New Town Rivulet Catchment Care Group

The New Town Rivulet Catchment Care Group has been awarded a Commonwealth Water Grant ,we are to receive $49472.00 to assist the catchment with enviropod installation . Funding also recently announced from NRM South will benefit the catchment as part of a $80,000 grant for works involving both the Hobart City Council ,and Glenorchy City Council in consultation with Community groups in key areas near John Turnbull Park.


About Us
The New Town Rivulet Catchment Care Group is an incorporated body, its members care for approximately 10 kilometres of riparian catchment, starting at Mt Wellington and extending to the Derwent Estuary at New Town Bay. The area has enormous natural beauty and many environmental urban, and light industrial considerations to consider.




Key bodies
As a result of its unique location, two City Councils and a Management Trust ,each contribute their administration of areas within the catchment. They are the Hobart City Council, the Glenorchy City Council and the Wellington Park Management Trust. The Derwent Estuary programme a division within the Department of Primary Industry water and Environment (DPWIE) at State government level ,along with Natural Resource Management (NRM) South both contribute to the understanding of the catchment.Our area was the focus of a recent report published by DPWIE entitled "A Storm Water Management Plan" a focus on the New Town Rivulet Catchment: http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/Publications/LBUN-66T7CV?open



At a more local level the Catchment Group are members of the Lenah Valley Progress Association ,Moonah/ Derwent Park /Lutana precinct group,and The Arts Society of Tasmania Inc.

The Group on a regular basis liase with the ranger appointed to the Wellington Park Management Trust.The image is of a female platypus deceased from injuries consistent with dog attack ,within the Catchment area.





The Group contribute to community meetings and newsletters assisting care of the catchment. The catchment flows past a milk factory "Pura Milk" and other light industrial semi commercial properties Our group has management and responsibility of care of all areas in the catchment, and is often called to mediate and provide environmental advice to all relevant bodies and to the public.


History
The New Town Rivulet flows past and adjoins Ancanthe Park -Vale of Flowers, that houses the Lady Franklin Gallery built in 1842. The Gallery was proposed and designed by Lady Jane Franklin wife of explorer and scientist Sir John Franklin ,its original purpose was as a museum but is now home to The Arts Society of Tasmania: http://www.artstas.com/


Recent Projects

Girrabong Rd / Lenah Valley Rd
Recently our group over an Easter break, cleared extensive infestation of Salix Fragilis -crack willow , we consulted with land owners adjoining the rivulet and provided replacement natural species to enhance the area and improve the visibility and safety for traffic entering Girrabong Rd.

Lenah Valley Ford
Our group sought professional assistance and provided advice to the Hobart City Council concerning alternate method to achieve a flood crossing at the end of Lenah Valley Rd. Sadly our advice was not taken and the structure now built ,faces damage from inevitable flood that naturally occurs.

John Turnbull Park
Our group has provided removal of Salix Fragilis -crack willow ,within John Turnbull Park. A fire caused by branches connecting with power lines,created an opportunity for our group to open up wetlands to the rear of John Turnbull Park , which commenced with removal of Salix Fragilis and chipping of limbs by the Hobart City Council. Transcend Networks greatly assisted by pollarding and removing existing trees under their high voltage transmission lines. Aurora then removed three surplus power poles, which has further enhanced the wetlands area. We planted four rows of low cover natural species and some euclaypts and ironically used the crack willow woodchips ,to protect the early growth of the natural species . The area is now receiving consideration of funding to enhance its status as a natural wetlands, however a lot more work is needed. The area along Creek Road previously infested with crack willow has been greatly enhanced by Work for the Dole volunteers by planting natural species. Salix Fragilis a vigourous weed is of concern to us as they typically mat river beds and cause the water level to accelerate and promote flooding to occur. Salix Fragilis proper removal is done by cut and pasting their limbs, leaving their root system intact to retain the bank structure. A common quick publicity angled criticism ,is that their removal invites erosion. The existing root structure remains so that erosion of the riparian system cannot occur. The gradual growing of replacement natural species when done correctly ,takes over their prior position.


2006 Enviropod Project
Our group is currently making application for funding under the Australian Government Community Water Grants to achieve the installation of enviropods which are containers that fit into stormwater pits. The purpose of an enviropod is to filter sediments containing man made substances such as cigarette butts containing toxins and chemicals from vehicular traffic that would otherwise enter the catchment.See: http://www.hobartcity.com.au &then Word Search Stormwater Improvement Project We have written to key stakeholders to indicate their level of support to assist this community project.

Drink Container Litter Removal
The New Town Rivulet Catchment Care Group assists in the collection of street drink container and package litter on a daily basis. These beverage can containers pictured represent approximately 1/4 of the litter collected by the Group close to the riparian system in the last three months. Other litter included plastic and glass bottles as well as paper plastic and cardboard package litter, which the Group then correctly placed in containers for recycling.

The Group has recommended container deposit legislation similar to South Australia where 5 cent refund is provided as an incentive to return the container for correct disposal. This 5 cent refund scheme has seen massive reduction in urban litter, that would otherwise enter the natural environment.cdl_survey.pdf Typically this container litter is dropped in the street or thrown from vehicles by the upwardly mobile fast food user. The household recyled material collected by weekly collection ,fails to collect the majority of such litter,as identified within surveys published in above document.

Annual General Meeting 2006
The Groups Annual General Meeting is Tuesday 24 October 2006 ,7.30pm at 268 Lenah Valley Rd , and a draft annual report is attached in Adobe Acrobat pdf format below.Adobe's Reader is freely available as a download on the Internet

5AGM Draft Report NTRCCG 06.pdf

Contacting us: Please write to:
New Town Rivulet Catchment Care Group
c/- The Environment Centre
102 Bathurst Street
Hobart Tasmania 7000
Australia
or email:Contact us by EMAIL here