Wolli Creek Valley: Precious narrow strip of bushland
This overhead view of the Wolli Creek Valley from Apple Maps shows how precious the narrow strip of bushland is in this heavily developed area. And it’s so close to the airport.
Update
May Fungal Foray
Many mushroom enthusiasts gathered on a beautiful Saturday morning. The group, led by David Noble of the Sydney Fungal Studies Group Incorporated (SFSGI), headed out from Girrahween Park on a trail of fungi discovery along the Two Valley Trail. Many species were identified and keenly photographed. We found many varieties, here are just a few of them.
Ghost mushrooms – Omphalotus nidiformis. This amazing species of fungus is known for its bioluminescent properties. There are only a handful of places that you can see these growing in the wild and here they are right on our doorstep!
Waxcaps – often brightly coloured and have a dry to waxy cap. This one is the Verdigris Waxcap Gliophourus viridis. They were very sticky to touch.
Bolete mushrooms – Boletes can be identified due to their unique mushroom cap. The cap is clearly different from the stem. On the underside of the cap there is usually a spongy surface with pores, instead of the gills typical of mushrooms. These mushrooms can grow to huge sizes.
We also saw Lycoperdon puffballs. Puffball fungus when mature burst on contact or impact releasing a cloud of spores.
Due to the recent hazard reduction burn, we were lucky to see post-fire mushrooms. These Anthracobia muelleri are tiny disc-shaped fungus that fruit prolifically on burnt soil.
A huge thanks to everyone who came along today and to David for sharing his invaluable knowledge. Our walks along the trail will forever be more interesting armed with this “mush’’ knowledge.
Helen Addison & her son Oliver on behalf of the Wolli Creek Preservation Society
Eco-Paddle on a Sunny Sunday
Persistent wet and windy weather forced the postponement and then cancelling of one of the May paddles. A second paddle went ahead as planned thanks to a gap in the rain at last.
It was a real team effort, with thanks to Kate Flannery for organising and guiding the paddle, Thor Blomfield for support on and off the water and Society President Chris Jordens for overall assistance and informative presentation about the Society. Julia Frecheville also deserves thanks for proving a great afternoon tea back at the River Canoe Club.
Future paddles are planned for spring 2024, so keep your eyes out.
WOLLI VALLEY ARCHIVE AT CAMPSIE LIBRARY
Long-time WCPS member and bushwalk guide Ute Foster recently completed a year-long labour of love. Since Judy Finlason’s death a year ago, Ute has been using her skills as an ex-librarian to sort and catalogue Judy’s many boxes of old Wolli Creek Valley memorabilia and historical documents reaching back to the early days of the Society’s fight to save the Valley from development in the 1980s.
Ute recently delivered three more boxes of these WCPS archives to Campsie Library. They now have two boxes of 25 scrapbooks and three boxes of other materials like bound copies of early Updates (1987-2006). The local history librarians Jennifer Madden and Courtney Simpson are excited to add these items to the library’s local history collection.
You can contact the library if you would like to go in and have a look at this fascinating historical material. The library plans to eventually digitize the collection so it can be accessible online. They also look forward to receiving historical material still held by other older Society members.
If you have anything of interest, please contact the library.
Thanks for making this happen Ute!
Wolli Creek Eco-Paddle Sunday May 19th 2pm – 5 pm – NOW BOOKED OUT
The Wolli Creek Preservation Society is again partnering with the River Canoe Club of NSW. The tour will start from the River Canoe Club clubhouse, Richardson Crescent, Marrickville, and finish with light afternoon refreshments back at the clubhouse. The River Canoe Club will provide paddle guidance, and all the gear including canoes and life jackets. The Society will provide an informative tour covering the local history and ecology of the area. You get a very different view of the Wolli Creek Valley from creek level, and it’s a chance to get a gentle and short introduction to paddling as we cater for beginners.
For more information and to register for this activity please go to: https://events.humanitix.com/wolli-creek-eco-paddle-sunday-19th-may
Wolli Creek Eco-Paddle Sunday 5th May, 2pm-5pm -NOW BOOKED OUT
The Wolli Creek Preservation Society is again partnering with the River Canoe Club of NSW to run an eco-paddle on Sunday 5th May 2024. The tour will start from the River Canoe Club clubhouse, Richardson Crescent, Marrickville, and finish with light afternoon refreshments back at the clubhouse. The River Canoe Club will provide paddle guidance, and all the gear including canoes and life jackets. The Society will provide an informative tour covering the local history and ecology of the area. You get a very different view of the Wolli Creek Valley from creek level, and it’s a chance to get a gentle and short introduction to paddling as we cater for beginners.
For more information and to register for this activity please go to: https://events.humanitix.com/wolli-creek-eco-paddle-sunday-5th-may
Wolli Creek National Park gains 4.7 hectares
Almost five hectares of parklands has been added to the Wolli Creek regional national park – “a patch of green ribbon” which runs through dense suburbs in Sydney’s south – in the past year.
The Minns government added the additional 4.7 hectares after a $13m election commitment to complete the park, which borders Wolli Creek and was first promised by the Carr government in 1998.
The full story in the Guardian here.
February Update available now
The February 2024 Update is now available for download from our website. We are very excited to announce the return of the Bat Watch Picnic on 1 March as well as upcoming walks we have planned. Upcoming events can be found on the website here. Keep an eye out for other events we are planning including further walks and eco-paddles.
You can also read about some past events that have occurred as well as some updated news about issues currently affecting the Wolli Creek Valley.
Bat Watch Picnic – Friday 1 March 6pm to 8pm
Share this ‘wow’ experience with friends and family:
• Celebrate our amazing city wildlife.
• Enjoy creative and crafty batty activities for young and old.
• Wear or bring something bat-themed.
• Learn about bats: fascinating long-distance pollinators,
vital for our forests.
• Bring a picnic, add a rug or chair.
• (Don’t forget insect repellent.)
Organised by The Wolli Creek Preservation Society with support from The National Parks & Wildlife
Service, Canterbury-Bankstown Council, and the Australasian Bat Society.
This is a great family event, and an opportunity to see one of the great ‘urban David Attenborough moments’, as thousands of Grey-headed Flying-foxes stream out from their roosting camp beside Wolli Creek. It is an opportunity to enjoy an early evening picnic with family and friends, and to view and learn more about these fascinating endangered native mammals.
Join us from 6pm at Turrella Reserve. No need to book. Just bring your picnic and your family and friends.
September Update available now
The September 2023 Update is now available for download from our website. This edition was produced by a new stand-in editor, Peter Stevens (a man of many talents), and we apologies for the fuzziness of some images due to insoluble technical problems.
Following the fantastic news about the $13 M in the budget to complete Wolli Creek Regional Park, it gets just a brief mention on page 2. This Update had already been ready to publish when we got the news. The Update also announces our new website going live, introduces you to the new WCPS committee, and updates you on other issues in the valley that WCPS continues to monitor. And check out our calendar for all the upcoming events we have planned.
