Stinking Drain No Strain For Warrior
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday December 11, 2002
IT is hard to imagine a muddied, rubbish filled waterway, conveniently hidden from the public eye, is a fragile wetland.
Known colloquially as the Town Drain, the Tom Thumb channel, which empties into Port Kembla Harbour, could be mistaken for the town tip rather than a haven for native fauna.
The stinky sludgepit, nestled between the Wollongong Sewage Treatment Plant and Greenhouse Park (once the old builder's tip) is one of the most polluted waterways in the region.
But environmental warrior Sue McGregor hopes to help change all that.
The experienced bush regenerator and founder of Friends of Tom Thumb Lagoon has the task of removing the thousands of weeds choking the banks of the polluted waterway.
Ms McGregor, along with a dedicated team of helpers, will then replace the pesky plants with more than 10,000 native grasses.
She is not daunted by the prospect, despite pointing out ``something dead over there" in the water as she talks of her clean-up plans.
Each year more than 50 bags of garbage - plastic bottles, bags and general household rubbish we are too lazy to throw in the bin - end up in the waterway, Ms McGregor said.
``It is pretty dirty and disgusting, but I don't ever think it is impossible to fix up," she said.
The determined green thumb, who along with Dan Deighton has spent the past decade rehabilitating Tom Thumb Lagoon, said even the smallest improvement had a significant impact on the wetland environment.
The $30,000 funding needed for the clean-up was provided by Coastcare.
Ms McGregor, along with Conservation Australia Volunteers, will also pitch in each weekend during their free time to clean up the channel.
© 2002 Illawarra Mercury