Page 98 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 February 2016
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The language is alive and well. Participants are coming. Great thanks to the Irish Embassy for the support in holding it in Canberra this year.
Jerrabomberra wetlands
Mulligans Flat woodland sanctuary
MS FITZHARRIS (Molonglo—Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research, Minister for Transport and Municipal Services and Assistant Minister for Health) (5.05): I rise this evening to talk about the great work being done at one of Canberra’s best kept secrets, the Jerrabomberra wetlands. Many people do not realise we have such a significant and unique natural wonder right here in the heart of our city nestled between Fyshwick and the Kingston foreshore.
On Sunday I was delighted to get along to the Jerrabomberra wetlands for their community open day, which coincided with World Wetlands Day, celebrated last week on Tuesday, 2 February. Sunday was a beautiful day for a visit to the wetlands, and I took my daughters along to see some of the native wildlife up close, do some bird watching and take a stroll around Kellys swamp, with fine guidance from members of the trust.
The Jerrabomberra wetlands nature reserve has been giving residents and visitors the opportunity to experience the wonders of nature for 25 years and has been recognised as an important waterbird habitat for some 50 years. Over 200 bird species have been recorded in the wetlands, and it also supports platypus, turtles, frogs and other native wildlife. It is also a refuge for migrating birds from the Northern Hemisphere, including Latham’s Snipe. Latham’s Snipe is a migratory wader, moving to Australia in our warmer months. Birds may fly directly between Japan and Canberra just to come to our wetlands. It is good to see they are taking advantage of international flights to Canberra as well.
The open day on Sunday was great. There were activities for the whole family, including wetland discovery walks, heritage tours, live music, art displays, Indigenous cultural activities, outdoor photographic exhibitions, bug sorting, a variety of children’s activities, food stalls, and more.
The Woodlands and Wetlands Trust board was established to work with both the Mulligans Flat woodland sanctuary in Forde and Jerrabomberra wetlands to sustainably manage these rich and diverse environments for current and future generations. Both the Jerrabomberra wetlands nature reserve and the Mulligans Flat woodland sanctuary have management committees, and these committees work closely with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service in TAMS to deliver programs to the community that aim to realise the vision and objectives of both reserves.
I was also thrilled to show some of my colleagues around Mulligans Flat woodland sanctuary last week as part of the pop-up cabinet in Gungahlin. It is a fantastic place that is reintroducing otherwise extinct animals onto the mainland of Australia, animals like the bettong and the curlew. Both sanctuaries are managed by talented and passionate people who obviously love what they do and are only too happy to show you around and answer any question you can throw at them.
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