Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Minutes – 6th October 2010

Forthcoming Events

Melbourne at 8 million. Is that too many? Public Forum Richmond Town Hall 4pm Sunday 7th November . Speakers Andrew Macleod. CEO Committee of Melbourne and Kelvin Thomson, Federal Member for Wills. Panel- Melina Sehr- Stonnington City Councillor, Rupert Mann- Melbourne Heritage Action Group, David O’Brien- Planning Barrister, Mary Drost- Convenor Planning Backlash.

Kelvin Thomson, Federal Member for Wills will be speaking at the Mordialloc Neighbourhood Centre Thursday 11 November at 7.30pm. Topic- Sustainable Population.

Who is eating your food scraps? Compost, worms and Bokashi made easy! At Patterson Lakes Indigenous Nursery Saturday 27th November 10.00-11.30 am or 12.30pm-2.00pm.

The Collins Parks Report

The LUMO Planting day Sunday 5th September at Mordialloc Creek was a huge success with approx. 50 people and 2000 plants to install. This was part of the Living Links project.

J.Yugivich has completed a Habitat Hectare assessment of 5 inland NRAs :- The Grange, Rowan Woodland, Mordialloc Creek, Epsom Grassland, Bradshaw Park.

Planting with schools at Heatherton Park. Expecting 1000 plants and 70 participants.

Upgrading Ben Kavanaugh Reserve with warm season grass to reduce long term watering requirements. A terrific initiative, Parks people!

Film Crude Oil

Film Crude Oil was shown at Kingston Council Chambers as part of a program organized by the Environmental Education officer, Rene. Films are shown each month to council staff but at the suggestion of Cr West members of the Biodiversity and Climate Change Committee were invited to attend. A future without oil is a daunting prospect as there is no viable alternative.

Mordialloc Creek Dredging Roundtable

Roundtable meeting was held Tuesday 26th October. Reps from Melbourne Water, DSE, Parks Victoria, councillors, council officers members of MBCL, Friends of Mordialloc Creek, and members of the creek committee were in attendance. The aim was to seek sufficient funding to remove the silt from the creek up as far as the Chute Street boat ramp. MW does not regard recreational boating as their responsibility with regard to dredging but admits if the silt build up was likely to cause flooding they would be prepared to dredge. Melbourrne Water also admitted when questioned that water flow through the Waterways wetlands is regulated to prevent high flows threatening infrastructure and flooding. Virginia (DSE) claims that council needs to provide a strategic vision so that DSE and other authorities can support the project with funding.

Bay Trail

Kingston Round the Bay Trail was the subject of a combined Mentone/Mordialloc Village Committee meeting attended by Crs West and Dundas .

Cr Dundas supports a shared bike path on the existing Mentone promenade. Bicycle Victoria and Kingston BUGs object to this proposal rightly claiming that the promenade is too narrow for a shared bike path.A letter from the Department of Transport permits the narrowing of lanes in Beach Road so that intrusion into the foreshore will be minimized .The lanes will be narrowed further where there is significant vegetation. Despite these concessions the bike track was removed from the council meeting agenda because of pressure from certain councillors who

continue to push for the cliff top route. City of Bayside have successfully negotiated with VicRoads for a back of kerb bike track in conformity with their existing track and to protect their foreshore. Difficult to understand the attitude of certain staff especially as support for a back of kerb track was supported at the combined village committee meetings and as a result of KCEC and Janice Munt’s surveys all supporting a back of kerb route. Cr Dundas presented his promenade option at the MBCL meeting and Mentone Village Committee meeting.

Kingston’s Draft Tree Management Program

Kingston’s Draft Tree Management Program contains lists of native and indigenous trees which are drought tolerant and salt wind proof suitable for street tree planting.Tall trees should not be planted under electricity wires and cables since they will be brutally pruned according to the Brumby Government’s bushfire prevention policy. For example two thirds of the top of a mature plane tree would be removed under this policy. There goes the green and leafy suburbs. MBCL preference is for indigenous trees wherever possible – native trees in some situations but no exotics such as palms and Chinese Elms. Pine trees will be removed from The Grange –and replaced with what?

Tree Vandalism at Bonbeach

Once again remnant Banksias have been poisoned in front of dwelling on the foreshore. It is claimed that there is insufficient evidence to prosecute. Certain councillors refused to allow the installation of screens in front of the property similar to screens installed on Mordialloc foreshore when trees were vandalized.

Bradshaw Park Fence

Park Fence is once again on the agenda with a meeting 29th October at the Reserve to assess the result of monitoring carried out by NRA staff to ascertain whether a higher fence should be restored to keep out litter and direct people to the gates for entry. Mesh could be attached to the existing fence as has been done on the fence around the Scullin Reserve.

Port Phillip Conservation Council AGM

Walter attended AGM. Neil Blake, St Kilda EcoCentre was speaker. He reported that the contaminants in the Yarra , not discovered by tests carried out by POMC’s expert witnesses during the Panel Hearings, have now been discovered. Contaminants from factories in the Western suburbs had been flowing into the Yarra for years.

Wetlands for the Industrial Land

Proposed wetland construction in industrial land upstream of Wells Road bridge will commence this summer. Assuming that water flow in the creek is slowed and perhaps reduced by having to flow through the Waterways wetlands, as admitted by MW ,will a second set of wetlands add to the problem of water flow?

Upcoming Meetings

Next Biodiversity and Climate Change Meeting November 29th 7.30

Next Kingston Conservation & Environment Coalition Meeting 11 November at the Mordialloc Neighbourhood Hoause. 7.30pm

Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League Inc.

Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Minutes – 4th August 2010

Forthcoming Events

Step back 200 years. Open Day and Spring Planting .Saturday 11 September 9am –Noon . The Grange Heathland Reserve ,Clayton South, Melway F8.

Friends of Kingston Heath, Farm Road Cheltenham. Working Bee Sunday 3rd October 10-12 noon. AGM 5 October 10am Uniting Church Herald Street, Cheltenham.

Kingston Conservation & Environment meeting at Mordialloc Neighbourhood House, Wednesday 8th September at 7.30pm. 457 Main Street, Mordialloc.

Draft Tree Management Policy

Watch out for this policy to be released by Council for a formal public consultation process. It is proposed to select tree species for planting based on their suitability to the site, climatic conditions, biological diversity, performance and potential to contribute to the landscape.This may include exotic species – hopefully not along the foreshore. Note that the aim is to increase tree coverage throughout the city which will help reduce the heat island effect due to urban development resulting in increased hard surfaces.

On the other hand – the Natural Resource Area team will be removing large non-local indigenous trees on the north side of Mordialloc Creek near the Wells Road bridge. This project is part of the Living Links project and will allow for the establishment of new plantings.

Kingston Parks Report

Despite staff shortages and wet weather all vegetation targets were achieved. Congratulations to the hard working team! Oxalis is the main problem. Epsom Grasslands are sensational at present. Tea-trees permitted on foreshore.

Waterwatch

Bronwen and Alan will meet with Melissa from Melbourne Water to begin testing creek water at Bowen Road. Bronwen suggested testing above the Waterways wetlands at Springvale Road and compare the result with the water tested below at the re-entry point into the Main Drain. Nina reminded us that Melbourne Water has advised that we are welcome to test water quality in the Woodlands water bodies (lakes and wetlands). Could be interesting!

Dredging Mordialloc Creek

Low flow of water in Mordialloc creek is still a concern for the local boating fraternity. A well attended meeting of Mordialloc Creek Community was held 27 July. Dredging to remove a build up of silt will cost approx. $8 million dollars. Disposal of acid sulfate dredge spoil is adding to the cost of dredging the creek. Glen checked water flow from Dandenong Creek at Pillars crossing and found that no water was flowing into Mordialloc Creek thus contributing to problems down stream where boats are sitting on silt until high tide.

Yammerbook Nature Reserve

Interpretive signs were finally installed 12 July.Signs explain Bunurong culture and territory plus the current program of bush and wetland renewal. Nina and Walter featured in photos of the launch in the Leader. Nina devoted many hours of research to provide accurate information for the interpretive sign.

Bradshaw Park

The new low and open fence installed around Bradshaw Park is still causing concern with Mentone and Mordialloc Village Committees taking up the issue of more appropriate fencing to protect the reserve from litter blown into the park and to prevent development of goat tracks.

George Woods Reserve Playground

Lack of adequate consultation between new council staff and environment groups has once again occurred (as in the Bradshaw park fiasco) over a proposal to remove an existing playground and create a district or large regional playground behind the kindergarten and scout hall on Governor Road. This area has been referred to as an arboretum since 1990 when a plan for foreshore planting was presented to Mordialloc Council and accepted by the State Government Minister for Planning & Environment. The planting proposals were the result of a survey carried out by SGAP and MBCL members.

The present site of the playground is ideal since there is plenty of room for expansion, there is a bus stop nearby and is clearly visible to passing traffic on Governor Road and from the Chute Street Boat ramp car park.A toilet is also accessible as part of the car park. To locate a large playground behind the scout hall and kindergarten will mean the removal of the mature established trees. This area will not be as clearly visible hidden behind buildings and one of the most pleasant parts of the George Woods Reserve will be destroyed.

P.S .There is a very large district playground in the Peter Scullin Reserve.

No Parking Beach Road

An Elwood group has letter boxed Beach Road residents with a petition opposing a clearway along Beach Road as agreed to by Port Phillip and Kingston Councils. These councils have agreed to a six month trial period. A spirited discussion took place and it transpired that a majority of MBCL members do not agree with a clearway! Perhaps as the price of fuel increases we will all be pumping up tires and donning lycra!

Green Wedge Issues

Blood pressure rose after reading the headline in Business Age 31 July that “Kingston residents to pay for green wedge land” by Marc Pallisco. The report stated that Kingston City Council will “bulldoze and transform a green-wedge-zoned area described as one of its most important natural assets for shops, offices, factories, houses and apartments.”

Fortunately a correction appeared the following week when City of Kingston advised that community based initiatives included market gardens and projects revolving around recreation and a chain of parks were planned instead.

Timber Yard Development

Development seems likely to go to VCAT because “of council’s failure to determine this application for a planning permit within the required statutory time frame.” Planning issues are overdevelopment of the site (including height, scale, visual bulk and mass, neighbourhood character, heritage concerns, car parking and traffic concerns. To be built in three stages including, 11 dwellings, 94 units and a three storey office and retail development.

Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League Inc.