ECO-FRIENDLY FIREWOOD – are their homes warming yours

There are few sights more comforting than a stack of split wood. And there are few more cheering times than toasting the feet by an open fire or wood heater. The wind howls, the rain beats a rhythm on the roof and the soup simmers on the stove. But who once sheltered in that tree …

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Will forest shredders stop fires?

Putting VicForests as the overseer of these trials has discredited the trial’s integrity right from the start. Trials are currently underway to assess ‘mechanical fuel reduction’ in our public forests. The details are sketchy but seem to be based on a US practice of using heavy machinery with mulching/shredding capacity to run through native forests …

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Victoria’s logging industry faces supply dilemma

In 2009, 75,000 ha of Victoria’s forests were burnt in the Black Saturday bushfires. Over a 3rd of that was forests earmarked for the logging industry. The prospect of bushfires are never calculated into long term planning or log contracts with mills. Couple this situation with other bushfires and a history of overlogging and the …

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How did the environment fare in the Vic budget 2017?

All up it has $306M was allocated to our environment (sport managed $308M). This is less than half of what the M80 Ring Road has been allocated, and less than half the schools’ budget. Biodiversity Plan 2037 – $86M for reveg and pest control. Parks – $32M for new rangers over 2 years and a …

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Greater Glider – recently listed as threatened

Bad news: The Greater Glider, Australia’s largest (and fluffiest) gliding possum is under threat of extinction. Good news: It has recently been added to the threatened list of Victoria’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (FFGA) After decades of decline and zero government interest or surveys, the clear evidence is that local extinctions of the Greater …

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Letting Closed Coastal lakes and Estuaries Open to the Sea Naturally

Wayne Thorpe uses ‘Indigenous storytelling’ to tell a story of how Bung Yarnda (aka Lake Tyres) and other coastal tidal estuaries, work. It is a very important story because it applies to all estuaries and the Indigenous style of telling a story of Bung Yarnda brings the environment to life for adults and children.  Like …

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VicForests finally admits – the logs aren’t there

Forests are not a Magic Pudding and this fact finally caught up with the government and VicForests in January 2017.  Knocking down forests faster than they can regrow has been the management standard for decades by every logging agency and overseen and excused by every government (Liberal and Labor). After such cut-throat management, the industry …

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Forests – Another Chance for Peace

In 2010, economist Judith Ajani wrote about the forest wars that have besieged us over the last 40 years or more, the bad decisions made and what needs to be done. This is still as relevant today – in fact even more so as the industry is set to collapse due to overcutting but with …

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