With all the rain we have been having there were plenty of fungi to be seen during STEP’s fungi walk in May. Our leader, Sofia Zvolanek, spotted 49 specimens covering 35 species. See them on iNaturalist. Sofia has also produced a guide to photographing fungi.

STEP member Fran Rein returned at night-time to take this terrific photo of the bioluminous ghost mushroom (Omphalotus nidiformis).

The recent action of the newly emboldened Albanese government has disappointed many. Promises are being made that the amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act are a priority but the decision to approve the Woodside North West gas extension to 2070 makes no sense. Australia is supposed to be achieving a goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

We need a basic change to the EPBC Act to make climate change a ‘matter of national environmental significance’ that will trigger the need for assessment of impacts that will define the approval conditions. Currently the impact on water resources related to coal seam gas and large coal mining development is a trigger for assessment but not carbon emissions.

Adding a climate trigger to the EPBC Act has been proposed at various times since 2000 but then dropped. Professor Samuel’s independent review of the EPBC Act considered a climate trigger but recommended against its inclusion, stating that specific policy mechanisms, not the EPBC Act, are appropriate for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. It is shocking that this situation is still in limbo when numerous fossil fuel projects have been approved or are under consideration such as the Whitehaven massive coal expansion in Queensland and the SANTOS Pilliga coal seam gas in NSW.

We look forward to working with our newly elected independent member Nicolette Boele. Her experience in renewable energy finance and sustainable investment will be valuable. Her election policy statement has many sensible proposals such as removing gas subsidies.

Since our talk about Spanish Moss in February there has been much local action raising awareness of this problem weed. We have been working with community environment groups covering all of northern Sydney. The actions taken to date are summarised below. If you have other ideas for action please let us know.

Letter to councils

In May we sent a joint letter from several local environment groups to the nine councils in the northern Sydney; Northern Beaches, Mosman, North Sydney, Lane Cove, Hunters Hill, Ryde, Willoughby, Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby, asking them to:

• send out educational material to residents in newsletters, social media etc
• advise residents to remove Spanish Moss from their gardens
• instruct parks and bushland managers to remove it from trees and gardens wherever possible
• discourage the use of Spanish Moss in displays by gardening clubs etc

The council responses have all recognised that Spanish Moss is a problem. The amount of action varied depending on the level of infestation. Parks and bushland managers are being made aware of this weed and are acting on it if possible. Hunters Hill Council has already provided funding for the removal of some Spanish Moss festoons.

Weed risk assessment by Ku-ring-gai Council

Ku-ring-gai Council undertook a Weed Risk Assessment using the questionnaire developed by the Department of Primary Industries. This assessment is a checklist to assess whether a weed is a serious risk and the feasibility of control action.

The weed risk section considers invasiveness, impacts and potential distribution.

The feasibility of control section considers control costs, persistence and current distribution.

The risk score is used to define the level of action that should be taken to manage a weed.

Council examined the risks separately for conservation areas many of which have significant infestations such as Grayling Reserve. They categorised Spanish Moss under 'protect priority sites’ for bushland reserves, prompting targeted measures such as surveillance, mapping and focused control actions.

This could involve a trial of removing Spanish Moss from some taller trees in some reserves. Unfortunately, this may require the lopping of some branches.

In residential areas such as streets and private gardens they will apply a ‘limited action’ classification that involves allocation of resources to areas of highest risk.

We note that the weed risk assessment process needs to be modified for a weed that is an aerial plant that flourishes in trees that are part of a threatened ecological community, namely Turpentines.

Spanish Moss is in the early stages of exponential spread and growth and has not been researched in Australia sufficiently to give accurate answers to many of the questions in the form. Also, many of the questions are aimed at regional impacts rather than a weed like Spanish Moss that currently is most damaging to certain trees and ecological communities that are mostly present over a local area like northern Sydney.

The continuation of action by councils and our local environment groups in monitoring infestations, and removing where possible, will be vital in controlling this problem weed.

Letterboxing information leaflet

We have developed a leaflet that has brief information about Spanish Moss and asks residents with it in their gardens to remove it as much as possible. Several members of local environment groups have been letterboxing in neighbourhoods where Spanish Moss can be seen. There are other locations where leaflets can be placed on show such as public libraries and council information centres.

Please continue to put any new sightings up on iNaturalist.

Contacting other organisations

We have printed a large quantity of leaflets so please feel free to email Helen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and ask for a supply. There are many other organisations that could be contacted such as Gardening Clubs and orchid societies. If you have any ideas for contacts please spread the word.

We have approached the ABC Gardening Australia in the hope of getting a segment on the show.

Invasive Species Council action

In the Issue 230 of STEP Matters we wrote about the campaign by the Invasive Species Council to stem the spread of garden weeds, particularly weeds in the early stage of invasion. They have contacted us for information to help with their education program.

Spanish Moss can be regarded as one of these sleeper weeds as it is found in a limited part of Sydney but has the potential to become a major problem.

After much speculation and discussion during council meetings and behind the scenes, on 20 May 2025 the decision was finally taken to terminate the contract with Turf One for the construction of the stormwater management system and installation of synthetic turf at Norman Griffiths Oval in West Pymble. In recent months it was obvious that there was a dispute between council and the contractor over responsibility for the multitude of issues that have arisen during construction that had virtually come to a standstill.

Problems with water and sediment management have continued. Perhaps the final straw was the heavy rain in May that led to the expensive need for vac-trucks to remove the large volume of muddy water that exceeded the biobasin’s capacity.

In response to environmental breaches, budget blowouts, design issues and unresolved disputes, council has now taken possession of the site and is committing to a fresh direction. Prompt action has been taken to fix the continuing stormwater management problems.

Cost blowout

The original contract cost of $3.2 million was increased by $1.5 million in April 2024 because of decisions to change materials used, problems discovered during construction (unconsolidated fill and asbestos) and time delays affecting costs.

On top of that there are additional costs incurred relating to environmental work undertaken by council (such as to remove water from the site, relining pipes, provision of sediment controls outside of work area, asbestos works), legals costs, consultancy and project administration costs. The total of these costs is $2.2 million.

So the total incurred so far is $6.9 million but the project is not completed yet. There are rumours that the total could get up to over $13 million.

Read the full story and timeline.

What happens next?

Council is now reassessing the status of the project and has commissioned an independent review of the project management to see what lessons are to be learned. In the last month council has implemented extra stormwater control measures and reviewed the requirements to complete the project. There is no estimate of when the project will be finished.

Please can we have natural turf?

Council is also looking into the design, cost and time required to build a natural turf field in comparison to the completion of a synthetic field. This information is urgent as further work on installing a synthetic field will have to wait until there is to be a genuine consideration of the alternative natural turf field.

Natural Turf Alliance Forum

The Natural Turf Alliance has been closely engaged with progress at Norman Griffiths. A community forum was held on 10 June in the freezing cold Ku-ring-gai Town Hall with a large audience that asked many pertinent questions.

The presentations opened with an update on Norman Griffiths Oval. Then Rob Hanna gave a powerful and practical demonstration — using blocks of wood — to show the significant cost savings possible had natural turf been considered from the outset.

There was an overview of the best-practice guidelines for climate resilient sporting fields, followed by Dr Mick Battam who shared compelling insights into natural turf management, including:

• the role of proper weed control in reducing the appearance of wear and tear; and
• the critical importance of turf and soil selection in building field resilience.

The core message: natural turf is not only possible—it is the best option for player health, community well-being, and environmental sustainability.

Cat Carver, president of the Natural Turf Alliance, shared stories of advocacy across Sydney that reminded us that our community is not alone—and that information and research are powerful tools for change.

We must have full transparency about future plans

The community needs to ask council to be transparent with decisions about the future of Norman Griffiths Oval. We need to know:

• The outcome of the independent review of what went wrong with the project.
• The cost of converting the project over to natural turf compared with retaining synthetic turf and the elements and assumptions included in the costings in accordance with the guidelines that come into force in August.
• If synthetic turf is installed:
  • when replaced, how it will be recycled;
  • that regular testing for PFAS and PFOA be carried out (information is emerging about the risks to human health and ecosystems).

We note that synthetic turf is becoming more out of favour overseas. FIFA has banned it for World Cup games and players are experiencing heat exhaustion in the US.

Header image: vac-trucks in action 19 May 2025