July gave us beautiful sunny days when flooding rain and hailstorms weren’t hitting. Loads of citrus at the Share Shed kept winter colds at bay, thanks to oranges and tangelos from Angela, grapefruit from Rici, lemons from Sally and sunrise limes (a cross between a native lime and a calamondin which is a hybrid of a cumquat and a mandarin) from Didi. Many of us attended a bonfire party at Greg’s that rocked, and so did the latest Diggies Landcare event.

Jens Birchall updated the community on his nine-month effort against wild tobacco that has infested Dignams Creek since the 2019-20 bush fires. He will be sweeping through once more to remove the seedlings that are coming up. Rebecca Rudd, the Beauty Point Landcare Coordinator, explained how this work undertaken in Diggies has flow on effects to other areas. Restored biodiversity along the walkway that starts at Camel Rock will be protected if fewer weeds come downstream to Wallaga Lake from Diggies. We also heard from our very own birder, Maggie Clowes, who explained how to preserve birdlife in your own backyard by identifying the plants birds in your garden like. Since the event, another Landcare working bee saw some great weeding done at Heather’s place.

I went away for the month of June. As friends will attest, the noise and absurdity of the bridge works at Dignams Creek had made me supernaturally grumpy. Having lost my job due to the bridge works I was free to go, but I needed to go. Sometimes to appreciate what you have, you need to get some distance. It was great to get home with a sense of perspective, and also to see the back of the Council’s giant chug-a-lug pump, that has been replaced by a
couple of quieter models for the ongoing 24/7 pumping.

The bridge works are not going well, thanks for asking. Initially scheduled to finish on 16 July, the revised end of August date will surely be pushed back. Apparently, bedrock can’t be found on one side and a redesign of the bridge has been necessary. Failing to do adequate testing of the substrate is a pretty basic error. Delays must also be due to the company having two other jobs on the go in the area, so last week nothing happened at all. Maybe they were working out Plan B or is that C or D? The delays have implications for businesses and individuals that are not being considered. The cost to a lot of us has already been significant. And for how much longer? Our biggest concern is
that the bridge won’t be completed by summer. No quick access for fire trucks is a major issue.

Of course, we understand the need for infrastructure, but much mess could have been avoided through viewing community consultation as beneficial to all parties. Far from being troublemakers, practical locals could have helped Council and the construction company understand what happens when Dignams Creek is in flood, at least preventing the pedestrian bridge from being so badly smashed. Perhaps so much vandalism in the creek, so many trees and ferns, could have been spared. One of our residents is a geomorphologist! She wouldn’t have given formal advice, but we do have some serious expertise out here, as well as decades of observation of the waterway that has seen gravel dumped for millennia where the creek does a 90 degree turn at the bridge. Sigh.

Flick Ruby

Photos

Above: Dignams Creek Landcare Group at the New Old Shed, photo: Suzannah Walker.
Below: Vandalism at Dignams Creek, photo: Flick Ruby.