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A case study of

Sunshine Silverwater Landcare: LAKE MACQUARIE

EROSION & SILTATION CONTROL PROJECT

Project Partners: • Lake Macquarie Landcare Resource Office (Lake Macquarie City Council

and Lake Macquarie Landcare Network Inc.) • Caring For Our Country (Australian Government) • Sunshine Silverwater Landcare • Delta Electricity

April 2007: Erosion on the foreshore of Lake Macquarie at Silverwater.

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A Case Study of Sunshine Silverwater Landcare

LAKE MACQUARIE EROSION & SILTATION CONTROL PROJECT

Project Partners: • Lake Macquarie Landcare Resource Office (Lake Macquarie

City Council and Lake Macquarie Landcare Inc.) • Caring For Our Country (Australian Government) • Sunshine Silverwater Landcare • Delta Electricity

Lake Macquarie Lake Macquarie is a large coastal estuarine lake in NSW with an overall length of some 22 kilometres in the north-south direction and 10 kilometres in width. The lake covers an area of approximately 110 square kilometres and has a catchment area of 605 square kilometres. The lake contains 12 major, and many more minor, estuarine creek zones where freshwater tributaries interface with the saline body of the main lake.

The Lake foreshore at Sunshine Park c1962, then a popular picnic and sailing venue.

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Sunshine Silverwater The suburbs of Sunshine and Silverwater are located on a peninsula 6 kilometres east of the town of Morisset on the south western side of Lake Macquarie.

Early industries in the area included fishing, timber-cutting, subsistence farming and boatbuilding.

SUNSHINE SILVERWATER LOCALITY MAP

SILVERWATER WALKWAY SITE

LEGEND Track

North SUNSHINE

SILVERWATER

To Morisset

Sunshine

Park Lake

Macquarie

Johnys Point

Casuarina Point

Map courtesy of Google Earth

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LANDCARE SITE INFORMATION The Sunshine Silverwater Landcare site extends from Johnys Point in the north to Sunshine Park in the south at the end of Beach Road, Silverwater on the Morisset peninsula. The site is an area of Lake Macquarie City Council owned foreshore reserve varying from Eucalypt Open Forest to under-scrubbed foreshore parkland.

The bushland section of the reserve maintains its structure with all layers of vegetation represented. The area is extensive at 28.22 hectares and is divided into 4 broad management zones: the foreshore zone, the bushland open forest zone, the parklike zone at Sunshine Park, and the tracks.

The lakeside reserve is a popular walking area for both the local and wider community. At the end of the road, in Sunshine Park is a popular boat ramp and other facilities (toilets, BBQs, fish cleaning table, etc) which are extensively used by both locals and visitors (many from Sydney) to the area.

Many visiting sailing "families" come to this area for local, state and national sailing competitions, for a variety of classes of boats. These visitors make extensive use of Sunshine Reserve as a picnic area and, with approval, a camping area when state or interstate titles are being contested. The walking track is used as a viewing area for these sailing events.

Octobet 2006: The track at Johnys Point on a Landcare field trip to Landcare sites on the South Western end of Lake Macquarie.

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SUNSHINE SILVERWATER SITE MAP Looking out over Lake Macquarie from Johnys Point, Silverwater

Johnys Point

Sunshine Park

Exte

nt o

f Wal

kway

Map courtesy of Google Earth

Sunshine Silverwater Foreshore Erosion and Siltation Control Project site area

Lake

Macquarie

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Vegetation The Vegetation Community is mapped as LHCCREMS MU42 Riparian Melaleuca Swamp Woodland, but is more like LHCCREMS MU30 Coastal Plains Smoothbarked Apple Woodland on the ridge and LHCCREMS MU40 Swamp Oak – Rushland Forest & MU38 Redgum Roughbarked Apple Swamp Forest on the fringe of the lake.

The Eucalypt Open Forest contains Eucalyptus tereticornis Forest Redgum, Angophora costata Sydney Redgum, Corymbia gummifera Red Bloodwood, and Eucalyptus piperita Sydney Peppermint species.

The Sunshine Silverwater Landcare group propagates approximately 50% of the native plants used for rehabilitation on site. The remaining 50% are supplied by Trees In Newcastle (TIN) or Hunter Indigenous Plants (HIP) through the Lake Macquarie Landcare Resource Office using funds provided by Lake Macquarie City Council, community donations, and a grant from Delta Electricity.

March 2009: Federal MP for Charlton Greg Combet and Sunshine Silvewater landcarer Kelvin Ward plant a tree to commemorate the start of the walkway project.

Eucalyptus tereticornis - Forest Red Gum

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Sunshine Silverwater Landcare Group The Sunshine Silverwater Landcare group formed in 1994 and was previously known as Southlakes Landcare. There are 8 regular active members and 16 members who work occasionally. The Landcare group undertake an annual letterbox drop to encourage new members to participate. On average the group performs 80 hours of volunteer work per month on their Landcare site.

The Sunshine Silverwater Landcare group are one of more than ten different Landcare groups working to improve and maintain the beauty of the Morisset area. The groups Master Plan aims to maintain a balance between the need to provide a pleasant area for families to enjoy picnics and barbecues while ensuring habitat for native animals. Over the years the group have been able to clear a track to allow access along the foreshore reserve between Sunshine Park and Johnny’s Point which was impossible to traverse twenty years ago.

The Sunshine Silverwater Landcare group list their greatest achievements as rehabilitating an old camping ground by establishing many new trees within the Sunshine reserve and the completion of their recent Community Coastcare grant that provided a constructed walking trail and bush regeneration.

Their greatest challenge has been both erosion, which in some areas is extensive enough to cause trees to fall into the lake, and weed infestation of the fringing areas of the site. These challenges have been addressed with the Caring for Our Country Community Coastcare grant (see next section for details).

April 2009: Clearing work being undertaken by members of the Sunshine Silverwater landcare group and the local Scout Group and assisted by the Lake Macquarie Landcare Bush Regenerators.

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Other challenges include the illegal dumping of garden refuse, vandalism and theft on site, and inappropriate use of the site by locals. These challenges have been addressed with the installation of a security gate to limit access to the site, and increased respect from residents and visitors to the area who continually appreciate the beauty in which they find themselves.

The Sunshine Silverwater Landcare group are well respected in the local community. They enjoy support from many local businesses, organisations, and media, and work with the local business chamber of commerce, town coordinator, and the progress association. They are also supported by Scouts and Cubs who assist with planting native plants.

Caring For Our Country Community Coastcare Grant The Sunshine Silverwater Landcare group secured a $22,900 Australian Government Caring for Our

Country Community Coastcare grant in 2008 to arrest the severe erosion on 160 metres of their Landcare site on the foreshore of Lake Macquarie. The project is titled the ‘Lake Macquarie Foreshore Erosion and Siltation Control project’.

The erosion problem was undermining the lake foreshore on the site and resulted in foreshore trees falling into the lake. The erosion also caused siltation of the lake and subsequent destruction of the adjoining marine habitat. The popular use of the site as a walking trail was directly related to the severity of the erosion. The Landcare group sought funding to provide a boardwalk on site to redirect walkers away from the foreshore edge. The boardwalk provides a safer

March 2010: The Landcare Green Team with the Scout Group from East Ryde, who helped with the project.

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walking trail for the public with greater access for visitors, while protecting the fragile environment.

The Coastcare grant also provided funds for bush regeneration works including weed removal and the planting of 2000 locally indigenous native plants. Water retention contours were also constructed where needed. These environmental improvements have contributed towards providing a natural wildlife corridor connecting the two larger bushland areas at Sunshine Park and Johnys Point.

As part of the project the Landcare group also conducted an education campaign in the local community using information leaflets and field days to encourage an appreciation of the need to protect the foreshore reserve and lake edge. This was particularly important for the landowners adjacent to the foreshore reserve. Funding from the grant will also provide information signage on the Landcare site, and information pamphlets and maps that will be available at the Sunshine Sailing Club clubhouse, adjacent to the reserve.

The Landcare Green Team spreading mulch

January 2010: Construction of the walkway, compare with photo on page 1 of same site in 2007

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The project involved the construction of 160 metres of track, mostly across a steep slope. The construction of a retaining wall and a handrail, backfilled with crushed, recycled concrete minimised erosion during construction and negated any possible disturbance of unknown heritage sites. The inaccessibility of the site and the slope of the foreshore reserve increased the difficulty and the expense of this project.

References • Photo of Sunshine - Lake Mac Infohunt.

www.lakemac.infohunt.nsw.gov.au/library/lhist/suburb/morisset

• Plants - Australian National Botanic Garden www.anbg.com.au

January 2010: Parts of the track have to cross deep gullies, that were revealed when the site was cleared of weed species. Larger beams had to be used to support the walkway.

January 2010: The walkway had to be built around the existing trees and incorporate steps to climb up the hilly steep slopes.

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December 1 2009: Backhoe clearing and leveling the path for the new walkway.

January 26 2010: The timber walkway now complete with handrails.

January 21 2010: Kelvin Ward from the Sunshine Silverwater Landcare group continues on with the building of the pathway.

January 12 2010: Starting on the initial construction of the walkway, postholes drilled for posts to support the walkway.

March 19 2010: Mulch spread on the embankments down to the lake and above the walkway.

CONSTRUCTION

OF THE TIMBER

WALKWAY

Dec. 09 to Jan. 10

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Produced at the Landcare Resource Office,

June 2010

Images courtesy of:

Lake Macquarie Landcare

Denis Hilder of Landcare Resource Centre 2006 & 2010

Kelvin Ward of Sunshine Silverwater Landcare

Resources Publications such as the Lake Macquarie Coastal Planting Guide (LMCC), Attack of the Killer Weeds (Coastcare), Weeds of the Hunter and Central Coast (Weeds Committee Information Booklet), Foreshore Stabilisation and Rehabilitation Guidelines (LMCC) and Native Plant or Weed, Pick the Difference, Volumes 1 and 2 (Ann Loughran) are some of the documents used by volunteers throughout Lake Macquarie in protecting our natural areas.

In addition, the Community Support Information Pack produced by Lake Macquarie City Council and the Hunter Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority is available in limited hardcopy and CD format covering a wide range of resources used in natural resource management in Lake Macquarie.

Contacts If you wish to know more about this and other projects in Lake Macquarie, please contact the Landcare Resource Office on 4921 0392.

The LMCC’s website www.lakemac.com.au can provide links to newsletters, environmental programs, grants, Landcare, weeds and trees.

LAKE MACQUARIE CITY COUNCIL

Landcare Resource Centre Toronto Road, Teralba, NSW 2284

Postal Address: PO Box 3031 TERALBA NSW 2284

Phone: (02) 4921 0392 Email: lro@lakemac.nsw.gov.au

www.lakemacquarielandcare.org