Local school student Eva Ancher looking at Johnstons Creek Naturalisation

By Glebe local, Eva Ancher, Year 6

Lockdown has been hard on us all. As well as being a time to stay at home, this isolation has definitely been a time to explore your local environment. Going for walks, bike rides or runs around the neighbourhood has been very therapeutic in this time of crisis, whether it is by yourself or with your family. In this article I will be writing about the parks of Glebe, the Johnstons Creek naturalisation program, and the little actions we can take to protect our suburb.

My name is Eva Ancher, and I am a student in Year 6. I am doing a project at school where we need to make a change in our community. For this project I was going to plant trees in the community, but I could not, due to the COVID-19 restrictions. My aim for the project was always to encourage others to take action for the environment. I have made sure to keep that focus when I had to come up with a new plan. I decided to explore the Pocket Parks of Glebe through the Glebe Society self-guided tours website, research what is being done to enhance our environment in the Johnstons Creek naturalisation program and write about it. We have some amazing nature in this suburb which the community should recognise and protect. By appreciating the natural areas of Glebe, people can be more aware of the actions of conservation and transformations happening to increase biodiversity.

Ernest Pedersen Reserve

In my self-guided walk, the Pocket Parks of Glebe, I was fascinated by the history along the way. The parks were well maintained, and the backstory of the parks was clearly presented on the website and the signs in the parks. By reading about the history of each location, I was able to find out a lot more when it came to what the council is doing to maintain the biodiversity and keep them clean. There are bins in the majority of these parks which prevent litter, and there are many plants to create a lovely atmosphere. I recommend this walk to everyone who is interested in learning more about the history of Glebe as well as being in nature.

The Johnstons Creek Naturalisation program has been progressing for quite a while, and we are nearly at the end of the journey. I am very excited for what is to come, as the design is already so beautiful. There is a great deal of information about all the environmentally friendly focuses around the construction. I have also emailed Sydney Water for more information, and I am very impressed about the number of eco-safe goals. Some things that I think are incredible are, the estimated life of the creek is now (due to the renewal) 150 years+, there are cameras placed over the channel to monitor the tide’s rising and falling, protecting the whole park, and at the end of the project there will have been the planting of 25 000 native plants! The creek was created in 1898 and the reason for renewal is because of the banks deteriorating.

William Carlton Gardens

Many different plans were created to confirm that the program is doing everything that is necessary to keeping the environment safe. Overall, this project of transforming Johnstons Creek has enhanced the health of the creek, made the whole area much more natural, increased the stability of the creek walls, and made a home for more native vegetation and wildlife.

There are so many amazing things being done to make Glebe even more eco-friendly. By using this as a motivation, everyone can play a role in preserving the environment. By saving water and energy in your house, picking up rubbish and encouraging others to make a change, you can play a role in reversing the effects of climate change and helping the world for the better.