November 27, 2018 · 7:16 pm

Saturday, working volunteer morning.

8 am meeting at Mill Road Huonbrook Herbicide Free Volunteers will follow up to remove Jump-seed from the road verges. 

Our 4 year effort has seen a dramatic reduction with the plant reseeding in patches which we will remove on Saturday.

Our original volunteer mornings  begun when council sent contractors to spray the drain with glyphosate  where Jump-seed had established itself.

The spraying was instigated by Wilson Creek Land-care.

Wear bright covering clothing, sensible sturdy shoes or boots, work gloves and hat.

Bring drinking water too.

Estimated 10 30 am finish.

Byron Shire Chemical Free Landcare next working bee will be on Saturday the 1st December, from 9 am until 1 pm, at New Brighton chemical free site. We will be there removing Glory lily, Bitou bush and Ground asparagus seedlings. We are specially looking forward to meet Ocean Shores locals, that would like to help with this project. Please meet us at the first curve, on the left, at North Head Road. Park your car and walk into the beach. The site is towards the south directions and you will see us on the dunes. This is a short strip of land, between the ocean and the back of the houses. Please wear boots, long sleeve shirt and long pants, a hat, gloves and bring water. Tools and first aid kit will be provided, however if you have a serrated knife, that you don’t mind to be used on the send, it will be great to bring for the Asparagus removal.


byronshirechemicalfreelandcare.org

BSCFL is a project of Mullum Seed

Mullumbimby Sustainability Education and Enterprise Development Incorporated

Nadia de Souza Pietramale

Project Coordinator

0478 272 300

This is Australia in 2018.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/federal-government-botched-scrutiny-of-plan-to-bulldoze-pristine-forest-20181127-p50il2.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-carbon-emissions-un-report-environment-global-warming-a8654186.html

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November 26, 2018 · 6:40 am

Monarch Butterflies.

While in the past fluctuations in Monarch populations could be explained by factors such as a cold winter, the evidence is now clear that there are human factors putting downward pressure on monarch populations.

(Beyond Pesticides) Monarch butterflies are in the midst of a staggering decades-long population decline that has rapidly accelerated since 2005, research published by an international team of scientists and the University of Florida last month indicates. According to data meticulously collected by researchers, monarchs making their way to central Florida after emerging from their breeding grounds in Mexico have declined by 80% over the last decade and a half. This is roughly the same time frame at which beekeepers began to see precipitous declines in managed honey bee colonies. Researchers point to industrial development and increasing pesticide use as factors that have accelerated the decline of this iconic species.

“A broad pattern is that 95 percent of corn and soybean products grown in the U.S. are Roundup Ready crops that resist glyphosate,” said study coauthor Earnest Williams, PhD, of New York’s Hamilton College in a press release. “That has a national impact. What’s really needed are patches of native vegetation and nectar sources without pesticides. It’s not just for monarchs but all pollinators.”

I followed three Monarchs in my garden this morning with the camera. Their food source, the Wild Cotton weed or Milk wood, is in decline in my gardens despite me trying to encourage it.

The Monarch was introduced to Australia soon after the Europeans arrived. There seems to be a different view on the Monarchs arrival in Australia. One account I remember reading suggesting it flew here from Brazil, another that arrived with the new settlers.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/31/france-first-ban-five-pesticides-killing-bees/

 

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November 26, 2018 · 12:18 am

Forest walk.

This morning I went for a walk with the camera through the first area I hand cleared of lantana when the builders were constructing my cabin. 22 years on and its an established forest full of life.

Peter Wohlleben      THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/global-investigation-reveals-extent-of-harm-by-medical-devices/10552726

More harm just like herbicides on our food and in our environment. Beyond the manufacturers selling tactics. 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2018/nov/26/myclimatequestions-young-australians-ask-about-their-climate-future-video

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November 25, 2018 · 5:28 am

Sunday……..rest day.

The market went well……………..steady attendance and lots of socializing. Ended up with no decent photos. When we got home a dinner of stir fry vegetables with macadamia nuts.

Henrietta joining us to catch some of our dinner.

 

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November 23, 2018 · 1:16 am

Christmas fair. Saturday, 24th November. 10 am to 2pm.

Christmas Fair at Wilson Creek Hall, the annual fund raiser for the hall’s continuation.

Saturday, 24th November. From 10 am to 2 pm.

Due to the variable season I have less vegetables and herbs available.  But I baked 2 Christmas Cakes which didn’t turn out as well as I expected.

https://www.schoolstrike4climate.com/support-us?utm_medium=email&utm_source=actionkit

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/sir-david-attenborough-cried-dynasties-bbc-watch-nature-wildlife-a8646351.html

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November 21, 2018 · 7:20 pm

AS IF AUSTRALIA CAN AFFORD LOSING ANY MORE TREES.

Thousands of hectares of state forest appear to have been logged or earmarked for logging illegally, an ABC investigation has found, amounting to what some say is the mass “theft” by a government-owned for-profit logging company.
Key points:
Victorian Government determines where VicForests can log by creating “allocation order”
Only trees within that allocation can be harvested for sale
VicForests appears to be taking trees from outside allocation at hundreds of locations across the state

Trees making up some of Victoria’s most endangered ecosystems are being felled and turned into building products, paper or wood chips by VicForests, which are then sold in retailers such as Bunnings and Officeworks.
The apparently illegal logging is also threatening the habitats of some of the country’s most vulnerable species, including the Leadbeater’s possum, Victoria’s animal emblem.
In its simplest terms, the trees appear to have been taken illegally by VicForests — since they are not inside the areas it has been granted permission to log.
“If VicForests is logging timber that hasn’t been allocated to them, then they’re taking and selling timber that doesn’t belong to them,” said Danya Jacobs, a lawyer at Environmental Justice Australia.
“And another way of putting that is, it’s tantamount to stealing timber from public forests.”

 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-21/victorian-forests-appear-to-have-been-logged-illegally/10496424

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November 20, 2018 · 9:49 pm

Water Mining in our Shire.

From the Echo.

Regional water minister Niall Blair has requested an independent review into the impacts of the bottled water industry on groundwater sources in the Northern Rivers.

And local councils have been advised to suspend approving any new applications for water mining until the report is complete in mid 2019.

The NSW chief scientist & engineer will provide advice on the sustainable groundwater extraction limits in the region, as well as advice on whether the current or proposed groundwater monitoring bores are sufficient.

Minister Blair said the NSW Government ‘recognises the pivotal role that water plays in regional prosperity and long-term growth of communities’.

‘Local community members and community leaders have made representations to me on behalf of their constituents and we are taking action,’ he said.

‘I have asked the chief scientist & engineer to investigate the sustainability of groundwater extraction in the Northern Rivers for bottling purposes.

‘Water is a finite resource and we are completing this review to make sure that water remains available into the future in the Northern Rivers catchment for all purposes including stock and domestic users and for groundwater dependent ecosystems,’ Mr Blair said.

Mr George said the review was ‘not about stopping groundwater extraction, which we know is very important to landholders who rely on groundwater for stock and domestic purposes’.

‘I asked Minister Blair to commission the review so that we have a better understanding of what groundwater extraction for water bottling, means for the long term viability of the water table,’ Mr George said.

Nationals Parliamentary Secretary for Northern NSW, Ben Franklin, welcomed the announcement and said councils should not approve any further development applications for groundwater bottling while the review is underway.

‘Until we have all the information available, I call on Council[s] to not approve any further development applications for groundwater bottling,’ Mr Franklin said.

The chief scientist & engineer is expected to provide his initial report by early February 2019, with a final report to be published in mid 2019.

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