Central Coast Council is proud to be partnering with Green Caffeen to help reduce the number of single use coffee cups going to landfill.

This is the second edition of our Environmental Volunteer Program ENews, and it certainly doesn’t feel like three months have gone by since the first edition.We hope that you enjoy the articles that we have put together for this edition.

Camphor laurels (Cinnamomum camphora) have been widely planted all over Australia as a park tree because they provide amazing shade in our harsh Australian summers.Although a bushland weed, in some locations there may be benefit in keeping these large exotic trees.

Each year Central Coast Council’s nursery at Erina provides between 10,000 and 15,000 tubes for planting at your sites through the Environmental Volunteer Program.

Ecologists from Central Coast Council and the Environmental Volunteers at Wadalba have recently teamed up to help track down Squirrel Gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis) in the Wadalba Wildlife Corridor.Across several bushland reserves on the Central Coast, Council officers have been fitting Squirrel Gliders and Sugar Gliders (Petaurus breviceps) with collars that emit a harmless radio frequency.

Brian is a founding member of the Palm Grove Ourimbah Creek Landcare group.

There was a confirmed sighting on 31 May 2021 of two glossy black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami) enjoying feasting on seeds of the Allocasuarina trees at Doyle Street Bushcare Site at Kincumber.

We've had our heads down and our tails up, working every day for the community to deliver the essential services that keep our region running.Water and Sewer deliveryOver the past three months, we have:produced 6,834 megalitres of drinking water for the coast (the equivalent of 2,733 Olympic swimming pools worth)laid 1.2km of new water mains in the Gosford areainstalled 415 new water services region-wide from customer applicationsconnected four water main sections, from newly constructed to existing water infrastructure at Berkley Valecontinued its Water Mains Flushing Program, servicing water mains in 24 suburbs and removing 2.2 megalitres of discoloured water from pipesinspected 6.8km of sewer mains across the coast, relining 1.8km of mains and an additional 1km of large carrier mains to improve infrastructure cleared 430 sewer main chokes to prevent breaks and overflows into the environmentremoved 400 tonnes of grit and fatbergs from Kincumber Sewage Treatment Plant continued to maintain the coast’s catchment areas to ensure the best raw water supply into treatment plants including removing a large amount of sediment and Sagitaria weeds from the seepage weir at Mangrove Creek Dam.We are also working through the planning phase of its 2021-22 Water Main Renewal Program, with 32 separate water main renewal projects to be delivered this financial year including:Masson Lane, KillcareBeach Drive, KillcareBonnal Road, ErinaBarralong Rd, ErinaAnsell Cl, Chittaway PointHereford St Berkeley ValePacific HWY Tuggerahready and scheduled to commence in the next month.And we have identified 1,630 water meters across the coast due for replacement this financial year as part of Council’s annual Water Meter Replacement Program.Roads and pathways deliveryOn our roads during April, May and June Council:completed 12.2km of road pavement renewal and resurfacingmade 12,055 potholes repairsremarked 15.5km of road linesgraded 175.5km of unsealed roadsrepaired or replaced 782 road signsmade 178 footpath repairscleaned 16.5km of stormwater table drainsWe remain focused on our community’s must-haves, ensuring the continued delivery of essential maintenance, infrastructure and services.This regular day-to-day work is often less talked about or overshadowed by the "new", but this critical work continues to happen every day behind the scenes as we move toward financial stability.Seen something that needs attention?If you see something in your area that needs attention, please report it to Council’s Online Customer Service Centre or call 1300 463 954.Find out more about Council’s Road and Drainage or Water and Sewer Capital Works programs by hovering over the 'Residents' tab on the main menu of our website.

Every day we are working for the community to deliver the essential services that keep our region running.Over the last week our Roads teams have been working on construction projects across the Coast.

Council will conduct strategic sand building works at Karagi Point ahead of the ‘Little Tern’ bird species reaching the Central Coast for their 2021 breeding season.This important habitat and enhancement work is funded by the NSW Government’s Saving our Species program and follows a record-breaking breeding season on the Central Coast for the endangered Little Terns in 2020.The much-loved Little Terns will be arriving on the Coast in the next three weeks or so and it is vital that we take steps to help ensure they have another successful breeding season.Over approximately three days, Council staff will move sand from the southern end of Karagi Point (adjacent to the channel) and deposit this 100 metres north at the location where the Little Terns are expected to nest.These works are vital as the Little Terns are strongly site faithful and this location is currently vulnerable to inundation by high seas, tides and flooding.To protect the Little Terns from people and dogs during this crucial nesting time, we will install a temporary fence and signage around the breeding site and we ask that our community support us in helping this endangered species by staying away from the area, as well as keeping their pets away.We had an incredible breeding season on the Coast last year – with Karagi Point being one of the most significant breeding sites in NSW – and we are expecting strong Little Tern numbers again this year.By moving the sand from the southern end of the sandspit, the works will also aim to enhance the channel opening to better maintain the exchange of water between the lake and the ocean and provide for the preliminary phase of dredging which is planned to commence in 2022.Council is committed to best practice management, monitoring and education to support the growth of threatened species such as the Little Tern, Eastern Osprey, Swift Parrot and Regent Honeyeater.The habitat and enhancement work at Karagi Point will get underway on Wednesday 22 September 2021 and is expected to take three days to complete.