The petrolhead haven of Calder Park is normally dominated by drag racing and hot rods. But if state government mapping is to be believed, then the race track’s infield is also the unlikely home for rare native plants. Over in Greensborough, the Yandell Reserve supports orchids known as Silurian striped greenhoods and is a breeding …
As eight ”nannas” face the clogged court system for knitting in a logging coupe, the price of protest in Victoria is set to escalate. Fourteen months ago, six grandmothers and two grandfathers entered a logging coupe at Mount St Leonard, placed their chairs in a neat row, and quietly sat down to knit. The group …
Victoria should overhaul its energy supply and change its approach to planned burns as part of efforts to stop worrying declines in the state’s environmental health. A major stocktake of Victoria’s environment prepared for the state government – the first of its kind in five years – has detailed significant worsening trends in critical areas. …
Ecologist says Australia has a ‘dreadful’ track record in planning, monitoring and responding to threats to endangered species Australia is failing to protect its endangered species due a “dreadful” track record in planning, monitoring and responding to threats, a group of leading conservationists has warned. A paper published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and …
Animals are going extinct and millions of dollars in Australian endangered species funding are being squandered because of poor planning and monitoring, leading environmental scientists say. If data on the welfare of an endangered species is collected, it is rarely analysed or acted on, said David Lindenmayer, one of the authors of an article in …
The scale and impact, both economic and ecological, of recent bushfire disasters demands a rethink of fire management strategies. A controversial approach receiving more attention internationally is the use of large grazing animals to reduce fuel loads. But research we published this week shows cattle grazing does little to reduce Australia’s most destructive bushfires. There …
Environmental initiatives that target zero net deforestation may miss their mark when it comes to slowing climate change and protecting biodiversity, warns a commentary published in this week’s issue of the journal Science. While zero net deforestation may seem like a worthy target in efforts to curb forest loss, Sandra Brown and Daniel Zarin argue …
Australia’s largest exporter of eucalyptus woodchips has had its environmental certification stripped and been forced to make an embarrassing public apology over the harm it has caused to koalas. In July ABC’s 7.30 program
FAMILIES will have to pay to stay at more than 100 of Victoria’s national park campgrounds for the first time, under a Napthine Government plan. And the cost of camping at premium sites where fees already apply will be hiked from an average $37 a night to about $59 a night. The Government is proposing …
by Claudine Ryan It’s not just those living in areas directly affected by bushfires who need to be aware of the dangers of bushfire smoke. Living nowhere near bush does not make you immune from the health impacts of bushfires. As smoke can travel considerable distances, people living hundreds of kilometres away from a bushfire …
