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.
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.
Sunday 8 October 2017
On Sunday 8 October, the Ryde-Hunters Hill Flora and Fauna Preservation Society is presenting walks and talks by Cathy Goswell of the Cumberland Bird Observers' Club, introducing local birdlife on level areas of the Field of Mars Reserve, East Ryde.
Walks start at 8.30 and 10.30, BBQ at 9.30.
Meet at the Visitor Centre. Main entry is from Pittwater Road, opposite Buffalo Creek Reserve. If the weather is wet, Cathy will give an illustrated talk in the Visitor Centre. Children aged 5-12 are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. Please bring water, closed shoes and a hat. Gold coin donations are welcome to cover costs!
Registration is essential as numbers are limited: rhhffps@gmail.com or leave a message for Alfred on 9879 6067. Please indicate which of the two walks you prefer.
New family of wood ducks, Sept 2017
Drake returning to fold having just dispatched a turkey
“In addition to conservation issues, the Society staffs a visitor centre on weekends at the Field of Mars Wildlife Refuge. All welcome.”
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