August 2024 News Update
FOWB Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 24 September 2024 at 7pm at Willunga Hub, corner High Street and St Peters Tce, Willunga 5173.
If you’d like to be actively involved, and especially if you have skills or experience in planning and/or environment, please consider joining our always active and very enlivening committee. Thank you to the many who have recently renewed their membership and are now eligible to stand for, or vote for election for the FOWB Committee. If you haven’t already done so membership of Friends of Willunga Basin for 2024/2025 is $20 for each member.
Cycling & Walking Paths
Tom Gara reported an extensive Aboriginal campsite that he had recorded in 1988 on the coastal reserve at the north end of Sellicks Beach township is being severely impacted by local children riding their bikes through the area. This is yet another reminder for us all to encourage cyclists and walkers to keep to dedicated paths along the coast, cliffs and through parks to protect the fragile environment and culturally significant sites.
Coast Care Group
This group, led by Bridget Gardiner, is disappointed in Council’s response to their petition asking for further vehicle restrictions on Aldinga and Sellicks beaches, as it fails to address any of the requests and concerns raised by community.
The group is also concerned that, according to correspondence with Deputy Premier Susan Close, it has been decided not to include the Washpool foreshore in the State trials to exclude vehicles on certain beaches that are the nesting sites and habitat for vulnerable shorebirds.
If you too still have concerns about the responses to the Coast Care petitions, please let us know and keep on raising your concerns with the Council and State Government
Duplication of Main South Rd, phase 2 (from Aldinga to Sellicks)
FOWB has raised an issue about the safety of the Norman Rd and Rogers Rd intersections in this section of the duplication. Local residents have noti that the planned U-turn pathway will not provide a safe east - west crossing for the large agricultural machinery especially at harvest time.
We also agree with the Willunga Basin Trail Inc who have been asking for a safe crossing of the Main South Rd for hikers, pedestrians and cyclists between the hills and agricultural land, including the Victory Hotel and Sellicks, in the phase 2 duplication project. They have pointed out the danger of the proposed plan and have proposed a pedestrian underpass be built at the existing intersection with Sellicks Beach Rd as a present necessity and as an investment in the future for the area.
If you too still have concerns about the duplication of Main South Rd from Aldinga to Sellicks, please let us know so we can add your concerns to any FOWB correspondence about it and keep on raising your concerns with the State Government.
McLaren Vale Regional Water Security Strategy
On 20 June, 2024, the Department for Environment and Water held the final in its series of three community consultations for the design of the McLaren Vale Regional Water Security Strategy. FOWB was represented by Committee Member Felicity Isaac as well as several of our valued members. The workshop offered the approximately 40 business and community members in attendance, the opportunity to review and recommend final amendments to the Regional Water Security Strategy’s priority water security actions. The full Strategy is to be released later this year.
Celebrating Green Civic Leaders
We were very pleased to have been included in the Onkaparinga Council Civic Reception Celebrating Green Civic Leaders on 29 July 2024. It’s not often volunteers get acknowledged or get the chance to meet up with other passionate and active groups. It was especially enjoyable to hear about the projects being undertaken in local schools.
Urban Creek Resilience and Recovery Project
The City of Onkaparinga has secured a $5 million Australian Government grant for the Urban Creek Resilience and Recovery project to restore waterway health and create a more appealing natural environment along 5.3 km of Panalatinga Creek and Serpentine Creek and some of the tributaries that run through the suburbs of Happy Valley, O’Halloran Hill, Reynella East, Old Reynella and Woodcroft.
Although this project is just outside the Willunga Basin, we see this as an exciting project that we can learn from and apply to the creeks in the Willunga Basin, such as the creek that flows through Willunga, where the Bassett Street Reserve Neighbourhood Group have been working in liaison with Onkaparinga Council to improve the Reserve environment and bring people together.
If you would like to find out more, follow the project or want to become involved please access the Council site, Urban Creek Resilience & Recovery Project