Welcome to the annual report on the 47th year of operation of STEP Inc. There has been some good news to report on specific NSW issues such as the creation of the Great Koala National Park but the general environment situation is only getting worse.
The resounding victory by the Albanese Labor government created hope that the legislation would finally be passed to revise the EPBC Act in accordance with the recommendations of the Samuel Review completed in January 2021. Once again we have an unsatisfactory compromise that can only lead to more loss of biodiversity.
A year ago, the NSW planning law changes were a concern but the situation is now even worse with recently proposed laws that reduce many considerations of environmental risks. This is supposed to increase the speed of housing approvals but they will do nothing to improve affordability.
The climate change response at state and federal level is still too weak and approvals of new fossil fuel projects such as the Woodside NW shelf project are highly counterproductive. The Climate Risk Assessment highlighted the serious situation but politicians are still favouring coal and gas export revenue.
Talks
Our post AGM talk in 2024 was given by Nicolette Boele about renewable energy and climate change policy action. In May Nicolette become Bradfield’s first woman and non-Liberal representative for Bradfield.
The 2025 talks program kicked off in February with the well-received exposé by Robin Buchanan about the scourge of Spanish Moss. We also held talks by Margarita Gil-Fernandez (2023 research grant recipient) on the dispersal of ectomycorrhizal fungi by small mammals and Wendy Grimm on local ground orchids. Later this month our last talk of the year will be on the Ku-ring-gai GeoRegion.
We also organised a very successful workshop on eucalypt identification by Paul Gadsby.
Walks
We scheduled six walks that featured the biodiversity of the Sydney region. We thank our volunteer leaders, John Martyn, Bob Conroy, Sofia Zolvanek and David Roberts for sharing their local knowledge and Beverley Gwatkin who organised the walks.
Publications
We are still offering a year’s free membership to anyone who buys a book or map.
In March we launched John Martyn’s new book, Geology and Flora of the Sydney Basin at Gordon Library. It provides a unique, broad ranging perspective on our local natural world. It is proving to be a popular gift and reference.
Our earlier publications are still available. In particular the maps provide very useful information about the links between our suburbs and surrounding national parks. They provide useful planning information for walks and highlight the pressures the urban areas are placing on these important green oases in the middle of suburbia.
Committee
The STEP committee has, as always, been a great group of people to work with. We owe a huge thank you for all their efforts.
We thank Jim Wells for keeping track of our finances and compiling monthly finance reports. Trish Lynch continues to keep Facebook up to date and reveals news of local events and wildlife discoveries.
The committee members work well together in implementing our activities.
Newsletter
We are continuing to publish five issues of the newsletter each year. Links to individual topics are also included in the email and are on our website so anyone can pick out particular articles of interest. These articles also have links to previous articles on related topics and all our past newsletters are on our website.
While the newsletter concentrates on local issues and events we also cover broader national environmental issues that affect us all. We aim to be educational but not too technical. We welcome feedback and articles from members about topics related to STEP’s areas of interest. You may also advise us about local events and developments that can be published in the newsletter or on Facebook. If you have read a book that you think will be of particular interest to our members, please send us a review.
Accounts
The net cash balance at the end of the financial year reduced compared to last year.
The legislation governing charities and donation tax deductibility has changed so that it is no longer necessary to maintain a separate Environment Protection Fund.
An audit is also not necessary. We still need to keep separate records of donations into what is now called the gift fund under the Tax Act. The fund’s purpose is to support our environmental objectives. We received a total of $689 in donations in the past financial year.
Education and research grants
The John Martyn Research Grant supports student research in an area relating to the conservation of bushland. No grant was made for 2025 due to a lack of applications. The payment made in the most recent financial year related to the 2024 grant.
For many years STEP has been donating a prize in the Young Scientist Awards run by the NSW Science Teachers Association. The selection of a winning project out of a wide range of ecological issues is an interesting exercise. We appreciate the assistance of Syd Smith and Gaye Braiding with the judging.
Advocacy
The main action this past year has been raising awareness and promoting action to remove Spanish Moss in the north of Sydney. We have had a mixed response to attempts to convince homeowners to remove it from their gardens. Local councils are doing what they can but we need to raise the official government risk rating and general awareness of this threat to our trees, particularly Turpentines.
Anyone who views Spanish Moss on council land, the suggested action is to add a photograph to the iNaturalist website or App.
STEP received a Ku-ring-gai Council Environmental Levy grant for $10,000 to remove Spanish Moss from one or two heavily infested reserves. The work will be completed by the council contractors with oversight by STEP members. The intention is to learn about the feasibility and effectiveness of this removal.
We have also supported the Norman Griffiths Oval action group in their campaign to get Ku-ring-gai Council to reverse their decision to install synthetic turf. Sadly, this was not successful despite the increasing scientific evidence of risks to players and the environment from microplastics, excessive heat and many other factors. Also the assumptions used to compare the costs of the alternatives were questionable.
After four years of review the Department of Planning finally published decision guidelines for the use of synthetic turf. Guidelines on management of natural grass surfaces were also published. These documents will provide the basis for decisions but will need to be updated as further experience emerges about the use of synthetic turf.
We made submissions on proposals to increase penalties for illegal tree removal and some local development issues. We also wrote to the NSW government opposing plans to allow so-called ‘conservation hunting’ in public land and increased access to national parks for damaging activities such as 4WD.
Conclusion
A community group like STEP works best with many lines of communication. We enjoy a good relationship with other community groups and local council staff. Information sharing is an important part of our work. To that end we appreciate feedback from our members and reports on local issues that we may not be aware of. It is becoming harder to keep track of local developments as local news has limited media coverage.
Jill Green, President