Copy
View this email in your browser
Welcome to the October issue of Sustainable Shellharbour. This month we’re supporting the regional Connecting Over Fair Food event, with an online screening of the inspiring film The Biggest Little Farm. We're excited to share our new Fungi of the Illawarra resource and news about receiving a Grey-headed Flying-fox education grant. We encourage you to get involved in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count, and have details of local LED streetlight upgrades and new water quality monitoring in Macquarie Rivulet. Keep reading for details.

Connecting Over Fair Food

New Fungi of the Illawarra brochure


Pixies parasols, white punk and golden jelly bells – they’re all types of fungi featured in our new Fungi of the Illawarra brochure. We recently engaged Alison Pouliot, ecologist and author of The Allure of Fungi, to create a fabulous new Fungi of the Illawarra resource. It introduces you to the fascinating world of fungi, and features 36 stunning images of some more readily recognisable local species. 
 
Hundreds, possibly thousands of fungus species inhabit the Illawarra region – from the coastal headlands, to grassy plains, to rainforest, to heathlands, to your own backyard. Each contributes to the health and resilience of these ecosystems.

If you would like to receive a free printed copy of the new Fungi of the Illawarra brochure, please email your request to sustainability@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au along with details of your postal address. Otherwise you can view the brochure on Council’s website here.
 
Alison Pouliot also has a wonderful five minute foray into the Kingdom Fungi available for viewing on Vimeo.

A glimpse into the new Fungi of the Illawarra brochure. Text and images by Alison Pouliot.

Join in BirdLife Australia's Aussie Backyard Bird Count


You’re invited to join in BirdLife Australia’s 2020 Aussie Backyard Bird Count, running October 19 - 25! 
 
Our common backyard species give us the best indication of the health of our natural environment – think of birds as a barometer for nature. That’s why each October, people count how many birds they see within 20-minutes in their backyard, local park, or any other area. This provides a snapshot at the same time each year, allowing us to look at trends in our bird communities, and enabling you to make an important contribution to citizen science.  
 

Last year 9,922 individual birds were observed during the Aussie Backyard Bird Count in Shellharbour, with an impressive 160 different bird species recorded. The top three birds most frequently observed being House Sparrows, Silver Gulls and Rainbow Lorikeets. Rare and threatened birds spotted in Shellharbour included Regent Honeyeaters, Glossy Black-Cockatoo and Sooty Oystercatchers.
 
Shellharbour has a fantastic range of places for spotting a many different kinds of birds, such as at Blackbutt Forest, Bass Point and the along the shores of Lake Illawarra. On Council’s website you can find a copy of the new Birds of Lake Illawarra brochure to help you with the identification of local birds. 
 
Count the birds that are counting on you - register now to be part of the nation’s largest annual citizen science event! To find out more, visit aussiebirdcount.org.au.

Grey-headed Flying-foxes - Our Coastal Crèche


Did you know that Shellharbour’s Blackbutt Forest is home to an important maternity camp of Grey-headed Flying-foxes? Not all Flying-fox camps are used as a maternity camp, where annual breeding and rearing of young takes place. Here at Blackbutt though, we have been lucky enough to see Flying-fox pups appear every year since the camp was first established in late 2010.  After the adults mate in late summer through to autumn, a single pup is born in late spring.
Mother with large pup. Image by ASasch, cropped.
Pups spend the first six weeks of their life clinging to their mother’s belly fur, feeding on milk and being carried each night as the mother flies out in search of food. When the pup grows too big to be carried, they remain close to their mothers in the canopy, feeding during the day and learning to fly. At night, larger pups are left together in a ‘crèche tree,’ selected for its dense canopy cover that offers greater protection for the pups from potential predators such as large forest owls.

Grey-headed Flying-foxes are prey for large birds such as this Powerful Owl. Image by Martin Potter – Illawarra Birders.

When the mother returns from foraging at dawn, she can identify her pup by its unique smell and call. Pups remain dependent on their mothers for the first five to six months of their life, before learning to forage at night and care for themselves.

These charismatic creatures play a crucial role in the health of our local environment as they pollinate native plants and spread rainforest seeds over large distances. They are the gardeners of the forest, and help areas regenerate after bushfires by dropping seeds of many important native trees through the burnt areas.

Grey-headed Flying-foxes are threatened with extinction. Our Council staff work in collaboration with the NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment to protect these important native animals. Council is pleased to have recently received a grant from the Flying-fox Grant Program, funded by through the NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment and administered by Local Government NSW, to deliver community education on Grey-headed Flying-foxes.

Grey-headed Flying-fox themed Storytime and craft activities online at Library at Home


Have you checked out the Shellharbour City Libraries Storytime reading of Bat vs Poss, written by Alexa Moses, on the Library at Home website? It can now be viewed anytime, after being created in early September to acknowledge National Threatened Species Day. This specially created Library at Home page is full of fascinating information about our local Grey-headed Flying-foxes, and has some great craft activities you can do with kids at home. Check it out here.
 

Water Quality Monitoring at Macquarie Rivulet

 
Two water quality monitoring sondes have recently been installed into Macquarie Rivulet as part of the Smart Waterways Project. These devices will assist Council to remotely monitor the quality of water entering into Lake Illawarra on a continual basis.
The Smart Waterways project is a partnership between Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven Councils, Lendlease, and the University of Wollongong’s SMART Infrastructure Facility. This program also received funding from the Australian Government under the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.

These permanent water quality devices will accompany Shellharbour City Council Environment Team with their routine water quality monitoring program collecting data and monitoring the ongoing health of our waterways.

Fabric printing workshop at the Tinkerage


Come along on Saturday 24 October from 10am – 3pm and learn how to recycle your fabrics by printing them with funky new designs with teacher Janine Bailey. Don’t throw it out! Revamp things such as cushion covers, tote bags, pillowcases, aprons, tea-towels and table cloths. Janine will teach printing images with fabric patterns onto cotton and linen in creative ways to upcycle your textile items.

This workshop is free for residents living in the Shellharbour council area. A $40 fee applies for non-Shellharbour residents.
You must wear enclosed protective shoes to The Tinkerage. Please BYO cushion covers, tote bags, pillowcases, aprons, tea-towels and table cloths, or fabric to print onto. Feel free to bring along lunch/drink too. Participants must be over 16 years old.
Places are strictly limited, and bookings for the Tinkerage workshops can be made by emailing tinkerage@resourcerecovery.org.au, phoning the Revolve Shop on 42375193, or in person at the Revolve Shop or The Tinkerage at 44 Buckleys Road Dunmore.

The Tinkerage - Friday tinkering sessions on

The Tinkerage is a community-use space for the making, repairing, and re-purposing of things that would otherwise end up in landfill.

Friday tinkering sessions are back on from 10am – 3pm, with participation by gold coin donation. With COVID-safe measures in place, the Tinkerage can now only have 10 people in the space. Bookings to join in on a Friday are now essential. Please contact Anita if you are considering coming along. tinkerage@resourcerecovery.org.au.
 
Located behind the Revolve Centre at Dunmore Recycling and Waste Disposal Depot, the Tinkerage is a joint venture between Shellharbour City Council and Resource Recovery Australia.
 
Check out their Instagram page here, or for enquiries email tinkerage@resourcerecovery.org.au or or phone the Revolve Shop on 42375193. 

Shorebird Season at Lake Illawarra


Every summer threatened beach-nesting birds raise their chicks on NSW’s picturesque beaches. At Lake Illawarra, Pied Oystercatchers are locals to the foreshore, shoals and islands all year-round and lay their speckled camouflaged eggs in the sand between August and February. Migratory waders like Eastern Curlews and Bar-tailed Godwits make the massive journey from places as far away as South-East Asia to return to our lake each summer.
Eastern Curlew. Image by Chris Grounds, DPIE.  
Locals and visitors who regularly use these estuarine shorelines and flats can play a really important role in helping to protect these beautiful and important birds. The best news is, it’s not hard to do, and we really don’t have to give anything up or make any sacrifices to help save our shorebirds.
 
Always leash your dog around the lake foreshore – especially between August and March, when the birds are trying to raise their kids!
 
Mudflats are shorebird feeding grounds – when pumping bait, wetting a line or exploring the lake by boat or kayak, please leave your dog at home and avoid disturbing feeding shorebirds where possible.
Pied oystercatcher and chick. Image by John Turbill, DPIE. 
For more info see www.southcoastshorebirds.com.au/ and Birds of Lake Illawarra.

Plant in the veggie garden now


The days are getting warmer and longer, and it’s time to start thinking about planting:
 
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Cucumber
  • Zucchini
  • Potato
 
If you're keen to add veggies and herbs to your garden, head into Council's Nursery on River Oak Place, Oak Flats, or contact them on 4221 6191 or at nursery@shellharbour.nsw.gov.au. They're now open Monday to Friday 7.30am to 3.45pm (except public holidays), with social distancing and COVID-safe measures in place. Staff are happy to help you with advice on what to plant when, what’s easy to grow, what can be grown in a pot and how to prepare your soil for the next crop.
 
For information on food gardening ideas check out Council's Grow Local Illawarra Edible Garden Guide on Council’s website.
 
City Library, Warilla Library & Albion Park Library have reopened, and have a great selection of gardening books. To find out what you need to know before you visit the library please see here.
 

LED lighting upgrades completed


Work to replace 2,279 streetlights across Shellharbour City with more energy-efficient LED alternatives is now complete! The initiative is expected to save about $165,000 annually in energy costs and reduce Council's annual greenhouse gas emissions by over 800t CO2 per annum. This is equivalent to taking 172 average-sized cars off the road per year. LED lighting has also resulted in brighter and better quality light distribution to improve community safety in public areas.

This project was undertaken by Council with funding support from the The Office of Environment and Heritage’s Accelerated Lighting Upgrade Program. 

COVID-19 updates from Shellharbour City Council


In response to the evolving situation with Coronavirus (COVID-19), Council is doing all it can to protect the wellbeing of our customers, our community and our staff.
 
For the latest updates, please check Council’s COVID-19 updates page and Facebook page.
Share
Forward
Copyright © 2020 Shellharbour City Council All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Shellharbour City Council, Locked Bag 155, SHELLHARBOUR CITY CENTRE, NSW 2529

unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Shellharbour City Council · 76 Cygnet Avenue (Corner Cygnet and College Ave) · Shellharbour City Centre, NSW 2529 · Australia

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp