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National Tree Day site in Steel Park Marrickville South. All that is wood chip is the new area that was planted today. It joins last year’s site to create a continuous corridor along the river in this area.
This afternoon we went down to Steel Park Marrickville South to have a look at Inner West Council’s National Tree Day site. I had looked at the site earlier & noticed just how big the area to be planted is in comparison to previous years. Inner West Council decided to convert a significant area into habitat for wildlife at this location & I think this is excellent.
Three new trees were planted –
- Two Swamp mahoganies (Eucalyptus robusta), an Australian native that can reach up to 30-metres in height. It can live for at least 200-years. I find exciting to have such long-lived trees planted in a park where it has a decent opportunity to reach such an age. Fingers crossed anyway. It flowers well in spring & summer & offers food for birds & other nectar-eating wildlife. Christmas beetles like to eat the leaves, so hopefully we will see some of these at Steel Park.
- One Prickly-leaved paperbark (Melaleuca styphelioides) – also an Australian native. This is a medium-sized tree that reaches between 5-11 metres in height. It has a dense, rounded canopy with drooping branchlets & produces cream or white cylindrical bottlebrush-like flowers in summer. It likes to grow along stream banks or other moist situations, so good for this location.
Everyone who planted today have done the whole community a service & I thank them. It is excellent to see more places along the river that are for wildlife only & I personally, think that looking at bushy areas is far more interesting than great expanses of lawn. The birds will come, which adds a further layer of enjoyment to users of the park.
A closer look. Each dark patch is where something was planted.
The 3 trees that were planted. Swamp mahogany in the foreground, the Melaleuca in the middle and another Swamp mahogany in the background.
A pair of Black Swans and their four cygnets at Black Swan Lake. Photo provided by community group ‘Gold Coast Destruction- Save Black Swan Lake-Bundall’ with thanks. You can find them on Facebook under this name.
Today is National Tree Day & all over Australia people are planting trees & revegetating areas to create better biodiversity places for wildlife.
For me National Tree Day is a day of hope. Hope that attitudes to the environment & wildlife improve drastically. Hope that green spaces will be protected. Hope that the community will not always have to fight all levels of government to retain trees & green spaces & hope that community attitudes will change from being tree adverse to tree positive.
So, I want to tell you a story that has (temporarilly) sucked out my hope. I first read about this on Facebook & thought it was a joke because it seemed so improbable. I expected Joni Mitchell to come out singing. Unfortunately, the story was nothing like that, just the sad, stiff ending that a lake was going to be drained & filled to create an “overflow” parking lot.
The Gold Coast Show used to be held at the Parklands Showgrounds. The Gold Coast Show Society was forced to move the Show & they relocated to the equine precinct at Bundall. Problem is, there is not enough parking for the expected 50,000 people who will attend this annual event.
So, the Gold Coast Show Society, in its wisdom, said they wanted to drain & fill Black Swan Lake, an established bird sanctuary located in the Gold Coast Turf Club, to create the necessary parking. In 2014 the Gold Coast Turf Club put in a DA, which was approved by the Gold Coast Council. Black Swan Lake would be turned into a car park. Unbelievable to my mind.
About Black Swan Lake –
- It is located in the grounds of the Gold Coast Turf Club in Bundall on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
- The lake is 2.75 hectares of freshwater.
- The lake is man-made & was created 30-years-ago in a bid to improve on biodiversity.
- They were successful because 40 species of wild birds call this lake home. “…more than 400 birds were counted in only one hour.” See – http://bit.ly/2vhPcoU
- In 2014 the Gold Coast City Council approved a DA to fill the lake & create a car park. The community fought to save the lake & won.
- “….just before Christmas 2016 the Council gave the Turf Club control of the Lake and the right to fill it. The Deputy Mayor is a Turf Club Board Member and several Councillors have honorary memberships of the Club.”
- “…Mayor Tom Tate refusing to call the “borrow pit” a lake during debate about whether it would be filled.” See – http://bit.ly/2vhRRiE
- On Wednesday 26th July 2017 pumping to drain the lake commenced. They want the car park ready for the Gold Coast Show late August 2017.
- Right now black swans are nesting. The solution? According to the community group ‘Gold Coast Destruction- Save Black Swan Lake-Bundall,’ the swans will be euthanised. You can’t have black swans stuffing up plans for an overflow carpark, can you?
- This is at complete odds to the Black Swan Lake Proposed Wetland Management Plan viewable here – http://bit.ly/2eX4ysb “The primary aim of the Management Plan is to conserve the natural environment of the area while allowing compatible community access for appreciation and passive recreation.”
At the time of writing 6,238 people had signed a petition to save Black Swan Lake. You can help by signing here – http://bit.ly/2v3Xlg6
Thank you to all those organisations & people who are trying to save this habitat. Next I will post something positive for National Tree Day.
Black Swan sitting on eggs at Black Swan Lake. Terrible to think this bird may be euthanised. Photo provided by community group ‘Gold Coast Destruction- Save Black Swan Lake-Bundall’ with thanks.
The 2017 National Tree Day site in Steel Park is being prepared with mulch. It is a large area, approximately 50-metres long. It will join up with last year’s planting site.
National Tree Day is happening on Sunday 30th July 2017. Inner West Council (Marrickville) is inviting the community to help add to the environmental work done in Steel Park at last year’s National Tree Day site.
A large area of lawn was removed & the area planted with native plants & trees. Council wants to create connected areas of habitat along the river for wildlife to live & forage for food & this is a very good thing.
PLANTING –
WHEN: Sunday 30th July 2017.
WHERE: Steel Park Illawarra Road Marrickville beside the shared pathway along the Cooks River east of the children’s playground.
TIME: 10am – noon.
BRING: Refillable water bottle & a hat. Council will provide gloves, tools, watering cans/buckets, drinking water & refreshments.
FREE TREE GIVEAWAY –
Council will also be giving away free trees to increase the urban forest canopy. The trees will be advanced sized stock (25 litre bags/300mm pots), so you will need to have the means to get the tree home & have room for it to grow in your garden.
Conditions to be eligible for a free tree are –
- One tree per household. You will need to provide proof of address (Council rates notice or Drivers Licence).
- “Residents must obtain the necessary approvals for selecting the trees and the planting locations within the property boundary. We suggest you investigate where best to plant the tree to minimise any risks to property or people.
- Inner West Council makes its best endeavours to provide a healthy tree with average growth height information, but makes no warranties concerning the tree.” – from Inner West Council’s website – link below.
The tree species available are all natives & all provide food for wildlife –
- Lilly Pilly Acmena smithii ‘Red Tip Form’
- Coast Banksia Banksia integrifolia
- Bella Donna Brachychiton populneus x acerifolius
- ‘Dawson River Weeper’ Callistemon viminalis
- NSW Christmas Bush Ceratopetalum gummiferum
- Riberry Syzygium luehmannii
Council staff will be available to talk you about tree choice & how to care for it, but you can download information about the trees & their growth expectations here – http://bit.ly/2urXzdS
WHEN: Sunday 30th July 2017.
WHERE: The free trees can be collected from the southern carpark of the Debbie and Abbey Borgia Centre, entrance off Illawarra Road Marrickville.
TIME: 10am – noon.
BRING: The trees are “advanced size,” so you will need a suitable vehicle to take your tree home.
There is also a planting event happening at Wilkins Green in Wilkins High School in Marrickville.
“For National Tree Day, our goal is to plant out the ridgeline, which borders the western side of the Green, with native species, further increasing biodiversity for the whole of the Marrickville area and creating a wildlife corridor, or sanctuary, for native Australian fauna, who will find food and shelter within the Green. Our long term goal is to create a native Bush Land which is self-sustaining, home to wildlife and a showcase to the wider community of what is possible in the urban landscape.” How great is that!
WHEN: Sunday 30th July 2017.
WHERE: Wilkins Green, in Wilkins High School, corner of Livingstone & Sydneham Roads Marrickville. Parking is available inside the school through the gate on Sydneham Road or street parking is available.
TIME: 10:00am – 2:00pm
BRING: They ask that you wear closed toes shoes & bring gloves if you have them. They also request that you can bring a plate of food to share afterward, as there will be a barbeque. Refreshments will be supplied.
Many of us have got used to Sydney Park being a National Tree Day site, but it will not be this year. Instead the main Planet Ark National Tree Day site will be with the City of Parramatta at Third Settlement Reserve in Winston Hills. Costa the Gnome & Dirtgirl will be there, as well as all the other activities we have seen at Sydney Park over the last few years. Over 10,000 trees, shrubs & groundcovers will be planted along the creek line in Third Settlement Reserve, which is pretty impressive.
If you are not in the Inner West on National Tree Day or you are interested in traveling to another site, there are plenty of places holding planting events. They can be found here – http://treeday.planetark.org/find-a-site/search.cfm
A section of last years National Tree Day planting. Photo taken two days ago.
What was a garden island in lawn is now part of a whole re-vegetated area for wildlife. The shorter plants were planted last National Tree Day. Photo taken two days ago.
SAVING OUR TREES - Marrickville municipality 
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