Land & environment

Research conducted by the Centre for Organic Research & Education (CORE) has developed recycled content technologies that can turn cities and farmlands into Sponges that can adapt to more frequent flooding and drought events to reduce the risk they present to our communities ... May 1st to 7th marks International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) in Australia.

Norco dairy farmers are to receive an immediate price increase of five cents a litre to support them in farm production after the floods. Norco Co-operative’s 281 members will receive the extra five cents a litre paid as a co-operative premium above the normal milk prices, taking the average price to 84c a litre.

Geoff Helisma. At yesterday’s Clarence Valley Council (CVC) meeting, councillors are likely to have allocated $1 million of  Category D  funding under the  Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements ... Staff advised councillors that the $700k allocated towards updating its flood plain documentation is “intended to ensure CVC has robust business plans and costings for future funding opportunities”.

Geoff Helisma. The North Coast LLS’s invasive pests, team leader operations, Dean Chamberlain, said he had not received any recent reports about feral pig sightings in and around Iluka ... “We know from past experience that these pigs are usually moving in and out of the national park, so we work in coordination with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Clarence Valley Council. However, nothing happens if no one tells us; otherwise, we are just sitting in the dark – we need to know so we can take some action.”

GRDC Agronomy Solutions Director Sean Mason ... says the use of pre-season soil testing results from within paddock zones together with test strips can fine-tune fertiliser recommendations and ensure growers are getting the most bang for their fertiliser buck.

One of Professor Zylstra’s core beliefs is that withholding fire from south-west Australian eucalypt forests for at least four decades will make those forests less flammable, even in a warming climate. This idea must bring joy to those who have long claimed that frequent, deliberate (prescribed) burning is ‘harmful to biodiversity’.

The NSW Government is introducing new Farm Forestry Codes of Practice that will ensure long-term sustainability for the industry and provide robust environmental protections across the NSW private forestry estate. The new Codes, which come into effect on Monday, 2 May 2022, are the result of a rigorous review of Farm Forestry in NSW as well as advice from the Natural Resource Commission.

Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries Jonno Duniam said the Farm Forestry: Growing Together strategy recognises the opportunities presented by farm forestry for both farmers and Australia’s forest industries. "We're seeing an increasing demand for timber products, as well as the development of new carbon markets that reward farmers for planting trees,” Assistant Minister Duniam said.

“National parks should not be purchased unless there are funds to fully fence and maintain the park. They are the worst neighbours one could wish for with little to no weed control, no fences, nobody living on the property, little fire-fighting capability, and a propensity to shoot cattle" : Sally Witherspoon, Cape York cattle farmer.

Dave Donald. While anti-fishing groups have long been opposed to recreational fishing, to claim they have colluded in a major way to “slash Spanish mackerel quotas” is a fabrication. Seeking to lay the blame for the depletion of Spanish mackerel stocks solely on Labor is another furphy as exceptionally poor fisheries management under BOTH major parties essentially created the current situation.

Despite the constant drizzle of rain, the Maldon Easter Parade was a smashing hit. Large crowds huddled under historic awnings watching the colourful entrants as they braved the wet weather to cheers from onlookers.

Patricia Gill. Ollie Wakka, 81, joined the newly-established Denmark Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service in 1962, ‘because I couldn’t say no’ ... Ollie recalls how everyone turned up to a fire as they were dressed, there was no equipment except what brigade members brought along and members’ vehicles were used.

Twenty-five of these homes, also called pods, were delivered to Wollongbar Sports Fields in Ballina Shire this weekend. Many more homes are expected to be delivered to Richmond Valley, Tweed, Byron and Lismore LGAs. Suitable sites in these areas are being discussed.

When Woodburn resident Melanie Connell heard that looters were taking what little people had left, she decided to do something about it ... Melanie wanted residents to know that if they see torches shining into  empty backyards, it is the community group looking out for them.

A re-elected Coalition Government will invest $38.1 million over the next three years to establish a National Veteran Volunteer Service program in partnership with Disaster Relief Australia (DRA).

It is clear from the extent of the NSW floods that many of the Con’s students, teachers and other musicians have lost their instruments, with most uninsured, and the Con has worked to quickly explore immediate support options for staff, students and the wider musical community impacted by this crisis. The Con itself has also lost much of its musical equipment and not all is fully covered by insurance.

The Dunoon Sports Club was pleased to be able to help people needing a safe place to shelter, and was used for an evacuation centre during the first floods in early March. Thank you to our amazing community of volunteers as they wrangled donations and food, comforted residents and provided cups of tea and coffee, as well as a listening ear through the unfolding disaster.

Photos: Naracoorte Community News This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News. Related story: Fourth Lucindale fire in four years claims life.

Countless reports, ‘engagement’, reviews and the rapid erosion of the river have highlighted all these failings, yet a potential prime minister appears oblivious to the geographical diversity of issues, constraints and environments across the basin. With city centric politics appearing more interested in getting elected, what hope does the health of our basin have?

The community-based Speak Up Campaign has joined the growing list of organisations expressing concern at last week’s Labor Party announcement around implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. In particular is the issue of water buybacks, which Labor’s Shadow Water Minister Terri Butler conceded, “If we have to” was “an option that will have to be pursued.”

“Despite all our achievements, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact it rains.” A quote often attributed to long time US radio presenter, Paul Harvey, this quote succinctly captures the critical importance of our topsoil. What is topsoil, how is it formed and how do we improve it?