Unity College Fete

Unity's first ever Fete is on Sunday 29 August from 10am to 3pm. There will lots of fun things for the kids including rides, show bags, face painting, toy stall, lucky dips and a surf board stall. Parents and grandparents will not miss out either with a cafe, bar, chocolate wheel, major auction, book stall, trash and treasure and plant/home grown produce stall. There will also be performances by dancers, choirs and musicians to entertain everyone. The Mega Fete raffle has the following great prizes: 106cm plasma television; laptop computer; $500 Sea World Nara Resort voucher; Wii console; and a $100 Myer gift voucher.

Ride arm bands and raffle tickets will be available for purchase at the Federal election polling station at Unity College on Saturday 21 August.

The Fete will be a great opportunity to bring together the Bellvista community and we look forward to seeing you there.

Peter Baxter

President, Unity College Parents and Friends Association

Out For A Walk In The Sun

The one remaining cygnet was spotted out for a walk in the sunshine this morning. Needless to say, mum and dad were very close by to keep an eye on things. Click on the photo for a larger view, then click "Back" to return to this page.

One resident remarked they saw some water fowl attacking one of the other cygnets while they were alive. So the usual suspects, the lake's eels may NOT have been responsible for the loss of so many young cygnets.

Visit the BeCA website for the latest news on how the new shopping centre is progressing. Click HERE to go to the News & Events page of the BeCA website.

Bellvista Shopping Village Update!

BeCA has received news that the developers of the Bellvista Shopping Village are hopeful the centre may be open for business sooner rather than later. The developer is planning that shop fitters could have access to the new shops during August and September with a possible Bellvista Shopping Village launch date sometime early October 2010!

This is great news for our community!

It Really Is In Healthy Condition.

Looks can be deceiving!

Recently BeCA became alarmed at the condition of the lake. It was thought the red azolla algae would disappear with the onset of colder weather. Rather than looking better, the lake seems to be looking decidedly worse.

(Click on the photo for a larger view, then click "Back" to return to this page.)

BeCA contacted the SCRC’s Kate Mackenzie regarding this issue. Kate is a key member of the SCRC's Waterways Operations Team. She is BeCA's Council contact person for any issue relating to waterways on our estate.

After inspecting the lake she said:

“I think it (the algae) is likely being fuelled in part by the large number of birds that exist within this system which contribute faeces & other nutrients. This along with any other nutrients from the catchment will fuel blooms. The bird feeding has definitely settled down but I think more & more of these urban water bodies are being used opportunistically by birds...we have similar problem with quite a few of the constructed water bodies at present....along with an increase in algae. I was rather surprised how many birds this small system currently sustains...including Ibis. Generally the algae issue is with long detention times in most urban pond which doesn’t allow for a quick flushing & flow through of an accumulated nutrients. Unfortunately while these are features within our urban environments they are actually detention basins for flood mitigation & used as a fill source for the development.”

Kate will be invited to address the AGM meeting on September 6th. We all agree the lake doesn’t look very healthy right now, but in this case, looks can be deceiving.

Around The Estate

SCRC has put protective guards on the poles supporting the sun sails over the playground equipment at the main park near Lake Bellvista (soon to be called Canavan/Gracie Park?) to prevent climbing.

Remember to click on the photos for a larger view, then click "Back" to return to this page. Regretfully there now appears to be only one cygnet with the Black swan family on the lake.

Roadworks to widen the road at the intersection of Lomond Cres and Rawson drive at the site of the new Bellvista Shopping Village have now been completed. Sections supporting the roof are being put in place in the background of this photo (below).

Swan Family

We are told there are now 4 chicks with the two adult black swans which call Lake Bellvista "Home".

This photo only shows two of them with mum and dad but we were told by a passer by he had seen 4 chicks.

The eels which live in the lake seem to be the biggest problem for these young guys growing up, reaching maturity and then flying away.

Click on the picture for a larger view, then click "Back" to return to this page.