DRONES have been called into action in the latest wave of the war on mosquitoes. Mozzies have plagued Maylands in particular for years and Bayswater council’s tried everything from poisoning their larval water sources to patrolling the wetlands with amphibious all-terrain vehicles to get to breeding sites in tricky areas thick with mud and snakes. Now they’ve brought in the ominously named Omnidrone to carry out aerial bombardments. They’re currently sitemapping the wetlands to gather topographical data to input into the drones’ computer systems, with plans for the Omnidrones to carry out targeted larvicides to the high density breeding areas, hoping to minimise collateral spraying while reducing traffic into the delicate areas.

KINGS PARK has a new chair with the former director general of the department of planning, lands and heritage Gail McGowan appointed this week. The board’s appointed by new WA environment minister Reece Whitby, and Ms McGowan is replacing long term chair Richard Simpson whose term finished December 2021. The new deputy chair is existing board member Sheila McHale, a former Labor Party MP who was appointed by past Labor environment minister Stephen Dawson. New member Stephen van Leeuwen has been appointed for a three-year term. Professor van Leeuwan is a botanical ecologist, research scientist, has a background managing threatened flora and fauna, and is a south west Boojarah Wardandi Noongar leader. Board members are paid about $5,000 a year and the chair makes just under $14,000. 

BAYSWATER WAVES has reopened the indoor 25m pool ahead of the Family Fun Day on January 23. Bayswater Waves has been undergoing extensive repairs and improvements and stage one’s now sorted so the 25m indoor pool is up and running again. Accessibility upgrades have been added including a bariatric mobile pool hoist with a 180kg capacity so people can safely enter and exit. Stage two will tackle refurbishing the wave pool. The council recently voted to borrow $1.7m for the upgrades.