GLENBROOK LAGOON

Glenbrook Lagoon is an aquifer-fed water body in the lower Blue Mountains. An upland lagoon! This kind of water body is rare. In the Hawkesbury Nepean system. In Australia. Perhaps in the world! And, strange to relate, it's in the middle of a suburb called Glenbrook.

The Blue Mountains City Council hosted the Water Near Me workshop on 2nd June 2012, as part of a larger initiative on improving water quality in the Lagoon.

The workshop kicked off with a field trip, then an afternoon of bookmaking in a local school hall while the rain bucketed down outside. 

From the workshop, featuring the neighbourhood, green cellophane symbols for weeding effort by Bushcare, birds, bike and a baby language title ... The Goon (by Dad and the girls)

Works by a granddaughter, grandma team - the lagoon three ways

 Participants enjoyed learning so much about the lagoon, getting to know others and doing something creative.

SO EVERYONE, WELCOME TO GLENBROOK LAGOON FROM THE PARTICIPANTS

Welcome to a rare upland lagoon in the middle of a suburb in the lower mountains

Every day people come to walk round it

It’s good, there’s plants like ferns and turpentines

In the drought the water goes down, but it never goes dry

There are parts of the lagoon where you can’t see a single house.

It’s a very pretty place, lush, used to be much drier

A few years’ ago there were large chopping machines

That came in to get rid of the weeds in the water

It’s a never-ending battle with the weeds

But after they were scooped out with the machine

It’s never been that bad since.

Treating the weeds is very expensive

And they grow so fast.

Once big pipes took water down to the station from the lagoon

It fed the steam trains

Now it feeds helicopters when there’s a bushfire.

Thirty years ago my cousins had canoes and they always brought them down -

You can’t do that any more

The kids told off the scientist when she put out in a canoe to take samples!

My children used to come down and feed the ducks

You can’t do that now either.

We used to visit some friends nearby

Walk round the lagoon with the baby in the pusher.

We come down to see the ducks mainly,

But last time we saw a tadpole, a fish, an eel and a small turtle

The eel came up for some bread floating in the water.

The lagoon just makes me think of high school, good times

We weren’t supposed to be there.

Yes, we’ve got a lot of stories to tell from the old lagoon!

Swimming, wagging school

Getting scared swimming across – it freaked me!

The secret lagoon …

It’s much cleaner now.

These days I go to feed the birds, take my dogs

It’s a fantastic example of bush regeneration

The lagoon’s still beautiful and peaceful

After 30 years always worthy of a visit.

Sometimes people come and drum, light a fire

They don’t bother anyone

People make sure that things are alright, keep an eye on it

Make sure it’s protected and safe

Different groups come to learn about it, sit down and talk

It’s very healing that lagoon environment

Even just the walking in a circle in such a space.

It changes a lot through the year

And in the bush there’s lots of detail always

You can look at the lagoon

Or at the small things.

2 June 2012 site tour and workshop on Glenbrook Lagoon