Croaker Newsletter Oct 2011 Final

8/4/2019 Croaker Newsletter Oct 2011 Final

1/6

Welcome to our 6thedition of the WSN Restoring

Our Waterways Croaker Newsletter for 2011.

We have had a busy start to

September and there is a lot

coming up in October and

November. September started

off on the 1st with the Official

Opening of the ECO Centre at

the HB Barr Reserve in the

morning which was well

attended. That night was the WSN information night

on the campaign to deal with Fruit Fly which was also

well attended by a variety of organisation, business

and community members. Monday 5th was ROWs

monthly meetings 2pm ROW Activities and 5.30pm lots

of information and questions to be answered in the

September minutes. Wednesday 7th Gill and I meet

with the two different groups of CLC students to talk

about what sort of activities they were going to do

with ROW and they will be working with us on 14th &

21st and after the school holidays. Friday 9th Landcare

Celebration, Saturday the Official Opening of West End

Place and Sunday 11th Sustainable House Day.

A VERY DISAPPOINTING FINDING NEAR OUR

WATERWAYS

Article by Diane Farmer

On Sunday the 14th

September I saw a

TV dumped near 15

Mile Creek so I wentin to check it out and

while I was there

decided to check an

area where I have

found rubbish dumped before and sure enough some

members of the Wangaratta community had started

their own Transfer Station open 24/7 and its FREE.

There was so much rubbish in that area, I could not

believe it. Carpet underlay, empty oil containers, bags

of sawdust, old lawn mower, buckets and several

green waste dumps all around a drive through area.

Upon checking another area close by I found more

dumpings of an old

air cooler, bedding

and other items as

well as more green

waste. I reported it

to council and I

went to the council

meeting on the

Tuesday to bring the subject up in question time. I

was given some answers saying there is not much

they can do but I also gave some ways to help stop

this sort of thing so I will wait and see what comes of

my suggestion. Some of these were:

Consider giving a discount voucher to

pensioners and concession card holders

Put solar powered cameras in areas that are

prone to this sort of problem

Have a roadside pick up once a year

Make green waste free at the transfer station

once every couple of months

Here are a couple of photos of what I found.

I also went for a walk at Yellow Creek Reserve and

Contents

Introduction 1

A Very Disappointing Finding Near Our

Waterways 1 - 2

Wednesdays with CLC Students 2 - 3

Wangaratta Community Pride Activities 3 - 4

Sustainable House Day 4

Whats Cool in the Common 4

Upcoming Events 5 - 6

WSN Groups and Information 6

October , 2011 Issue #


2/6

The WSN Restoring Our WaterwaysCROAKERNewsletter Page 2

October 2011

found some more rubbish;

printer, old mattress covered

in weeds that were growing

very nicely and of course

green waste dumped. The

most upsetting thing out

there is the amount of 4 Wheel Drive damage to the

area, this was also reported to council with a plea to

block cars and 4 Wheel Drives going in there dumping

rubbish and destroying such a beautiful area.

Diane Farmer, Coordinator, WSN Restoring Our Waterways

[email protected]

0439 020 448

PO Box 772 Wangaratta VIC 3677

WEDNESDAYS WITH CLC STUDENTSArticle by Diane Farmer

Wednesday 7th September

Gill and I met Mat,

Jack and Brian at 9am

at the school where

we sat out in the nice

sunshine and talked

about Activities ROW

had in mind and they

spoke about what sort

of things they would like to do. There was quite a

variety of ideas so we asked them to work out a

weekly Wednesday Calendar ready for next week. Gill

will be meeting them at 9.30am on the 14th Sept to go

down to the Phillipson Street Wetlands to have a look

around and do some Water monitoring and I will catch

up with them a little later down at the Wetlands. We

then met up with Alex M, Alex D and Jeremy to talk

activities and to get

them to also set a

calendar for the next

few weeks and then

for after the school

holidays. I will bemeeting them at 1pm

on the 14th to do a

little Macro testing and check out if we can find any

Eastern Gambusia near the school in One Mile Creek.

There are lots of great things the two groups want to

do along our waterways and its environment.

Wednesday 14th September

Gill met with the 6

students at 9.30am and

headed down to the

Phillipson Street Wetlands

to do some water

monitoring in the two

large pond areas. I

arrived with the Macroinvertebrate kit and meet up

with them to finish off the water monitoring then we

started putting the net in the first pond. The boys dida great job getting samples. Firstly a few Eastern

Gambusia, 1 nymph, 1 beetle and a little Carp Gudeon

fish (I took a photo and ID by Scott Raymond). They

then started to catch juvenile carp near the large

drain, we ended up with 5 small carp all within a short

time. They were put into a container of pond water for

me to take home and find out how to dispose of them

correctly. In the afternoon I met the 2 Alex s and

Jeremy and I took them down to the Perry Street

bridge to check out the rubbish and the 4 trolleys

under the bridge so they would know what some ofthe areas along One Mile Creek are like and what the

problems of littering is like in our waterways. Then we

went to the area near the Wareena Wetlands to check

for Macros. After putting the net in a few times the

only thing there were a few Eastern Gambusia. Then it

was time for our session to end.

Wednesday 21st September

Met with Alex M, Alex D and Jeremy

at 9.15am at WHS and we talked

about a project to map the drains in

the school and where the drains

enter our waterways. In the

afternoon Andy Kimber and I met

up with 5 of the students at the

bridge in Williams Road, teacher

Toby Hill dropped the boys off in the bus. We first

went under the bridge to do Macroinvertebrate

checking but nothing was caught in the net, so we

went to the walk/bike path and took samples in the

first pond on the right hand side where we caughtnative Carp Gudgeon (photos taken and sent which

were ID by Scott Raymond) and 3 Eastern Gambusia.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


3/6


October 2011

They also netted a fresh water shrimp and a mayfly; a

good mixture of Macros and fish in that pond. The

students took turns of getting samples in a couple of

other ponds but nothing there. Donna Lane one of the

groups teachers joined us as we checked several

areas along Three Mile Creek but nothing else found.

One of the students spotted a net caught up in the

tree that lies across the creek and spent a long time

trying to get it out but had no luck. The students

walked back to school and Andy and I walked back to

the bridge with all the Macro gear. It was a beautiful

day for walking our waterways and checking what is

living in them.

Wednesday 12th October

There will be a little fishing by the students to seewhat can be caught and where.

Next term it will be removal of Alien Fish in our

waterways.

WANGARATTA COMMUNITY PRIDE

ACTIVITIESArticle by Diane Farmer

Opening of West End Place

On Saturday 10th September I attended the Opening

of the new community meeting place and barbeque

area at West End. Although rather cold, the

atmosphere was so warm and friendly that it didntmatter; to see everyone enjoying themselves was

great.

Ruth Tai welcomed Tim McCurdy (MLA Murray Valley)

and the Mayor Anthony Griffiths, who thanked all

those who had worked so hard to get this great area

up and working.

The Rural City of Wangaratta supplied the barbeque

and the Wangaratta Lions Club built the structure,

creating a very inviting area. Wangaratta Community

Pride donated the paint for the wall which the childrendesigned and decorated and now the wall belongs to

them.

Coral Clarke, Tim Watkins,

Robyn Fenlon and Shirley

Nicholas should feel very

proud of this great community

project. The children were

having the time of their lives

enjoying the jumping castle

and joining in with The Centre

CARN staff on the fun games

they had set up. The CARN

Crock was there shaking hands with the kids and I

even got a cuddle.

The barbeque and salads for lunch were delicious.

Thank you to council staff for helping with that. In the

future they plan to have a water tank, community

garden and a playground with equipment to makefurther use of this great place.

It was a fantastic day and shows what members of the

community can achieve when they come together with

one thing in mind.

Well done to all who had a part in the project.

KABV Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities

Regional Presentation

Tuesday 27th September 2011 at High Country

Library

What an exciting afternoon with all the groups and

people nominated by Wangaratta Community Pride

reaching the finals. Ruth Tai welcomed everyone then

the Mayor Anthony Griffiths and Tim McCurdy (MLA

Murray Valley) congratulated the finalists and praised

all the hard work that Marg Pullen and the committee

did to encourage council to join KABV in order to enter

some of Wangarattas hard working groups and

individuals so they could be recognized by such an

important organisation. Some 25 people attended

including Cr. Ron Webb and Cr. Rozi Parisotto. Tim

McCurdy introduced each recipient and spoke about

their achievements, with Gary Mogford from KABVassisting. Following the presentation and a photo for

the Chronicle everyone gathered for some light


4/6


October 2011

refreshments. The event was organised by council

staff Wendy and Leonie.

A special thank you to Marg Pullen for all the years as

chairperson of Wangaratta Community Pride and all

the running around she did for the Awards. TheAwards night is on the 22nd of October at Rutherglen.

Hopefully Wangaratta walks away with a handful of

the awards, including the next Tidy Town.

Launch of Wangaratta Community Prides New

Logo and Banner

On the same day, the

Wangaratta Community Pride

launched their logo and

banner. A great deal of hard

work went into this project byMarg and the committee.

Thank you to Emma Phillips

for designing such a great

logo and banner. Watch out

for the new banner, it will be

popping up here and there as the committee continue

to be active in the community.

SUSTAINABLE HOUSE DAYSunday 11thSeptember 2011, Article by Rowan O'Hagan

Sustainable House Day on September 11 was very

successful WSN would like to thank everyone who

opened their houses for the day - Pam, Mary, Ian and

Prue, Ian and Yvonne and the Eco-Living Precinct -and

an especially big thank you to Jim Lewis for the

enormous effort he put in to organise the local event.

WSN received assistance from Eko Energy who supply

and install photovoltaic solar panels locally which

enabled us to provide visitors with relevant

sustainability information on a USB thank you to

Tony Lane and Eko Energy for this support the USBsare still available if anyone would like one.

Contact Rowan OHagan, Ph. (03) 5721 8231

WHATS COOL IN THE COMMON?Friday 30thSeptember 2011, Article by Di Farmer

Well the Common is Cool. I always just thought it was

a neglected spot of grasses and that was it, but after

Fridays walk around it I discovered it is another one of

Wangarattas hidden treasures.

The weather was perfect and about 25 people, smallchildren to older members of the community, turned

up. What was to be a couple of hours walk turned into

two and a half hours

of learning about

native grasses and

plants and we never

got to see the whole

lot of this very

interesting area. The plant I liked the best was called

Drumsticks, although I referred to it as a yellow pom

pom plant when I asked what it was. The range of

plants and grasses was just amazing, although they

werent all out in full flower. Certain areas will only

grow a particular type of grass or native plant. There

was quite a lot of water around which promotes

particular kinds of growth. My favourite spot was

called a Gilgai where grasses raise themselves up out

of the water; nature is a very remarkable thing whenleft alone to do its own thing.

The only disappointing thing was the usual thing

people walk through there and leave empty cans and

bottles around but on the whole not too much and

some of it was picked up along our walk. The exit to

Greta Road had a good collection of bottles (might

need a rubbish bin there).

We enjoyed a great cuppa at the end of the walk and

it was great to meet new people, catch up with some

WSN members, and I am sure everyone had a great

morning learning about the Common. Thanks to Matt,

Mary and Glen from DSE, I have been left wanting to

learn more about the native plants and grasses here in

Wangaratta. I know I will be there next year in

Biodiversity Month.

NORTH EAST NATIONAL WATER WEEK

SHORT FILM COMPETITION FINALISTS

Congratulations to Di

Farmer and Joshua Newth,

finalists representing WSN

Restoring Our Waterways

(ROW) in the North East

National Water Week 2011Short Film Competition.


5/6


October 2011

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday 12thOctober at 8am

Walk to Work or Town

8am

Walk details

Route 1- Starting at Apex park

Route 2- Kicking off at Vincent Road Bridge

Route 3 -Beginning at Phillipson Street Bridge

All walks will finish at Wangaratta GOTAFE campus,

Docker St where a FREE breakfast will be served for all

participants.

(registration forms will have complete Route details)

Wear comfortable walking shoes and loose-fitting

clothes, a hat and sunscreen and bring a water bottle.

To register contact Diane Farmer (03) 5722 3823

Information onwww.wangarattasustainability.org

Ride to Work or Town

7.45am for 8am start

Starting at GOTAFE and going on a mystery ride

around Wangaratta for 30 to 45 minute returning to

GOTAFE where Breakfast will be served.

Meet at

GOTAFE Docker St grass area

For more information contact:

Elysia Milne, The Centre (03) 5721 0252

National Recycling Week

Monday 7thSunday 13thNovember

Do you know where

your waste is reallygoing? Why do we

have to recycle? Want

answers? Then you

should attend the

travelling waste

seminar, held during national recycling week (7-13

November 2011) an educational bus tour that takes

the community directly to the issues. Further

information please contact the Rural City of

Wangaratta on (03) 5722 0888.

THE FUN OF HAVING GOOD FRIENDS

A friend saw this cartoon below in the newspaper and

went to great lengths to give it to me with the

statement

I saw this in the newspaper and I thought of you

I changed one word in the cartoon so it would be me

to a tea as friends call me Di Queen of Wangarattas

rubbish.

Hope you like the cartoon.
http://www.wangarattasustainability.org/http://www.wangarattasustainability.org/http://www.wangarattasustainability.org/http://www.wangarattasustainability.org/


6/6


October 2011

National Water Week

16 - 22 October 2011

Free family activities

Fishathon

Horseshoe Lagoon

Sunday 16 October 2011

11 4.30pm

EGL

Wodonga Wastewater

Treatment Plant Tour & BBQ

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Noon

Library Story Time Sessions

Wodonga Library &

High Country Library, Wangaratta

Come and join us in catching fish.More prizes than you are likely ever tocatch!! Prizes donated from localbusinesses e.g. tackle, rods, reels...

Location: Horseshoe Lagoon, Albury

Contact:Allan Hruz Ph: 02 6023 8745Email:[email protected]

Ever wondered what happens to yourwater once it leaves your house? Enjoya tour, BBQ and presentation.

Location:

Wodonga Wastewater Treatment PlantOld Barnawartha Rd, Wodonga

Bookings essential.

Contact:Diane Doyle Ph: 02 6022 0580Email:[email protected]

Wodonga Library

Wodonga Library and the NEWEducationOfficer will run 3 pre-school sessions

on water education.

Times:Monday 17th October 10am & 11amWednesday 19th October 10am

Contact:Heather Ph: 02 6022 9117

High Country Library, Wangaratta

High Country Library Story Time willfeature Whizzys Incredible JourneyBook, which introduces children to

water in a fun way.

Time:Friday 21st October 2011 10am-11am

Contact:Jason Smith Ph: 03 57212366

North East Water

Wangaratta Treatment Plant

Tour & Breakfast

Thursday 20 October 2011

7 9am

North East Water

Yackandandah Treatment

Plant

Tour & Breakfast

Friday 21 October 2011

7 9am

All Things Water

Mini Expo

Wangaratta Post Office

Arcade

Friday 21 October 2011

10 2pm

Wonga Wetlands

Night Walk

Saturday 22 October 2011

5 9pm

Enjoy an egg and bacon muffin beforetouring your local water treatmentplant. Learn how your water is treatedand delivered to your tap 24/7.

Location:Wangaratta Water Treatment PlantFaithful Street, Wangaratta

Bookings essential.


Enjoy an egg and bacon muffin beforetouring your local water treatmentplant. Learn how your water is treatedand delivered to your tap 24/7.

Location:Yackandandah Water Treatment PlantCemetery Lane, Yackandandah

Bookings essential.


WSN Restoring Our Waterways, TheRural City of Wangaratta & SESpresent:

All Things Water Mini Expo

Come share in a BBQ whilst learningabout water sustainability andconservation.

Location: Post Office Arcade

Contact:Diane Farmer Ph: 03 57223823

Come enjoy a family BBQ (BYO meat,facilities provided) then stroll throughWonga Wetlands listening to frogs andspotting birds and bats.

Location:Wonga WetlandsRiverina Hwy

Contact:John Hawkins Ph: 0418 267 805Email:[email protected]

OTHER WSN GROUPS

Publicity/Advocacy Food Sustainability Home Energy Waste Action Group (WAGS)

Membership Now Due!

For more information contact:

Dr Rowan OHagan- Secretary/Treasurer Email: [email protected]

12 Deakin Court, Wangaratta VIC 3677 Website: www.wangarattasustainability.org

Ph. (03) 5721 8231

This Newsletter designed by the Volunteers at Community Skillsbank, Wangaratta.

Under the umbrella of the

Wangaratta UrbanLandcare Group

Family/Household/Organisation $10 per year

Single $5 per year

Student $2 per year

NEW MEMBERS

WELCOME ANY TIME
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.wangarattasustainability.org/http://www.wangarattasustainability.org/http://www.wangarattasustainability.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

Croaker Newsletter Oct 2011 Final

Documents

Transcript of Croaker Newsletter Oct 2011 Final