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Protect Wooli From Coastal Erosion

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February 2012 No. 2

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Many of you will have seen the recent article in the Grafton daily Examiner  (Monday Feb 27th).

We were dismayed at the article’s very negative attitude towards the management of Wooli’s coastal erosion issues, choosing sensationalism about Wooli falling into the sea over researched facts and the positive work CCPA, Dunecare  and Clarence Valley Council are doing to prevent this happening.

 

In response,  a letter to the Editor  was sent  and a comment was added to the original article.

In both these you can see we pointed out the reporter’s misrepresentation of the facts and his avoidance of not only the main focus of the Emergency Plan but also the improved condition of the beach and our research program.

 

Janet Dunn, CCPA Communications Team

February 2012

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Hope you enjoy our latest newsletter (Janet Dunn, CCPA Commuications Team)

UP, UP AND AWAY

Wooli civil engineer Bob Stack hit the heights recently when he volunteered to climb the water tower with Frank Vaarwerk, CVC Operations Manager (Water Cycle). Why, you may ask? Indeed that is what Bob was asking himself halfway up the  104-foot tower.

 CCPA has been liaising with CVC for cooperation to kick off a research program into Wooli beach processes. There is little detailed reliable data available on which to base possible solutions to Wooli ‘s coastal erosion problems. Starting this data collection has been one of CCPA ‘s main tasks recently.

To do this, it ‘s necessary to monitor Wooli ‘s sand and water movements over an extended period. Placing cameras atop the water tower will record these and that ‘s where Bob came in. He and Frank identified several ideal positions for these cameras. When the cameras, computer and solar panels required to run them have been constructed by eCoast (managed by Dr. Shaw Mead), they will be installed hopefully soon.

 A side benefit of Bob and Frank’s climb is that the rest of us can also now see  the view from the top  .

 Bob deserves a huge vote of thanks from CCPA and Wooli, not only for his epic climb, but for the time and interest he has put into observing the beach, liaising on the Emergency Action Plan and writing submissions to Council on possible solutions to sand movement problems.

 

Another CCPA member who has been generous with his time and expertise is surveyor Brian Saye. As mentioned in the last newsletter, Brian started survey work in the new year and has reported that the initial survey has been completed. This involved a lot of time and effort and big thanks go to Brian and those who assisted him. These surveys will be updated on a quarterly basis if you can lend a hand, contact Brian on 0427-425744.

 Kristin Stubbins has put in valuable work talking to Council about amendments to the Emergency Action Plan, Bruce Bird has done an interview with ABC Coffs Harbour, Leone Coper photographed Bob ‘s climb up the water tower, other members are busy organising the WAG Artshow, Len O ‘Shea continues to coordinate the Dunecare effort and Peter Dunn has been beavering away behind the scenes steering the research effort. Others too modest to be mentioned are also doing their bit to help the campaign.

NEXT MEETING

CCPA Steering Committee will be meeting at noon on Sunday Feb. 26 at Len and Yvonne O ‘Shea ‘s house. Contact Len directly (0437120387) if you ‘d like to sit in on the meeting. Be quick though as space is limited. Email Pete (petedunn@bigpond.net.au) if you ‘d like a copy of the agenda.

The committee will be planning our next full CCPA meeting, probably at Easter at the Wooli Hotel/Motel. More on this later but there ‘ll be lots of new stuff to hear and discuss so please pencil it into your diary now.

DUNECARE UPDATE

From Dunecare Coordinator Len O ‘Shea: “I believe that our primary strategy is to save the dunes from further degradation, to start the process of building the dunes first and then start a program of plantings and regeneration.

 My idea for the next major working bee is to identify areas where water/wave action will create “ponding” and to 1) erect sand traps to build up these areas to prevent ponding of large quantities of water, 2) block the space from the end of the traps to the dune face to stop any water movement North/South along the dune base to prevent scouring and 3) erect a series of sand bag groynes at intervals along the beach to the dune face to prevent sideways movement of water/waves to prevent further erosion.

 We received a letter from the Hon. Dr. Mike Kelly AM MP dated 16/11/11 offering Wooli Dunecare Group a Community Action Grant of $5310.00. Thank you Hon. Dr. Kelly! I confirmed with CVC that we received our grant and the money is available for immediate use. I mentioned my idea of using the sandbags as an experiment to stop the erosion of the dune face and CVC did not pose any objection to this. Dave Richardson and I will coordinate with CVC to supply our required materials ASAP.

I was told that Minnie Water nursery will provide free plants to Wooli residents for dune planting. BUT… if you say that you are a Dunecare member, the cost of the plants will be debited against our CMA grant account!!!!”

Wooli Dunecare Group will hold an Executive meeting at Wooli Bowling Club at 10.00AM on Sunday 26th Feb. All are welcome to attend.

WAG ARTSHOW

Circle 6, 7 and  8th April on your calendar and join the fun for the second Wooli Artists Gathering Artshow. Last year, it was wonderful to see Wooli ‘s artistic talent on display. The show was a resounding success and a generous donation was made to CCPA. Express yourself in any medium, inspired by “Our Coast” art, photography, craft, mixed media and come along for a great opening night cocktail party at the Wooli Hotel/Motel. This year, prizes will go to Best of Show $150, Commended $100 and People’s Choice $100 (this one judged by visitors to the show). Details and entry forms on protectwooli.com.au, gayeshield@hotmail.com or Di on 0266 479021.

WEAR WOOLI

There is still stock of most sizes of Protect Wooli t-shirts. They are well-priced quality pure cotton, ideal for casual summer wear, in sizes from 4 years to XL. Proceeds to CCPA for beach protection. See Lyn (Wooli General Store), Nicki (Main Street store) or Ian (Wooli Hotel/Motel).

Future newsletters, notices and changes will be emailed automatically to those who register their email address on the website. Don ‘t forget to register on the website homepage at www.protectwooli.com.au. You can also post comments and questions there. Send newsletter contributions to janet.dunn@xtra.co.nz or CCPA,PO Box 173, Wooli, 2462.

December 2011, No. 2

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So much has been happening on the Protect Wooli front that we needed this second newsletter this month to keep you up to date.

AGM BUSINESS

The Annual General Meeting was held on 10 December in the Wooli Hotel/Motel. CCPA President Bruce Bird summarised our achievements this year quite an impressive list (as per the November newsletter) and business included a financial report from treasurer David Phillips. We are healthily in the black, thanks to membership fees, WAG Artshow proceeds, coffee-at-the-Bowlo andMain Street store proceeds, raffle and t-shirt sales and some generous donations. New steering committee members were appointed to replace retiring members Peter Wise, Paul Coves and Don Firth. Lyn Phillips andJanet Dunn volunteered to join the committee.

Other business included updates on discussions with CVC on the Emergency Action Plan and research strategy for the beach, and with state government via the Ballina Workshop in November and meetings with Minister Robyn Parker. For details of these, see December newsletter.

 

AT LAST….THE WEBSITE

The Protect Wooli website is at last online, after an enormous amount of time and effort. Huge thanks to Peter Dunn, also to Alex Webley for his technological expertise, generously funded by Roger Welch. Peter presented the website at the AGM with some suggestions how to navigate around it and get the most from it. It ‘s an important part of our communication with other members and groups and is designed to keep them up-to-date with developments. It also has an impressive gallery of photos of Wooli and environment, kindly shared by local photographer Juliet Thomasson, Leone Coper, Roger Welch, Margy Hewetson and others. The website is at protectwooli.com.au and is definitely worth a browse. Comments, suggestions and contributions are welcome and should be directed to petedunn@bigpond.net.au

Future newsletters, as well as notices and changes, will be posted automatically by email to those who register their email address on the website, so don ‘t forget to enter yours on the website homepage.

 

A TOE IN THE WATER

Brian Saye, CCPA member and surveyor whose family has had close ties with Wooli for many years, has volunteered to kick off the research into Wooli beach processes which will form the basis for long-term solutions to beach erosion. Brian will start surveying work in the New Year. Bob Stack, Wooli resident and civil engineer, has volunteered to help with this work.

Campaigns such as ours are completely reliant on the willingness of people to volunteer their time and effort and expertise, so big thanks go to Brian and Bob. More hands will be needed though to assist in data collection no qualifications are needed, just willingness to contribute a little time. Contact Brian at bsaye@bigpond.net.au or on (04) 2742-5744

 

“I REMEMBER WHEN…”

Long-time Wooli residents and folk who have visited Wooli for many years have stories, photos and memories of how the beach and river have changed over time. This local knowledge is a large untapped resource which would be an invaluable addition to the research to be carried out on Wooli beach and river processes as part of the Protect Wooli campaign.

As our engineering expert Tim Heldt says, “Wooli community is engaged in a learning journey. The remedies for beach erosion are poorly understood and a community-based collection exercise to gather photos, observations and ideas would be an interesting and enlightening event. The information would be collated into a database available to potential researchers and community stakeholders.”

With this in mind, we are planning an “I Remember When…” week to be held in February, to collect and collate memories, pictures and stories about Wooli beach and the river which will contribute to other planned research, like camera recording, sand movement, storm activity, etc. Stay tuned for news of this event and meanwhile, ferret out any of your memories and photos that would add to our knowledge bank. Here are some of the historical photos and observations we already have. Thanks to Leone Coper and Bob Stack.

 

NEXT MEETING

The next CCPA-Wooli meeting will be held in February, date uncertain at this point but a notice will go out to members and will be posted on the website.

 

T-SHIRTS GALORE

There is still stock of most sizes of Protect Wooli t-shirts available. The t-shirts are quality pure cotton, ideal for casual summer wear and are well-priced. Sizes range from 4 years to XL. All proceeds go to CCPA funds for beach protection. Show you care – see Nicki or Robert at Main Street store or Ian Rees at the Wooli Hotel/Motel.

 

AND FINALLY…..

Dunecare have done great work this year with sandtrap building and dune planting. They have designed an eyecatching leaflet for distribution to rental accommodation and Wooli businesses, urging people to give the dune a chance by using the designated beach access points and by being responsible four wheel drive users. Unfortunately it won ‘t be printed until early next year, but it will remind beach users that we all need to care for Wooli ‘s biggest asset, its beautiful beach.

 HAVE A SAFE HOLIDAY AND A GREAT CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR.

Newsletter contributions, comments and questions are welcome. Have your say contact Margy Hewetson (margarethewetson@yahoo.co.uk), Janet Dunn(janet.dunn@xtra.co.nz) or CCPA-Wooli atPO Box 173, Wooli.

 

December 2011

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The new Protect Wooli website will be launched this week stand by for a notice to all members.

 

Don ‘t forget the CCPA-Wooli Annual General Meeting this Saturday 10 December at 11.00am at the Wooli Hotel/Motel.

CCPA-Wooli representatives met with Clarence Valley Council on 4 November. Committee member Kristin Stubbins sent this report:

  • Our collaboration and general relationship with CVC has improved markedly over the last few months.
  • CVC has investigated potential state government funding sources for research into Wooli beach processes.
  • Both CCPA and CVC are keen to start this research. Qualified surveyor and keen Wooli fan Brian Saye has kindly offered to lead the beach survey process and is looking for local volunteers to assist. CVC will support this process and Brian is meeting with their surveying team for discussions. CVC also agreed to help with the engagement of the Department of Environment and Heritage to support and guide our research efforts. It is important that all stakeholders agree with the scope and methodology supporting the research right from the start, so that our data is credible.
  • CVC is also supportive of creating photographic records of beach processes, through cameras located on the water tower. It is envisaged that most of the initial funding we are seeking from state government would finance this process. We are seeking this funding through official channels (ie. through CVC). CCPA, through Kristin Stubbins, has also requested funding directly from the Minister ‘s office.

COASTAL MANAGEMENT ON THE AGENDA

Minister of Environment and Heritage, Robyn Parker, recently instigated a series of regional workshops on coastal management, held in October and November. Wooli, being a far north coast “hotspot”, was invited to send representatives to the workshop at Ballina on 16 November. Other hotspots represented were Belongil and Lennox Head. Scott Lenton attended for Clarence Valley Council.

As we were the final workshop in the series, we had already received feedback from previous workshops and were a little dismayed that the general feeling was that they were not very effective, with limited discussion time and opportunities for resident stakeholders to present their concerns. In response to this feedback, CCPA sent a document to the organisers before the workshop, outlining the messages we wanted to present and the outcomes we hoped to get. This thorough preparation and some incisive questioning by our representatives impressed the organisers and assisted in CCPA ‘s making its presence known to the workshop organisers.

As part of the consultation process on the vexed and complex issue of coastal management, the Minister is establishing a Coastal Taskforce to facilitate managing the impacts of coastal erosion. The membership of the group is expected to be announced shortly, possibly pre-Christmas. An inconclusive response from Ms Parker about whether hotspot community reps would be included leads us to think not, despite her statement that “the taskforce will be made up of key agencies, stakeholders and councils”.

Despite the shortcomings of these consultations, we can take heart that the issue is at least being recognised by government and councils as requiring more attention than it has been getting. It ‘s on the table, largely due to the efforts of groups like CCPA. Many thanks to those who put so much work into preparing for and attending the workshop and representing CCPA so ably:   Bruce Bird, Peter Dunn, Don Parkes and Tim Heldt.

To quote Minister Parker, “We all love our coastline and beaches. …. I want NSW to have the best plans, legislation and other arrangements in place to deal with coastal risks.” So do we all – your support of CCPA is vital in our efforts to achieve these strategies.

More details on the Ballina and other workshops is available from Peter Dunn on petedunn@bigpond.net.au.

WOOLI WATCH

The depressed real estate market since the GFC and the CZMP release has greatly concerned Wooli ratepayers. Margy Hewetson of Clarence Holiday Coast Real Estate provided the following about the current market: “Sales continue slowly but reassuringly, hopefully indicating some returning buyer confidence. We have 4 sales underway (already exchanged or about to exchange), in addition to the 3 sales since April 2011. Holiday rentals are markedly up on last year, with the fortnight from Christmas at almost 100% in Minnie, Diggers and Wooli.”

Margy also reports that the $150K marketing budget allocated by Marine Parks and managed by National Parks and Clarence Visitor Information Centre has earmarked $75K for marketing Wooli, Minnie and Diggers as tourism destinations.

AN ARTICLE OF INTEREST

The article in the link below may be interest to members. Brushgrove has successfully obtained substantial funding to mitigate natural flood risks. Wooli is struggling to raise funds for basic research into equally serious natural threats and this raises the question: why not Wooli too?

http://www.clarence.nsw.gov.au/content/uploads/111125_council_supports_brushgrove_flood_mitigation.pdf

Newsletter contributions, comments and questions are welcome. Have your say contact Margy Hewetson (margarethewetson@yahoo.co.uk), Janet Dunn (janet.dunn@xtra.co.nz) or CCPA-Wooli at PO Box 173, Wooli.