|
|
|
|
|
Welcome to Sustainable Wollongong May Issue
This issue of the newsletter includes the following articles:
-
Grow Local: Support Plants
-
Draft Community Strategic Plan on Public Exhibition
-
World Bee Day
-
Botanic Gardens Day
-
Time for a Chemical Cleanout
-
Wollongong Waste App
-
Weeding Out the Goodness
-
Worm Farm in a Bathtub
-
Toys for Joy
-
Did You Know?
-
Threatened Species Profile: Southern Brown Bandicoot
Feel free to forward this newsletter on to interested friends and family.
If you would like to make any comments or suggestions please contact us at sustainability@wollongong.nsw.gov.au
|
|
|
Grow Local
Support Plants
Support plants are those that provide a number of useful services to your veggie garden and will support the growth and development of your veggies. They can include herbs, groundcovers, shrubs and trees, and are species that are generally hardy and fast-growing and are often not edible.
Lawn competes with fruit trees and potentially other plants in your veggie garden, therefore it is more beneficial to have support trees, shrubs and ground covers. Support plants help to aerate and improve nutrients in the soil, protect other plants from intense wind, rain and sunlight, encourage native animals to your garden by providing habitat, and can also themselves be a source of food for soil biology, chickens, wildlife and sometimes us.
They should be planted in the initial stages of your veggie garden or food forest, and as your veggie garden grows, plants such as fruit trees may eventually shade out your support plants.
There are a number of support plants suitable for use in the Illawarra, some native, some edible, and all helping with either improving soil, providing protection or habitat. Some of these include:
- Ground Cover: Native Geranium Geranium homeanum
- Tree: Bleeding Heart Homalanthus populifolius
- Shrub: Golden Tip Goodia lotifolia
- Herbs and Grasses: Parsley Petroselinum crispum
For more information on support plants, read our Grow Local Illawarra Edible Garden Guide.
Harvest Now
FRUIT: Apple, Banana, Carambola, Cherimoya, Cherry of Rio Grande, Feijoa, Lemon, Lime, Macadamia, Mandarin, Orange, Panama Berry, Paw Paw, Pecan, Persimmon, Pomegranate, Acerola Cherry, Brazilian Cherry, Coffee, Finger Lime, Guava, Jaboticaba, Dragon Fruit, Kiwifruit, Passionfruit.
VEGETABLES: Leek, Shallots, Beetroot, Silverbeet, Spinach, Carrot, Celery, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chinese Greens, Kale, Kohlrabi, Radish, Rocket, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Green Bean, Capsicum, Chilli, Eggplant, Potato, Tomato, Asparagus, Corn, Lettuce, Sweet Potato.
HERBS: Basil, Coriander, Dill, Parsley, Chives, Ginger, Mint, Lemongrass, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme.
Plant Now
VEGETABLES: Leek, Onion, Silverbeet, Carrot, Celery, Parsnip, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chinese Greens, Kale, Kohlrabi, Radish, Rocket, Pea, Lettuce.
HERBS: Dill, Parsley, Chives.
Fertilise Now
FRUIT: Mango.
Prune Now
FRUIT: Feijoa, Acerola Cherry.
|
|
|
|
Draft Community Strategic Plan on Public Exhibition
The Community Strategic Plan and the Draft Delivery Program 2022-26 and Draft Operational Plan 2022-23 are currently on public exhibition. You can find more information by visiting our.wollongong.nsw.gov.au and leave your feedback up until 31st May 2022.
Draft Community Strategic Plan
Last year we heard from thousands of people in our community who shared their goals and priorities for our city’s future. We’ve used what we heard to update the draft Community Strategic Plan. It’s really important that we get this right, so we are checking in with the community again.
The Community Strategic Plan is a 10-year plan that identifies the community’s vision for the future, that guides Council’s understanding of our community’s priorities. It is also a whole of community plan, in which all levels of government, business educational institutions, community groups and individuals have an important role to play.
You can read the draft Community Strategic Plan here or read the Summary here.
You can also read an Easy English version of the document.
For more information, or to share your feedback on the Community Strategic Plan please visit the engagement page here.
Draft Delivery Program 2022-26 and Draft Operational Plan 2022-23
The Delivery Program and Operational Plan outlines what Council will deliver in the next financial year, and in the years ahead. It outlines the big projects as well as the day-to-day functions and services that Council delivers for our community.
The Delivery Program and Operational Plan shows what we’re delivering for our libraries and community centres, footpaths and cycleways, sporting facilities, our investments in sustainability and climate action. These actions have been developed in response to the objectives and strategies in the Community Strategic Plan
To learn more about the Delivery Program and Operational Plan, look at all the relevant documents, and share your feedback please visit the engagement page here.
|
|
|
|
World Bee Day
Today is World Bee Day! This day celebrates our hardworking little pollinators and helps to spread awareness of the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy. Bees play an important role in pollinating native plants in our Australian ecosystem, supporting food security, biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Bees are keystone species that play a vital role in preserving ecosystem health. Maintaining plant diversity supports other essential ecosystem services including helping to regulate climate, purify air and water, build soil and recycle nutrients. Bees help to pollinate most of the crops we eat and many that feed farm animals. Nearly two-thirds of Australia’s agricultural production benefits from bee pollination. Some species of plants can only be pollinated by particular species of bee. In the absence of pollination, the plant species cannot reproduce so if that bee species dies, so too will the plant.
The vast majority of global pollinators are wild including over 20 000 species of bees. Australia is home to around 2000 species of native bees, the majority of which are solitary bees. European Honeybees are social insects that were introduced to pollinate many of the introduced food crops that now form part of a normal Australian diet.
Bee populations are under threat. Destruction of their natural habitat, intensive farming practices and pests and disease are just some of the complex reasons driving a decline in both the number and diversity of bees.
Beekeepers and nature conservationists are united in encouraging improved conditions for bees to build pollination security and to safeguard our food security. We need to encourage actions that create more bee-friendly landscapes.
Visit the World Bee Day website for more information.
|
|
|
Botanic Gardens Day
Sunday 29 May - 10 to 2pm
Wollongong Botanic Garden
Plants are our superheroes. Let's explore their value as food and medicine, wildlife habitat, their impact on our wellbeing, and the critical role they play on influencing our climate.
With guided tours, gardening workshops, kids scavenger hunt and show, native plant sale, plant conservation talks, botanic art and photography exhibition, live music, and food stalls - there's something for everyone, and it's all FREE.
More than 100 botanic gardens, arboreta and gardens across Australia and New Zealand will be participating in this national event to highlight the significant work undertaken at botanic gardens to ensure plants survive into the future.
We hope you can join us, and who knows, you may 'find your inner botanist'.
For more details visit: wollongongbotanicgarden.com.au/bgday
or stay tuned for updates on the Wollongong Botanic Garden Facebook page.
|
|
|
|
Time for a Chemical Cleanout
The first Household Chemical Clean-up for 2022 is being held at Fred Finch Park, Berkeley on Sunday 5 June, 2022, so now is the time to dispose of any of those unwanted chemicals and paints you have stored away in the back or your garage or garden shed.
Held by Wollongong City Council in collaboration with the NSW Environment Protection Authority, the Household Chemical Collection event allows residents to dispose of their household chemicals safely and for free, including old paints, chemicals for the garden or pool, poisons, batteries, oils or fuels.
Household quantities (20 litres or 20kg) will be accepted for all items other than paint. Up to 100 litres of paint in containers of no more than 20 litres each will also be accepted. For a full list of chemicals that can be dropped off visit our Household Chemical Cleanout event page.
If you can’t make the event, there is information available on our Community Recycling Centre page about household chemicals that you can drop off for safe disposal year-round at the Waste and Resource Recovery Park at Kembla Grange.
Access to the Household Chemical Clean-up at Fred Finch Park will be from Bedford St, off Northcliffe Drive, 9.00am – 3.30pm on Sunday 5 June 2022.
|
|
|
Wollongong Waste App
The Wollongong Waste App is available for all residents to download for free. The app is your one-stop-shop for information on your bin collection day, requesting changes to services, understanding which bin to use, obtaining FOGO starter kits and liners and updates on waste and sustainability events.
You can also have reminders sent to your mobile phone so you never miss a bin collection again.
It is quick to download and easy to use, so download it today! Go to https://www.wollongongwaste.com.au/wollongong-waste-app/
|
|
|
|
Weeding Out the Goodness
Weeds are the bane of many gardeners. They can look unsightly, they take the nutrients and compete with your plants. Or so we have been conditioned to believe!
Weeds are great soil indicators. If you can grow healthy weeds, you can grow great plants.
White clover for example, grows on soil with a medium to high fertility, especially in phosphorus. Vegetable plants need high phosphorus for root development and stem growth. Maybe it’s time to rethink that lawn which keeps getting clover in it.
Imagine a healthy crop of veggies rather than lawn. If you need to listen to your lawn mower sound effects track while picking veggies to help with your separation anxiety from your mower, go right ahead.
Dandelions often grow in areas of high compaction or high pollutions such as the sides of roadways. If you have lots of dandelions, consider placing a no dig garden on top. Fill it with layers of organic matter such as leaves, weeds, torn cardboard and compost. This garden bed will become a refuge for compost creatures such as worms who will overtime help to aerate the compacted soil underneath and nutrients will leach into it.
Maybe you find the idea of knowing which weed does what a little bit daunting. If you compost all of your weeds however and return that compost to your garden, you will be giving back all of the nutrients they have inside.
Happy gardening.
|
|
|
|
Worm Farm in a Bathtub
Worms are amazing characters, they do so much work for us in our gardens and don’t really ask for much in payment. They would love it if you would mulch and keep the ground moist.
They get really quite excited about a pile of autumn leaves in the corner of your garden. Some can even live in captivity. Compost worms only like to live about 20cm below the soil surface. They are smaller than earth worms and quite partial to a lot of our fruit and veggie scraps.
Recently, Council’s Green Team ran some worm workshops across our region where we discovered many of our residents have worm farms in a bathtub in their garden. Some people have made lovely seats with a lid that lifts to reveal a worm farm inside while others have created a frame for the bath to slot into to keep it off the ground and allow it to drain. If a worm bathtub might be your next venture here are some tips
- Bathtubs can become quite heavy, so finding the right spot the first time is important. Shade in summer and protection from cold winds in winter
- You are going to put fruit and vegetable scraps in it so having a lid to keep out vermin is helpful
- A lid will also prevent your worms from drowning in the case of prolonged heavy rain.
- Have the tub on a slight slope to allow drainage towards the bath plughole
- Ensure the tub is high enough off the ground to allow you to install a bucket or pipe to capture the liquid that runs from the bathtub
- Liquid from the bathtub needs to be diluted 10 parts water to 1 part juice before going onto your garden
- Place your food scraps in the worm farm and cover with a cloth made of natural fibres such as a cotton shirt.
- In prolonged periods of rain bathtubs can go mouldy too. Put in some dry paper if the worm farm is getting too wet and sprinkle in some garden lime
If you have any worm farm questions, we’d love to hear them. Contact Council’s Green Team at gt@wollongong.nsw.gov.au If you would like to see a bathtub worm farm in action, drop into the Wollongong Botanic Garden and look for the Discovery Centre. We have a bathtub worm farm on display in our recycled garden.
|
|
|
|
Toys for Joy
A new recycling program at Big W
With all the recent wet weather we’ve been having lately, some of us have been spending more time at home. We have a great rainy-day idea for you! How about a de-clutter? It may not sound fun, but de-cluttering is proven to reduce stress and minimize allergens around the home, and you’ll reap the rewards afterwards.
If you find you have toys lying around the house that have seen better days, you can now clear your house of them AND feel good about the environment at the same time, by recycling them!
If you have any toys that are not fit to re-home, you can drop them off at your local Big W store for recycling! This free service collects plastic, metal, plush and electronic toys (with batteries removed). You’ll find the big green collection boxes near the checkouts in both the Dapto and Warrawong stores.
Once collected the materials of the toys will be separated. Plastics are shredded, melted, and formed into pellets, flakes or powder. Metals and aluminium are shredded and smelted into metal sheeting, ingots, or bar stock. Natural fibres are converted into a material called “shoddy” that is used for insulation and product stuffing.
For more information, see: Big W Toys for Joy Free Recycling Program · TerraCycle
|
|
|
Did You Know?
If you have problems with the Common (Indian) Myna Bird, consider reducing your lawn area, removing exotic palms and using more local native plants in your garden. Planting local natives encourages native birds and reduces the chances of Common (Indian) Mynas from establishing dominance in your garden.
Come along to a free workshop as part of our Common (Indian) Myna Bird Action Program.
This workshop will provide an overview of the issues caused by Indian Myna birds and how you can be part of our program to record and humanely trap them to reduce their environmental impact.
After completing this workshop you'll have the option to purchase a trap from Corrimal Community Men's Shed for $50. If you'd like to do this, please bring cash on the day.
For more information, visit our Common (Indian) Myna Bird page or call us on (02) 4227 7111.
|
|
|
|
Threatened Species Profile
Common Name: Southern Brown Bandicoot
Scientific Name: Isoodon obesulus obesulus
The Southern Brown Bandicoot is listed as Endangered by both NSW and the Commonwealth. This is the Eastern sub-species found in NSW, Victoria and South Australia, but there are four other subspecies: I. o. nauticus; I. o. peninsulae, I. o. affinus, I. o. fusciventer, which are all geographically distinct from one another.
The Southern Brown Bandicoot is a medium-sized marsupial that reaches around 300mm in length and weighs between 400-1600 grams. Their tails are quite short at around 120mm in length and they have a long pointed nose. They are dark-grey or yellowish-brown in colour, with their underside a creamy white. They are often confused with Potoroos and the Long-Nose Bandicoot, but they are dissimilar from both in their thinner tail and shorter nose and ear length.
This species is sparsely distributed across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, ranging from south-eastern NSW, southern coastal Victoria, south-eastern South Australia, south-west Western Australia and also on the northern tip of Queensland. It is considered rare in NSW and is primarily only found along the coastal areas. There are two key locations where this species inhabits, which are the Ku-ring-gai Chase and Garigal National parks north of Sydney; and the far south-east corner including the Ben Boyd National Park, East Boyd State Forest, Nadgee Nature Reserve, Nadgee State Forest, South East Forest National Park and Yambulla State Forest. The Southern Brown Bandicoot can be found in habitats characterised by scrubby vegetation such as heathland, shrubland, sedgeland and heathy open forest and woodland, usually affiliated with sandy soils. Dense low ground cover provides this species with shelter.
The Southern Brown Bandicoot is nocturnal, sleeping during the day and coming out at night to search for food. They are omnivorous, feeding on a range of food sources such as insects, plants and fungi. When searching for food, they tend to leave behind conical holes in the ground. They are a solitary species with their breeding season mostly between winter to the end of summer, and can produce up to six young per litter, with around two-to-three litters per year. They have a gestation period of less than 15 days, and young remain in the pouch for around two months. Nests are created in low spots on the ground and lined with grasses, leaf litter and other plant materials.
This species existence has largely declined since European settlement, and continues to face several threats, such as:
- Loss, fragmentation and degradation of habitat through vegetation clearing
- Predation by introduced pests such as foxes, cats and wild dogs
- Changes to fire regimes
- Collision with motor vehicles
- Lack of knowledge around their distribution
- Small and sparse populations which are therefore more susceptible to impacting factors
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
