Tag Archives: Leura catchment

Leura Swampfest

Swampfest is a FREE, fun event for all ages jam-packed with activities, walks, talks and workshops.

A FREE, fun event for all ages jam-packed with activities, walks, talks and workshops. Discover our local swamps – learn all about swamp critters and find out why swamps are so special. Go on a swamp safari, get up close and personal with a crayfish, make art and enjoy expert-led walks and talks. Book in for a specific activity, or just come along for a great day out!

What people said about last year’s event:

“Kids / parents / grandparents all had a great time…”

“Loved the hands on stuff – very engaging…”

“Great speakers and workshops…”

BYO picnic to enjoy, or buy a sausage sizzle. Coffee cart on site. (Support our war on waste: BYO cup!)

*For some activities, numbers are limited and bookings are essential.

*Walking tours include some narrow bush pathways with uneven surfaces. All other activities are suitable for wheelchair or pram access. Please contact us at gfitzgerald@bmcc.nsw.gov.au if you have any questions about accessibility.

Where: Peter Carroll Field, Clarence Street, Leura
When: Sunday, September 23, 10am-2pm.

Birriban Katoomba High School Working Bee

AMAZING THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT BIRRIBAN – BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP.

Come along and works alongside parents, carers, community members, students, landcare specialists and teachers. we need all skill levels, all ages, all abilities to get involved.

We’ll be weeding and rescuing plants in preparation for the stormwater project.

Please wear long sleeved work shirt, long pants and closed in shoes.

Birriban Working Bee 2018

 

Connected Catchments

Creekline In Full Force  Vale Street - June 2016

Vale St Baramy Trap in Full Flow – June 2016

On May 2 the Leura Falls Creek and Jamison Creek Catchment Working groups came together along with Blue Mountains City Council Natural Areas and Healthy Waterways teams to do “catchment crawls” (minibus tours of the key work sites) in each other’s catchments. Residents of the Vale St end of the Leura Falls Creek catchment were also invited.

In the morning, the Leura Falls Creek tour showcased the recently constructed stormwater upgrades including the Vale St Baramy Trap and raingarden – shown below in full flow with the recent heavy rains in early June. The Jamison Creek Working Group had an opportunity to see what types of stormwater management systems will be installed in the Jamison Creek Catchment in the near future.

After lunch, a tour of Jamison Creek Catchment gave us a chance to learn about where the upgrades are planned and how they will be constructed.

The stormwater improvement projects in both catchments are an initiative between Water NSW and Blue Mountains City Council. The catchment crawl was filmed by KFM Media, Katoomba. Thanks to the tour guides, Eric Mahony and Geoffrey Smith from Blue Mountains City Council and Peter Bennet who designs the Baramy Traps. Thanks to Monica Nugent for driving the bus. And thank you to every one who came on the tour.

Vale Street - June 2016

Vale Street – June 2016 11

BMCC wins NSW Excellence in Stormwater Design Award!

At a special awards dinner on Wednesday 6 April, the Leura Falls Creek Improvement project was announced as joint winner of the 2016 NSW Award for Excellence in Integrated Stormwater Design. Congratulations to all the Blue Mountains City Council staff and contractors involved in the project and the Leura Falls Creek Catchment Working Group.

 

Streamwatch … in the Blue Mountains

There are currently five active Streamwatch groups in the Blue Mountains: Fitzgerald Creek, Gordon Falls Creek, Leura Falls Creek, Popes Glen and South Lawson Bushcare Group.

Streamwatch is coordinated by the Australian Museum. Members of Streamwatch register with the Museum and are provided with training, water testing kits and support. The Museum also does a visit to a newly proposed site. Streamwatch groups commit to doing water testing at a regular time once a month and uploading the data onto the Streamwatch website. Groups are also encouraged to take part in the Autumn Waterbugs Watch and Spring Waterbugs Watch run by the Museum.

BMCC Bushcare Officers have done the Streamwatch training.

If your Bushcare group is keen to get involved in setting up streamwatch at or near your site please let us know. You can contact your Bushcare officer or Jenny Hill email: jhill@bmcc.nsw.gov.au

Further information can be found at http://www.streamwatch.org.au/streamwatch/

streamwatch logo

Birriban – Banksia Park Katoomba High special work session

Work with Banksia Park to lend a helping hand to their near-neighbours, Birriban Katoomba High School Landcare Group. Enjoy some good tucker, hear about Birriban plans, help deal with some woody weeds the students can’t manage!

Contact Monica Nugent 4780 5528 or mnugent@bmcc.nsw.gov.au for more information and to RSVP

 

Weeds Blitzed at Kingsford Smith Park

Gang Gang St before

Gang Gang St before

On Saturday 27 February members of bushcare groups in the Leura Falls Creek Catchment and the Leura Falls Creek Catchment Working Group, came together for a weeding morning at Kingsford Smith Park. Since 2007 the group’s yearly get-together has taken place at the iconic Leura Cascades. This year, in order to tackle the source weeds in the upper part of the catchment, the groups decided to focus on Kingsford Smith Park.

The park has both historical and horticultural values and is significant to the Leura Falls Creek Catchment. It contains many noxious and environmental weeds. They are a problem not just as a source of propagating material – water, wind and bird borne  – but also because weeds are a major component of the vegetation that block views into the Park. A number of formed drains enter into the Park and ground water seeps in. The groundwater has a high impact on the creek and catchment because it picks up water from the Great Western Highway, the rail corridor and Katoomba township. A creekline forms within the park, and drains through private property before entering the Vale Street wetlands and joining Leura Creek. Leura Creek flows through Leura Park and into the Leura Cascades and the National Park. There is a significant stand of Mountain Ash – Eucalyptus oreades – within the park. This stand occurs in the triangle of land between William, Gang Gang and Lovell Streets.

The work on the day focused on removing the privet hedge along Gang Gang St, weeding in the ‘oreades  patch’, removing ivy from Tree Ferns, removing trad and spot weeding for noxious and environmental weeds. Team privet could probably get a Guinness Book of Records achievement for their work along Gang Gang St– the most privet removed in the shortest period of time!!

The get-together also provided an opportunity for a strong working relationship between Blue Mountains City Council’s Urban Weeds, Bushcare and Parks teams and the community bushcare groups. For all your work in the Park, many thanks go to David Whiteman and team, David Pinchers and Mark Vickers and team. To Karen Hising, Tracey Williams and Erin Hall, many thanks for the organisation of and support on the day and many thanks to the 17 bushcare volunteers for your amazing weed blitzing work. We all agreed that it was inspiring to start making a difference in this part of our precious catchment.

If you would like to find out more about Leura Falls Creek Catchment and the work that we are doing please contact Jenny Hill at jhill9228@gmail.com

"Team Privet" after a job well done

“Team Privet” after a job well done