COMING EVENTS

VOICES OF KU-RING-GAI Tuesday 10 June, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM at Ku-ring-gai Town Hall: COMMUNITY FORUM – A NON-PLASTIC FUTURE FOR COMMUNITY OVALS
Update on the Norman Griffiths Oval and (see "What's the Story with Norman Griffiths") and the future of Synthetic Fields in Ku-ring-gai and beyond (and see page below). Learn about the NSW Government’s new Best-Practice Guidelines for Sporting Fields and hear expert insights from the latest AgEnviro and Natural Turf Alliance reports. RSVP CITY OF RYDE Saturday

RHHFFPS Saturday 14 June, 2.30 pm: THE SQUATTERS’ GRAB BY WAL WALKER

Researcher Wal Walker will speak about his book, The Squatters’ Grab: Where it All Went Wrong (Arcana Gallery Press, 2023), at the Environmental Education Centre in the Field of Mars Reserve, East Ryde (main entrance: Pittwater Road), hosted by the Ryde – Hunters Hill Flora and Fauna Preservation Society.
As the author explains, the book “looks at the failures of government and administration […] that allowed the violent dispossession of the Indigenous people. It unearths, many for the first time, the people and incidents responsible for this disaster” and “records the voices and experience of explorers, settlers and Aboriginals”. The talk will be followed by afternoon tea. For more info: contact 9879 6067 or alfred.vincent@bigpond.com..

THE HABITAT Wednesday 25 June / Saturday 28 June 11.00 am – 12 noon:
SMALL BIRD HABITAT CORRIDORS AND CONNECTIONS
At The Habitat Community Nursery, 251 Quarry Rd, Ryde, Bev Debrincat will introduce you to The Habitat, talk about small birds and what habitat they need, tell you a little about two habitat corridors being worked on, and demonstrate how to plant small bird habitat.
RSVP by email info@iewf.org - and tell which day. Bookings will be confirmed via email.

RHHFFPS Sunday 20 July, 10.00 am: TREE WALK

In anticipation of National Tree Day, our Tree Walk will be an opportunity to admire the natural wonders of the Field of Mars Reserve. Around this time of year we expect to see some wonderful displays of wildflowers in the natural bushland of the Reserve. Our Tree Walk will depart from the Visitor Centre in the Reserve at 10am. Walkers should wear appropriate clothing for the weather, including closed shoes and a hat. We return to the Visitor Centre around 12 noon for a barbecue lunch. Children aged 5-12 are welcome but must be with an adult. The event is free, though small donations are welcome to help meet the Society’s costs.
Booking is essential: please email alfred.vincent@bigpond.com or leave a message on 9879 6067.

CITY OF RYDE Sunday 27 July, 10:00AM: NATIONAL TREE DAY COMMUNITY PLANTING
At ELS Hall Park, next to 85 Kent Rd, North Ryde, this will conclude 12 noon with a free BBQ.

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

PAST EVENTS

Federal elections filled everyone’s attention recently. On Wednesday 23 April RHHFFPS co-hosted the NCC Candidates’ Forum. This community event was held at Eastwood Uniting Church. Election candidates contesting the seat of Bennelong were invited to respond to questions from the community, focusing on cost of living, climate, energy, and future of Australia’s environment. Candidates for minor parties came; sitting Labor member Jerome Laxale was ill at the time so he attended via an online link but the well-advertised Liberal Party candidate was absent.

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 -

A major item on the agenda for the Field of Mars Consultative Committee meeting is Council’s plans to proceed with funding of high priority actions on the Master Plan for the Reserve. This follows from a resolution adopted by Council on 10 December 2024 which provided funding for Council infrastructure including natural areas such as the Field of Mars.
The Master Plan was adopted in 2023 and includes an implementation plan with aspects identified in priority order.
There are 19 high priority areas/elements for implementation identified in the Master Plan. Walking trails and the boardwalk are in the current operational and delivery plans for Council. The estimated total cost is $5.22M of which $2.29M is identified for high priority. The estimated time for delivery of these high priority items under the Master Plan is 42.5–52.5 months.
An amount of $505,447 has been identified for delivery of these works. These funds will only cover part of the projects and the remaining 81% of project costs will need to be identified from other funding sources. For Council, other sources of funds include those allocated to other projects or from grants from the NSW or Federal Government.
This situation will require our ongoing efforts to increase the priority of these works in Council’s budgetary processes.
On a different note we congratulate Jerome Laxale on his re-election as MP for Bennelong with a substantially increased margin and look forward to continuing positive relations on environmental matters at the local and national level.
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.