16.5 C
Byron Shire
June 11, 2026

Who’s up for a spot of veggie gardening in Suffolk Park?

Latest News

Lennox headland restoration works a success

Community members rolled up their sleeves last week for the 21st Lennox Head Community Tree Planting Day, which helped to continue more than two decades of restoration work on this iconic coastal landscape.

Other News

Man seriously assaulted in Byron Bay

NSW Police say detectives have commenced an investigation after a man was seriously assaulted in the local area overnight.

Emily Lubitz added to Lismore Lantern Parade lineup

Fresh from reaching number one on the ARIA Country Charts, Emily Lubitz will headline the  Heartbeat Festival Stage on Saturday 20 June, as part of the Lantern Parade.

Bangalow Film Festival opens

The Bangalow Film Festival opening night is this Thursday, 11 June and has already sold out.

Mono wins in Hawaii and Japan

Australian adaptive surfing champion Mark ‘Mono’ Stewart has once again celebrated success on the international stage. Mono claimed victory at...

Temporary home for Queer Family after heated debate

Byron Shire Council has voted to provide struggling local LGBTQIA+ support service Queer Family Inc with temporary access to a Council-owned property at peppercorn rent, following an impassioned plea from the organisation and a lengthy debate over governance and fairness.

Catalano’s twin Wategos mansion DA wins court approval

A controversial dual-mansion development at Wategos Beach has been approved by the NSW Land & Environment Court, ending an 18-month battle between media entrepreneur Antony Catalano's company and Byron Shire Council.

Nicholas Hall with fellow gardener Lesharn Schuler at the Suffolk Park garden. Photo Jeff ‘Garden Beds ‘n’ Pillows’ Dawson

Aslan Shand

Creating a community garden and increasing the native trees at 32 Red Bean Close in Suffolk Park is finally coming to fruition for Nicholas Hall, who has been unofficially managing the site for the last four years.

Council is currently accepting submissions on the proposal until July 19 to license the lot for one year for general community use as ‘a natural area to the community regeneration of open space.’

The land was originally donated to the community by residents in the early stages of the Suffolk Park development, said Nicholas.

‘Fruit trees were planted by residents who donated the parcel of land to Council, and we since planted more fruit trees with Council’s go-ahead.’

Prior to the removal of 60 koala trees for the development of Sea Cliffs, Nicholas said there had been koala sightings in the area and at times 100 to 200 yellow-tailed black cockatoos at the site. Now the cockatoos only appear in numbers of about 10 to 20.

Following the Sea Cliffs development, the developers ‘rehabilitated in the koalas’ best interest,’ said Nicholas.

Currently there are six small vege patches approximately 1.5m by 2m, and Nicholas is keen to get other members of the community involved in the project.

If you are interested in getting involved, contact Nicholas on 0448 993 423.



For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling.

If you are a local business owner help us and in turn we help you. All The Echo asks for is advertising, not a free ride. It is every advert in The Echo and on www.echo.net.au, which creates the space for all the stories and coverage of community events, happenings and concerns.

If you are a reader you can become a sponsor of The Echo. Your support keeps the us independent.

Even a small one-off or regular donation from you will help keep the echo’s independent voice alive and strong.

Support Us

Become one of the supporters who helps keep independent, local journalism alive in the Byron Shire by contributing anything from as little as the cost of a coffee each month.

You're Wonderful, Thank you for supporting independent journalism in the Byron Shire

You’re supporting The Echo, thank you

Your contribution is keeping independent, local journalism alive in the Northern Rivers.

Because of supporters like you, we can keep every story free for everyone — no paywall, no exceptions. Your money goes directly to funding our newsroom of 40-odd local workers covering the stories that matter to this community.

Tell us what you think, give us your opinion

The Echo loves your letters and comments and is proud to provide a community forum on the issues that matter most to our readers and the people of the NSW north coast. So don’t be a passive reader, email us your epistles at editor@echo.net.au.

The letters deadline for The Echo is noon Friday. Letters longer than 200 words may be cut. The publication of letters is at the discretion of the letters editor. Please remember to include your full name, address and telephone number.

Online comments are no longer available.

Nimbin village boil water alert lifted, but remains for outskirts

After just over a month, Lismore City Council say the boil water alert for the village of Nimbin has been lifted, effective immediately. Yet these living in the outskirts of the village, a boil water alert is still in place.

Social homes completed in Casino – what else is in the pipeline?

With 17 new ‘social housing’ dwellings being announced for Casino, what other similar projects are underway in the Northern Rivers?

Kyogle petition calls to restore daytime train service to Brisbane

A Kyogle petition with more than 1,000 signatures is calling on ‘key stakeholders and policymakers’ to provide a ‘practical daytime train service’ to Brisbane, with claims that the current train service, which leaves at 3am and returns at 8am, is 'inconvenient and frustrating’.

Wanted: citizen scientists to check on our creeks

The Richmond River upper catchment is currently sitting on a C- in the Richmond River Ecological Health Report Card. It's not a number we can accept without doing something about it.