COMING EVENTS

STEP TALK: SPANISH MOSS — AN ENVIRONMENTAL WEED: 2:30 pm, Saturday 22 February 2025 at St Andrews Uniting Church, corner of Vernon Street and Chisholm Street, Turramurra
In recent years STEP has become increasingly concerned about the proliferation of Spanish Moss on our local trees and its potential impact on our bushland. So in December 2023 we asked members to send us details of any Spanish Moss they have seen growing on trees.
Robin Buchanan collated the results and wrote a report which concluded that Spanish Moss is likely to be a serious weed in plant communities in which Turpentine, Lilly Pilly, Brush Box and Cheese Tree are a major component. STEP is now implementing the recommendations contained in the report. Come and hear Robin explain the results of her findings.
For further information about this event contact Helen Wortham (0423 534 148)
[ STEP is South Turramurra Environment Protection Inc. with whom we share communications and similar objectives. To learn more about the STEP organisation, come to John Martyn’s talk – see below.]

CITY OF RYDE “HAVE YOUR SAY” – WASTE, RECYCLING AND THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
City of Ryde is reviewing its Waste Management Strategy to move towards a circular economy approach. They invite submissions, which must be received by 11.59pm Sunday 23 February 2025.
You may provide your submission by email or post, or complete an online survey. Go to https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/HaveyourSay/Have-Your-Say/Waste-Recycling-and-the-Circular-Economy

RHHFFPS Sunday 2 March, 10am-12pm: CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY
Our Society will hold a Clean Up Australia Day event under the aegis of the Clean Up Australia movement. If you would like to participate, please email Alfred at alfred.vincent@bigpond.com.
We will work on areas of the Field of Mars Reserve close to the boardwalk and the creek, between the Monash Road entrance and Pittwater Road.
Rubbish bags, gloves and pick-up sticks are available, though you may like to bring your own gloves in case those provided do not fit. We will meet at the Visitor Centre; if possible come a few minute before 10am to register. Tea and coffee will be on offer. In case of wet weather and/or flooding, we may postpone the event, in which case you will be notified by email.

RHHFFPS Sunday 16 March, 2pm: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
All members will be welcome to offer and discuss suggestions for our future activities. Please note that this year the AGM will be held on a Sunday rather than the usual Saturday. Annual reports will be presented, the raffle prize-winning ticket will be drawn, and you will be able to admire some of our new equipment.

Sunday 16 March, 3.30pm (after the AGM): TALK BY JOHN MARTYN

Environmentalist, geologist, cartographer and photographer John Martyn will talk about his books, including the newly published The Geology and Flora of the Sydney Basin, and his Field Guide to the Bushland of the Lane Cove Valley, which includes areas around the Field of Mars Reserve. He will also inform us about the work of the STEP organisation, of which he is a committee member. The talk will be followed by Q&A, and then afternoon tea in the Visitor Centre.

PAST EVENTS

END OF YEAR AND VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION GET TOGETHER – SUNDAY 1 DECEMBER
Several members and friends attended this celebration of the efforts of our active volunteers.

Photo by Lindsay Mar
We also welcomed special guest Michael (Edie Rosenberg’s son, front left in the photo) who supplied a Banksia serrata from Edie Rosenberg’s garden. We planted the “Edie Tree” in the bushcare area near the Visitor Centre; appropriate because it was one of many sites where Edie worked. And we all enjoyed a barbecue + salad lunch which was prepared and served for us by a couple of experienced leaders from 1st East Ryde Scout Group.

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 2025. 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 -

In this edition of Wallumetta there is a short report on the official opening of the Putney Beach swimming site.
The new site includes a netted swim enclosure, outdoor shower facilities, and easy access to the foreshore. Putney Beach is the result of years of research and planning by the Parramatta River Catchment Group (PRCG) to improve the health of the Parramatta River. In 2018, the PRCG launched a comprehensive ten-step masterplan to address key issues affecting waterway health such as litter prevention, stormwater management, water-sensitive urban design, and land-use planning.
Established in 2008, the Parramatta River Catchment Group is an alliance of councils, government agencies and community groups who are working together to improve the Parramatta River and the creeks that flow into it.
The plan to make Parramatta River swimmable again by 2025 is the basis for making the Parramatta River Catchment a healthy environment. Now that it is opened, Putney Beach joins existing sites at Bayview Park, Cabarita Park Beach, Chiswick Baths, Dawn Fraser Baths, and Lake Parramatta.
Other sites currently being planned include Bedlam Bay, Mort Bay, and Callan Park.
Our Society has been an active member of the PRCG from the start and is planning to continue to play an important role in setting the priorities for the Group.
One of the main strategies to improve ecosystem health in the catchment is to protect and enhance riparian vegetation. This delivers habitat benefits for several iconic species.
The aim is to:
● Naturalise where possible
● Enhance the viability, condition, connectivity, and extent of nature riparian vegetation
● Provide a corridor for the movement of flora and fauna species between reserves and areas of remnant vegetation
● Protect and/or provide bank and creekbed stability
● Contribute to improved water quality.
In June 2023, the PRCG received a grant for $1,000,000 over three years as part of the NSW Government Election Commitment to undertake a Parramatta River Bank Naturalisation and Priority Corridors project.
The objectives of the grant are to:
1. Develop strategic policy to protect and enhance existing riparian vegetation
2. Identify priority sites within the PRCG catchment for riverbank revegetation
3. Deliver initial implementation (on-ground works).
This project is now at the point of identifying priority sites for revegetation and our Society will continue to closely follow progress at the regular meetings of the Group.
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.