Land & environment

Forestry Corporation of NSW delivered the first load of 25,000 koala food tree seedlings recently to support north coast koala care groups’ efforts to build koala habitat. The organisation delivered 10,000 seedlings to a new Lismore nursery facility managed by Friends of the Koala to support their, and Bangalow Koalas’, planting programs.

MidCoast Council is again asking the community to refrain from approaching or feeding Dingoes in the Tea Gardens / Hawks Nest area following the need for lethal control of a sub-adult pack this week. The three males and two females had been involved in at least five incidents involving people and domestic pets over the last month, all increasing in ferocity ... "We are all really disappointed that it has come to this," said Council's Senior Ecologist, Mat Bell.

The NSW State Government announced on 10 March 2021 that The Minister for Planning will issue a new section 9.1 direction (to the Koala SEPP) to ensure that only the Minister, and not councils, will be empowered to rezone land used for primary production to an environmental zone (E zone), or to rezone land currently in rural zones 1, 2 and 3 to other rural zones.

Last year’s world-first discovery that smoke dose is directly linked to the level of smoke taint in wine was an ‘absolute gamechanger,’ according to Professor Ian Porter. ‘We discovered that provided the burn is not right next to the vineyard, it actually takes a lot more smoke to cause smoke taint than we originally thought’, Professor Porter from La Trobe University said.

The future of funerals is in the spotlight following community feedback showing increased interest in more eco-friendly burial options. Sunshine Coast Council is investigating natural burial sites within existing cemeteries.

Last week the stars aligned, the heavens opened and upon rays of golden light came a contingent of politicians and bureaucrats to witness what the current water policy decisions are doing to our economy, food producers and environment. The attendance of such dignitaries was less to do with heavenly intervention, but mainly blood, sweat and tears by those who tirelessly advocate to end the government sanctioned destruction.

Geoff Helisma. According to Clarence Valley Council there are fewer than 50 coastal emus remaining along the east coast of Australia and only 36 individuals in the Taloumbi/Tyndale/Pillar Valley region, if the estimates in CVC’s Natural Resource Management Coastal Emus: Sighting Data Analysis, July 2020 are correct.

Planting has finished with round one of Maitland City Council’s Community Street Tree Planting Program seeing 136 trees installed during February. Expressions of interest were called from residents in September 2020, and the positive level of response received highlighted people’s interest in environmentally driven projects and green spaces in Maitland.

Known best for her snake catching exploits, there’s more to Lauren Dibben than wrangling the odd reptile. For years she has been the go-to woman for removing snakes from the yards of Weipa residents. What many don’t know is that Lauren has two degrees, has more knowledge of the Western Cape ecosystem than most others and is now the owner of a medium-sized business with more than a dozen employees.

Roper Gulf Regional Council would like to thank everyone who was involved in the emergency evacuation of the Jilkminggan community on Thursday 25 February 2021. The decision was made by the Local Emergency Committee to evacuate 211 people from Jilkminggan as flood waters continued to rise and surround the community.

Hon Keith Pitt MP joined local member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster and Senator Hon Bridget McKenzie, in Mildura today to talk water with the Murray River Group of Councils. Mayors of the six member councils welcomed the opportunity to directly raise their concerns about the impacts of the Basin Plan on the region on behalf of northern Victorian communities.

Koondrook-Perricoota Forest is Australia's largest redgum forest spanning 33,759Ha. As you drive past the KP Forest on the Moulamein Road it is hard to ignore the colossal banks and outlets that lay dormant. The huge engineering exercise costing more than $100 million was the NSW State Government's approach to meeting Murray Darling Basin Plan objectives. Unable to use the engineering white elephant and KP Forest's health still dire, the community is leading the charge to find a workable, pragmatic solution that can be driven by people invested in the outcome.

New South Wales Government Minister Kean, Minister for the Environment, constantly says he "follows the science". A noble ideal, but only if what he is sprouting is science.

The ABARES Outlook 2021 Conference, the annual conference held by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Economics, being held virtually for the first time this year, is taking place between March 2nd and 4th.

... Regrettably, your ABC News story posted 2 February 2021 is fundamentally incorrect (undoubtedly, without your knowledge) ...

... Little Penguins are the smallest penguin species, breeding along the coastlines of southern mainland Australia and New Zealand. The penguin that arrived on the shores of Lord Howe Island was, therefore, a long way from home and was most likely helped along by strong ocean currents. This time of year, Little Penguins shed and replace their feathers before the next breeding season, and this particular penguin was a young bird going through its first moult. While moulting, their new feathers are not waterproof and they are especially vulnerable, so it is incredibly lucky that this penguin survived the long ocean voyage to Lord Howe Island.