Over the past few months Garry McDonald has been out walking in his Glenunga neighbourhood and meeting lots of people.

“I was overjoyed at seeing teddy bears stuck in hedges and fences,” Garry says. “I call them ‘bed buddies’ because that is what my grandkids call them.”

He was impressed by the lack of security and the apparent confidence in the community that the teddy bears would not be stolen; and decided to add a 'bed buddy', Barnie, to his front gate.

“He had such a lovely coat that I made a raincoat for him from a shopping bag for the winter,” says Garry.

Garry added more to the 'collection'. “Eiligh is a Scottish lass who carries a shield which resembles the Coronavirus emblem. She is in the back window of my car to protect me from the virus coming up from behind me!”

Garry was struck by the positive community spirit these bed buddies seemed to epitomise and started a competition to find the display which was the most innovative and showed community engagement.

The woman who won (Sheriden) had a collection of bears and toys around a tree on her verge and a hand written note asking children to take them to the park for a play because she could not leave the house. Garry gave her a big box of chocolates.

He also took a photo of a family with their ‘bed buddies’ and entered it into an RAA competition which also won a box of chocolates.

“Michelle and Adrian and their boys have joined a growing number of Glenunga residents bringing joy to young and old sharing their 'bed buddies' with those who traverse the local streets,” says Garry. “Like all acts of kindness, it is infectious. Behind each 'bed buddy' is a family saying they want to be part of bringing silver linings to lighten the impact of COVID-19, displaying a desire to be neighbourly and to build this community.”

“People are reaching out and wanting to be neighbourly,” Garry says. “COVID has given us the chance to be more neighbourly.” He says he smiles at people in the street and they smile back. “I say ‘hi’ and they say ‘hi’. We really are all in this together.”

Garry says Council’s Know Your Neighbours campaign is in this same spirit. He encourages people to get to know a neighbour and maybe offer to do a small thing for them, like putting out the weekly rubbish bin. “Don’t be afraid to approach someone and offer some help. You don’t have to become firm friends but you can make a difference for someone by doing a favour – however small.”

In 1938, Lucy Grace Lillywhite of Perroomba Wattle Park, embarked on the RMS Maloja headed for London to undertake study in postgraduate nursing and hospital administration at Bedford College. Lucy was the third Australian woman, and second South Australian, to receive the prestigious Florence Nightingale Scholarship. Lucy’s plans to return to Adelaide in 1939 were abandoned when she was diagnosed with tuberculosis on a visit to Norway. As her health deteriorated in hospital she observed the outbreak of World War II before passing away in 1942.

Learn more about Lucy’s story in the ‘Local History Corner’.

Local History Corner

** Photo taken pre COVID-19

Today is International Day of People with Disability. At City of Burnside we support (among others) Club Slick a monthly dance event for adults with disability that encourages and facilities appropriate dance etiquette through a structured program with a professional choreographer. It provides an opportunity for people with disability to socialise and develop skills, enabling increased participation in community activities. With a focus on retro rock 'n' roll dance and music, participants have the chance to join in set dance routines as well as free dance with a partner.

Pre COVID-19 more than 200 people with disabilities attended Club Slick every month in the Burnside Ballroom. Now in its seventeenth year, Club Slick relies heavily on community support and volunteers.

Father Christmas has arrived early at the City of Burnside! He supervised his elf helpers setting up the new Christmas tree and decorations in front of the Civic Centre. While he was here he visited the Customer Service Desk and elf Jas took some calls. The lights go on tonight at sunset, with Mayor Anne Monceaux flicking the switch.

To help dog owners dispose of their dog waste responsibly, Council has recently introduced compostable dog waste bags into parks. The bags are designed to be tied closed once they have been used. They can be disposed of in your green lid bin at home, to make sure all of the waste is composted.

Council has become aware that a small number of people are taking excessive amounts of these new bags. Someone has even opened the containers in parks to steal whole rolls of bags! This means that the majority of dog walkers, who want to do the right thing, may not have bags available when they need them. In these cases, they may leave their dog’s poo on the ground. This affects everyone, not just dog owners. Who wants to walk in a park littered with dog poo?

If these bags are being taken to use in the kitchen caddies it is unnecessary. Each residence is entitled to 150 FREE bags (two rolls of 75) per financial year. This should be more than enough for even a large family. And if it is not then you can purchase an extra roll for just $7! Your free rolls of compostable bags for the financial year are available for collection from the City of Burnside Civic Centre.

Please do the right thing and keep our beautiful parks and reserves dog poo free by only taking the number of bags you need for dog waste in the parks.

From 1881 to 1909 the East End Market Gardeners Picnic was held annually at Piles Paddock (now part of Kensington Gardens Reserve).

The event began with a procession of over 200 vehicles travelling from the East End Market on East Terrace, Adelaide to Piles Paddock. The best-decorated vehicle received a prize. Families enthusiastically decorated their entries with wreaths of flowers, bunches of fruit and leaves.

At the Paddock, the crowds enjoyed their picnic and participated in races, including the cotton winding competition.

Pictured is a decorated cart from the 1905 picnic.

The release of an RMIT University benchmarking report into national urban vegetation loss, Where Will all the Trees Be?, indicates that although there is an increase in tree and shrub cover across metropolitan Adelaide, South Australian councils are losing their urban vegetation at the highest rate due to development.

Despite the extensive investment in our urban forest (on public land), the battle is still hard fought in Burnside.

The greatest loss is from trees on privately owned land - cleared for housing redevelopment, home extensions, sheds and pools. Planning laws have been more facilitative where residents and developers make use of the laws available which, for most part, allow for tree removals.

Council had concerns for the City's tree canopy in 2010, commissioning a Tree Canopy Assessment to benchmark the canopy coverage, identify plantable and non-plantable space, and to provide an Urban Tree Canopy (UTC) measure, (UTC is a scientific measure of the layer of leaves, branches and stems of trees that cover the ground when viewed from above – the level of cover that our trees provide to our community).

Burnside’s UTC had reduced by nearly 10 per cent between 2010 and 2015 and the study identified that there was a greater risk of losing more.

The study evaluated changes in our tree canopy, identifying that nearly 45 per cent of the City was covered with non-plantable surfaces such as buildings and roads. Only 31 per cent of the City was protected by tree canopy. The non-plantable cover had increased by 9.09 per cent, and tree cover decreased by 9.87 per cent. The study attributed this decline to new property development (urban infill).

The RMIT report is consistent with the City of Burnside's findings.

Although the report ranks Burnside as second among comparable councils nationally as having the highest green cover, there has been a 1.8 per cent decrease since 2016, with a 5.2 per cent increase in 'grey cover' (or non-plantable space) in the City since 2016.

The report identifies that Burnside is not necessarily losing green space to new developments, “but more likely to views, swimming pools, tennis courts and patios as existing residences are expanded”. The urge to build larger homes or subdivisions on existing blocks, reduces the available private open space that can accommodate trees and gardens.

What can be done to halt the decline?

There is concern that the new Planning and Design Code will enable significant changes to Burnside's 'character' - the built heritage, residential character, thousands of street and private trees, and lower density housing. This 'character' has seen Burnside become one of the most sought after places to buy property, and consequently current property values reflect this.

Trees are integral to this 'character' and continued education of residents on their value is essential to reduce the number of applications from residents to remove privately owned trees.

Increased protection for trees is also greatly needed. Council is concerned that policy within the new Planning and Design Code will facilitate a greater loss of trees within our Council area, particularly on private land. These concerns will be raised in Council’s submission on the revised draft Code which is required to be lodged with the State Government by 18 December 2020.

As part of the Resilient East group, Council is advocating for trees and canopy cover. For example, the Resilient East submission on the Planning Reforms has a strong focus on trees and Resilient East recently made a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Urban Green Spaces, including an invited in-person representation to the inquiry.

Council supports the outreach and advocacy conducted by Water Sensitive SA, with a strong focus on the State Planning Reforms and the co-benefits of water sensitive design and trees in urban areas.

What about the urban forest?

The City of Burnside devotes considerable resources to the planting and maintenance of trees in streets, reserves and on public land. Work which has led to the Council being recognised as one of only three Australian Tree Cities of the World.

An ongoing initiative that commenced in 2016/17 aims to plant 1,000 trees per annum. This tree planting far exceeds the loss of trees on public land. During the last financial year (2019/20), Council planted over 1,500 trees on public land and provided over 11,000 plants for planting on both public and private land (further details in Council’s Environmental Sustainability Report).

City of Burnside is working with councils across Adelaide to use LiDAR assessments of canopy cover which give more accurate and robust figures that that used for the RMIT report. This data will be used to guide policy development and initiatives to increase canopy coverage (further details in Attachments H and I of Council’s Environmental Sustainability Report).

While the City of Burnside is actively planting trees and increasing canopy coverage on public land, some loss of trees and canopy is beyond the control of the Council. State planning and development laws facilitate the removal of many trees on private land. Council recognises this problem and has several initiatives aimed at reversing the potential for declines in tree canopy and vegetation cover on private land, including:

• Native tree giveaway (specifically designed to get trees in the ground on private land).
• Biodiversity Nursery plant giveaway (an annual event providing indigenous trees and plants to houses in burnside).
• Numerous educational and promotional activities, including (but not limited to) the Urban Forest Interactive website, Burnside Urban Foresters and Conservation Volunteer programs.

Where will all the Trees Be? can be found on the Greener Spaces Better Places website.

Do you own a piece of Bennett’s pottery?

Charles William Bennett and his son William Charles worked at Trewenack’s Pottery in Kensington Gardens until 1887 when they established Bennett’s Magill Potteries. The soil in Magill was rich with terracotta clay, ideal for pottery. Their products included garden pots, tiles and stoneware jars.

The successful business is still managed by a Bennett, more than 130 years later.

In September 1931, the narrow creeks of the eastern suburbs broke their banks. Waterfall Gully Road turned into a red-brown sea and the threat of a landslide in the hills felt imminent. Water coursed through the streets, sweeping through gardens while residents scrambled to protect their homes. In some instances, houses flooded to the ceiling.

Despite the estimated thousands of pounds of damage, some of the community enjoyed the event. People watched the spectacle from the banks of the Torrens or paddled their canoes and dinghies onto the newly formed lakes.

Photographs from the Local History Collection show the floods at Kensington Road, Portrush Road and Hazelwood Park.