WEPA - the Willoughby Environmental Protection Association, is a community strong organisation committed to preserving Willoughby's natural heritage, protecting local bushland and wildlife and mitigating the impacts of pollution. While their primary interest is the City of Willoughby on Sydney’s North Shore, WEPA members are also involved with environmental matters at State and National levels.
WEPA was formed in the early 1980’s, celebrating its 40th birthday last year. In 1983 WEPA became an NCC member group. With 175 members, the group is just as active as it ever was.
Gay Spies, founding member with her late husband Harold, shares with NCC how it all began and some of the big wins they have had for nature. Gay was WEPA President from 1987 to 2020 and continues as Vice President. She received an OAM for her commitment to the environment.
WEPA logo and Gay Spies
A bushland block -
Gay said it all started for her and Harold when they bought a large bushland block in Castlecrag in 1976. They had no knowledge of native species and were eager to learn. They went to the Society for Growing Australian Plants (SGAPs) Annual Show and were ‘blown away’. They wanted to plant everything and anything. To learn more they became members of the Castlecrag Conservation Society and in 1980 Gay and Harold took part in the National Trust’s first ever Bush Regeneration School, taught by the legendary Joan Bradley.
The 'Bradley method', named after the Bradley sisters, Joan and Eileen from Mosman, were the originators of bush regeneration worldwide. The Bradley method is based on helping the bush to help itself and involves methodically clearing small areas in and around healthy native vegetation so that the area is re-colonised by the regeneration of native plants, replacing the weeds. Source: Bradley J, “Bringing back the bush” (2002)
Campaign for Flat Rock Gully
It was through their bush regeneration work in the local area that Gay and Harold met Jenny and Peter Murray from Naremburn and later Eric Wilskch. They were part of a group called FRACAS – Flat Rock Area Conservation Action Society.
Flat Rock Gully (FRG) is the major water catchment area in the Willoughby LGA, with remnant bushland that leads directly to Middle Harbour. FRG had been an unmitigated tip site since the 1930s, where industrial, commercial, and domestic waste was dumped. Just this year FRG has been officially listed as a contaminated site. This small group had been sporadically agitating against the tip site at Flat Rock for years.
It was from this connection and ensuing conversations that the idea of WEPA evolved. The group knew that if they were to have any impact they needed to be at least Willoughby wide. Eric Wilskch became WEPA’s founding President, Peter Murray the Vice-President and Gay the Secretary. The aim of the group was to close the tip, stop illegal dumping, get proper bushland management in Willoughby, including fire management, and start a program of bush regeneration.
To expediate the closure of the tip site, in the 1980s, WEPA led a large group of members and residents in an on-site protest. The tip site was eventually closed but to prevent illegal dumping, WEPA continued to exercise “external vigilance” at the then weekly Council meetings to take notes and keep all to account.
Restoring the gully became the next challenge. Gay is forever grateful to WEPA member and engineer John Alden for convincing Council that their plans for managing the tip slope would not work. Council was persuaded to engage consultants to come up with a plan of management for the gully. Just as well said Gay “because in-house ideas for dealing with the massive privet infestation were to bury it under yet more fill!”
Council’s bushland management ‘new leaf’ arrived with the appointment of Alfred Bernhard as Bushland Manager in 1996 and he is still there today. Alfred’s guidance led to the reshaping of the tip site which is now unrecognisable from its former horror. The revegetation by staff and volunteers transformed the gully into the much-loved area it is today, providing recreation and education for the public, including school children, and a valuable habitat and wildlife corridor for fauna.
A win for WEPA – the tip site was officially closed and illegal dumping policed. Flat Rock reserve was restored.
Campaign for a Bushland Plan of Management (POM) -
Their exposure to bush regeneration alerted WEPA to the non-existent bushland management across Willoughby’s reserves. At that time there was no action to deal with weed infestation, officers tolerated the destruction of bushland for BMX bike tracks and trees were cut down on the pretext that they were a fire hazard.
This was because in 1979 there was an outbreak of bushfires across the northern suburbs, including a fire at Explosives Reserve which is thought to have jumped from Garigal National Park. As a result, there was increasing pressure to clear bushland and cut trees across suburban Sydney. Fire management and education literally became a hot topic if urban bushland was going to thrive and survive in Sydney.
WEPA’s first public meeting, held in 1982, was attended by 90 people and the topic addressed was Fire and Bushland Management, the guest speaker was Dr Roger Goode from the CSIRO. WEPA began campaigning in earnest for Willoughby Council to adopt an Urban Bushland Plan of Management (POM). They hosted a symposium at the old Town Hall in Chatswood. Keynote speakers included Dr Laurie Johnson, the then Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Dr Judy Messer, Gay Spies. It was a sell-out.
Following the WEPA symposium, Willoughby Council agreed to engage Dr Goode and Alan Fox to produce the POM which was adopted in 1985 and is still in use today, though it has undergone revisions and additions. Willoughby’s POM was only second in NSW, as councils and residents became aware of the need to value and look after bushland.
Because of Gay’s expertise and interest she served on the NCC executive for several years and established the NCC Urban Bushland Subcommittee.
A win for WEPA – Willoughby gets a Bushland POM
The Sugarloaf Bush Regeneration Project
After WEPA successfully campaigned for the Bushland Plan of Management, several WEPA members became trained bushland regenerators. The Sugarloaf Creek Catchment in Castlecrag was a steep and challenging area and with several grants and over 25 years of work, the Sugarloaf Project uncovered a series of beautiful waterfalls and regenerated the bushland.
Gay and Harold Spies (right) with other members at Sugarloaf Creek.
Another win for WEPA
Campaign to save Flat Rock Gully once again!
In 2018 Flat Rock Gully was declared by the then Liberal state government, to become the primary dive site for the Beaches Link six lane tollway stretching from Cammeray, under Naremburn and Northbridge, through Middle Harbour to Seaforth and Balgowlah. The regenerated bushland was to make way for an enormous shed and storage facilities so that tunnelling of spoil could proceed 24/7 for 5 years. The bushland was to be destroyed and the wildlife corridor severed. As Gay said at the time “fighting for Flat Rock once again was never part of the plan”.
The community that had rediscovered the beauty of FRG during Covid rallied to Stop the Tunnels and save this precious slice of urban bushland. It was a huge effort. Current President, John Moratelli and Secretary, Dr Meredith Foley, wrote a number of comprehensive submissions to the Government over several years and were called as witnesses to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the impacts of the tunnels on the environment. WEPA also funded legal advice.
The Beaches Link was officially cancelled in September 2023 following an election promise made by the opposition once they were elected to government. This is terrific news. WEPA however, needs to continue to be vigilant as even though the Beaches Link has been cancelled infrastructure for the 7km stretch of tunnel is still being built as part of the Western Harbour Tunnel contracts. Watch this space, the work of WEPA and the community continues.
Stop the Tunnels rally outside the local members office, Gladys Berejiklian, in 2019
Where to now
WEPA has been vocal in calling out the mass tree killings on Sydney Harbour at Castle Cove and Longueville, where hundreds of trees were vandalised next to harbourside homes. President, John Moratelli, worked to publicise the gravity of the event through the media and even spoke to the New York Times about its impact. WEPA believes penalties and punishments for these type of crimes should be increased. They put forward a motion at the NCC Annual Conference on state tree protection reform, that was unanimously supported.
With thanks to Gay Spies, founding member and President WEPA History by Gay Spies – WEPA
If you would like to be a member of WEPA, the cost is from $10. WEPA has almost 200 members and as their numbers increase so does their voice to protect nature. You can join WEPA now, they’d love to hear from you.
Celebrating 40 years at Flat Rock Gully Reserve