Miller Reserve, Manly Vale: Campaign launched to stop artificial sports pitches
A soccer mum says she’s determined to stop the council converting fields into artificial soccer pitches after a shocking video revealed how rubber beads on another synthetic oval are polluting the waterways.
Manly
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A soccer mum has launched a campaign to stop the council replacing fields with artificial grass filled with rubber beads after she videoed the black pellets at another synthetic pitch going into a stormwater drain.
Julia Walsh, 46, of Manly Vale, filmed the beads washing into the drain while it was raining at Melwood Oval in Forestville.
She is now urging people to object to the $5m plans by Northern Beaches Council to turn Miller Reserve into two synthetic soccer pitches and four cricket nets, fearing that the beads will find themselves in the nearby creek, which leads to the lagoon and eventually the ocean.
The council has said it wants to convert a number of sports fields on the peninsula to an artificial surface to address the increasing demand for pitches.
Synthetic pitches can be played on in all weathers, unlike grass.
Ms Walsh, a healthcare communications consultant with a bachelor in science, said she was also fearful for the birds and animals that feed on the worms and insects living in the grass. She said the would lose their food source and raised fears over injuries for those who play on the surface.
In a video which captures the rubber beads going into the drain system at Melwood Oval in Forestville, Ms Walsh said she did not want Manly Vale’s beautiful green fields turned “into just plastic and rubber pollution, as far as the eye can see”.
“This is truly the most awful thing I’ve ever seen,” she said as she filmed the rubber beads flowing into the drain.
“This is humanity at its absolute most stupid.”
She said the pitch should “be full of ants and dirt and insects”.
“It should be food for the animals, should be a bit of mud on our kids’ boots,” she said.
Ms Walsh said she loved feeling the grass between her toes or watching the mist rise at early morning matches at Miller Reserve.
“I’ve got kids who’ve played soccer there for four or five years, we’ve never had an issue,” she said.
“It is an occasional rainy day we can’t use the field.
“I don’t care. I’m happy to have a sleep-in. I’m happy to reschedule the game.
“I don’t really feel the need to conquer nature, so that my kid’s soccer game is not interrupted.”
She said it was good to teach children about nature and that “sometimes you have to make room for the real world, so that they don’t grow up with an understanding that you can have infinite growth on a finite planet because you can’t”.
“This is the tipping point. This is like the Lorax. This is a new level of absurdity. And I don’t think we should accept this in Manly Vale.”
As well as the synthetic pitches the council is proposing an upgrade to existing amenities, including the changing rooms, as well as a new footpath, stormwater and environmental improvements, landscaping and tree planting.
Northern Beaches Council chief executive officer Ray Brownlee said there was an increasing demand for sporting fields that can be used all year around.
In addition, he said this will ease pressure on the need for the council to purchase and clear new land to potentially create more sports fields.
He added that the design for the synthetic pitches at Miller Reserve, Manly Vale will prevent rubber entering the adjacent water catchment.
“Measures include the construction of a kerb around the perimeter of the field, installation of drainage socks in stormwater pits and angling the perimeter footpath to fall back into the field,” he said.
“Scuff pads will also be installed at each entrance to minimise any rubber leaving the field from the boots of players.”
It is important to note that synthetic fields are designed to a global FIFA standard, following strict guidelines to ensure the field is softer than normal grass pitches.
He added that anecdotal evidence from other synthetic pitches located at Cromer Park, Melwood Oval at Forestville and Narrabeen Sports High suggests there are significantly less fractures, sprains and concussions for players of all ages as they play on an even surface without natural deterioration that occurs on grass surfaces.
“There is also no current evidence of birds ingesting rubber from synthetic fields – however, we remain mindful of the impact on our local wildlife,” Mr Brownlee said.
The deadline for residents to have their say on the plans is June 28: yoursay.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/miller-reserve-manly-vale-proposed-upgrade