My Scullin

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Exciting news! We’ve secured a grant for our very own Scullin Food Forest Garden!

Over the coming year, the green space alongside Scullin shops will transform into an edible oasis with a diverse range of edible plants – herbs, vegetables, pollinator plants and food trees.

Food forests are a great way to consider and enjoy fresh food – as well as helping to combat climate change by promoting sustainable food sources. This will be an open garden, not fenced, that is open to members of our community to come and pick, and share produce together.

Our Project Lead will be Corey Le Mesurier, a co-leader of the Holt Micro and Food Forests. You may already know Corey from the new Muku Ramen Bar.

We’ve had two community consultation sessions in early December and will have another on Sunday 25 February at 10.30am at Scullin shops. Based on your feedback in the consultation sessions, we now have the proposed plants list to discuss.

After that, the next step will be site preparation. It’s going to happen in the next month or so!

Already, we’ve received a great response from the Scullin community and lots of exciting visions for what it could become.

Your participation will be key to the garden’s success – from plant selection to planting and maintenance.

Want to be a part of it all? Simply send an email expressing your interest to scullincommunitygroup AT gmail.com and Adele Sinclair, our Green Spaces Coordinator, will add you to the email list and keep you updated on info sessions and other project updates.

Let’s grow something great together!


PROJECT SUMMARY

The Scullin Community Group is actively involved in improving the Scullin shops to make them an attractive area for the community to gather and visit. Since 2019 there have been community-led improvements in the shops front garden, rear garden and courtyard garden
beds, with multiple planting and weeding sessions, and volunteers undertaking ongoing maintenance and care.

On the west side of the Scullin shops precinct, there is currently an adjoining unused green space of hard compacted soil with grass and weed coverage. This area has great visibility from the adjoining roads, McIntosh Street and Ross Smith Crescent, and the community often use adjacent paths to approach the shops by foot or on bike.

This Food Forest Garden will create a series of garden installations that provide visual and social appeal to the area. It will be a hub of food-producing plants accompanied by beneficial pollinator plants and habitat for local wildlife, while improving the visual appeal of the Scullin Shops, storing carbon in the soil, reducing the urban heat effect in the area and overall contributing towards a zero emissions future through these activities.

The project will be maintained by the community under the guidance of the Scullin Community Group and be a meeting point where community can come together for conversations and collaboration.

UPDATE – 12 February 2024

The formal Government reply to our petition was tabled in the ACT parliament last Thursday. You can read the letter from the Planning Minister, Chris Steel here.

It is good to see that some small improvements have been made in decision-making processes and training.

There are a couple of actions relating to threatened species and their habitat. These are good, yet the focus on threatened species misses the point that hollows are important for ALL native species, not only threatened ones. We want to keep our common native species common!

I hope that the new changes to tree protection and biodiversity sensitive urban design referred to in the letter achieve the better habitat protection we are seeking. Let’s keep a watch on that.

As it’s an election year, I will continue raising concern about unnecessary loss of habitat trees. You may like to do the same.

But to wrap up this process, in summary, we saved our trees AND we made some positive changes to the broader planning approval processes. That makes it worth it!

Thanks for your support!

Adele Sinclair, Scullin Community Group, Green Spaces Coordinator


UPDATE – 3 November 2023
The petition was presented to the Legislative Assembly by Jo Clay MLA on Thursday 2 November. The petition had over 600 signatures!

We are now awaiting a formal Government reply from Minister Vassarotti. This is expected in the new year.

Thank you for your support in saving Scullin’s habitat trees and starting a conversation about protecting habitat trees elsewhere across Canberra.


UPDATE – Saturday 21/10/23
The petition will close on 30 October and be presented to the ACT Legislative Assembly on 2 November by Jo Clay MLA.

If you haven’t already signed, please do so now. The more signatures, the stronger our message.

If you have been collecting signatures on the paper versions of the petition, please drop these off ASAP to Bold Hair in the Scullin Shops courtyard, ready for collection.

Thanks for your support! Adele Sinclair

UPDATE – Thursday 22/09/23

GOOD NEWS! We have received notice that our three habitat trees will be retained and that the original decision was an ‘error’. This is very welcome news. We are grateful to the ACT Government for reviewing and amending the approval to remove these hollow-bearing trees.
View the new Notice of Decision here

BUT WE’RE NOT DONE YET – I have replied querying what will be done differently as a result of this situation and have not yet received a reply. So there is currently no process change regarding the ease of approvals to remove native trees with hollows.

So we keep going… Please continue collecting signatures for our petition. More signatures = taken more seriously.

Thanks for your support! Adele Sinclair

Save Scullin’s habitat trees and protect other trees with hollows across the ACT for the future

The Scullin Community Group and local residents are working to urgently stop the ACT government removing a number of native habitat trees on a development site slated for Frewin Place, Scullin. 

The purpose of this campaign is not to oppose the development of community housing on this site.

We oppose the approvals to clear mature native eucalypt habitat trees, full of hollows recently used for nesting by native birds including eastern rosellas and gang gang cockatoos.

We call upon the ACT Government to do two things:

1. Withdraw the approval to remove the three Scullin habitat trees, DONE!

2. Amend the development approval process so that native trees with active habitat hollows cannot be easily approved for removal and other hollows in Canberra are protected too. STILL TO BE DONE!

FINAL NUMBER: 604!

TARGET: 500

We’ve hit our target!! This means we have now passed the threshold for having our petition submitted to the ACT Assembly. Yay!

But we’re not done yet. More signatures mean that the petition is taken more seriously. We need to demonstrate to the Government and the media that the community feels strongly about protecting
our native trees for habitat.

WATCH THIS SPACE TO FOLLOW OUR PROGRESS

How You Can Help

1. SIGN OUR PETITION HERE

You’ll see the petition is formal and long. It needs to meet certain conditions to be presented to the ACT Assembly. 

Essentially, we are saying 2 things: 

#1. These habitat trees should not have been slated for removal as doing so contravenes the government’s own environmental plans. We want the decision to remove them to be reversed. 

#2. We also want the ACT government to amend its processes so other tress with hollows in Canberra are not approved for removal in the same way. 

Please take the time to read the petition so you are comfortable signing it, and thank you for your support of the tree hollows and the wildlife they support.

You can sign either the e-petition or the paper petition. Please only sign ONCE. You must be must a resident or citizen of the ACT.

2. SHARE THE E-PETITION LINK

It’s easy! Simply copy and share this link with your friends and neighbours who care about our environment and wildlife.

3. COLLECT SIGNATURES (Paper version)

If you’re willing to collect signatures from your friends and neighbours, that’d be super helpful! Paper versions of the petition are now available to collect from the noticeboard in the shops courtyard.

Please drop off completed petitions to Bold Hair, the hairdresser in the Scullin shops courtyard. (Thanks for your support, Claire!)

And if you want to print off the paper petition yourself, here’s the file.

4. PUT UP POSTERS

We want to see posters all around Scullin so everyone knows about this – and so we can show the world we care about our native trees and birds! Simply download the poster pdf, print it off, and tape it up in a place in Scullin where people will see it. You can also pick up A4 copies from the noticeboard in the Scullin shops courtyard.

The QR code links to this webpage, which is where all information and updates will be as things unfold.

5. DOORKNOCK YOUR NEIGHBOURS

Tell them about the situation and ask them to join the campaign. Share the e-petition link, get a signature on a paper petition, ask them to help us protect our habitat trees and the wildlife that depend on them.

The Background

On Friday 24 August we learned that the development application for the new community housing development coming for the spot behind the Cerebral Palsy building on the corner of Frewin Place and Ross Smith Crescent has been approved. The decision notice is here.

We are not opposing the development itself. Our problem is that the ACT Government has approved the removal of mature native trees with hollows.

And the problem with that is those trees with hollows have been seen to be used for nesting by native birds including eastern rosellas and gang gang cockatoos. They’re like multi-storey apartment blocks for native birds and insects.

The arborist report for the development application assesses those trees as of “low value”.

This report seems to have been taken at face value by the Conservator, who has waived it through, quoted in the letter using the same wording as the arborist report.

Yet ACT Environment says the loss of tree hollows is a key threatening process for urban wildlife and mature native trees should be retained wherever possible. Their website goes into detail on this. This document outlines the issues.

And multiple members of the community provided submissions to the development application consultation process telling the Government that these trees have active hollows in them.

We want save these trees for the native birds that are using them for habitat. The trees aren’t pretty to look at but that doesn’t mean they’re not useful. Fewer mature native trees = fewer hollows = fewer nesting sites = fewer native birds and wildlife.

It’s not that hard to achieve both the new community homes AND keep the native wildlife homes at the same time.

Let’s show the ACT Government that our community cares about these trees and wants them saved – and we want the process that allowed them to be approved for removal to be fixed!

View the key documents

Notice of Decision

Tree Report

Why tree hollows are important

More details

Adele Sinclair
Green Spaces Coordinator, Scullin Community Group
0408 420 098
adele.sinclair.au AT gmail.com

It’s official

We have a Greens Spaces group.

There are dozens of these groups across the ACT, all set up to help the community get hands-on in terms of conserving our public urban open spaces. So good to have our very own!

So if you like getting your hands dirty, or would like to meet new people while helping spruce up some of Scullin’s open spaces, we’d love you to come along, regardless of where you live. Events will be posted on our calendar, but if you’d like to let us know you’re keen just send us an email via this form. You can come along once in a while or regularly – it’s up to you!

About the ACT Government’s Urban Parks and Places groups

Volunteering (Urban Parks and Places) is a community partnership between the local community and the ACT Government.

Groups contribute to the upkeep of areas like:

  • parks
  • playgrounds
  • grasslands
  • green spaces
  • shopping centres
  • creeks, wetlands and lake surrounds

Learn more about the ACT Government’s Urban Parks and Places program.

November 2019

Scullin Twilight Celebration

This was a massive triple celebration: the Scullin Community Group turned one, we welcomed summer’s imminent arrival, and everyone opened late for some early Xmas shopping.

Huge thanks to everyone involved, including 80s cover band Flux Capacitor for the fabulous tunes, and our very own The Cashews for rounding out the sounds for the evening.

Beanbags thanks to City Renewal Authority, BBQ from Belconnen Men’s Shed, and a brilliant free jumping castle for the kids thanks to Another Chance Op Shop/Mosaic Baptist Church.

Not to mention the swags of Scullin Community Group volunteers that helped us raise about $1000 from our first attempt at a bar.  Nice work!

Big shout out to three of our local MLAs who came along: Gordon Ramsay, Elizabeth Kikkert and Tara Cheyne. It was great having you celebrate with us.

Here are just a few of the pics from the event thanks to volunteer Ian McLeod.

image 1

Update

23 March 2020

It is with sadness but with safety in mind that we decided to close the Scullin Traders due to the COVID-19 virus.

Given the uncertainty around the pandemic and with the safety of our volunteers in mind our 100% volunteer run project will shut its doors.

We feel confident this is the right decision, and will let us come back from a strong position – in whatever form is needed – after the pandemic is resolved.

In the meantime, be kind to each other and please do stay connected with us via our social channels.

What was the Scullin Traders?

The Scullin Traders was our Community Entrepreneurship Hub that was at the Scullin Shops from May 2019 until March 2020.

As part of our goal to change the vibe of the Scullin shops, we sub leased a pop up at the front half of the wholesale bakery at the Scullin shops. The baker didn’t need the whole space so wanted to sublet, we have about 39m2 at the front of the space.

The Scullin Traders was home to Choku Bai Jo produce, delicious treats, Long Paddock eggs, beautiful flowers and a range of gifts and artworks – all from local creatives.

We were becoming known as perfect spot for gifts: ceramics, cards, prints and larger artworks from local artists, jewellery, Canberra-authored books and gorgeous ‘living’ presents: magnificent indoor plants from Canberra greenery gifters Planted or gorgeous fresh flowers from local florist Kettle n’ Petal.

What did it look like?

Amazing! Mostly because Emily Brindley (co-owner of the Braddon cafe Sweet Bones) is one of our residents and was a key member of the setup. Emily knows how to make a space look good, and how to run a business. Em also has wonderful connections in Canberra’s small business community, so we heavily leaned on her skills during setup in May 2019.

See here to find Scullin Traders all over the Canberra media and learn more about the project.

How was the Scullin Traders funded?

In various ways. We pay $250 per week rent. We also paid expenses like electricity, internet and various other costs involved in running a shop.

Our micro businesses and creatives either paid a small weekly rent or a percentage of sales in exchange for the space.

We also ran a workshop program called Scullin Traders Creative that hosted events from macrame to kokodama.

Has this been done before?

A community renting a shopfront to draw other businesses to their shopping strip, in an effort inspire other businesses about what could be done and help other businesses success?

We don’t think so!

But that’s why it was worth doing. The ACT Government also thought so: the Chief Minister’s Fund allocated us $5000 towards the project. We were so grateful for this show of faith and funding that enabled us to pay for a lot of the setup costs.