Chapter Two

Stakeholder Contributions

• Burnum Burnum Track (A nature trail for West Menai)
  
  The Menai area has seen rapid urban growth over the past 15 years. However, there has been a strong community reaction to the poor road system, traffic build up, lack of infrastructure, loss and degradation of the natural environment and uncoordinated development. The community is also at the doorstep of a nuclear reactor and a massive waste management facility.
  
  The Burnum Burnum Track is a community initiative. It was suggested as a means of advancing a broad regional vision for improving environmental and recreational opportunities, and building a stronger community. Residents of Menai approached the project team at the Trails Forum on 7 th September 2002, suggesting the West Menai Nature Trail as a logical link between the Georges River Way and the Woronora River Way. The project team contacted Sutherland Shire Council and Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council and brought them together to discuss the possibilities for the route. The community indicated a desire to name the track after Burnum Burnum, a famous resident of nearby Woronora Valley who was an advocate and campaigner for Aboriginal rights and nature conservation . Sutherland Shire Council has now set aside funds to establish the Burnum Burnum Track. Written and oral information, as well as maps were provided by members of West Menai and Barden Ridge Precinct Residents' Association to supplement the efforts of the project team.

• Sandy Points The Way
  
  Residents of Sandy Point may be small in number but their contribution to the success of the Great Kai'mia Way project has been outstanding.
  
  In March 2003, the Sandy Point Progress Association (SPPA) organised a community walk through the Federal Government's lands between Sandy Point and Mill Creek. The walk was aimed at promoting the cause of transferring the 178 ha of remnant bushland and salt marshes to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service for inclusion into the Georges River National Park.
  
  SPPA strongly endorsed the Great Kai'mia Way - naming this particular section the 'Rock Wallaby Way' because of the presence of that and several other indigenous animal species of conservation significance.
  
  50 residents (approximately one third of the Sandy Point population) took part in the walk - enjoying the bonding and the outstanding environmental values. Members of the SPPA and the project team had previously marked out a route for the 'Wallaby Way' from Sandy Point Community Centre to the historic former mill site on Mill Creek. This site also represented another high point in community stewardship as representatives of SPPA met up with members of West Menai and Barden Ridge Precinct Residents Association and Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council. The meeting symbolised the joining together of Burnum Burnum Track and planned tracks through Gandangara lands with the Rock Wallaby Way.
  
  Sandy Point residents certainly made a strong point - that communities can take the initiative for environmental management of their local regions - and this point is the central aim of the Great Kai'mia Way project and will ensure its success.

The Friends of Prospect Creek (FPC) was formed and they have now organised several successful Clean Up Australia Days, where dozens of local people volunteered to clean up rubbish and plant over 17,000 trees and shrubs in Long Street Park, Smithfield where the Warali Wali Track of the Great Kai'mia Way route is planned. FPC also organise soccer games to improve the recreational opportunities for local youth and develop the social networks of this new and multi-cultural community.

The health of Prospect Creek has been an issue with numerous State Government reports - but it is groups like the FPC who are making a big difference on the ground. They are an excellent example of a community taking the lead in environmental restoration and stewardship. The Great Kai'mia Way could link together many community groups like FPC, and advance the good work done by Holroyd and Fairfield Council through projects like the Prospect Creek Aboriginal Heritage Trail and Five Creeks, to achieve this regional vision.

• Bankstown Bushland Society
  
  Bankstown Bushland Society (BBS) was one of many community groups that played an important role in advising the project team about critical environmental issues around the Georges River foreshores within the Bankstown local government area.
  
  The group is a strong advocate for the scarce areas of remnant vegetation left in Bankstown, which was once covered by dense woodlands. BBS visited several sites with the project team, in order to plan a more sustainable trail route that would respect environmentally sensitive areas.
  
  It was a positive experience to visit several sites of contention - where representatives from SW BUG (South West Bicycle Users Group - an affiliate of Bicycle NSW) were able to work out trail routes in concert with BBS and the team. The proposed route will be all the stronger and more sustainable for this type of effective community consultation.
  
  The good work of the BBS was also evidenced in East Hills Park - where the group has regenerated the biodiversity of an area of bushland.
  
  These are the kinds of initiatives that the Great Kai'mia Way can publicise and advance throughout the catchment.

• Friends of Yeramba Lagoon
  
  Yeramba Lagoon was once just a bend in the Georges River at Picnic Point until road construction in the early 1960's cut it off from the Georges. The environmental health of the 'lagoon' declined over subsequent decades as it collected polluted urban stormwater, nutrients and weeds. The illegal dumping of rubbish added to the sad state that prompted community members to take a stand and Friends of Yeramba Lagoon was formed a few years ago to restore the area to good health.

Ongoing Stakeholder Role