group average 177hr/month in our local reserves. There are lots of reasons why volunteers do what they do and Volunteering Australia has managed to summarise a few of them :

• 93% of volunteers saw positive outcomes as a direct result of their voluntary

  

  Landcare volunteers
  repairing steps and erosion at
  Ambrose St Reserve

  participation
• Volunteering plays a vital role in the development of social cohesion and social connection – both of which help alleviate loneliness.
• Volunteering provides pathways towards employment through the development of skills, networks and values which are increasingly sought after in professional environments.
• Volunteering provides an outlet for the exploration and development of personal interests outside the workplace.
• Volunteering extends across all areas of Australian society, from the arts, education, emergency services, sports and environment to health, community welfare, aged care and disability services.
• Volunteering Australia defines volunteering as “time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain”.
• Australian volunteers contribute an estimated $290 billion to the national economy annually, yielding a 450% return for every dollar invested.

The CPPA is looking for a couple more active volunteers to participate in the committee, the group that coordinates the activities of the Association. If you’d like to find out a bit more come along to the meeting on May 13th at Progress Hall, 197 Skye Point Rd, 3:30-5:30pm.

Volunteer's Lunch 20/12/18@ Progress hall at noon

All CPPA volunteers are warmly invited to an end of year lunch on Thursday 20/12/18 at Progress Hall at noon. 

RSVP essential by 17/12/18 to coalpointprogress@gmail.com or ring/sms 0438596741

On behalf of the Coal Point Progress Association best wishes to all for a festive season full of familial friendship and happy times. 

On behalf of the Coal Point Progress Association best wishes to all for a festive season full of familial friendship and happy times.