The Serpent: Woonona man's vision sparks community project

Over a couple of blocks between Campbell and Russell streets in Woonona, changes are afoot.

On a stretch of shared pathway known by locals as The Serpent, Rod Zabell and a small band of volunteers are making a big difference. What started as one man’s idea to make the pathway more accessible has become a bit of a community project, worked in bite-sized pieces, where people can drop in and do what they can, when they can, and the results are inspiring.

The Serpent, like many places throughout the region, suffered as a result of torrential rains over the past couple of years. Soil had washed away and the weeds that took up residence provided no stabilisation, and so with each new downpour, mud flowed across the path and grass took hold.

“I kind of saw that there was a need,” Rod said. “There were a lot of people that used it [the pathway] but they found it very difficult either getting up there with prams or especially people with walking frames.”

And so in early 2022, Rod reached out first to Wollongong Council and then to Transport for NSW, who shared ownership of the site, to get the ball rolling on transforming The Serpent. To date, it's been about 18 months of work but the progress has been huge.

The tangle of lantana, weeds and grass that snaked across the path has been removed and replaced by native plants, supplied by Wollongong Botanic Garden through the Native Revegetation Plan. The land has been stabilised and mulch has been moved in and spread out, and access has been improved.

Rod said, “What we’ve tried to do is only do a small job at a time. So it might be between half an hour and an hour and no more. We just do a specific spot and then people can see, oh that’s been done. Rather than over a large area that doesn’t get finished."

Although the idea may initially have been Rod’s, the project is a real team effort. Community involvement has included local businesses delivering mulch to the site for free and a core group of about six regulars and up to 15 others at various times, while others have contributed in different ways.

“Sometimes it’s not only physically doing things but giving us ideas and ways of solving problems” Rod said.

While the improved access and the introduction of native vegetation have been greatly appreciated by locals, there have been other unexpected benefits.

Rod said, ”Where we’ve had a lot of graffiti or people throwing rubbish, that has actually seemed to decrease because people can see the value that is being added.

“The thing we have also kind of noticed as a team has just been the number of people who have stopped and said, ‘You’re doing a really good job'.”