There's no doubt one of the top reasons people love living and staying in North Arm Cove is access to nature - both on the waterfront and in the extensive bushland in our backyards. So it's not surprising there was such a strong and enthusiastic turn out for the 2022 Clean Up Australia Day in the Cove over the weekend of 5-6 March.
At least 16 volunteers met up on Sunday morning at the Community Centre determined to remove as much rubbish as possible from the roadsides and bushland trails that surround North Arm Cove.
After a quick briefing, the team split into groups of 'road walkers' and 'bush crews' and got straight to work.
'Road walkers', working in teams of two, systematically walked the main roads of North Arm Cove - starting on Gooreengi Road at the Pacific Highway entrance, continuing east to the Bulga Creek bridge and then making their way towards the village via Carrington Road, Glencoe Street, Market Way and Woolbrook Ave.
Meanwhile, 'bush crews' jumped into their 4WD vehicles, trailers in tow and headed to pre-identified 'dump sites' scattered throughout the NAC bushland. In light of recent rains, consideration had to be given to the best way to approach each dump site - but thankfully no major issues were encountered on the trails.
Within two hours, the pile back at the Community Centre had grown considerably. At least a couple tons had been collected - everything from gas bottles, glass jars and plastics, to scrap metal, decaying furniture, old tools, tyres, rusty paint tins, scrap wood, building materials, gardening equipment and supplies.
After assessing the haul, a delightful morning tea was enjoyed by all courtesy of Cristina Carvalho, John Kugel and Shawna Hartley - including fruits, teas, coffees, home-made banana bread, protein balls and white-chocolate brownies.
By 11am, the group began to disperse but several members of the 'bush crew' were keen to continue working given the size of some of the 'dump sites' being tackled. A few more loads and things finally wrapped up round 1pm, with a mountain of waste having been gathered from all around North Arm Cove.
It’s fair to say, this year's Clean Up was a massive success and everyone in the village should be proud of their contributions to making North Arm Cove a cleaner, more enjoyable place to live for both residents and local wildlife.
What happens next?
You may be wondering what happens to the massive pile of rubbish collected at the Community Centre as well as on the roadsides at Carrington Road and Gooreengi Road.
Good news, the Council will be coming over the next few days/weeks to remove everything that was gathered during this year's Clean Up effort.
What more can we do?
While we made a massive difference to the cleanliness of roadsides and bushland areas, there is always more work to be done.
The isolation of the Cove and abundance of vehicle-accessible trails throughout the bushland makes it susceptible to illegal dumping.
In addition, there seems to always be people quite happy to drink/drive and toss their empty bottles out the window as they go… or their McDonalds. Or old furniture.
So, what more can we do? Clearly one day each year is not enough to stay on-top of our litter issues. Here’s two suggestions:
- Take a plastic bag with you whenever you venture out for a walk around the Cove. There’s always new rubbish showing up, the sooner it’s picked-up the better. Now that we’ve got an almost clean slate, it’s a great opportunity for us to keep it that way.
- If you come across an illegal dump site, either in the bush or on the roadside, report it to NACCAi along with the location. NACCAi and several of its' members are in regular contact with Council about illegal dump sites in the Cove. Together, we can keep NAC clean and ensure it remains a tidy village and one that we’re proud to call home.
A special shout-out to Trevor Vandenberg for collating three large piles of rubbish on Carrington Road and Gooreengi Road gathered from the Glen Innes/Deepwater Road section of bushland.
And a final word on 'caring for country' (which is what we're doing on Clean Up Australia Day) by local Worimi elder, Uncle Paul Callaghan who was a long-time resident of the Cove and has spent a lifetime in the immediate region:
"The biggest obligation and responsibility is for all of us to connect with all things and to care for all things including each other and the environment".
