Guest Speaker Report
by
Rotarian Peter Douglas
Wednesday 28 January 2009
Our guest speaker was Jeannie Muspratt, Environmental Project Officer with Strathfield Council. Jeannie was introduced by PP Joe Saad.
Jeannie who has a Bachelors Degree in Environmental Science and a Certificate 3 from TAFE has worked for the Council Department of Planning in the Parks and Gardens area,
She has been employed by the council for close to 3 years and surprised us by stating she walks to work from Croydon.
Council has a policy of working towards a sustainable environment where the natural urban environment is clean and healthy and biodiversity is protected. Council has a 3 year management plan and a 12 month operational plan. Council has an area of 14.1 square kilometres and services a population of 34000.
Jeannie spoke of 3 distinct areas within council where she is particularly active.
The first area was the passage of the Cooks River through council area. Council has been working for some time on restoring the river banks. We can all see the progress that has been made where the river meanders through the Strathfield Golf Club. Council is involved with other councils between here and Botany Bay in the Cooks River sustainability project.The next area was the Cox’s Creek area of some 1.5 hectares which is on the southern border with Bankstown council. Council is engaged in bush regeneration in this small area which is home to one of the last stands of Acacia Fluffy Wattle. One of the difficulties of this area is the fact that it is totally surrounded by industrial buildings.
The final area is the Mason Park wetlands which borders Olympic Park. This area is home to migratory birds from the Northwest Pacific region.The area is being planted with low salt marsh species with the assistance of the Sydney Catchment Authority.
The council has a Bushcare program where vital assistance is provided by volunteers who help with planting and weeding.. On national Tree Day in 2008 over 1000 trees were planted. There is also a corporate tree planting project in Cook Park with the involvement of Mitsubishi.
Other areas of council involvement include resource recovery, waste education and ’Clean Up Australia’ day which occurs early in March.
After a range of questions Jeannie was thanked by Trevor Duxbury