Much of the focus through the Environmental Volunteer Program is on conservation groups, and these make up the majority of groups by number, but there are also 6 groups that we call our amenity groups. These are our ‘Tidy Towns’ and ‘Friends of Cemeteries’ volunteer groups. 

Tidy Towns Groups

The Tidy Towns groups regularly meet to keep their local suburbs clean and tidy, carrying out maintenance works that contribute to their neighbourhoods being lovely places to live in and presenting a welcoming environment to anyone visiting the area. 

These groups aim to improve the aesthetic of the public space with activities which may include mowing and brush cutting to keep local roadsides and parks neat and tidy for the enjoyment of the public, creating garden beds which are not only attractive to the eye but provide habitat and food for bees, small birds and invertebrates, and they carry out litter and graffiti removal. 

These groups have given tens of thousands of volunteer hours in working on their sites over the years and have been recognised through many awards including Keep Australia Beautiful, the NSW Blue Star Awards, Volunteer of the Year, Senior Volunteer of the Year and Central Coast Council's Australia Day Awards to name a few.

Summerland Point/Gwandalan Tidy Towns

This group meet weekly to work on the shores of Lake Macquarie and have been active since forming the 1990’s. 

Teams on mowers and brush cutters can be seen working in designated areas keeping the parks and road verges neat and tidy across both suburbs. 
Complimenting this is a dedicated garden group creating and maintaining garden beds around the town areas.

Graffiti and litter removal is also a big focus for this group who have worked tirelessly over the years to reduce the impact of what can be quite unsightly.

Mannering Park Tidy Towns

This group formed over 10 years ago and also work on the shores of Lake Macquarie.

Meeting weekly this group operate as a well-oiled machine of volunteers tending to their village’s green verges and parks, particularly the town entrance of flowering shrubs developed over the years to welcome residents and visitors entering the Mannering Park area. 

San Remo Tidy towns 

One of the earliest volunteer groups to form in the area, they started working in the 1990’s. 

Over the years they have been active in mowing, planting gardens and removing litter along the foreshore of Lake Munmorah. 

This group currently meet twice a month with a focus on carrying out litter removal in their area.  

Chittaway Bay/Berkeley Vale Tidy Towns

This group have a monthly meeting and have also been meeting for many years. 

They have created garden beds at Chittaway Bay Park and Kurruba Oval. 

This group are very dedicated to the removal of litter on the foreshore of Tuggerah Lakes playing a very important role towards improving the health of the lake system.

Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia

This group initially formed in 2016 with an exclusive membership of Veterans. The meetings and working sessions were a way to stay in touch and support one another. The group now openly welcome any new members.

Since forming this group have transformed an overgrown and very weedy area on the northern shore of Tuggerah Lake at Gorokan into what is now a lovely spot with seating and picnic table for your enjoyment. 

The group meet fortnightly and when on site you will see the Vietnam Veterans flag flying. 

Lakehaven Tidy Towns

This is another group dedicated to litter removal around the Gorokan/Lake Haven area you will see them out and about in their hi-viz clothing picking up rubbish large and small from shopping trolleys and TVs to take away items. 

This band of volunteers were inspired to form after visiting other groups and seeing the results and benefits of their efforts. 

Friends Of Cemeteries Groups

The Friends Of groups work in the cemeteries at Noraville and Jilliby caring for the cultural and heritage values of the resting place of those who have lived in and contributed to our local area. 

The Jilliby Cemetery on Hue Hue Road, Mt Alison, opened in 1896. 

The Noraville Cemetery on Wilfred Barrett Drive, Noraville, opened in 1869.

Both of these cemeteries hold much local history with the Wyong Family History Group Inc. having documented and photographed the locations, headstones and inscriptions of all grave sites. They are the resting places for many pioneering families in the district. 

The Friends of Jilliby Cemetery and Friends of Noraville Cemetery were both formed in 2015 by keen residents interested in helping to preserve the cultural and heritage values at these sites by caring for the resting places of our pioneers and those who have lived in and built our communities. Both have lawn cemetery areas, ash placement walls and garden areas as well as the more historically significant monumental graves. The care and attention given by the volunteers is evident in the overall appearance and the feedback received from those with families interred.   

The Friends of Cemetery volunteers remove spent tributes, keeping the grave sites clean and tidy making our cemeteries places that are pleasant and attractive for those visiting their loved ones. 

Garden mounds have been created around the perimeters at both cemeteries using the excavated soil which the volunteers have and will continue to plant out with low growing species so as not to obscure the view across the grounds.

For more information about any of our amenity groups, including how to become active with them, please contact us through environmentalvolunteering@centralcoast.nsw.gov.au 

This article was written by Penny Pinkess, Environmental Volunteer Officer

Image

Image