Wetland restoration by steps:
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UNDER the watchful eye of a pair of circling sea eagles, in flawless language, Gumbaynggirr man Dylan Kelly welcomed a large crowd to the newly remediated Urunga Wetland this morning (Monday).
His words flowed like the waters of the wetland itself now the massive $10 million two-year remediation project of what was a contaminated antimony processing plant, is complete.
The NSW Minister for Lands and Forestry, Paul Toole and the Member for Oxley, Melinda Pavey, were on hand to give their official blessing but the day really belonged to Soil Conservation’s project manager Clayton Colmer and his team.
“This was a rare and special job and I feel so proud the local community values it and is using it,” Clayton said.
“The boardwalk is made of 100 per cent recycled plastic from an Australian company – Replas. It has been great to include innovations such as this in the project.”
He said the project had met with its fair share of unpredictable events, including uncovering odourous material, two mega flood events plus some major technical hitches that required contractual terminations.
“It certainly took its toll on myself and the team but now it is wonderful to see the vegetation self-seeding … and the environment thriving.”
Clayton’s partner, Bellingen Shire councillor, Jennie Fenton, said she was deeply moved by the beauty of the place.
“I feel proud of how Clayton and the team worked so smartly and collaboratively on this … and in spite of the stresses of the project, Clayton made a huge effort to make sure the disadvantaged, the traditional owners, women, were included in the project as much as possible.”
Fellow councillor and Bellingen shire mayor, Dominc King, said it was a fantastic project and congratulated Clayton on employing and skilling up locals as much as possible.
“It means this place has a real sense of ownership for the community,” Dominic said.
“As a geography teacher I am delighted – there are so many lessons that can be taught here.”
And for residents, such as Ray Hickey and Merv Rose, who have lived across the road from the noise and dust from day one, they had nothing but praise for the professional way Clayton and his colleagues dealt with them and the problems of noise and dust.
“My wife has lung problems and we were getting some dust at the start – but Clayton had a dust monitor installed and it was monitored daily … his co-operation helped so much. It’s unbelievable what it has become,” Ray said.
Merv said he remembered the site in years gone by as being overgrown with weeds and full of snakes.
“But we had no idea how dangerous it was,” Merv said.
“This is magnificent – and the community love it, in fact we now have a traffic problem on Hillside Dr!”
The Member for Oxley, Melinda Pavey, said this type of infrastructure meant a lot to country communities and the value of restoring health to waterways such as this was priceless.
Standing alongside Clayton for much of the journey was Department Industry/Lands Natural Resources Manager Richard Chewings.
“This is a fantastic result, thanks to the huge efforts of Clayton and his team,” Richard said.
“From a place that was a wreck, we now have a peaceful, beautiful place … that is priceless. It has been great to be involved in this project.”