SUTHERLAND Shire high school students got a first-hand lesson in the effects of environmental vandalism when they visited the Towra Point wetlands boardwalk recently.
Jeff Harte, a geography teacher at Aquinas College, Menai, took his year 12 students to the section of boardwalk behind Sharkies Leagues Club as part of their Ecosystems at Risk course.
The class found the boardwalk through the world-famous wetlands had been destroyed.
"Planks have been ripped up, making the boardwalk unsafe to walk along," Mr Hart said.
"Chainsaws have obviously been used to destroy the lookout over the bay.
"Signs have been graffitied beyond recognition, fires have been lit along the boardwalk and there has been the indiscriminate dumping of household and industrial waste.
"Is this what Sutherland Shire is to be known for?"
The past president of the Geography Teachers Association of NSW said the Towra Point Nature Reserve containing the wetlands were listed in the Ramsar Convention.
Known as the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, Ramsar is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international co-operation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
Mr Harte said the wetlands risked losing their Ramsar status.
‘‘The convention requires the contracting parties to monitor and maintain the character and integrity of these sites,’’ he said.
‘‘There needs to be appropriate management systems in place at the boardwalk and it doesn’t appear to be happening at the moment.
‘‘You can’t close off the entrance to the boardwalk but perhaps they could install better lighting.’’
Mr Harte said despite the vandalism, he would return to the site with his students.
‘‘It has reinforced the main themes of the course, Ecosystems at Risk. This vandalism definitely shows an ecosystem at risk,’’ he said.
Sutherland Shire councillor Kevin Schreiber had raised concerns about the state of the boardwalk in the past.
‘‘I’ve raised the matter of funding for the repair of the boardwalk with the council a number of times and I will raise it with the mayor again,’’ he said.
‘‘It is a very important part of the shire that a lot of people don’t know exists.
‘‘It is used by schools for educational purposes and also for looking after the wetlands. It was a combined Rotary project a number of years ago, then the council was looking after it.
‘‘Then it fell into disrepair.’’
What should be done to stop the vandalism at Towra Point wetland boardwalk?
COASTAL RELIEF
NEW research has provided a good report on the environmental heath of Towra Point Nature Reserve.
Despite repeated dredging of the bay in recent years, foreshore erosion and pollution from industries, preliminary findings from a study of sand samples show levels of heavy metal pollution were within official guidelines.
The research was undertaken by Dr Stephanie Kermode and Professor Henk Heijnis, from the institute of environmental research at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
Cronulla MP Mark Speakman said preliminary results suggested Towra Point Nature Reserve was ‘‘clear of dangerous levels of heavy metal pollution’’.
An ANSTO spokesman confirmed the findings, but said no formal paper was available because the results were preliminary.
Mr Speakman said Towra Point was part of Sydney’s largest and most diverse wetland environments, containing 60 percent of the region’s saltmarsh communities and 40 percent of the region’s mangroves.
‘‘The reserve includes much of the remaining seagrasses, mangroves and migratory wading bird habitats in the Sydney region,’’ he said.
‘‘However, introduced species, pollution and human induced erosion have all had their continuing impact on the area over the years and there remains significant risk of pollution from industries around the bay.’’
