Getting involved in the DPA

Transcription

1 May 2016 Getting involved in the DPA The season has certainly changed, but surely this has been a warm autumn. In the Wurrundjeri calendar we have moved from Iuk, eel season to Waring, wombat season. This season goes right through the coldest part of the year. I'm not the only one who sometimes wants to dig in and hide from the weather. Some of you may have noticed Darebin council bylaws officers rewarding dog owners who have had their dogs on lead in the western (upper) sections of the park. They have been regular visitors to the Parklands this year and have been commended for their manner. Darebin council officers have also been busy finalizing the plans for the refurbishment of the Separation St entrance. These will be announced in the very near future. You'll note that the suggestions provided by the DPA at our onsite meeting and through the feedback process have been very influential. Our first planting day of the year was last weekend and the weather was kind. Participants enjoyed working on a new part of the Parklands. We have been asked whether the DPA would be interested in diverting one of our planting days to revegetating the entranceway once it is finished. We'll keep you posted. Park Care Days are a great way to get involved in revegetation projects in the park. Many thanks to those members who attended the Park Care Day on Sunday 15 th May. Don t forget you can also volunteer with the Thursday group. [see p3] The Parklands are in a constant state of renewal, and so is the DPA. If you're interested in joining the committee or if you know someone who would be a good addition to the team, then please get in touch. A special thanks to Louise Keene for successfully applying for a Volunteer Grant from the Dep t of Social Services which is part of the Federal Government Well done. James Garrock. DPA President Photo taken after heavy rain on May 9. Shows how quickly the creek can flood. [Photo Meredith Schaap] Annual General Meeting 24 May pm Education Centre The AGM gives members an opportunity to participate in the future of the Darebin Parklands Association. Our head ranger, Peter Wiltshire, will also give members an update of developments in the park. The Education Centre is located at the end of Separation Street. Alphington Events calendar May DPA Annual General Meeting 26 June Park Care Day pm 17 July Park Care Day pm 14 August Park Care Day pm 23 August General Meeting/Info. Night 9 September Community Bonfire Night 22 November General Meeting/BBQ P a g e 1

2 Pete s page News from the ranger in charge Leachate ponds upgraded If you have been around the park recently you no doubt have noticed the major works being undertaken at the parklands the last three months. We have almost finished the Leachate treatment modifications and in the next few weeks the boardwalk on the Duck Pond will be constructed completing a $210,000 project. All the leachate ponds are now interlinked with one another allowing us to move vast volumes of leachate constantly from the Duck Pond to the bio filter in a constant cycle. We have rebuilt the spillway between wetland 1 and wetland 2 and dramatically altered how it flows, so now it has true aeration properties to benefit the water quality. We planned to renovate the path that leads from the Clifton Bridge to the Palm tree and construct some bluestone steps (using the old toilet block stones). Our supervisor for the crew is Michael Bradley who you might see bounding around in the golf buggy, so don t be afraid to say hello to Michael if you see him he s a friendly chap Banyule Council has installed the new signs for Dog control on the Banyule side of the park. We also have printed up 500 educational postcards to hand out to dog walkers. We have increased pipe diameters and reconfigured the pumps to be uniform in their output so it is easier to balance the system. As well as the Duck Pond boardwalk, we are also planning on installing interpretative signage about the leachate system and the history of the site. It s time to reveal the dark past of Darebin Parklands. We have found most of the park users have no idea that the park was once a quarry then a tip and that all the wetlands on the Darebin side are part of a water treatment system. We are also going to revegetate all the ponds and the spillway later in the year. This will conclude the project. In other news DCMC has joined in a partnership with the SALT Foundation in hosting a work for the dole programme. The participants are doing various jobs around the parklands but the main focus will be on Hidden Valley on the Banyule side of the park. A breakfast is being planned aimed at meeting the dog walkers that regularly use the park. Darebin Council has been sending a local law officer down to monitor the off lead dog areas. We have to plan for the future as we are expecting an additional 20,000 people to be living within 2kms of the parklands in the next 10 years and if 25% of them have a dog that decide to walk here the park will be effected greatly Our plan is to provide off lead spaces while changing the culture that has developed with dogs off lead in on lead areas. In the next coming weeks several events will be held at the parklands including a folk music day on May 29th and the Cyclocross event is on again on the 19 June to name a few. See ya in the park Pete Peter Wiltshire. Head Ranger P a g e 2

3 PARK CARE DAY. Sunday May 15 th On a beautiful autumn day, the revegetation of the creek bank continued at the southern end of the park. The area had been cleared of weeds and volunteers planted a range of indigenous grasses. Poa sp. being planted on creek banks. [Photos Peter Wiltshire] FROM THE ARCHIVES From tip to parkland -What a transformation? ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. Tuesday May 24 th pm Don t miss this opportunity to participate in the Annual General Meeting. New committee members can be nominated and you will also have the chance to farewell those that are departing. Michael Mann, Louise and Charmaine Connan will be leaving the committee. Louise and Charmaine will continue to work on the history of the DPA. We thank them for their enthusiasm and professionalism. The Victorian Collections project has given us a great way to preserve and easily access our history. Michael continues to make an invaluable contribution to the park. We are indebted to him for his commitment to creating a haven for native birds and his innovation in establishing the nest box program. He has given up 100 of hours of his time to achieve his vision for the park. Election of all office bearers will be undertaken. After the formalities, Peter Wiltshire, Head Ranger will update members on the progress of current projects in the park. VOLUNTEER WITH THE DPA We are seeking volunteers to help with weeding and planting in the parklands. A weekly group works under the guidance of Katy Marriott, Ranger, who teaches weed and plant identification. Volunteers have also collected and propagated native grasses. These are then planted along the creek banks to control erosion. Work commences in early autumn and usually lasts 2 hours on Thursday morning from 9-11am. Louise Keene, one of our volunteers, has proved to be a wiz at grant applications. In co-operation with Ranger Katy their efforts should provide the volunteer group with a few more resources this year. Rumors of the provision of extravagant morning teas have been heard amongst the volunteers whilst weeding, Creekside. Please contact: Katy Marriott.: katy@dcmc.org.au Darebin Parklands News is published quarterly by the Darebin Parklands Association Inc ABN Post PO Box 3, Ivanhoe, info@dpa.org.au Phone Ian McMaster, Web dpa.org.au / facebook.com/darebinpark Photo taken in the early 1970s showing tip site P a g e 3

4 Up and down the creek News from the Darebin Creek Management Committee (DCMC) Coordination Division. Darebin Creek Education Program (DCEP) We recently did some water bugs sessions with Westgarth Bush Kinder. The children found lots of freshwater shrimp in the samples taken from the creek in the Parklands. At the other end of the education spectrum, a class of Conservation and Land Management students from Melbourne Polytechnic visited The Parklands recently to consolidate their water monitoring skills. The data they gathered was uploaded onto the Waterwatch online data collection site. Work on the artwork for our interpretation board is progressing well, and we hope to have the press button board in by the end of the year. It will similar to the one pictured but in watercolor. Friends of Darebin Creek Recent Friends events have included a planting day at the Clarendon St Thornbury creek entrance with Darebin Bushcrew. Lucy and Van from Melbourne Uni interviewed the hardworking Friends members for research they are conducting on Friends groups. Friends members work so hard that stopping them to do the interview was a challenge! Upcoming events include a planting at Southern Road wetland in Heidelberg West on 29 May. Grants Our grants writer extraordinaire Therese has landed us a grant from the Department of Infrastructure to upgrade the DCMC office kitchen, new air-conditioning split systems, as well as increased storage in the Gleeson Centre. We are also hoping to get the shelter outside the office rebuilt to become a covered outdoor classroom. Darebin Creek Sweepers As a project stemming from the City of Darebin Community Leaders in Sustainability Course, Sarah Jefferyes has started a Clean Up group along the Darebin Creek. The Darebin Creek Sweepers choose a different site each month. The Sweepers meet on the third Sunday of each month. They have They have already organized two clean-ups and picked up over 190 kg of rubbish from the creek. The Sweepers are supported by Friends of Darebin Creek and DCMC, and the Banyule Bushcrew dispose the rubbish collected. The Sweepers welcome anyone to join in. For the upcoming clean-up location, see: Faceboook. creeksweepers/ or have a look on the Friends of Darebin Creek Facebook page. See Friends website for more details: Peter Grenfell, DCMC Project Officer pgrenfell@dcmc.org.au P a g e 4

5 Amazing Abseiling Friday April 8 A group of lucky Junior Rangers experienced life on the edge, abseiling down a rock face in the park. Under the guidance of AUSCAMP staff they experienced the thrill of overcoming their fears and descending the rock. Many thanks to AUSCAMP and to Maree Trentin who managed to organize the activity at such short notice. A memorable day. JR NEWS ROUNDUP Junior Rangers Spotlight tour. Friday 15 th April Under the guidance of Ranger Pete participants in the annual spotlight tour were thrilled to see a range of wildlife in the park including a Southern Boobook owl. The Southern Boobook is the smallest and most common owl in Australia. It is identified by its plumage, which is dark chocolate-brown above and rufousbrown. Ringtail possums were a common sight and a trip to the creek s edge discovered eels. The group was surprised to spot a fox lurking in the shadows. A really interesting night which reminds us that the park is a shelter and home for many different animals. Many thanks to Ranger Pete for the tour. JR Events for 2016 Keep an eye out on our website for upcoming JR events in 2016 including the Bonfire /Campout Night and nestbox building activity. The Bonfire/Campout Night is on September 9. Participation in the campout is restricted to DPA junior Ranger members. P a g e 5