SERIES 25 Episode 16
Costa visits a suburban oasis that's being returned to its former state
"It's been 20 years since I've been here - back in my uni days," says Costa. "Mermaid Pool. We're in the heart of suburbia - behind is Manly Reservoir and barely two kilometres east is Manly Beach."
There's a rich history behind this inner-coastal landscape. "It's said that the local Aboriginal people believed the creator spirit lived here and so they wouldn't swim in the pool. It was explored in the late 18th Century by Captain Arthur Philip of First Fleet fame and it wasn't until more than a century later that it earned the name 'Mermaid Pool' and that was because during the depression years, girls from a nearby shanty town would go skinny dipping here in the evenings," says Costa. "But as time went by, Mermaid Pool was hit by the ravages of urban sprawl. It became a dumping ground for anything and everything."
Malcolm Fisher is one of the local residents who has been instrumental in bringing back this beautiful piece of bush. "People used to back their utes up (to the cliff above), open up the back and just hurl all their junk down there, into the creek - and you wouldn't believe what you found. There was shopping trolleys, parts of a Kombi, cookers, a fridge, an old wagon wheel - you name it and just so much builders' waste and junk. You wouldn't believe it."
"A guy who lives locally called Wally - he used to walk his dog down the road and say to me, 'Oh there's so many shopping trolleys in that creek. Somebody should do something,' and we decided it's us basically, because no one else is going to do it," says Malcolm.
He continues, "The push was to start off with a Clean Up Australia Day. That's the thing that got us the publicity and mobilised the people and then bit by bit, we realised there was more to be done. It wasn't just the superficial rubbish, it was other elements - it was the water quality, it was the invasive weeds, it was habitat destruction, disappearing wildlife. We had to try and connect all the dots and piece it all together again."
Malcolm shows Costa to an area of the reserve that's yet to be cleared. "This is an example of the scale and extent of the weeds that we've had to tackle," says Malcolm.
"It's a wall of weeds - invasive, introduced weeds. We've got lantana, privet, Crofton weed, Ginger Lily, Morning Glory - we've just had to peel this back from the native bushland."
One volunteer has very fond memories of the tranquil, sheltered valley. "I used to come here when I was a little girl, swim in it - and it was beautiful. The water was clean and we could drink it. It's coming back with the constant attention from bush regeneration groups and I believe we're getting the little fish coming back, so it's really turning the corner."
The fish are a crucial part of the recovering ecosystem, says environmental economist Andrew Lo. "These are Firetail Gudgeons (Hypseleotris galii)", he says, pointing out the little fish to Costa. "There seems to be Flathead Gudgeon as well. The fish are the bio-indicator of how well the whole ecosystem is working and so we have good signs here that the fish are there. In a way, it's a return of the real mermaid to the Mermaid Pool."
"If we'd known the amount of effort it was going to take, maybe we would have thought again," says Malcolm, "but we got caught up in the momentum - it was great energy. Once it started to move forward, we just couldn't stop it."
"I reckon every suburb in the country has its Mermaid Pool," says Costa, "or a landscape like this that's crying out for help. It just needs someone to take notice and do something about it. If you're that someone, you can rest assured that if you step up, there's plenty of people out there ready to lend a hand."