For many of us, a silver lining of COVID-19 has been our reconnection with nature, with Sydneysiders flocking to parks and natural spaces during the pandemic.

Many Macquarie staff are already aware of the beautiful natural environments surrounding our campus (after all, how many universities can boast a national park on their doorstep?). As staff begin to return to campus over coming weeks and months, you may be keen to start venturing out and exploring those spaces more regularly.

Ilya Fomin knows the tracks and trails surrounding the Macquarie campus very well. The Moscow-born geophysicist – currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science – has embarked on a personal mission to clean up Terrys Creek, which runs nearby the campus from Eastwood through to the Lane Cove River.

“Like many staff and students, I enjoy spending recreation time in the Terrys Creek Reserve,” Ilya says. “But the storm water pipes often deposit garbage along the banks of the creek, which pollute the environment, damage wildlife habitats and pose a health threat to visitors, including the children that like to play in and around the Terrys Creek Waterfall.”

Terrys Creek Waterfall (Image: City of Ryde)

Ilya notes that Ryde Council has invested in restoration of the waterway and upgraded walking track infrastructure, and volunteer bushcare groups regularly undertake wildlife monitoring, planting and weed removal in the area. He also applauds Macquarie for its ongoing commitment to rehabilitating Mars Creek, which also runs into the Lane Cove River.

But he says there’s a gap in public services and volunteer activities to manage rubbish removal from many local reserves like Terrys Creek. So, he decided to do something about it.

“A couple of months ago I started cleaning the banks of Terrys Creek and the bush around it,” he says. “I’ve now removed more than 1600 litres of garbage in total, which has made the area much cleaner and safer. And the work is still going!”

He says his efforts highlight the power of individual efforts in protecting and maintaining natural environments.

“I often get locals and people exercising in the Reserve who say, ‘I never thought one person could make such a big difference!’. Some of them also started regularly picking up garbage in the Reserve, and other nearby nature reserves as well.”

“Ultimately, government and community efforts are meaningless without personal responsibility,” he adds. “Everybody can do something to help make our environment safer, cleaner and more sustainable.”

If you would like to assist Ilya in his ongoing clean-up of Terrys Creek, you can reach him by email: Ilya.Fomin@mq.edu.au.

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LUNCHBREAK GREEN THERAPY: ILYA’S GUIDE TO WALKING TERRYS CREEK

The Terrys Creek walk runs for 3.5 km from Vimiera Park in Epping to the Lane Cove National Park. The entire trail takes approximately one hour to walk one way, but numerous local streets connect to the trail, so you can start and finish almost anywhere. [Ed – buses from campus will take you along Epping Road to the trail entrance near Pembroke St]. The picnic table at Browns Waterhole makes for a nice lunch spot.

Image: Weekend Notes

The trail passes picturesque rocks and waterfalls, with sections of gum tree forest and shady gullies of palms and ferns. Resident flora and fauna include possums, powerful owls, echidnas, sugar gliders, eels, and golden-crowned snakes. You can also spot some orchids and even bioluminescent ghost mushrooms.

Sharp greenhood orchid and powerful owl (images: Ilya Fomin)

For a longer walk, you can continue from Brown’s Waterhole to the 1-2 hour Step Track loop or along the Devlin’s Creek track to Whale Rock. Or head south from Brown’s Waterhole along a section of the Great North Walk (it eventually goes all the way up to Newcastle, but you’d need a pretty long lunch break for that one!)