July 2022

Welcome to the latest newsletter from the Lyneham Community Association. As you will see there are lots of calls for volunteers in this newsletter as unfortunately we have had some retirements from the committee in recent months and we need some new energy to keep us going.

The LCA has become known for its community-building activities (Light Up Lyneham, Photo Competition and the Heritage Trail are easy examples), as well as for its projects to improve the local area (such as the Magpie Hill Park and North Lyneham Revegetation projects). We have also lobbied the ACT Government and our local MLAs on many issues.

These activities would not happen without people volunteering to organise them. If you want the LCA’s activities to continue then we need some more of you to put your hands up to help. We are in particular need of someone with IT skills to maintain our website and communications.

The Committee has monthly meetings and members are welcome to attend without commitment to find out what we do. I am also happy to talk to anyone who wants more information about the LCA. Just send an email to contact@lyneham.org.au and we will be in touch.

Cheers

Gordon McAllister
Secretary

                 Light Up Lyneham                   

Thanks to the people who have already volunteered to help with organising Light Up Lyneham this year. What we still need is a coordinator to bring it all together. You won’t be starting from scratch as we have notes from last year and some of the previous helpers are happy to provide advice. We just need someone with a bit of spare time to put into the tasks or to delegate to others. If you are interested, send an email to contact@lyneham.org.au and we will be in touch.

Magpie Hill Working Bee, 6 August, 10am

The Magpie Hill rejuvenation project has been inching along, with delays caused by COVID restrictions and the need to get various approvals from Urban Parks before we can physically do anything in the park.

We now have approval to do some erosion control work in the southern corner of the park above the roundabout at the corner of Wattle and Mackennal Streets. We have also been able to use the remaining small amount of funds from our original grant to buy some coir logs for the erosion control and stakes for marking out regeneration areas.

Please join us for a working bee from 10am on Saturday 6 August. We particularly need volunteers with mattocks and hammers to secure the logs and hammer in the stakes. However, if you haven’t got these tools please come along anyway. Depending on how many people turn up we can do some extra work like weeding and rubbish clean-up. We can also talk about plans for group activities and how the group will operate going forward.

To participate in Park Care activities you are required to register your attendance (this will also give you insurance cover for any accidents).

Please RSVP by emailing us at magpiehill@lyneham.org.au

If the weather is looking bad on the day we will let you know by email whether we are going ahead or not.

  North Lyneham park regeneration project  

We are also looking for volunteers to help implement our tree planting project in three neighbourhood parks in North Lyneham for which we received an ACT Government grant. Spring is looking like a good time to do some planting!

Lyneham and North O’Connor Heritage Trail

Hopefully you have all seen our new Heritage Trail Map at the Lyneham Shops, and perhaps you have visited some of the sites marked on the map. Last Sunday we hosted the National Trust (ACT) on a walk around most of the Trail for which we received much positive feedback.

Further information about all the sites on the Trail as well as research on the general history of the area is now available on the LCA website at https://lyneham.org.au/heritage-trail/  

        Other Working Bees        

Join the Lyneham Commons group at their working bee on the first Sunday of each month. See their Facebook page for details.

For other working bee opportunities, check the Banksia St Wetlands group Facebook page.

Gazebo and table for loan     

If you’re holding a social or community event and need an 3mx3m portable gazebo or 2m long folding table, LCA now have them for short-term loan to members.

Just contact us with your dates. To avoid disappointment it’s probably best to arrange a week or two in advance. There is no charge but a refundable bond will be required.

We love new members, and want even more! So we’re asking you to encourage your friends and neighbours to join.

The more members we have, the more support we can provide each other and the more attention we can get from our local politicians.

Joining is free and open to everyone over 16 years of age, living in Lyneham or north O’Connor. Join online at lyneham.org.au/join.