Land & environment

Fire and Rescue NSW’s (FRNSW) Ignitable Liquid Detection Canines have welcomed enhanced resources and a vehicle which will allow firefighters to transport canines across the state, including remote areas, to investigate fire scenes. Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott celebrated the $100,000 NSW Government investment, which will guarantee the dogs - Xenos, Xando and Gandalf – will travel safely while also allowing the canines and their handlers to cover large areas, as they help firefighters undertake fire origin and cause analysis.

Toowoomba Region residents’ enthusiasm for recycling expanded polystyrene has seen more than 17 tonnes of the packaging material processed at the Greater Toowoomba Waste Management Facility at O’Mara Road since May 2020.

On World Zoonoses Day, Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Mark Schipp has highlighted how the risk of zoonoses, diseases which can be transmitted to humans from animals, can be reduced through practising good animal biosecurity and hygiene control procedures. The bacterial disease leptospirosis is an example of a zoonotic disease of worldwide importance. The disease has been reported in over 150 mammalian species around the world, including wildlife, rodents, cattle, pigs, horses, dogs, and people.

Sweetman Renewables plans to expand its sawmilling operations to meet growing demand as the Australian construction boom plays out and the Hunter Valley's only other sawmill get set to close its doors ... The sawmill operations will support and be associated with other activities, including the acquisition, processing, logistics and transport of biomass for both export to bioenergy plants in Japan, local renewable energy consumption and for the production of syngas, green hydrogen and biochar.

A four-wheel drive track that connects Weipa with the Bamaga Road will be a smash hit with both locals and tourists in search of a new off-road experience. The controversial Bertiehaugh Road has only existed as a line on the map since the Irwins took over the property in 2006, renaming it Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve ... a team of determined locals, who asked not to be named, got the GPS coordinates from Cook Shire and went to work themselves. Using buggies and four-wheel drives, they created a 60km single-lane track that runs from Stones Crossing to Bramwell Junction.

This Plastic Free July Sunshine Coast residents are encouraged to refuse single-use plastic products and adopt more sustainable behaviours by transitioning to reusable alternatives. Many single-use plastic items can be avoided by making simple changes in our daily habits and choices. Last year, an estimated 326 million people worldwide took part in Plastic Free July. On average, participants reduced their household waste and recycling by almost 5% (or 21kg).

Enough polystyrene packaging to fill an Olympic swimming pool has been diverted from landfill on the Fraser Coast in the past year. “The introduction of a machine to melt Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), such as the packaging around a new TV or fridge, has had a huge impact,” Fraser Coast Regional Councillor David Lee said. The process reduces the volume of polystyrene by more than 90%.

Kayakers and those wanting to explore the Loddon River around Kerang will have greater opportunities to do so following the recent installation of a kayak launch within the Kerang Regional Park.

Since late 2020 Lismore City Council has been trialling a program to recycle mattresses and keep them out of landfill. Historically mattresses were sent to landfill, however, under the new program mattresses are sent to a dedicated resource recovery facility where the mattresses are processed into separate commodities for which there are end markets.

With Forestry Corporation gearing up to replant nearly 3,000 hectares of Bathurst State forests this year, Silviculture Supervisor Bill Klower is looking forward to seeing the start of another forestry cycle. Since 1988 Bill has worked as a planting supervisor, overseeing around three million seedlings hand-planted each year since in the Oberon and Bathurst areas.

A record four million seedling dispatch has kicked off from Forestry Corporation of NSW’s Grafton nursery, which following the site’s $1 million expansion in 2020 ... The work has meant the nursery will have the largest dispatch on record this year, said Forestry Corporation’s Nursery Manager, Kath French.

David Waterhouse. The diverse landscape of mountains, valleys, hills, lowlands and sea cliffs of the LHI provide an array of habitat types supporting many distinctive flora. Research Scientists Dr Andrew Denholm and Dr John Porter have been coming to Lord Howe island for many years to study its unique natural values. While it is early days yet, they see promising signs that the removal of rodents is having positive effects for the Islands plants.

David Waterhouse. Lord Howe Island is a special place and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage property in 1982 in recognition of the global significance of the Island’s beauty and biodiversity. The Island’s isolation and its varied landscape are home to many unique and endemic species. Although Islands only make up a small proportion of available landmass, 61% of recorded species extinctions since the 16th Century have occurred on Islands. The pressure of invasive species has already been linked to the extinction of at least 5 bird species, two plant species, and 13 recorded (although likely much higher) invertebrate species from Lord Howe Island.

Murrindindi Shire Council is thrilled to announce the completion of the Lake Eildon ‘Floating Cities’ Project. The project has delivered important upgrades to the entrance road to the Lake Eildon Marina, off Sugarloaf Road, which will make access for houseboats much easier. It has also delivered a new, environmentally-friendly wash-bay facility, which will accommodate minor houseboat maintenance, mandatory houseboat inspections and allow easier access for larger houseboats.

Geoff Helisma. Corazon Mining announced on the Australian Stock Exchange on June 17 that it has “commenced drilling at the Mt Gilmore Copper Cobalt Gold Project”, which is 25km northwest of Grafton. “Drilling will target the priority 8km-long Gordonbrook Hill – May Queen copper-cobalt/silver-gold anomaly, within the greater 20km long Mt Gilmore Trend,” the announcement states.

The BEST Nursery in Inverell has received around one million radiata pine seedlings from Forestry Corporation of NSW in preparation for a bumper 2021 State forest planting program. The nursery will manage the seedlings on behalf of Forestry Corporation to acclimatise to northern NSW conditions, before they continue their journey to the Walcha region for planting.

The first of over 9.1 million pine seedlings have started their journey to State forests across NSW from Forestry Corporation of NSW’s Blowering Nursery, the largest crop in the nursery’s history. Phil Green, Plantation Improvement Manager, said the 9.1 million seedlings will join with a further five million from the Grafton Nursery and contracted supply and will be planted to rebuild fire-affected and previously harvested plantations around Tumut, Bombala, Bathurst, Mossvale, Walcha and Grafton.