Bluecray.org » Phantom Koala http://bluecray.org Environmental Advocacy Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:00:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Australian habitat loss – an ongoing heritage from moneybags http://bluecray.org/philosophy/australian-habitat-loss-an-ongoing-heritage-from-moneybags-02.06.2010 http://bluecray.org/philosophy/australian-habitat-loss-an-ongoing-heritage-from-moneybags-02.06.2010#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:07:51 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=4083 ...»»]]> A short slide show, based on the central eastern coast of Australia – Mt Warning Caldera Region.  Environmental Advocacy Pictures, photography and collages  in this slide show examine:-
* local extinction *  habitat loss * discernment of habitat loss consequences from people with lots of money and power doing inappropriate things * koalas * wallabies * the balances and types of simple * decisions we can make to help our Australian native wildlife and the wonderful biodiversity of the Natural Heritage of Australia.

Green energy as a fuel : consequences - habitat loss for threatened species - AUSTRALIA

 

  • “How South East Queensland Regional Plan gives developers power to trample upon residents’ rights” – article at candobetter.org

The Australian Koala is NOT listed as threatened by Australian EPBC laws. The Australian KOALA is at risk from:- Developments and infrastructure, clearing, non sustainable farming, dogs, cars, disease, stress, lack of habitat, fencing, light, noise,  and rural subdivision practices in the Mt Warning Caldera Region – from South of Ipswich, SE QLD, to over the border into NE NSW. All along the coastal strip in SE QLD and NE NSW intense, inappropriate urban development and infrastructure is destroying and fragmenting the BIODIVERSITY & HABITATS for Australian Koalas at an ALARMING RATE. Developments such as KINGS FOREST by Bob Ell and LEDA Group (project 28) signal the beginning of the end of local free Koala populations on the coast side of the PACIFIC HIGHWAY , Tweed Shire, NSW.

 

Incoming Searches: australian habitat destruction, bio región etiopica, habitat loss in australia, bluecray, urban development habitat destruction, poem about koalas endagered, habitat destruction facts in australia, habitat destruction australia animals, destruction of habitat in australia, australia’s record of habitat destruction

]]> http://bluecray.org/philosophy/australian-habitat-loss-an-ongoing-heritage-from-moneybags-02.06.2010/feed 0 Weeds, Biodiversity and Australia’s Land and Water Stewardship Practices http://bluecray.org/education/weeds-biodiversity-and-australias-land-and-water-stewardship-practices-17.11.2009 http://bluecray.org/education/weeds-biodiversity-and-australias-land-and-water-stewardship-practices-17.11.2009#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:03:15 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=3605 ...»»]]> industry_and_government_weed_management_versus_holistic_land_and_water_stewardship_for_biodiversityWeed Management in Australia is a high energy industry. It is based on mowing, slashing, burning, mulching, spraying, grazing. Whilst prevention is the obvious first step in weed management, Australia’s horticultural and agricultural industries have offered little help. These industries are  responsible for many plant species being used, sold, distributed and promoted prior to them then taking hold as weeds.

These industries also appear to offer herbicides as an acceptable answer to mainstream Australian weed management. Diminishing biodiversity due to a weed chronically infesting an area is often the “umbrella” under which mass herbicide application occurs. The logic of killing on a large scale to create biodiversity is a remarkable dichotomy that does little to serve future life on earth.

  • Condong Mill, Sunshine Electricity, Delta energy, individual land owners and other Bioenergy consortiums, providers, merchants and “tradespeople” are currently harvesting biofuels to create GREEN ENERGY. They are currently doing this in the TWEED SHIRE, Northern Rivers, NSW, Australia.   They are doing this by clear felling native  (including endangered) wildlife habitats,  using bulldozers working  10 hours  per day, 6 days per week on private land.  At least three  Rufous Bettongs have been seen and heard living and nesting adjacent to this area over the past  years. Habitats that they are clearing and demolishing   become bare, steep sloped exposed soil.  Vegetation  taken, (via habitat destruction of endangered species habitats), is conveyed via machinery, into vaste piles of  “BIOFUEL” – or camphor laurel chip/dust, which is then trucked away to their storage areas for burning as GREEN FUEL.  This work has been going on for some time now, under the umbrellas of  “save the world from greenhouse gases” and “lessen the Mining of non renewable resources” pressures. This is weed management gone mad, is highly destructive to native flora and fauna “remnant habitats”, and gives the appearance of  using more energy to create less energy. This type of vegetation management gives the local area of Upper Burringbar, NE NSW  decreased habitats for endangered species and short-medium term loss of carbon stores and overall biodiversity loss. I call this “war on Biodiversity”.  What laws protect biodiversity, at a local level, in this situation????
  • Rufous Bettong at NSW Threatened Species – Northern Rivers
  • Some bluecray educational storyline articles about the Rufous Bettong and Habitat Clearing :- “PK and Litoria look for Rufous Bettong, and on the way, meet up with Goanna” ;  “Rufous Bettong and the Glyphosate Bank” ;   “Goanna leaves the glyphosate bank, the butterflies leave too” and   “Wildlife leaves glyphosate bank – finds refuge in organic garden“.


***You can click on each of the illustrations in this article to get a brief idea of the body of this article, if you are in a rush!!***

Collection and distribution of local, native seed.

Largely an unmentored industry, a strong and diverse Australian Native Seed Industry offers a practical, low energy solution to Australia’s Weed Management issues.

Australian_choices_to_destroy_or_to_nurtureHabitat and ecological community restoration projects, developments, infrastructure landscaping and environmental rehabilitation programs -  all of these require a concerted, coordinated Vision and National Direction concerning their use of local provenance and provincial native plant species.

To date, this has not been effected by the Australian Government, nor any State government or Local Authority. There are some token gestures in place. There is some  work on a handful of native pasture grasses. Native plants are required to be used in development and infrastructure works, but not always local provenance or provincial strains. There has been some funded work for plant species that make up a large percentage of Australian Vegetation communities, but  that are relatively unkown in economic terms. (See LINKS below)

The Nursery Industry has many cultivars for Australian trees, shrubs, groundcovers and vines . With the rise of plant variety rights in the 80′s, the trend to market same style, same shape, uniform product has trended the development of Australian native species towards  cuttings (the same genetetic source) for mass growing and planting. This isn’t helping biodiversity, as it promotes the same genetic species being spread throughout an area, whilst the other genetic strains die out. This has occurred already in our food industries, and shouldn’t be allowed to happen in our natural environmental industries.

The Forestry industry has a large network of Australian native seed available for distribution – mainly trees and shrubs. Greening Australia has a mentorship program for native seed. There are also a number of other small seed industries that promote Australian native plant seed via collection and distribution. CSIRO  has some great information on native seeds and native seed banks.

The Society for Growing Australian Plants has been at the fore regarding work done on Native Plants. However, much, much more needs to be accomplished, if we are to replace our vaste weed inhabited, poorly managed landscapes with a diversity of local provenance and provincial native plant species.

Instead of focusing on the WEED, the focus is better centred about the SEED BANK.

the_seedbanks_of_australian_native_species_need_your_helpEnvironmental Management, under the leadership of the Australian Government,  has mentored the use of  herbicides over large scale areas of weed infestation, as well as fostering the use of herbicides in small scale revegetation and habitat rehabilitation projects. This is a destructive form of habitat restoration. Scientifically scrutinised, trials show varied results from these methods, depending on the agenda of the trials. Once the weed infested area is sprayed, then there are a number of possible outcomes:-

  • the weed or another weed reinfests the area
  • the habitat, weakened by the destruction, loses initial biodiversity
  • the area remains low in biodiversity after only a small population of native plants are established through plantings and sowings (mainly plantings)
  • other plants and animals (Australian Native) become stressed and ill
  • the area, if allowed to naturally regenerate, without continual slashing, mowing, burning and herbicide spraying, may regenerate with increasing biodiversity, once animals (birds, marsupials, insects etc) move back into the area and act as seed vectors.
  • planting of selected, same type species of native plants may struggle to form healthy habitats, due to lack of initial biodiversity planning and plantings.
  • overall short term biodiversity loss until the future vegetation community and/or ecological community begins to function, often at least several years after spraying and destruction.

Australian Higher Learning and Understanding about Seed Banks (weed and non weed)

Historically, (and fairly recently), Australia has condoned  ill informed higher educational and extension practices that have also led to many weed infestations. Examples of this ?

  • Tertiary and college teaching of species lists that include potential environmental weeds – for landscaping, architecture, agriculture, forestry and horticulture students.
  • Tertiary teaching of Integrated Pest Management, yet focusing largely on the Agricultural Chemical Industry and it’s use of herbicides in pasture, recreational, infrastructure and development land and water management. ( I was extremely lucky to study, for part of my Bachelor of Applied Science with the (old) Plant Protection Department at the Gatton Agricultural College – Now University of Queensland Gatton Campus , where the dedicated staff gave me a sound,  very informed background in both Integrated Pest Management AND Pesticide Application Technology and Safety. )
  • The use of herbicides for many government sponsored environmental rehabilitation projects:-  Landcare, Land for Wildlife, Large scale/regional Weed Management – (eg Bitou Bush, Lantana), environmental training projects for the unemployed and a range of scientific trials in development of food and textile cropping for the high energy, biologically wasteful practice of monoculture.
  • The use of herbicides in Environmental training projects without consideration to gentle bush regeneration methods, without use of local provenance and provincial native seed and without habitat care.

bush_regeneration_the_choices_mainstream_madness_or_holistic_helpThe above picture shows two flowers. The flower on the right shows good Land and Water Stewardship. The flower on the left show very poor Land and Water Stewardship. Both flowers have, at their centre, the SEED BANK. {I use this term rather loosely here, as some plants self propagate by tuber, rhizome, suckering, air layering, leaves, stems. Some “seed banks” are held in the ground, some above ground on the plant, whilst, as in rainforests, the seed bank germinates, but often the plant is held, as a seedling, in a dormant state, awaiting an opportunity to grow bigger.} I have used the words seed bank, or reserve of future plants (native and weed) to keep this story simple.

The left flower is ill formed, out of balance and sick looking. It shows the current types of weed management practices that appear to be advocated for, by the NSW, Qld and Australian Governments. Herbicides are offered as a solution to weed control over and above the growing of native local provenance and provincial stock “seed” plants for seed collection, distribution and growing on in areas infested by environmental and noxious weeds. Extension methods, as perceived by bluecray, are in the main, for herbicide use.(Reference:- “Noxious & Environmental Weed control Handbook – a guide to Weed Control in non – crop, aquatic and bushland situation.” Rod Ensbey, Regional Weed Control Coordinator Grafton NSW (NSW DPI Bookshop, ORANGE, ISSN 1443-0622)

The flower on the right is full formed, balanced and well. It shows the type of educational and practical solutions to weed management that cater for BIODIVERSITY and Habitat care. (Reference:- see ##below)

So now you have the lowdown on my practical understanding of this issue, let us continue…..

The Flower on the right has biodiversity as one of the PETALS of knowledge. Biodiversity is all essential, when it comes to Environmental Stewardship.

The petals on the flower are not all encompassing, as there are a number of other “petals”  that I could add, but in order to keep it simple, let us look at the PETALS on the Right Hand FLOWER:-

weed_management_choices

  • BIODIVERSITY : speaks for itself!!!
  • Competition :- bare topsoil, degraded, overgrazed land with poor water runoff management offers little competition to weed invasion. On the other hand, a resilient and biodiverse vegetation community offers good competition to invading weeds
  • Rain:- rainfall can trigger weed seed germination & invasion. It is also a useful natural aid for cultivating out weeds from an area. Run-off can carry both weed and native seed. Pooling of nutrients, after run-off can help create little islands of biodiversity.
  • Soil and Water Health :-weed infested water and weed infested soils contribute to poor land management hygeine. They can be sources of future infestations via seed bank stores. Degraded topsoil can foster the increase of opportunistic weed species as opposed to Native Seed regeneration.
  • Fire:- over burning can create bare degraded soil – thus increasing the opportunistic weed seed bank’s capacity  to colonise the burnt area. fire can also release native seed that is held in above and below ground seed banks
  • Weed Map:-knowing where and when the weeds occur is essential to understanding the overall situation of the land being managed. Knowing where outbreaks are high or low can help you decide where to start your weed management strategy. A good focus for a weed map is to show the areas of HIGH RESILIENCE of native vegetation or working pasture. These are the areas that, if protected at their “edges”, can expand, as the seed source of wanted plants is already there.
  • Seed Map:-knowing where to get native seed from, locally or regionally is essential to replacing vegetation. This is especially so where over grazing, over clearing, over cultivation and over spraying occurs. Your SEED MAP can also include the local seed resources nearby to you, where birds and other animals may act as vectors to carry the seed to your “weeded” or “regenerating” area.
  • Time Management:- this is a pivotal knowledge point. If you do not have the time to manage your weeds, then perhaps you can look at how your time is managed. Herbicides are often used, due to time shortage. However, they are increasingly energy reliant. Also, naturally occurring cycles of weeds need to be understood, if management is to be successful. The biological and seasonal/yearly timing,  with regard to the overall weed and native seed cycles needs to be understood. Some weeds may stay in the seed bank for a number of years, until the conditions are right for germination. Planning ahead with a good supply of native seed for competition with weed seed germination can be helpful, when the conditions are good for germination events (after rain, seasons, disturbances, flooding etc)
  • Cultivation:- cultivation primarily disturbs soil. This can give the seedbank signals to begin growing. If you know what weed or native seed is in the soil, then once cultivation begins, you can expect that seed to germinate, to some degree (depending on the season, rainfall, temperature, soil conditions and so on)
  • Grazing:- over grazing, overstocking and disturbance by hoofed animals created degraded land. Weeds, if present in the seed bank, can then colonise the disturbed site unless other legumes, pasture grasses and herbaceous native plants are present and resilient in the grazed area.
  • Wildlife:- wildlife often help seedbanks function – they eat and transfer (vector) seed, fruit and other plant material. Birds are an excellent indicator of how successful a weed management program is. A general rule of thumb:- more bird species, the more biodiversity. Wildlife disappears when overly destructive weed management techniques are used. Wildlife can carry both weed and native seed. If you look under a tree or post where birds sit, you will often find seedlings coming up. Some are weeds, some are native. You can help native wildlife by planting native, local plants, and they can help you by bringing in more seed, when they visit the plantings. Nice one, nature!!!
  • Overwhelming:- some weeds, if in their initial colonisation period throughout an area, can be overwhelmed by native plantings. Time is important here, and patience. Shading out, nutrient competition, drought tolerance and native plant survival strategies often allow native plants to prosper where non native plants die. However, weeds, as opportunists, mainly do the overwhelming, in disturbed, non resilient, native remnants.
  • Suppression:- techniques such as mulching, shading, high native plant densities and lack of disturbance can act to suppress weed cycles.
  • Eradication:- this is best done at the initial onset of a weed infestation. This is best done where the weed has only spread to a small area. Eradication, on a larger scale demands strict replanting, resowing, non disturbance follow up practices. It often involves follow up weed seed bank germination for following seasons, and hence, more maintenance.
  • Co-existing:- weeds infest an area and compete successfully, where the native seed bank has diminished or is supressed by the invading weed, cultural practices and disturbance. Co-existing of weeds and native vegetation is prevalent throughout much of Australia. some weeds co-exist so well, that they have become “naturalised”. Many flora and faune co-habit successfully with these weeds. However, co-existence of weeds with natural landscapes can offer a source of further weed spread in surrounding disturbed, non resilient habitats and ecological units.
  • Habitat Enhancement:- at the crux of all weed management should be Habitat Health. The killing of weed vegetation en masse destroys whatever habitat there is, creating stress for our native wildlife and often destroying small surviving native plants that struggle to live with the weeds. Constant mowing, constant spraying, constant traffic and cultivation, constant burning – these things destroy habitat.
  • Life Cycles:- the life cycle of the weed must be fully understood. some weeds have yearly lifecycles (annuals), some are herbaceous perennials (long & short lived), some are long lived woody species (small and large trees). Weed cycles give us an idea how and why they have invaded a disturbed area. Weed vectors such as wind, animals, human traffic, run-off, soil movement need to be understood. Weed propagation and renewal processes need to be understood fully. Where weeds have infested an area to the point of lack of biodiversity of native plants and animals, their growth and regeneration cycles need to be fully appreciated. These areas of widespread, non biodiverse areas of weed are often the target for herbicide use, burning, mowing and other destructive forms of habitat management. The life cycles of native plant species endemic to the area need to be understood fully, before any destruction of the existing weed infestation occurs. Otherwise, if there is no native seed bank to replenish the area, the habitats will suffer short term, and possibly long term.
  • Resilient Areas:- where native vegetation is biodiverse and functioning with fewer weeds. These areas are to be treasured and enhanced. It is from these areas that native fauna help disperse native seed into surrounding weed infested areas. These areas can also be at risk of weed invasion, once disturbed. These areas are at the forefront of the weed infestation line. Spreading the resilient areas outwards, into the weed infested area is recommended. This can be done by either edge weeding (Bradley Method style) or by planting “islands” of similar vegetation comunities nearby, thus creating a chain of native vegetation stands that offer native fauna a refuge, habitat and food source. The native vegetation “islands” become future sources of seed bank, that can then naturally spread further or be used for future plantings of more “islands”.

Now let us look at the PETALS on the government extension offered by the NSW Government for Weed Management:-

  • Slashing
  • Mulching
  • Fire
  • cultivation
  • Reafforestation
  • Biological
  • Flame Weeding
  • Goats
  • Herbicides
  • Land Management – Pasture, grazing, cropping, hygeine, weed identification
  • I should add one more petal as of about 2008 – the use of BULLDOZERS and FORESTRY HEAVY MACHINERY for CLEAR FELLING, as a method of WEED MANAGEMENT. This clear felling includes clearing creek banks down to the water line. Apparently Tweed Shire Council, the NSW and Australian Governments endorse the CLEARFELLING of mature stream bank holding trees along creek systems in the Northern Rivers of NSW.  The photo below shows typical BIOFUEL industry WEED MANAGEMENT. The trees are removed from the creek bank and surrounding flood plain. This is done by bulldozer type heavy machinery.

  • And another petal I have observed over the past years. A method of weed management endorsed by the QLD , NSW and Australian Governments. This is the piling of clear felled vegetation matter into large heaps to be subsequently burnt through the evenings and into the next day or so. This method is employed by the BIOFUEL INDUSTRY in the Northern Rivers of NSW. Farmers in SE QLD and NE NSW also do this. In some instances, these piles are left some weeks before being burnt, but not always.

weed_remnant_vegetation_interface

NATIVE SEED BANKS and WEED SEED BANKS

**Bluecray does not advocate the taking of seed from just anywhere, should you wish to collect native seed for yourself. You can, of course, take the seed from native plants on your own property, however, be mindful that the seed is also part of the functioning ecology in situ. To take from, usually means that you will also have to give back. This is especially true for endangered species and seed that doesn’t germinate easily. Taking this seed may mean a net loss in the overall seed bank, should your seed not germinate, and be wasted.

The interface between a weed area and a native bush area can be very dynamic, and hard to map out. It can change dramatically season by season, and is not something that can have a “line” drawn to show the weed from non weed area. Much of the seed bank is either under the ground, held in the above ground vegetation or growing nearby to be dispersed by wind, water, soil movement, animals and traffic.

Weeds and native plants compete for food, light, space, water. Weeds are often tough, adaptable, both by genotype and phenotype, opportunistic and are very good at renewal of themselves,usually by prolific seeding, suckering, tubering, leaf fall or air layering. Weeds, like some native plants, can produce chemical inhibitors that hinder the germination of other seeds nearby . Weeds method of spread also help them succeed. They often are wind born, but also eaten by animals, transported by water, animals, vehicles, movement of soil and dumping of vegetation “waste”.

Remnant vegetation is disappearing along much of our coastal strip, and also inland. It is becoming fragmented, weed infested and losing resilience.

Resilient remnant vegetation is important to protect. Weeds to not readily invade intact, resilient native remnant vegetation. Weeds invade disturbed landscape situations. The following diagram shows the hard to define line between weeds and remnant vegetation.

weed_remnant_resilient_vegetation_interfaceThe capacity for the remnant vegetation to buffer up against incoming weed populations and spread depends in part, on its resilience. Resilient native remnants have capacity to withstand  opportunistic weed spread, via having enough seed bank and vegetation cover to outcompete the weed. They can  “win” by having reserves of seed, soil cover, niche populations via biodiversity and sheer domination over incoming weed populations by giving little  soil, light, water for the weed to grow. However, once the native vegetation stand loses its resilience, loses its biodiversity, and particularly, once it is disturbed, then weeds can gain a foothold.

Regarding time and space management in the world of weed and remnant vegetation “frontiers”?  Remember, weeds compete with the native stand for the resources of space, light, water and food. The weeds may co-exist with the remnant stand. They may suppress the native stand. They may overwhelm  or strongly compete . They may eradicate the native stand. This can also work the other way. The native vegetation may co-exist, suppress, overwhelm, eradicate or just compete with the weeds.

weed handbook response

##Reference:- (My own experiences:- Many years of varying types of seed bank studies(under and post graduate), native seed collecting, distribution and growing, environmental consulting for Department of Transport and power utilities, Integrated Catchment Committees, landcare groups, liason with organic growing and permaculture communities, foundation teacher and set up for TAFE horticultural studies, Bremer, 2nd paid landcare coordinator in QLD (100,000ha – lower Brisbane Valley and Bremer River- almost twenty years ago), award winning schools project on environmental weeds, training council and groundspersons in pesticide application and safety technology and integrated pest management, numerous habitat restoration and revegetation programs, training Greening Australia staff for native australian grasses educational extension- mid 90′s).

The following excerpt is from “Clearing the Habit of Habitat Clearing” – at Journey for Wisdom in the Land:-

HABITAT
H – for humanity, its history and  its law
A – for Aborigines and their ancestors before
B – biodiversity – to me it spells out “FREE”
i – for the little guy – that means you and me
T – for the teacher that leads us through the land
A – for AUSTRALIANS that learn to understand
T the Trust of wildlife friends living hand in hand

CLEARING
C is for cutting and clearing their land, taking their bedding, dispersing their clan
L is for larsony, looting and lost
E is for Everything in rubbish piles tossed
A is for Arid Lands’ creep from the west, and
R is remorse for failing this test
i is the little guy – that means you and me
N is right NOW. Wake up!!! LOOK and SEE!!!!
G is for Global, Gaia, God, Gift and Ground

Gracious abundance for many times round!!

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]]> http://bluecray.org/education/weeds-biodiversity-and-australias-land-and-water-stewardship-practices-17.11.2009/feed 0 Environmental Advocacy Collages and Photos June – November 2009 http://bluecray.org/photos/environmental-advocacy-collages-photos-june-november-2009-06.11.2009 http://bluecray.org/photos/environmental-advocacy-collages-photos-june-november-2009-06.11.2009#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:47:41 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=3445 ...»»]]> hinze_dam_and_the_gold_coast_se_qld_water_grid_gets_an_engineering_helpEnvironmental Advocacy Collages & Photos for Educational use. These photos (and some Artwork) are mainly for the Mt Warning (Wollumbin) Caldera Region of NE NSW & SE QLD, Australia. If you are an educator wishing to obtain a better quality image of these Environmental Advocacy pictures for educational purposes, then please contact me and we can come to some simple arrangement.

The above photo is of the Hinze Dam and the City of the Gold Coast, SE QLD, Australia.

I have also included some of my Astrological Symbolic Collages. These have been based on themes using planetary positionings, Sabian Symbols and Fixed Star locations for particular times of the year (2009). They are more of a curiosity, than anything else.

Firstly, here are some of the Phantom Koala Collages. Phantom Koala (PK) comments for environmental sustainability, Land and Water Stewardship & environmental education issues. He has stories, poems and articles throughout bluecray.org and bluecray’s “Balance of Faeries” blog.

There is also a bluecray.org article about some of Phantom Koala’s Collages, history and stories HERE.

You will also notice that I use photos of  Benoit, my little crow friend in many of the Collages, as well as photos of  his Father. They are wild Torresian Crows that live nearby to me.

caldera pics

Environmental Advocacy collage reminding us that Caring for our Country is also about Caring for Our Children

Environmental Advocacy collage reminding us that Caring for our Country is also about Caring for Our Children

clearing_and_burning_off_on_beechmon_plateau_2009tRural_centres_northern_rivers_collage_threats_from_corporate_giantscultural_biodiverse_communities_and_non_sustainable_development_mullumbimbysignificant_threats1money_gambling_property_development_habitatsRecently Updated2

wisdom_in_engineeringCity_life_lismore_ne_nsw_and_heritage_diversityits_all_upsidedownoctober_2009_byron_bay_belongil_beach_engineering_non_sustainable_styleBelongil_beach_byron_bay_ne_nsw_australia_late_2009hinze_dam_and_the_gold_coast_se_qld_water_grid_gets_an_engineering_help7-10-2009(1)benoit_et_fiftygrasses and sabian symbolssualocin_asad_rainy_ones_baba_oct_28_2009

protected by more than money can buy, our hearts, prayers and loving visions for this beautiful blue planet can help change the world

protected by more than money can buy, our hearts, prayers and loving visions for this beautiful blue planet can help change the world

Incoming Searches: environment collages, collage about environment, environment collage australia, collages on environment, caring for the environment colosh, collage making on natural vegetation and wildlife, collage of enviorment, environmental collage making, picture coloshes on door, amazing photos of natural vegetation and wildlife

]]> http://bluecray.org/photos/environmental-advocacy-collages-photos-june-november-2009-06.11.2009/feed 0 Australia’s environmental vandalism heritage :the Tweed Coast developers and our childrens’ future http://bluecray.org/education/australias-environmental-vandalism-heritage-the-tweed-coast-developers-and-our-childrens-future-23.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/education/australias-environmental-vandalism-heritage-the-tweed-coast-developers-and-our-childrens-future-23.10.2009#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:24:48 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2772 ...»»]]> benoit_et_fiftyOur Children’s Future, when it comes to environmental vandalism is not only OUR concern, but Their concern. The Greens  have given out their Bad  Developer Awards recently. The Tweed Shire Council and the NSW Department of Planning have received dishonourable awards for the worst Government Department and the worst Council.

Perhaps you would like to see  other recipients of these developer awards? Try Sylvia Hale’s website – it has all the details. And while you are there, why not give them some support for their work in trying to make our children’s earth environment a little safer, and more secure.

Environmental Advocacy collage reminding us that Caring for our Country is also about Caring for Our Children

Environmental Advocacy collage reminding us that Caring for our Country is also about Caring for Our Children

And now, a poem about an innocent child, and the questions she asks of some developers,  who are environmental vandals, and who are taking away her future safety by their actions,  perceived intentions and lack of integrity.

Phantom Koala and the Crow
An earthmover grinding the earth to a pulp
ignored the quiet pleas of wildlife it gulped
A single white gum tree alone bare and frail
did little to stop it with it’s lonely wail
Phantom Koala had run to escape
the metal equipment that made the earth shake.

And the Crow flew above seeing real from the fake……..

The grey suited gentlemen clothed in their greed
surveyed the bare landscape – “We’ll spray all THAT weed!”

“We’ll build a great golf course, – town centre or two
we’ve got the approval – it’s from (YOU KNOW WHO)
We’ll plant it with trees from our nursery stand
The Tweed Folk will pay us back tenfold our grand”

Then suddenly out of the dust and the fray
A small child came playing – she was heading their way.
The crow looked on smiling – Pk laughed on too
THEY knew what would happen-what that small child would do!
She fronted the grey suited money men then,
she took out a notebook and proceeded with pen
“My classmates and I wondered why you all lie?
My classmate are asking which drugs make you high?
My classmates and me see you just as you are
takers, deceivers, your game’s ‘below par‘!!”
“My classmates are young yet our lives pay for you,
so my classmates are wondering WHAT IS it you do
with this fortune you take from our years, from our life?
Do you mean to keep taking and give the young strife?”
The grey suited gentlemen, now covered in dust
from the earthmovers’ rampage and their lives filled with lust
puffed up their fat cheeks to start lies afresh
but by now it was out and they’d been caught in a mesh
of innocence asking WHAT WAS IT they did?
and WHY where they hiding – WHAT WAS IT THEY HID?

Then as the grey men tooted plans, power, law, the child ran off laughing saying , “you are a bore!”

and Phantom Koala, who’d found a good tree,laughed at the grey guys, and gave the child cheer!
The Crow flew off with her, to her classmates in school
and they all got together to write a new rule
Let the freedom of children and life for the young
be respected by those with power far flung
let the food land and animals waken
each day to loving and caring- a more
honest way.

Links:-

NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water : Summaries of Legislation (ACTS) that the Department operates under

“Administrative Law in an Environmental Context” search results at bluecray Environmental search engine

NSW Department of Planning : … and the legislation and planning instruments associated with it. Including Part 3A of the Planning Law and State Significant Sites.

The EDO (Environmental Defenders Office) has created a Major Projects Toolkit for the people of NSW, Australia. The Toolkit can be found at the EDO website. It is easy to read and understand.

Cumbersome Laws relating to Environment and Planning in NSW reflect a
complicated, alienated and basically not easy to understand environmental planning process.

The EDO  Major Projects Toolkit is a simply presented 21 page downloadable PDF that outlines how people in NSW can interact and become involved in Major Project applications.

Duty of care and the precautionary principle : search results at bluecray environmental search engine.

Coastal Development & Sea Levels – some Australian Links:-

  • National Sea Change Taskforce: Link to – Conference at Byron Bay 2-3 March 2010 “The program will focus on the complex issues currently facing coastal LGAs including sea level rise, the legal implications of climate change and ageing populations………Byron Bay has been selected to host the event because of its relevance in terms of coastal hazards, development pressures and issues associated with climate change impacts”

The TWEED COAST is also experiencing engineered non sustainable development:-

Maps for the Tweed Coast Area near Casuarina, Kings Forest, Cudgen, Cudgen Creek , Wooyung – in fact much of the coastal area of the Tweed Shire!

Koala planning habitat loss se qld - search results environmental search engine at bluecray

Koala planning habitat loss ne nsw – search results environmental search engine at bluecray

“A Balance of Faeries” 1989 by Alison Polistchuk :- a story about Koala Habitat destruction west of Brisbane, SE QLD :- Why the Koalas’ Habitats, when slowly taken from them, over time, piece by piece, leads to increased biodiversity loss on a much larger scale for many of the other Australian Native Wildlife and Vegetation Communities AND why it is important to respect the “LITTLE THINGS” in life.

Land and Water Stewardship : Rescuing Remnants .

  • The Hinterland of the Gold Coast, SE QLD and the Scenic Rim Region of SE QLD  adjoin NE NSW. The Mt Warning Caldera Region contains important habitat areas that are at risk to native wildlife. This Region is under increasing pressure from development and infrastructure implementation, as well as exceedingly poor land & water stewardship.
  • The Koala is just one of many native Australian marsupials at risk by over clearing and fragmentation of habitat, largely due poor planning on the part of the Qld & NSW Governments.
  • The concept of rescuing remnants and degraded landscape enhancement via participation of school educational systems, community involvement and dedication of State Planning Authorities lacks integration with developers of land, infrastructure and townships.
  • The native Australian plant nursery and seed bank distribution industry for local endemic (provincial) native plants is largely  unsupported by all sectors of Australian Society. Reliance is on volunteers and government funding for programs such as Remnant to Remnant to succeed.
  • Developers of towns, urban and regional centres, infrastructure and recreational facilities rarely support authentic Land and Water Stewardship on a scale that is meaningful to lasting and real outcomes. This needs to change, and State and Federal Government planning is responsible, in a large part for implementing the change.

National Sustainability Initiatives at the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts. This website page includes links to the related areas of :-  EPBC Reporting, Indicators & Local Agenda 21, as well as to  Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS .

The Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS page includes :-

  • Conferences and Events
  • Sustainability Networks and Discussion Groups
  • State Government Sites
  • Australian Government Environment Sites
  • Local Government Sites
  • Non-Government Organisations

Coastal Development : search reslults at Environmental Search Engine

Planned retreat, climate change & biodiversity – Byron Bay :- this is a workshop by the EDO Northern Rivers on 3rd December 2009. Whilst this is for Byron Bay, you may find some interesting information at the EDO website

Giri and the 22 Arrows of Truth – Myths for a Modern Age Part 3 A bluecray story about integrity and honesty and the machiavellian nature of a person who was once a key political “behind the scenes” player.

Kings Forest Project Development – sleepless days & nights to come for endangered species at Balance of Faeries bluecray blog

“Kings Forest and the future Tweed” – search results at Bluecray ENVIRONMENTAL SEARCH ENGINE – a search engine designed mainly for the Mt Warning Caldera Region, NE NSW and SE QLD. It’s up the top of the page, on the RHS – ENVIRONMENT SEARCH – can you see it? you may like to try your own “keywords” search. We are still improving it, to make it even more useful.

Syrma – Al Ghafar – a fixed star – relating ASAD, stenography and great fortunes and much more than meets the eye. The Sun is currently, as I write this, at approx. 1-2 degrees Scorpio. In a few days, it will reach a conjunction with this Fixed Star.

National Toxics Network .

Incoming Searches: environmental story collage, for our childrens future, protection of the environment collage, australia environmental vandals

]]> http://bluecray.org/education/australias-environmental-vandalism-heritage-the-tweed-coast-developers-and-our-childrens-future-23.10.2009/feed 0 Corporate Giant Woolworths and the Northern Rivers Town of Mullumbimby http://bluecray.org/advocacy/corporate-giant-woolworths-and-the-northern-rivers-town-of-mullumbimby-21.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/advocacy/corporate-giant-woolworths-and-the-northern-rivers-town-of-mullumbimby-21.10.2009#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:49:26 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2716 ...»»]]> Mullumbimby is a beautiful town in the Northern Rivers of NSW, Australia.  The people of Mullumbimby have gathered together for a long time now to take on the Corporate giant, Woolworths. WHY?

Because the NSW Department of Planning has approved a Woolworths Development in their beautiful little township, and the towns folk are still determined to have their valid arguments, for why this is not OK ,to be heard. A court case is pending, and the township of Mullumbimby needs your support!

Try these links to understand just why.

Firstly:-

Mullumaction.org : the Mullum Community Action Network that has formed to work to preserve the rural identity of the little township from being over-run by one of the two corporate giants (duopoly) in the Australian Grocery supply industry. Issues such as inadequate groundwater management, unfair competition against small local businesses, visual and physical impacts from the building of a large woolworths shopping centre in the township are just a few.

Mullumbimby at google maps.

bluecray Environmental Search Engine results for:-

Woolworths Mullumbimby .

Woolworths Gambling Poker Machines .

Mullumbimby Action Woolworths Court Appeal .(Woolworths Vs Byron Shire Council at NSW Land and Environment Court – possibly November 2009 hearing)

Woolworths hardware giant .

cultural_biodiverse_communities_and_non_sustainable_development_mullumbimbyPhantom Koala sees that small regional communities can offer sustainable resources in a variety of ways, and large corporate developments offer sameness, blandness, non renewable resource dependency and the”rich get richer while the poor get poorer” scenarios

There are a number of small rural towns about the area of Mullumbimby. Many of them have small shops, local and regionalised industries  that offer community focus and community values far beyond what the woolworths corporate giant and its development has to offer.

Rural_centres_northern_rivers_collage_threats_from_corporate_giants

Mullumbimby is a regional resource centre  to many of these small communities, and the issues at stake here, should woolworths gain the upper hand in retail grocery supplies (and possibly hardware as well?) could be against the basic principles of local and regional sustainability, as promoted and supposedly supported by the Governments of NSW and Australia.

The move by Woolworths, supported by the NSW Department of Planning,  to develop in this small rural township is an example of the rush of non sustainable developments that are now in the pipeline. These non sustainable developments have the potential of  overwhelming the coastal strip of NE NSW. Corporate leadership,  when it comes to Northern Rivers of NSW, appears to be based about non sustainable development, species and habitat destruction and land development at all costs to the environment. It is entirely out of step with the Global Vision for local environmentally friendly sustainable vision.

biodiversity_is_subtleBiodiversity is subtle, and can offer resilience in times of Climatic Change. Regional and local sustainable community diversity can also offer resilience in times of climate change.

other bluecray articles for this topic:-

Mullumbimby Woolworths Approved by NSW Department of Planning 28.01.2009

The Long and Short of Corporate Vision 5.10.2009

Gambling can come in many forms, including throwing money into poker machines, coastal property development and large scale clearing of habitat in the name of habitat restoration

Gambling can come in many forms, including throwing money into poker machines, coastal property development and large scale clearing of habitat in the name of habitat restoration

Bluecray experience is that whilst Governments can be elected by people and supportive of people who elect them, there are many voices making up the communities within the Mt Warning Caldera Region. One of the biggest pressures on both governments and communities is the need to make decisions when large corporations and businesses move to develop in a way that does not serve environmental sustainability or regional well being.

There is a current, highly obvious dichotomy within government where some non environmentally sustainable developments are considered “ok” and others are not. Some times it appears like rolling a dice as to what the outcomes will be, but often, there are also deeper undercurrents at play.

National Toxics Network:

Ross Gittens on Gambling, happiness and economic pursuits at the Sydney Morning Herald

Incoming Searches: identify animal droppings australia, biodiversity collage, property development images, Biodiversity land, land biodiversity, pictures of the new woolies in mullum, biodiversity articles, community diversity, google maps Mullumbimby nsw, habitats|

]]> http://bluecray.org/advocacy/corporate-giant-woolworths-and-the-northern-rivers-town-of-mullumbimby-21.10.2009/feed 0 Phantom Koala and the Goanna http://bluecray.org/philosophy/phantom-koala-and-the-goanna-10.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/philosophy/phantom-koala-and-the-goanna-10.10.2009#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:21:19 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2591 ...»»]]> Below is a Koala Poem to explain some interesting ideas about Koala Habitat destruction, endangered Australian native wildlife issues and why the trend of habitat clearing and fragmentation continues, when the world is “heating up” and life is being threatened by our overconsumption of the planet..

But firstly , a few words about  bluecray experiential views, philosophies and  responses to land clearing, habitat clearing, inappropriate natural resource management and human consumption in the face of mass extinction.

  • Many types of people and views make up our world of human knowledge. Basic human and animal rights are a huge issue globally.
  • Some of us think about the above matters (threatened species, habitat clearing, natural resource mismanagement, animal and people advocacy etc) and we have deep concern, seek education, yet we feel that we can do nothing or very little – this is ok – perhaps it is our concern that is important. Never underestimate “concern”, and the passive impact it has on others.
  • Some of us work towards action, compromise, practical step at a time issues. For example, realising to halt  development (that is environmentally unsustainable) all at once is not the way. Working slowly and surely towards a better world is valid.  Working with developers – not against them, working with poor land stewards, slowly helping them change their understanding has validity.
  • Some of us have no idea that the level of habitat destruction has become critical to our own survival as a species in this world. That, again, is the individual’s path.  Do not think that they have any less a valid right to life and viewpoint than others. They are entitled to their life and the consequences there of, just as we all are.
  • Some people see that the consequences of habitat clearing, poor land stewardship and the power of inappropriate persuasion by wealthy “movers and shakers” has become a consequence for many of our children and the future which is to be their life. They speak out about this, and take actions of various types that are aimed at deep change within humanity’s consciousness and spirit.
  • Negotiation and honesty is a cornerstone to becoming a better society.
  • Tolerance, love, forgiveness, redemption and compassion are powerful tools when dealing with poor land management, inappropriate land custodianship and ignorant land stewardship. These things can open up doors that anger, misdirected ego and intolerance have previously held shut.

In the scheme of things, action (Environmental Action and Activism) to change the world can come in three forms:-

  • Identifying the critical issue, passively supporting change for the better in your heart, but recognising that beyond that, you can do little else, except heal your own inbalances and heart.
  • Identifying the critical issues, actively supporting the change for the better and recognising that  balance, focus and the “heart” and “energy” behind those actions are to be considered as foundations to those actions.
  • Identifying the critical issue, understanding the passive and the active response, then going beyond. Going to and working with, the underlying issue that has caused the initial problem is in this category. Going to the spirit of things, addressing them in a way that can help cause a massive shift in mass consciousness awareneness, thus facilitating change without really becoming involved in the individual issue.

PK_and_the_planner_talk_all_night

Phantom Koala and the Goanna

“Dearest PK“ asked Goanna wise
“why don’t the Trees now reach to the Skies-
why is the Rain so late to fall?
I know many things but with these, I  stall.“

PK slowly shifted to see
who questioned him so from beneath his tree
“Why Goanna, you smarty, didn’t you know
The government let them clear  the trees,  so….
The rain doesn’t come, the wind blows hard
and everyone’s mowing down their back yard
They’ve channelled the water away from the streams
and ruined the chance of our childrens’ dreams.“

This disturbed the Goanna who said, “But PK, surely not everyone acts in this way?“
Well,  PK just laughed and pulled at some leaves
“It’s what’s in ones heart – that’s what to believe
Does it make sense to kill? does it make sense to steal?
Does it make sense to eat  much much more than your meal?“
“Well, that is what they do – the clearers of land, they kill all the trees and they make out they’re grand. Then they take all the water and pump it away
and they tell us that industries show us the way.
They hop on their jet stream and swan round the world
praising themselves with their grand flags unfurled
saying ‘We have the answer – we are the best‘
(though to you and me both – we know they’re the pest).“
Goanna thought deeply on PK’s last words and dreamily saw that it was quite absurd
“So why do they panic and call each day drought, why do the leaders still hold so much clout?“
“Oh Goanna! Dear friend, you wise brave old soul
because they can’t see from their justified hole. They’ve dug down so deeply, their egos as spades – that the only thing left between them and the hades-

is redemption and love. We must give them a hand, to clamber back up and to save our sweet land“

DSC04140“Phantom Koala and PART 3A of the NSW Planning Law”

DSC06801

This Goanna photo was taken at Upper Burringbar, Mt Warning Caldera Region, NE NSW, Australia

KOALA at QLD Departmentof Environment and Resource Management : Koala plan, Maps, Information Sheets, Koala Species Outline, Local Government Involvement, Mapping of New Koala Habitat Areas

KOALA PROFILE at NSW Threatened Species pages : KOALA – listed as VULNERABLE

“A Balance of Faeries” 1989 by al at bluecray.org – a story about habitat clearing, Koalas and the consequences. When this story, “A Balance of Faeries”,  which is a true story happened, the land which was cleared – Koala Habitat, was also part of the home to the biggest GOANNA that I have ever seen. It was about eight feet in length. This massive Goanna would have been very very old indeed!

Alan Moir cartoons at Sydney Morning Herald – summing up wealthy corporate and political gamesmanship – these cartoons will make you both laugh and think!

Melissa Merry: “Blogging and Environmental Advocacy: A New Way to Engage the Public?”

Koala School

Incoming Searches: goanna droppings, Australian animals/ Goanna, identify goanna, goannas droppings, goanna picture cartoon, goanna disease, goanna, Goanna beneath, northern rivers agriculture history, baby goanna

]]> http://bluecray.org/philosophy/phantom-koala-and-the-goanna-10.10.2009/feed 2 Endangered ecological community and Kings Forest Development, Tweed Coast, NE NSW. http://bluecray.org/education/endangered-ecological-community-and-kings-forest-development-tweed-coast-ne-nsw-07.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/education/endangered-ecological-community-and-kings-forest-development-tweed-coast-ne-nsw-07.10.2009#comments Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:57:55 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2477 ...»»]]> Endangered ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITY : Coastal Cypress Pine Forest (Callitris columellaris Forest). This ecological community was once widespread along the coast of Australia in various forms. It is  threatened and very much at risk(*see below) and is listed by the NSW Government.  The LEDA development (Leda Group owned by Bob Ell) at Kings Forest and other nearby potential URBAN and INFRASTRUCTURE developments pose serious threat to these sparse Ecological Communities that are now scattered through the Tweed Coast of NE NSW.

I have struggled to complete this article, so sorry if it has seemed abit over the place. Have been in hospital having an operation and the internet has been not working.   However, from what I can glean,   this Ecological Community HAS been listed as endangered by the NSW Government, – as of 2008. I have just updated this on the 14th October, 2009. And  to echo Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.‘s words of Kilgore Trout in Timequake – I have been sick, now I’m well and there’s work to be done……….And so it goes:-

7-10-2009(1)Callitris columellaris and some of the native grass species found in association with it

  • Threatened species  recorded in Coastal Cypress “Pine” Forest or associated vegetation, including Acronychia littoralis (scented acronychia), Archidendron hendersonii (white lace flower), Geodorum densiflorum (pink nodding orchid) and Drynaria rigidula (basket fern)

Let us look at what job the Callitris columellaris Forest does for the Coastal Ecosystems of Australia. In particular, NE NSW and the Tweed Coast.

  • Firstly, the Ecological Community of this “Cypress” has largely disappeared from the Northern NSW Coastal Region. Accounting for 2% of Australia’s Forest cover (at about the year 2008), the Genus of Callitris was revised in 2006. The species Callitris columellaris and its associated ecological community has disappeared by almost 80% in the North Coast Bioregion of NSW.
  • Secondly, Callitris columellaris is being currently studied as one of the Significant Projects in the Australian Government’s $100 million Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities (CERF) initiative for understanding  and preparing for Climate Change. I guess that means that this plant is somewhat special!
  • Thirdly, Callitris columellaris Forests and their Ecological Communties have withstood the changing dunal system of our Coastal Landscapes for eons – as the sea levels have risen and fallen over time.
  • Fourthly:-The Ecological Communities associated with Callitris columellaris are now so fragmented and sparsley populating the coast of NE NSW that enhancement, re-establishment and re-connection of these communities is essential to help the North Coast of NSW withstand the pressures of Climate Change, sea level rise and native habitat survival:-  Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in the NSW North Coast Bioregion – endangered ecological community listing :- In NSW, Coastal Cypress Pine Forest is currently known from the local government areas of Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley, but may occur elsewhere within the NE Coastal NSW bioregion.

This Conifer – (Pinophyta) -  is from a very old – ancient group of plants.  It’s seed is protected in a cone. It has been around longer than the flowering plants of more modern millenia. The Callitris genus is found only in Australia & New Caledonia. That’s right – NO WHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD! At some stage in Australia’s history they have formed GREAT forests across our continent. ***

  • Fifthly, Callitris columellaris grows primarily on sedimentary soils of a sandy nature. Seed banks of these soils are  easily altered by clearing, fire, water table changes, environmental weeds, machine and other human traffic disturbance. The resilience by sandy soil seed banks to recreate their native vegetation cover is lessened by continual disturbance, weed infestation and over cultivation.(see below #)
  • The above dangers to an already fragile seed bank will increase with Bob Ell’s proposed INTENSE urban development and associated infrastrutures, industries and traffic.  The Tweed Coast has been pressured enough by development of housing estates, shopping centres, transport corridors and habitat fragmention / clearing.
  • There is the looming threat of climate change and rising sea levels to consider also. Gold Coast coastal developments are testimony to this. Habitats and ecological communities have totally disappeared with intense non sustainable developement. The sea is moving inland, and the dunal systems are, and have already been disappearing over the past thirty years. The fragmented remnants of time tested ecological communities that inhabited coastal areas – wetlands, old dunal systems, estuarine areas – require rescuing, rather than surrounding and over-running by non sustainable development.
  • Threats that will affect the Endangered Ecological Community (still awaits listing?) of the Callitris columellaris Forest include weed invasion, human interference such as trampling, fragmentation, easement maintenance and illegal rubbish dumping. Fire is a great threat to this Ecological Community

Recently Updated2Phantom Koala (PK) and Benoit look at coastal development further south of Kings Forest, on the Tweed Coast. They see that fences, roads, bare earth, fires, cars, people, cats, dogs, fences, mown land, rubbish, noise, cleared land and building after building present many challenges to the native wildlife that rely on  the remnant Callitris trees and their associated ecological communities.

Find out more about the Endangered Ecological Community of the Callitris columellaris Forest at bluecray environmental search.  The PDF “Coastal Cypress Pine Forest in the NSW North Bioregion” should be  available at the NSW Department of Environment Climate Change & Water. You will be able to find out more about what other plants grow in this endangered Ecological Community and its associated vegetation.

Look up threatened species & ecological communities at the NSW Government’s Threatened Species Website

North Coast Bioregion of NSW -

Look up Callitris collumellaris at the Australian Government Department of  Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry – Bureau of Rural Sciences : Australian Forest Profiles – Callitris.

FIRE : the more people – the more fires are lit. This is a reasonable consideration when bringing urban populations close to Significant State Sites and Endangered Ecological Communities . Especially where that Endangered Ecological Community contains species that do not recover well from fire. This year (2009) quite a few fires have been fought on the Tweed Coast:- a number of them have been thought to be suspiciously lit.

* A note here about the listing of this community and the endangered status. I had thought that at  the time of writing this post, the list was yet to be implemented by the  Government. I had thought that listing wouldn’t occur, due to technicalities, politics, insufficient urgency… etc etc…perhaps like the KOALA, it never does get listed, and just disappears from the area/North Coast NSW Region all together. Pedantics can be an interesting feature of rationalising destruction and non sustainable development. The reality of endangered and the “legals” of endangered can be two very different things.

***The great Callitris Ecological Communities have withstood just about everything that nature can throw at them. These great forest cycles can be upwards of 500 years. As a human lifetime is nowhere near that, we are unable to grasp just what this means, unless we look carefully at the GREAT CYCLES.  These precious CONIFERS have kept ecological communities and habitats going, thriving, changing, maintaining biodiversity in times of stress from climatic and geological changes.  Should climatic change and stress occur in Australia, one of the tried and tested species of plants, that can probably recreate ecological communities is Callitris columellaris.

# Whilst wetland sedimentary soils can have a high seed bank percentage and longevity, sandy soils that are well drained tend to have much less seed held in the soil. Due to the nature of the overclearing and disturbance of  Tweed Coast Soils, many weed seeds now inhabit the seed bank, both below and above ground. These form strong competition for the Callitris species and the  associated native vegetation that is critical for the survival of this ecological community.

Phantom Koala and Part3A of the Planning Law .

Koala Sagas : “When Phantom Koala was Young”   and “There is a Way”- two poems about how Phantom Koala lost his mother, and then found her in trapped in Kings Forest, thus becoming a “Hero”.

For more about some of the Wildlife and Plant Species threatened by Leda’s  Kings Forest development try Kings Forest Development threatens 21 Threatened Species of Fauna . Some of these species are also known to be found in Callitris columellaris forests – I have made a note beside some of these species in the Kings Forest threatened species list below, but others on the list may also be present in Callitris Forests and ecological communities as well. It is hard to say, as the Callitris columellaris Forests have been so badly destroyed in recent decades, and historical scientific evidence is extremely scattered.

And NOW, some of the threatened Kings Forest species:-

the Koala

Rose-crowned Fruit- Dove (Ptilinopus regina) – and images .

Grass Owl (Tyto capensis) -

Masked Owl (Tyto novaehollandiae) – known to inhabit Callitris forests

Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis) –

Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus ) -

Bush stone-curlew  (Burhinus grallarius) (Aust. Govt) and at NSW Govt- and images .

Bush-hen (Amaurornis olivaceus) -

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) – known to inhabit Callitris forests

Eastern False Pipistrelle (Falsistrellus tasmaniensis) -

Yellow-bellied sheathtail Bat (Saccolaimus flaviventris) -

Common blossom Bat (Syconycteris australis) - and images . known to inhabit Callitris forests

Common Planigale (Planigale maculata) -  and images . known to inhabit Callitris forests

Long-nosed Potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) – and images .

Red-legged Pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica) – and images .

Little Bent-Wing Bat (Miniopteris australis) - and images .known to inhabit Callitris forests

Grey-headed flying-fox(Pteropus poliocephalus) and images .

Olongburra Frog (Litoria olongburensis) and images .

Wallum Froglet (Crinia tinnula) and images .

Glossy Black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus lathami) and images .

Archidendron hendersonii (white lace flower) – a species of threatened flora that is found at Kings Forest

  • search for  Aboriginal  (Indigenous peoples) research literature for the North Coast of NSW at the Libraries Australia Search
  • I had the opportunity to speak with a young Indigenous Australian a number of years back. She told me how her “totem” animal was no longer living on the planet. It was EXTINCT. She described how it felt to go to a museum, and see an exhibit of this dead totem. She told me that it felt very strange indeed. This made me feel sad for her.  I grew up spending many hours sitting under these trees and listening to stories, learning about nature. Back then, there were many more of these trees along the coastal strip, together with their biodiverse ecological communities. Back then, people were already speaking out about the clearing of forests, and our precious habitats. The facts were already there, the data, the knowledge. That was three generations ago.
  • Reforestation of Degraded Lands at http://www.agroforestry.net/ .
  • Search results (Google search) for Managing Our Coastal Zone in a Changing Climate .

The Ecologically Sustainable Development LINKS page includes (as at November 2009):-

  • Conferences and Events
  • Sustainability Networks and Discussion Groups
  • State Government Sites
  • Australian Government Environment Sites
  • Local Government Sites
  • Non-Government Organisations

“Clearing the Habit of Habitat Clearing” – at Journey for Wisdom in the Land

Incoming Searches: ecological community, bioregion australiana flora, callitris columellaris, endangered animals and plants from tweed area, phantom coast endangered animals, mt lamington etymology, goannafood chain in ecosystem, leda illegal clearing, la fauna de la biorregion paleartica, fauna de australis y collage

]]> http://bluecray.org/education/endangered-ecological-community-and-kings-forest-development-tweed-coast-ne-nsw-07.10.2009/feed 2 The Short and Long of Corporate Vision http://bluecray.org/advocacy/the-short-and-long-of-corporate-vision-05.10.2009 http://bluecray.org/advocacy/the-short-and-long-of-corporate-vision-05.10.2009#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:00:12 +0000 al http://bluecray.org/?p=2281 ...»»]]> The history of corporations and wealthy decision makers is not new to humanity. People have a long history of working together, by natural alignment, contract or force. Powerful liaisons  can switch and change, depending on the agendas of the “leaders”  and “groups” involved.

Privately steered, corporation power can also be affiliated with a variety of  Merchandising/ Commercial, State, Religious, Educational, Scientific or Political networks & regimes. The rise of not for profit Corporations is on the increase over the past century. Also, the concept of Corporate Feudalism has been with us for many decades.

Increased information, communications and mobility facilitates the joining together of people for a variety of responses to current humanity, philanthropic, animal advocacy and environmental concerns.

Whilst environmental advocacy by groups and individuals has always existed, corporations have been extremely slow to respond.  Short term corporate vision of creating a sustainable environment still remains  just a wonderful concept. Its current immaturity risks the future well being of all the children of this earth.

Long term environmental corporate vision for sustainability is also in its infancy.  So what we have is limited corporate short term vision, with the long term vision barely nurtured. Both need to grow up. Vision is our way forward.

and thenTweed Shire Koala Populations at candobetter.net – and some more updates about the threat from corporate myopia and Koala Populations HERE .

Senate Environment and Communications Committee (Parliament of Australia : SENATE):-  ”The koala—saving our national icon” 22 September 2011  Commonwealth of Australia 2011 ISBN 978-1-74229-524-4

Tim Flannery on Biodiversity -  Copenhagen Climate Council at bluecray Environmental Search

Postkyoto Conversations – Peter Vintila (“freelance social researcher and writer committed to social and environmental justice causes and to the open democratic inquiry this implies”)- at postkyoto.org – and also see search results for some of Peter’s works and thoughts at bluecray environmental search

When  environmental vision is governed by corporate myopia, it is shocking – both short AND long term.

grasshopper_on_sunflower_burringbar

Phantom Koala also knows that His problems and those of all his Koala friends’ problems are OUR PROBLEMS.

Corporate Leadership and Koalas : search results at bluecray Environmental Search

The “Koala” is not just an ICON.

Koala Icon QLD : bluecray Environmental Search results .

Koala Icon NSW : bluecray Environmental Search results .

some art pics1

In the following Koala Poem about Corporate Vision, Phantom Koala muses that the current vision is extremely MYOPIC. Land is cleared,  bargains are made and more Koala Habitat is lost. PK is waiting for Corporate Leadership to take the helm. Unfortunately, all he sees is self seeking gamesmanship, ego and deceit in many directions. Luckily, he has some good friends all around the world, and with his family and friends, he climbs up high to “see”…..
…………….corporate myopia

Phantom Koala does disappearance good
His developer enemies wish that he would
stop as a threat(ened), so their work can go on
now their money is dwindling ,  their wish list so long

They’ve complied with the standard of EIS, so -
why does the nod from the government slow?
And why does their sleep seem to toss turn and wake
they’ve paid their donations what more does it take?

Well PK’s protected. Their money can’t buy
his spirit or habit(at) since their money’s a lie.
And lies based on ego and greed and defense
are valued below more than just a few cents.

While PK’s dear forest friends rally to hear
how corporate greed is now seen by this seer
(This hero who travels through corporate land
and watches and listens to their hollow stand)

Ah -  there’s none oh so blind as as those that can see
yet miss this Koala who’s high in his tree.
And there’s none oh so blind as developers who
circle like madmen yet deny what they knew.

They vow that they’ll see all their money can buy
but PK and his friends see their actions so sly
PK has their myopic sights right in his frame
and sees on their shoulders all of the blame

For his dear friends’ home losses their habitats ‘dozed
And who’s sleeping well now this myth is near closed?
It’s PK and family and friends sitting high
above tree tops of love so they’ll always see “why”.

Phantom Koala (PK) wonders why, for all the badge selling, tracking and monitoring, big furry- suited people with tins, policy advice and volumes of papers and documents, no corporation has stopped the great destruction of Koala Habitat in SE QLD and NE NSW, even though the dedicated people who work hand in hand with Koalas and their “real story” have been telling that story for DECADES. PK knows that he has Corporate Friends. PK also knows that the “Koala” is not just an ICON.

corporate_myopiaDevelopment on the Tweed Coast of NE NSW, in the Mt Warning Caldera Region of Australia is an example of Corporate Myopia

Australian Science at Work- some archived articles here that may be of interest

Regional Futures Institute : Southern Cross University and ABOUT the Institute

The Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts . and their Threatened Species Publications .

Urban Taskforce : and their Mission Statement…..

Stateline NSW : “NSW planning laws under further scrutiny” 2nd Oct. 2009 and the Stateline NSW archive .

Australia’s Threatened Species at the Australian Academy of Science .

“Rescuing Remnants” at the National Library of Australia online .

Threatened remnant vegetation – search results at bluecray Environmental Search

“Truth and Consequences” at Daniel Goleman’s website : Ecological Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Social Intelligence

Prinz des Goldes: a blog by Wolfgang Bernhard (if you don’t speak the language, you may like to translate these websites.) and the book “Prinz des Goldes : Fabelhafte Finanzkrise” by Wolfgang Bernhard at Google Books .

Giri and the 22 Arrows of Truth : Myths for a Modern Age Part3

Native vegetation clearance, habitat loss and biodiversity decline – An overview of recent native vegetation clearance in Australia and its implications for biodiversity – references and CONTENTS . what was known back in 1995 . (Biodiversity Series, Paper No. 6 Andreas Glanznig, Biodiversity Unit Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, June 1995) at Australian Dept. of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts

“Deforestation, urbanisation and seasonality: Interacting effects on a regional bird assemblage” by Carla P. Catterall, Mark B. Kingston, Katherine Park and Sven Sewell ( Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland 4111, Australia.) 1996/1997 – at ScienceDirect.com .

  • Riki Ott’s website : author of “Not one Drop”, Riki Ott  is a community activist, a former commercial salmon “fisherm’am,” and has a degree in marine toxicology with a specialty in oil pollution. She understands (first hand) the Exxon Valdez oil spill and has some valuable resources on her website, especially relating to oil spills and the issues of  “Corporate Personhood,” which can be defined simply as “the illegitimate notion that a corporation can claim political and civil rights to overturn democratically enacted laws”
Incoming Searches: burringbar spider, Concept of corporate vision, advocacy for the environment short poem, smallpoem about biodiversity, sven sewell

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