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NPA News New NPA Head Office New Administrative Manager Survey manual reworked Profile – Beth Michie Macarthur Branch cleans up Southern Sydney Branch

New NPA Head Office

Office launch 
Our new office is now well and truly up and running, with everyone taking their spots after the New Year break. Files have been put away, posters hung on the walls and the office now looks as if we have always been there. To celebrate a successful move, we held an official launch on 2 March, which was attended by around 30 people. The Hon Bob Debus, NSW Minister for the Environment, gave the official speech, which was entertaining and informative – "if NPA didn't exist we would have had to invent it". NPA President, Roger Lembit, also said a few encouraging words.

Clean up
Naturally, moving out of the old office entailed getting rid of a mass of debris. John Clarke, who put in a lot of time negotiating the move and searching out office equipment as well as helping with the clean up, wrote: "A valiant band of washers, scrubbers and suckers helped to make NPA's former home presentable for our landlord, to save on a professional cleaning bill. We all cursed the users of Blu Tack, sticky tape and texta, which left marks that were almost impossible to erase without demolishing the wall. We collected a year's supply of pins, tacks and paper clips which we all decided were a health hazard to keep."

Some of the clean-up team: Beth Michie, Michelle Johnston, Anne Reeves, John Clarke, Marion Hawley

You may notice some faces in the picture that were not acknowledged in the last Journal. Apologies to anyone who has been overlooked - it was all such a huge effort by so many people, that it has been difficult to keep track of everyone.

New Administrative Manager

Karen Petley has joined the NPA staff at Head Office as the Administration Manager, since the departure of Kristi MacDonald. Karen has come to NPA after working in a variety of sports organisations in New Zealand (a kiwi at heart), England and here in Australia. She is actively involved in the sport of athletics, a career which has seen her gain representative honours for New Zealand. She was awarded an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Washington in Seattle USA. She now has a BA in Sociology and a MA (Applied) in Recreation/Sport Administration. 

Karen relocated to Australia in 1993, taking up a position as Recreation Officer for the Sports Association at Charles Sturt University, Bathurst. She has remained actively involved in athletics, in particular as President of the Blue Mountains Katoomba Athletics Club and by continuing to compete in State and national competitions. In fact, on the weekend of 11-12 March Karen won the 1500 m and 5000 m titles in the NSW Veterans Track and Field Championships. 

Last year Karen joined NPA, primarily to take up bushwalking. The idea was to substitute some of her training with bushwalking and to meet and socialise with other people. Karen is looking forward to meeting and working with other NPA members. She brings a vast array of skills and experiences to the job and we hope this will stand her in good stead in the NPA office. 

Survey manual reworked

A second edition of the Community Bidiversity Survey Manual will be out later this year. The aim is to make the manual more user friendly, with a complete new design and layout. The content will remain predomi- nantly the same, with some sections being enhanced. We will keep you up-to-date on its progress. 

Claire Carlton 
Convenor, Biodiversity Committee

Profile - Beth Michie

Beth is well known to many people in NPA. Bushwalkers know her from walks around Macarthur and else- where, and invariably know of her love of native plants and water. It seems that Beth cannot go past a river, waterhole or puddle without jumping in. Time of year is not important but she seems to prefer winter. Beth also loves to explore new areas for interesting plants. 

Beth and her husband, Robert, joined NPA in 1969. Shortly after joining, Beth went before the Executive of NPA when it was still down at the old Cenef Building, where they judged Beth appropriately trustworthy to keep a watch on regional newspapers and to help with Journal mail outs (and lately, capable of wielding a wettex – see photo opposite). 

Bushwalking with NPA was a favourite activity that was not curtailed by children. Rob and Beth’s three young children took part in many walks and camps with other young families in a group that became known as the papoose packers. In more recent years Beth’s love of walking and native plants has taken her around Australia and New Zealand. 

The Michie family moved to Campbelltown in 1975 to run the Kentlyn Native Plant Nursery. It was not long before Beth was involved in local conservation issues, and in 1976 she gained widespread media coverage by single-handedly taking on the Army when she stood in front of the tanks to stop destruction of bushland adjoining her home. Following an inquiry, the Army issued an apology and carried out restorative works. In 1977 the NPA Campbelltown Sub-branch was formed and the Michie family played an active role in leading walks and participating in campaign work and, later, Macarthur Branch. Her interest in native plants, particularly of the Macarthur region, has been most useful in fighting development proposals especially around Dharawal State Recreation Area. 

Beth took a particular interest in building membership and sharing her knowledge about the local area, and for many years coordinated Macarthur Branch’s Community College courses and bushwalks. She is also active in other groups within the community including Rotary, and has been a member of the Campbelltown Australia Day Committee for several years. 

Beth is now in her second term as member of the State Council Executive and has filled the roles of acting secretary and treasurer. 

Tim Carroll

Macarthur Branch cleans up

Riverfest 
Macarthur Branch has received an award from the Campbelltown Australia Day Committee for its organisation of a Festival to celebrate World Environment Day last year. Riverfest was aimed to raise awareness of local waterways, particularly the Georges and Nepean rivers. The event was held in the centre of Campbelltown and included information and commercial displays, rides, food stalls and performances. A highlight of the day was a boat race on Fisher’s Ghost Creek, which is now a stormwater channel. The event attracted over 2,000 people and proved to be an enjoyable day for all.

Dharawal biodiversity surveys 
Our members have been conducting mammal, frog and reptile surveys in Dharawal State Recreation Area over the summer months, with the assistance of the University of Western Sydney-Macarthur and NPWS. Over twenty volunteers have participated in setting and checking traps and identifying animals; it is anticipated that the survey work will be ongoing.

Clean Up Australia Day 
Macarthur members participated in Clean Up Australia Day at Wedderburn on 5th of March. Branch member Barry Durman coordinated the work effort, which involved over 95 volunteers from the local Aboriginal Land Council, West Cliff Coal Mine, NPWS and local residents. The group removed over 200 tonnes of rubbish, including 52 car bodies from the former Wedderburn State Forest. Just weeks before the day, Barry secured the use of truck, backhoes and bobcats, and received financial assistance from Discovery Channel, the Department of Land and Water Conservation and the Georges River Catchment Management Committee. The former State Forest has been used as an illegal dumping ground for many years, but is an important bushland area linking the Dharawal reserves to the Georges River. 

Tim Carroll
Macarthur Branch

Southern Sydney Branch

Meeting with Peta Seaton 
Members met with Peta Seaton MP (NSW Shadow Minister for the Environment) at Parliament House, Sydney. Topics discussed included marine parks, the Healthy Rivers Commission studies on the Georges and Woronora rivers, and the transfer of Sydney Water land to the NPWS.

Community group award 
Southern Sydney Branch was nominated in the Suther-land Shire 1999 Community Group of the Year Awards. Thirteen community groups received nominations including Bushcare, the Cronulla/Sutherland Off Shore Rescue Service, the Lioness Club, and the winner, the Girl Guides Association.

NPA displays 
Branch members represented NPA at the Gray’s Point River Festival and the Sutherland Hospital Fete. The NPA display highlighted local environmental issues; the conservation work of NPA; and the benefits of membership, including the activity program. Members working at Gray’s Point also lead nature walks in Royal National Park.

State Council meeting 
Southern Sydney Branch hosted the March 2000 NPA State Council meeting at Audley in the Royal National Park, the oldest national park in Australia (gazetted in 1879 when Sydney’s population was under 300,000). The meeting took place in the historic dance hall overlooking Kangaroo Creek, an ideal location to discuss NPA business. After the meeting NPWS staff joined NPA members for a BBQ dinner. A special thanks to the NPWS for their generous support.

You can join in 
Thank you to all the volunteers who made these events possible. If any other members would like to get involved with Southern Sydney Branch activities (a very rewarding way to be involved with NPA), please contact Peter Vaughan 9528 7341 or Milton Way 9524 2886. Your help will be much appreciated. 

Peter Vaughan 
President, Southern Sydney Branch