I would like to express my thanks to all those who helped make the Black Gully Music Festival last weekend a success. The Festival was the last public event of the High Country Urban Biodiversity project, which has been running in Armidale, Uralla, Walcha and Guyra for the past three years. The Festival allowed us to show the community some of the work that HICUB has completed, such as the works to improve Black Gully. This work has recovered the old Teachers College outdoor stage adjacent to the creek behind NERAM and it was this venue that hosted the Festival.
Despite the four short storms, over 300 people had a great afternoon under the trees listening to local musicians and enjoying this beautiful public space.
I would like to thank the HICUB team from Landcare, particularly Ellen Nyberg, Brenda Shepherd and Nic Cobcroft for organising the event. Simon Mellor did a great job organising the program and poster and Tony Elder from Black Dot Music ran the PA all day. Rowan from NERAM Harvest and his staff worked hard all day feeding people and sheltering them from the rain. Thanks also to Armidale Freemasons, NERAM, Mihi Creek Winery and Armidale Tree Group. All the musicians were in fine form and highlighted what a talent-rich town we live in. Armidale Dumaresq Council fixed the power on the stage just in time and provided bins for the day. The NSW Environmental Trust was the major sponsor for the Festival.
A special thanks goes to Mick Jarochowicz and his crew from Jobs Australia, Nic Cobcroft and members of Armidale Rivercare Group who have led the cleanup of Black Gully. Thanks also to the many community volunteers who have attended working bees. It was a real pleasure to see kids playing in the creek on the weekend, in a site that only six months ago was choked with weeds. Armidale Tree Group will be continuing the working bees at Black Gully, so if you are interested in helping out, call them on 6771 1620.
Let’s hope the Black Gully Music Festival is the first of many more community events at this site. I encourage council to continue what we have started and I hope to see more music, film and drama on the Black Gully outdoor stage in the future.
David Carr.
Project Director
High Country Urban Biodiversity Project
