The Gully, Katoomba – led by Helen Yoxall – 9 present
The Gully is a declared Aboriginal Place under the National Parks & Wildlife Act and is co-managed by the Gully Traditional Owners and Blue Mountains City Council. It is part of the upper catchment of the Kedumba River.

Gargaree Swampcare volunteers with contract help have been working over the years to restore its degraded swamp systems. This was one of the few areas in the mountains not closed because of the bushfires.

On this cool misty morning we walked The Gully Interpretive Walk and the Jacky Brooks Track.

Our walk took us through Eucalyptus oreades open forest and Blue Mountains Sedge Swamp. Little detailed plant study was done today however as members debriefed after a summer of 40 degree days and fires to the north and south of our homes.

Lalor Drive, Springwood – to be led by Helen Yoxall
Cancelled because of heavy rain and storms. Sydney Olympic Park bus trip – led by Meredith Brownhill – 11 present
Due to catastrophic bushfires, National Parks and reserves were closed so Plant Group started the year with a bus trip to Sydney Olympic Park.

We discovered that the Badu Mangroves and Coastal Saltmarsh, with boardwalks and bird hides were another contrasting habitat within the Greater Sydney Basin.

It was easy strolling along the boardwalk in the Grey Mangrove/Avicennia marina forest imagining all the estuarine creatures living in the mud. This habitat is protected under the NSW Fisheries Act with a hefty fine for harming it, as it protects fish communities. Casuarina glauca, Melaleuca styphelioides and Myoporum boninense ssp. australe were also seen.

A short shower of rain made us retreat to the bird hide, where we observed water birds splashing in the Saltmarsh water e.g., Black-winged Stilts & Red-necked Avocets.

Both Coastal Saltmarsh and Swamp Oak Floodplain Forest are Endangered Ecological Communities, amongst the many EECs we see in our Sydney Basin trips.

All in all, it was another happy and successful day out for eleven BMCS members.