Community
10 May, 2024
‘Come and explore’ Mt Leura reserve
THE Mt Leura and Mt Sugarloaf Management Committee is inviting the community to ‘come and explore’ the Mt Leura reserve next Sunday.
The free will run from 1pm to 3.30pm on Sunday, May 19, with family-friendly activities to be held on the day.
Committee of Management chairperson Caroline Duynhoven said two local Indigenous people will be running three of the workshops on the day
“One is indigenous basket weaving, and we have Indigenous tool uses and the last one is on Indigenous food and their uses,” she said.
“We will be having wattle tea for afternoon tea as well.
“There’s also a guided walk people can go on, and at the end afternoon tea will be supplied.”
The basket weaving workshop run by Sandra Aitkin will run from 1pm to 3pm, with the Indigenous tools and Indigenous foods workshops led by Brett Clarke running from 1.30pm to 2pm and 2.30pm to 3pm respectively.
The guided walk through the reserves will run from 2pm to 3pm.
Ms Duynhoven said the ‘come and explore’ days run each year help draw attention to the reserves.
“Every year, as part of promoting the reserve, the management committee will have a day to invite the public onto the reserve and explore and see what a wonderful resource is at the back door of a lot of people in Camperdown,” she said.
“By having the activities, because we have a really close relationship with the local Indigenous people, we thought that’s a great way of combining publicity and local knowledge.
“By people exploring the reserve, we also hope they might contribute by joining the Friends of Mt Leura with maintaining the reserve.
“They assist with the management committee in implementing the management plan that we have for the reserves. We always need volunteers to help out with planting every year or just planting and maintaining some of the equipment.”
Ms Duynhoven said the work done by the Friends of Mt Leura and the management committee has been returning the reserves to their former glory.
“It’s really to come and celebrate the work that’s been happening on the reserves, and ultimately getting closer and closer to making it look like it did before European settlement,” she said.
“There’s been a lot of work on the reserves in the last 30 years since the management committee was formed, and they have been planting lots and lots of trees.
“We’ve got wildlife returning, and it’s just a wonderful place to relax and enjoy nature.
“Hopefully they’ll keep coming back and continue to be a part of what’s happening.”
Each activity has a maximum of 20 participants, with booking available by contacting Graham Arkinstall of the Friends of Mt Leura on 0418 377 293.
Anyone interested in helping to set up are asked to head down to the Lower Shelter, located at the base of Mt Leura, at 11am.
Read More: Camperdown