Susannah Brook Community Managed

Sustainably

Susannah Brook Catchment Group

Kathryn Johnson (Chairperson) susannahbrookcatchmentgroup@gmail.com

or Smadar Turner (Secretary) smadarturner@gmail.com

CONTACT US

Susannah Brook Catchment Group Membership Form

I _____________________________ am interested in joining the Susannah Brook Catchment Group as:

A Group Member

Group Members are kept informed of the Committee’s activities and are welcome to attend meetings and participate in planned events.

A Committee Member

Committee Members are also Group Members. In addition, they choose to hold a position on the Committee. They attend and participate in meetings. Regular meeting attendance is preferred. Address: _____________________________________ _____________________________________________ Mobile: _______________________ Email: _______________________________________

Membership is free. Please join us in working to protect the ecological

health of the Susannah Brook catchment.

FRIENDS GROUPS

Joining or forming a Friends Group is a valuable way you can take action to protect and manage a reserve within the Susannah Brook catchment. The Susannah Brook Catchment Group provides support to all Friends Groups within the catchment, and can assist you or your community group to join or form a Friends Group in your local reserve. Existing Friends Groups that you can join include the Friends of Blue Wren Reserve in Stoneville.

Friends Group Information If you would like to form your own Friends Group to protect and restore your local reserve within the Susannah Brook catchment, please contact:

Coordinator of Natural Environmental Maintenance

City of Swan Telephone: 9267 9267

KEY ACTION AREAS The Susannah Brook Catchment Group aims to: Protect and enhance surface water quality,

including wetlands and dams, within the catchment by reducing erosion and nutrient export;

Maintain and enhance biodiversity within the catchment by protecting remnant vegetation, controlling weeds, restoring wildlife corridors and planting endemic and local provenance species;

Understand the impacts of climate change on the Susannah Brook catchment;

Facilitate education for sustainability within the catchment and encourage community integration of the Susannah Brook catchment by forming collaborative partnerships with land owners, local residents, schools, businesses and industry, government agencies and the wider community;

Promote a sustainable approach to social and recreational activities to prevent adverse impacts on the catchment; and

Acknowledge and promote the Indigenous history and connection to the Susannah Brook.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Fence off waterways and revegetate banks

with local plants species. This will stabilise banks, reducing erosion. It will also serve as a nutrient buffer and faunal habitat.

Restrict stock from sensitive areas of land. Stock should not access drinking water from creek lines as they destabilise banks and contribute to sedimentation. Install drinking water troughs instead.

Protect and enhance existing remnant vegetation and minimise clearing to restore wildlife corridors and support biodiversity.

Establish understorey vegetation. Manage priority invasive weeds such as:

Narrow-leaf Cottonbush (right) Flinders Range Wattle (below) Sydney Golden Wattle Watsonia Gladiolus Paterson’s Curse

and Cape Tulip.

Reduce the direct impacts of recreational activities, such and horse-riding and motorbike riding, along the Brook, by riding on designated tracks .

Implement best practices for water sensitive urban design, including planting water-wise gardens and using phosphorus-free washing and cleaning products.

Contact the Susannah Brook Catchment Group for assistance or to find out more about taking action on your property.

Join the Susannah Brook Catchment Group and help us help you protect and enhance the Susannah Brook catchment.

THE SUSANNAH BROOK CATCHMENT

The headwaters of the Susannah Brook catchment are located in the Shire of Mundaring, adjacent to Blue Wren Reserve in Stoneville. The Susannah Brook largely runs through the City of Swan, flowing from West Gidgegannup, through Red Hill to down to Millendon, Baskerville and Herne Hill where it meets the Swan River. The Susannah Brook catchment area is approximately 6000 hectares in size, with pasture and grazing occupying approximately 57% of the catchment. Remnant vegetation comprises one-third of the catchment area. Areas of significant bushland include Wandoo Heights in Herne Hill and the operational areas of Hanson Quarry in Red Hill. Reserves of importance within the catchment include Blue Wren Reserve, Timbertop Reserve, Susannah Brook Reserve and Bisdee-Moore Roads Reserve. The main tributaries of Susannah Brook which make up five sub-catchments are the Upper Susannah Brook, Thirteen Mile Flat, Burgess Road, Bush Creek and Lower Susannah Brook.