Council wins $1.8m grant to fix tidal flush at the wetland
On December 10, 2024, Strathfield Council was named as a $1.8m grant recipient to restore tidal flush to the Mason Park Wetland!!!!
Strathfield Municipal Council: Mason Park Wetlands, Sydney. Restoration of Mason Park Wetlands:
The project will improve the hydrology of the Mason Park Wetlands to benefit EPBC-listed coastal saltmarsh and migratory bird species by upgrading infrastructure to establish a more natural tidal regime. The project will also implement vegetation management actions to protect significant saltmarsh and mudflat habitats. $1,801,470.
We've been doing monthly bird surveys for over five years and had been trying to get Strathfield Council to act on what we'd been documenting: the decline in numbers and species of shorebirds.
The grant will mostly focus on returning tidal flush to the wetland from nearby Powells Creek by installing two solar-powered tidal flush gates to restore the hydrology - and bring back food (worms) for the birdlife. [See ecological report recommending this.]
Founders of our group lobbied Strathfield Council and then helped recruit volunteers to remove a juvenile mangrove forest that was speeding the wetland's decline five years ago. (Mangroves are protected on the Parramatta River and its tributaries, but don't belong in wetlands.)
We started monitoring the benthic (top layer of mud) every quarter after the initial mangrove removal, and saw that the number and variety of worms were also declining, especially after a long dry period when the current weir was locked closed. If there's food, the birds and other species will come.
This grant is such great news for our members and for the residents of Strathfield and nearby Canada Bay Councils, but mostly it's a welcome win for the environment and the species that will flourish at the wetland once the work is completed.
We'd like to congratulate the members of Strathfield Council's Environment department and Strathfield Council Management who put together a compelling application for such a worthy cause. Go onto your social media and congratulate Strathfield Council as a Friend of Mason Park Wetland.
We look forward to spreading this great news far and wide.
Yours, in triumph!
Gerry, Teresa and Alison
(Friends of Mason Park Wetland Executive)
White-faced heron ©Lennis Lim 2024