Members of the public are invited take a walk on the wild side and join a free guided walk through the Pottsville Wetland on Saturday, February 4 to celebrate World Wetlands Day.World Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally each year (officially February 2) to raise public awareness of wetland values and benefits and to promote the conservation of wetlands.
The Pottsville Wetland is a large forested wetland to the west of Pottsville Waters and Black Rocks residential estates, covering almost 300 hectares.
Council’s Bushland Officer Tanya Fountain will lead A Walk in the Pottsville Wetland, with input and expertise from ecologists who will talk about the history of the wetland, the local fauna and their habitats, the vegetation and the bush regeneration and restoration works currently underway.
“Few residents of Pottsville would realise the wealth of biodiversity that is found within the Pottsville Wetland,” Ms Fountain said.
“The wetland contains a mosaic of coastal vegetation types and habitats for plants and animals, including a number of animals threatened with extinction such as the koala, bush-stone curlew, glossy black-cockatoo, osprey, common blossom bat and common planigale. An astounding 281 native plants and 148 native animals have been recorded in the wetland.”
The majority of the wetland is now in public ownership and Council has been successful in securing funds from the NSW Government’s Environmental Trust to protect and restore this important biodiversity asset, through the Protection and Restoration of the Pottsville Wetland project and the Tweed-Byron Bush Futures project.
“As the wetland is surrounded by urban and agricultural development, it faces many threats. These threats can degrade the important environmental values of the wetland, resulting in damage to plants, degradation to habitats and the loss of local animal populations,” Ms Fountain said.
While the wetland supports many native plants, 104 environmental weeds have also been recorded in and on the edges of the wetland. Many of these weeds, like arrowhead vine, night blooming cactus, orange jessamine and sky flower, have escaped neighbouring backyards. Weeds compete with native plants and prevent the natural regeneration of the forest.
Domestic dogs and cats which are allowed to roam in the wetland can have devastating impacts on local animal populations, including the local extinction of susceptible fauna species. Koalas, bandicoots, possums, wallabies and snakes are all susceptible to attack from domestic dogs.
Funding for the Protection and Restoration of the Pottsville Wetland project will extend over three years. During this time, professional bush regenerators will be employed to control weeds, fauna feed trees will be planted, fencing will be undertaken and rubbish removed.
“Council is calling on the local community to get on board and support the project,” Ms Fountain said.
“Residents can do this by coming along to a tree planting day or an information walk to learn more about the wetland. These activities are planned for 2012 and will be advertised before each event.
“If you live close to the wetland you can also help by undertaking simple actions to minimise your impact – confine your dog or cat to your backyard; don’t let pets roam or dogs run off the leash; remove known weeds from your yard and use a Council green bin to get rid of garden waste; never dump garden waste in or on the edge of the bush; and remember that all vegetation in the wetland is protected.”
A Walk in the Pottsville Wetland will set out from the Black Rocks Sportsground at the southern end of Overall Drive at 10am on February 4, returning by midday.
Participants are asked to wear sunsafe clothing, covered footwear and to bring drinking water and insect repellent. Everyone is welcome to join the walk.
For more information about the walk, contact the NRM Community Support Officer, Claire Masters on (02) 6670 2199 or csotweed@tweed.nsw.gov.au
