Lake Conjola and Community representation.

Photo Courtesy of DIPNR: Note the sand spit which is the favoured
nesting site for visiting shore birds.

Last Thursday the Southern Natural Resources and Flood Plain management Committee made the decision to delay any action in regards to opening Lake Conjola.

The bulldozers were due to start work this morning to cut a channel to open the lake to the sea.

The committee came to a consensus decision that spending the meagre budget to open Lake Conjola at this point in time would not only be a waste of money but a serious imposition on the nesting endangered shorebirds ( Little Terns), and likely to fail given the low volume of water in the catchment.

Opening a lake is more likely to have a sustained effect if there is a good head of flood water behind the entrance cut to help force away the gazillions of tonnes of sand that have migrated via tidal forces to the northern end of the beach.

The opening of Lake Conjola is a hot button issue that sparks all sorts of reactions particularly on the lead up to Christmas holidays- so to come to this decision was not just logical but could even be expressed as monumental and proves that community does have the capacity to make decisions that may go against a preferred policy position but are the most beneficial given the circumstance.

Lake Conjola's entrance management plan has always sought to keep the Lake opened as it used to be an unsewered area and was subject to rogue spills in the catchment. It is also a low lying area that is flood prone. Since the development of the policy the sewer has been put on reducing the risk of human waste entering the system. Floods however can not be planned for or manipulated. The current position taken by the committee makes sure that if the threat of flood is imminent then  the lake can be opened.

Natural Burials in the Shoalhaven

My request for a report and feasability study for natural burials in Shoalhaven has lead to a trial for two years.

Council have set aside a portion of the main cemetry at Nowra to accomodate natural burials- the move has been well recieved by berevment services across the city who see it as a progressive move.

heres what Council had to say in its press release.




Shoalhaven Council resolved at its last meeting to approve a trial Natural Burial Portion at the Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens.


The 24 month trial is to determine the community’s reaction to the concept which is a growing trend throughout the world.


The term Natural Burials refers to the management of the deceased body using more traditional and natural methods.


This usually means the body is covered in a shroud and buried in an environmentally friendly box made of cardboard or organic materials such as wicker or plantation timber enabling a natural decomposition that then nourishes the earth.


After interment, a natural burial would see the ground restored to its natural state as soon as possible, as the grave would be marked with a rock or natural shrub rather than a monument.


The land set aside for natural burial could then be used for alternative, but appropriate purposes in the future.


All practices involved with natural burials must comply with the NSW Public Health Regulation (Disposal of Bodies 2000).


This sustainable funeral practice dates back thousands of years but has been interrupted in modern times by technological advances, however since the 1990’s there has been an increasing popularity in this greener alternative.

I hope that people catch on to the idea of natural burial as it is certainly a alternative to spreading ashes in different locations ( I think that this is also a great method of ritual ).