HCA members
Welcome to the Hackett Community Association’s (HCA) August 2021 newsletter. Feel free to forward this email onto other Hackett residents and people who would like to know more about our great suburb.
Thank you
A big shout out to the Hackett IGA. With the sudden Covid lockdown on Thursday 12 August, it was all hands-on deck, with people queuing to get the last pack of sausages or tofu! Well done to Steve and Arthur, their families and dedicated staff in handling this situation and on the following days. Remember also that 3rd Space and Siam Twistare doing great takeaways.
Mural brightens up a dull brown wall
The HCA welcomes Blue Gum Community School’s latest artwork in the suburb. It’s on the brick wall behind the shops on Mills Street – a wall previously coloured in Mission Brown and graffiti. Mikki Trail, the art coordinator, has provided the following notes about the mural:
“We received a community art grant from the ACT Government to work with a local artist to beautify the brown graffiti clad wall on Mills street at the rear of the Hackett Shops. On the last Friday of term 2, 160 students across the primary, middle and high school at Blue Gum Community School participated in workshops from local street artist Faith Kerehona and Peta Bulling from the ACT Conservation Council. Peta and Faith addressed the students about the importance of looking after our environment using a case study of the Lawson Grasslands as an example. Students learnt about the current threats the native flora and fauna are under. (A lot of this native wildlife and plants are also present on Mount Majura.) Lawson Grasslands are so special because there is only a tiny percentage of this type of Alpine temperate grassland left and it is home to a number of endangered species. Peta explained in detail about the species and the threats they are under, particularly considering a proposal by Defence Housing Australia to build houses on the grasslands. (For more information https://conservationcouncil.org.au/media-release-dha-lawsonnorth/).
Students worked in small groups to brainstorm their ideas around why conservation is important and during this session it became evident to Faith how interested the students were in the local animals and plants. This became the focus for her mural design and the students painted their thoughts in the leaves on the wall, sharing their understanding of this important topic.
Over the first two weeks of this term, students had their art lessons at the wall. Faith had blocked in the background and a rough outline of trees before the students started. Our Preschool students’ research about circles in Hackett’s community is represented in the swirls on the tree trunks. The project incorporated all our students (with the exception of our youngest play group families). Faith was an amazing artist to work with; she was so giving to the students, sharing her skills and allowing our students to have choice in what species they painted and the location across the three walls. The students learnt many new techniques creating their representations of Golden Sun Moths, legless lizards. Most had never painted on this scale before. We look forward to celebrating the mural with the Hackett community at an official opening later this term. (Date TBC).”
Microforest for Hackett
There has been interest in creating a microforest, or similar native revegetation spot in Hackett. The HCA has held initial discussions with ACT Government officers about suitable sites in our parks including those in Harris, Tyron and Caldwell Streets, the open space near Kellaway Street, and the spaces on the north and south side of the oval. In selecting a site, a number of factors need to be considered including fire zones, presence of existing large tree cover, steep slope, presence of infrastructure, and access to water supply. The most suitable location would be the open space on the south side of the oval. Residents have already put stakes against numerous small trees to protect them from mowing. We need at least 3 people to take a lead to progress this proposal. If you are interested, please send an email with your details to info@hackett.asn.au.
Nature in the City 2020-21 – Bragg St park – swale creation
Seven swales have been built in the Bragg St Park. They are designed to capture water and send it into the sub-soil, rather having it rush across the surface of the park, causing erosion. The next step will be the volunteer group spreading mulch in each swale and then planting with trees, shrubs and grown covers. We will hold a community get together to celebrate this work sometime in the future and subject to Covid restrictions.
2021 Census
We trust you were able to complete the 2021 census form. If you would like to see some data about Hackett from censuses going back to 1996, there is a summary in Appendix A of the HCA book about the suburb. If you don’t have a hard copy, access a PDF version of the book on the HCA website. It will be interesting to see how we have changed when the 2021 results are released on the ABS website from June 2022.
Hackett Facebook page
We have over 700 followers on our Facebook page. It’s a great way to receive more immediate updates on what’s happening – join us at https://www.facebook.com/HackettCommunity/
HCA AGM
We are aiming to hold our AGM on the 26 October 2021, 7.30-9.00pm, in the Blue Gum school meeting room Maitland House. If Covid restrictions are in place we will hold the meeting via Zoom. If you would like to be on the Committee you will need to complete a nomination form – send a request for the form to our email info@hackett.asn.au.
Next meeting
Tuesday 14 September 2021, 7.30-8.30pm via Zoom. If you would like to participate, please send an email to info@hackett.asn.au and we can provide Zoom details nearer the date.
Committee
Hackett Community Association
August 2021