COMING EVENTS

WALK WITH BIRDS IN THE FIELD OF MARS

Meet the birdlife of the Field of Mars Reserve on Saturday 5 April, on a walk led by Cathy Goswell of the Cumberland Bird Observers Club and hosted by the Ryde-Hunters Hill Flora and Fauna Preservation Society. Departures: 8.30am and 10.30am from the Visitor Centre in the Reserve.

Please bring water, closed shoes and a hat. Children aged 5-12 are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. The event is free, though a small donation would help the Society. Booking is essential as places are limited: for registration and further info, email alfred.vincent@bigpond.com or leave a message on 9879 6067, indicating numbers participating and your preferred time.
Main entry to the Field of Mars is from Pittwater Road, opposite Buffalo Creek Reserve. There is a carpark at the entrance, under the aqueduct. Another convenient entrance is at the end of Kennedy Street.

RHHFFPS Saturday 14 June, 2.30 pm: THE SQUATTERS’ GRAB BY WAL WALKER
Researcher Wal Walker will talk about his book, The Squatters’ Grab: Where it All Went Wrong, which “looks at the failures of government and administration, in London and the Colony, that allowed the violent dispossession of the Indigenous people. It unearths, many for the first time, the people and incidents responsible for this disaster.”
This talk will take place in the Environmental Education Centre, with afternoon tea afterwards.

MUSIC ON MARS (save the date!) Sunday 21 September 2025

PAST EVENTS

CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY:
Members, and a few visitors, worked on areas of the Field of Mars Reserve close to the boardwalk and the creek, between the Monash Road entrance and Pittwater Road.


The group, and intrepid new member, Cr Keanu Arya. Photos by Lyn Langtry

RHHFFPS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Sunday 16 March:
19 members attended and we welcomed Mayor Trenton Brown and Councillor Keanu Arya. It was an extremely hot day, so we moved to the Environmental Education Centre building which is air-conditioned and where John Martyn was to give his talk afterwards. We welcomed a few more members to our committee; see the end of this newsletter. Mayor Brown drew the prize-winning ticket for our raffle, which went to Helen Paterson, an active member of Ryde District Historical Society and of the YarnKnit group which donates the prizes. Helen was delighted to receive the rug.
The meeting was followed by the talk by John Martyn…

YARNKNIT RUG RAFFLE PRIZE

Donated once again by Holy Spirit Yarn Group, you could be the lucky winner when the raffle is drawn at the AGM in early 2026. The handmade article is suitable for both winter and summer use. Keep it yourself, give it to a family member or friend or donate to a worthy organisation. Funds raised support the Society and the organisations we support.
Tickets are available at the Visitors Centre or buy online by transfer to our Bendigo Bank account: RYDE HUNTERS HILL FLORA AND FAUNA PRESERVATION SOCIETY INC, BSB 633-000, Account number 190716589.
Include your name and “raffle” in the transaction description, and please email your contact details to rhhffps@gmail.com
One ticket for $2, Three tickets for $5

PRESIDENT’S NOTE -

At our Annual General Meeting held on 16 March, I thanked all the members of the Management Committee for their valuable input and efforts over the year. I would also like to thank the membership for their continued support of the Society and the work of the Management Committee. The Society continues to be well regarded in local matters, state matters and national matters and this reflects the efforts of the Management Committee and the support of the membership.
The volunteers at the Field of Mars Visitors Centre are also much appreciated. Many walkers in the Reserve come to the Visitor Centre and this has an important role in educating the community and promoting nature conservation.
Our Society has been very active in pursuing its objects on a wide range of very important issues.
There is much more that remains to be done but we need to focus on the priorities and do our best to influence outcomes.
We advocate measures at the local, state, national and international level necessary to safeguard the environment from all forms of pollution to ensure, clean air, clean water and a healthy environment and address climate change.
These initiatives are a major aspect of the meetings of the management committee and include matters such as the protection of the Powerful Owl site at Glades Bay, Ryde Council’s draft Tree DCP, the NSW Government’s Diverse and Well Located Homes proposals, the Nature Laws proposals of the Federal Government and many other matters that have been reported in Wallumetta during the year.
Once again thanks to everyone who contributed to the efforts of the Society this year and to our members and supporters who are essential for the continued influence of the Society in protecting our natural heritage.
Frank Breen, President

About RHHFFPS

The Society has been active in local conservation issues since 1966 and is well networked with the broader conservation movement across NSW.

The Society's Constitution states its Aims and Objectives as:

a. The education of the members and the community, particularly in the local area, in nature conservation and protection of the environment;

b. To promote ecologically sustainable land use and development;

c. To promote nature conservation including an adequate system of national parks, wilderness areas, nature reserves, wildlife refuges and corridors and urban bushland reserves; adequate protection measures for native wildlife;

d. Achieving satisfactory measures to safeguard the environment from all forms of pollution to ensure clean air, clean water and a healthy environment;

e. To work for the permanent retention and conservation of all natural areas in the local district and an increase in the area set aside for nature conservation and

f. To undertake the management of the Field of Mars Reserve with Ryde City Council as a major conservation project

We have a regular newsletter Wallumetta which is issued six times a year which attempts to update members on both local environmental issues and issues of wider impact. Our volunteer members keep the Visitors Centre open each weekend. Please contact us if you have concerns about threats to our local natural areas and the precious native fauna which depend on our sensitive bushland areas and waterways.

History of The Ryde Hunters Hill Flora and Fauna Preservation Society

In the mid 1960s, with an increasing amount of waste needing disposal, Ryde Council looked to an expansion of the small tip in the Field of Mars Reserve. Council proposed to pipe Buffalo and Stranger's Creeks to facilitate a landfill area to a depth of up to 15m feet which could then be re-developed into playing fields. Local residents united to form the Anti-tip Action Group and lobbied to reverse Council's plans for a tip at the Field of Mars. The tip was moved to Porter's Creek which to this day still requires substantial funds to control the environmental damage arising from past use as a tipsite. With the Field of Mars saved the Society was established in January 1966.

In September 1966, Ryde Council advised the Society that it agreed to their proposal to development of the Field of Mars Reserve as a flora and fauna sanctuary. Hard work over following decades has seen restoration of old degraded areas of the Field of Mars and protection of the area as a Wildlife Refuge. A Visitors Centre was built and then the Environmental Education Centre which is visited by about 10,000 students each year.