Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 144
Wow! How bright is the moon tonight? It is spectacular. Tonight it is apparently a “super moon.” A natural phenomenon in which the moon is extra-large, the biggest it will be for the year. How special to get to view it from the upper canopy of the forest. I wasn’t sure how much I would get to see it. Early on in the evening the cloud cover was thick. And although the night was exceptionally bright, I could only see the moon itself in very quick glimpses, as the clouds faded for a moment. Now, however, it is shining brightly. A wispy thin layer of cloud rushes past, illuminated in the brilliant light of the moon. It’s a nice night to be in a tree!
Well, I have something very exciting to share with you tonight! I have decided to start a new video blog series for you. It’s called “Conversations with Miranda.” It is a talk show, Observer Tree style, featuring a different special guest each episode. Now, I don’t know how frequently the episodes will be, as it’s not all that often I get visitors to my place! But tonight I am launching the first episode, with special guest Lily Leahy. Lily is one of my best friends in the whole world. And as well as being a great friend Lily is also a great plant nerd, always identify plants where-ever she goes and sharing interesting little facts about them. Lily and I are co-authors of Flora and Fauna of the Upper Florentine Valley. And in this little film you get to learn all about the plants that grow in the forest around my tree. Plus some handy hints on getting started with becoming a plant nerd too! We even take you on a tour of my tree tops, to check out some of the life growing in the upper canopy of the Observer Tree. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as Lily and I enjoyed making it.
Please take a minute to help defend Tasmania’s ancient forests.
Click HERE to sign the online cyber action.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 141
I’ve just been enjoying sitting on the deck quietly observing the moonlit landscape. I probably I say this all the time, but it is amazing how different the view looks day to day. Tonight I could almost have been looking out across the desert or the ocean stretching infinitely into the horizon. Thick white cloud lies low across the valley. Instead of its usual habit of ebbing and flowing over mountains and into valleys, or softly blending the tree line gently into the sky… tonight it sits flat, a white horizontal line dividing the sky from the dark depths of forest below. It is like the world has been given a bowl cut. There are no contours, no mountain ranges, no tall trees even dare to poke their heads above the line.
I sit looking into this new horizon. The forest around me is completely still, a stark contrast to the rest of the day. Now it is so quiet that the only sound I can hear is that distant sound of the water rushing, from the collective creeks in the valley. I like this sound. It reminds me too of being in the Florentine Valley. From the tree sits there it is about the same distance to Mount Field as I am now, just a different orientation. And on the days after snow fall, you can hear the heightened sound of the snow melt as it rushes through swelling creeks and cascades down numerous waterfalls on the mountain. Even from this distance, the sound of all that water travelling along hundreds of different paths down the mountain echoes over the valley and into the tree tops.
This picturesque evening is not what I would have imagined when I woke up this morning. I have to be honest and say I felt a little bit grumpy. I awoke with a chilling breeze like a slap on the face. My tarp, still ripped at the bottom, just does not tie down well anymore! I had a good system worked out, but after dismantling it on a sunny day, I couldn’t quiet put it back in place! Now there are blankets in a haphazard attempt at recreating a wall. Every gust would have them billowing inwards, crowding the already small space and allowing the cold wind to blast its way in underneath. And of course, that is right in line with where my face is as I lie in my swag. I roll over with a bit of a grumble. The air is getting its wintry bite. I don’t want to get out of my sleeping bag. I consider staying wrapped in its warmth all day!
But of course I have to get up sooner or later, so it might as well be now. When I sit up I notice the next thing that will make me grumble. Beside my swag lies a soggy wet book. My friend had sent out a book, with a note saying it’s one of her favourites. I just started reading it last night and was really getting into it, looking forward to today’s reading session. But I’d accidentally left it by my swag, and that pesky wind had shoved aside the blankets and tarps to let its friend the rain get a look in, right in the spot where the innocent borrowed book lay. (Sorry Zoe, if your reading this!). The good news is that I had crew on the ground today, warming themselves by a lovely camp fire (hmmm… that does sound nice). And so I sent the book down and they carefully and diligently dried it page by page, being careful not to let it to close to the fire of course! It was returned to me after steaming by the fire… with a little note from the ground crew saying “I don’t know what genre your book is, but this puts a new meaning to ‘steamy novels’!” So, it’s not quiet good as new, and looking a bit worse for wear, but it is readable, so at least I’ll get to find out what happens in the end!
It seems that up here my life keeps following the same pattern. I get frustrated (usually relating to the cold, rain or spiders!) and then I remember how amazing and special this place is and the frustration is replaced by a sense awe and appreciation. And so the pattern seems to go over and over again. So, sorry if the story has become repetitive!
And that is how I came to be sitting this evening appreciating the beauty and silence of the forest, with its cloud-topped bowl cut. And I suddenly feel like I want to soak it all in. Appreciate and remember every little detail, every moment. I can’t believe I even wasted my time grumpy and not wanting to get out of my swag… when there is an entire forest out here to look at! And I realise that while sometimes I may be sitting here day-dreaming about a warm, cosy, dry room….the reality is that at some point in the future I will be sitting in a warm, cosy dry room and I’ll be day dreaming about being here!! There will come a time when this is over, however that happens, and I know that when that time comes I will miss this tree, this forest, this view. I will miss these quiet nights with nothing but the sound of distant waterfalls.
I know the saying is a cliché, but I think this has shown me that it is not enough to just try to “survive” this experience. It’s about “thriving” in it. Because no matter how challenging it may seem on some days, I am up here experiencing something that not many people get to. And it is absolutely incredible.
Then I started to think about what this means …. not just surviving, but thriving….. and I realised that although it is particularly relevent to me up in the tree right now. it is actually a lesson that applies to all of my life. And maybe to yours too. Sometimes it just feels like you’ve to get through it. Just got to get through the day.. Just got to get through this week, this month, this year. It happens so easily that you just end up concentrating on “getting through”, that you stop noticing things.. the things you love, the beautiful things, the things that make you happy, the things you will one day miss and wish you had appreciated more. (Of course it is easy for me to say all that, given that I do not literally struggle to survive on a daily basis in the way many people in the world do. I’m not sure, but maybe that is all the more reason to not take for granted things in my life).
I just went outside and it’s incredible out there! The landscape has completely transformed since my previous description. In fact it has reversed. The forests been swallowed up by white mist. And above them the dark mountains have appeared, distinguishing land from sky. The clouds are clearing and I can even see stars! I might finish up my blog for now, so I can go spend more time outside enjoying this beautiful night.
Miranda
Please take a minute to help defend Tasmania’s ancient forests.
Click HERE to sign the online cyber action.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 138 & 139
What an awesome day!
Yesterday I had a visit from Warren Macdonald. His story is one of courage and determination to overcome life’s unexpected challenges. Warren lost both his legs after being trapped under a bolder for two days during a hike on Hinchinbrook Island in 1997. Undeterred, Warren went on to climb mountains around the world, including Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain and Federation Peak, Mt Kilimanjaro in Africa and El Capitan; the tallest cliff face in North America.
Warren tours the world now, helping people and organizations adapt to change. He has published a book about his story A Test of Will. Warren’s courage and determination have brought him international attention, including a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show
Yesterday I waited at the top of my tree while Warren got ready to ascend the tree. I felt a little nervous, to be honest. Maybe it was the film crew accompanying him that made me a little un-easy. Even though I’ve gotten used to talking to the media about the forest campaign… it feels daunting and scary to face the camera in another context. Especially not really knowing what we would even be talking about. (Funny enough we ended up talking about the challenges of facing the unknown!).
I peered over the edge of the platform. And watched as the distant figures moved around at the bottom of the tree. Hmmm… I worried to myself… Will I be inspirational enough? Will I seem motivated enough to someone who is a ‘motivational speaker’? I watched Warren climb the rope. Getting closer and closer with each pull-up. His innovative climbing system involved an ascending device with small handle bars, which could be used to pull himself up by his arms. Must be quiet a work out for the arm muscles!
When Warren got to the top of the tree, he climbed through the trapdoor onto the platform and straight away gave me a friendly smile and a big hug. And we sat down to chat about life. Everything from “Hows the weather been up here?” to the hard questions about how do you overcome life’s challenges when everything starts to feel overwhelming?
We talked a bit about what it was like for me coming up into this tree facing the unknown; uncertain of how long would be up here for and what it would be like. He asked me how I managed to have the courage to come up even though there was that uncertainty about it. This was a difficult question to answer. I hadn’t really thought about it before. I guess the risks that you face by doing something and launching into the unknown can sometimes be outweighed by the risks that you face by doing nothing.
Hearing Warren’s story of facing the unknown… of one day everything changing for him and he didn’t know what life would be like, he didn’t know what he would be able to do or not do…. and getting through that…. This was really inspiring.
I wont tell you too much detail about the visit; because there will be a video blog coming your way soon!
We had not just me and Warren up here, but also a photographer, a filmer, and also Warren’s partner Margo (who wrote about the experience on her blog). It was quiet a party up here! In fact the most amount of people I’ve seen all at once in many months now. I thought that might be a bit overwhelming, but instead it felt nice just spending time with a group of people; talking, laughing, sharing. The discussions were touching on such personal reflections and insights into our lives. And even though we had never met before it didn’t feel intimidating to be going beyond the small talk and getting into the nitty-gritty stuff about facing life’s challenges. (Don’t know why I’d been so nervous about it).
When it was time for them to go, as it was close to getting dark, it seemed like the visit had been all too quick. I felt like there were things I could have said, questions I could have asked, doors to new ideas that might have been opened, had we had more time. It was such an honour to have a visit from Warren. And as I watched him get smaller and smaller, descending to the ground, I knew that the day had been one of those special days, that will go down in Observer Tree history!
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 136 & 137
Its 3 am and I can’t sleep. I’ve been laying away for awhile writing blogs in my head. I didn’t want to get out of my warm sleeping bag to get the computer. I thought maybe I’d remember what I wanted to say by the time the morning came. But really that’s just an excuse to stay warm. I knew it would be like those times I wake up from a dream in the middle of the night sure that I will remember it the next day. It’s so clear and vivid in my mind that it seems impossible to forget it. Then sure enough the next day it is nothing but a fuzzy blur that seems to disappear like smoke every time you try to grasp a hold of it. Well, I didn’t want that to happen to my blog.. so I forced myself up into the cold and now I’m sitting wrapped in my sleeping bag, my hands poking awkwardly out the gap, my fingers stinging a little with every tap of the keys, red and numb from the cold. Outside the wind is howling through the trees. Through the clear tarp above me the silhouettes of leaves are dancing a wild and frantic dance. The sway of the platform has become so natural that it is comforting to feel the tree moving gently with the wind. Though it is jolted violently out of rhythm every now and again by a sudden gust.
Why am I awake at 3 am? Well, it’s not really because I have something so important to tell you that it just couldn’t wait till the morning. So I’m sorry if you are waiting for the revealing of some spectacular mid night epiphany. In reality I just went to bed really early. I had planned to write you a blog last night, but I just wanted a little warmth in my cosy sleeping bag… and then it was just so nice and warm that I decided to stay.
Yesterday I woke up in the morning and it looked like it would be a lovely day. The sun was shining, the weather was mild, a slight breeze but nothing to worry about. I got a call from Bob Brown. He was on the midlands highway and was thinking of me up in the tree in such windy weather. Hmmm… didn’t seem that windy to me, but it gave me the feeling it might be coming.
The other day a gorgeous little pardalote came and sat on the branch right next to me. I really wanted to get my camera so I could film it and show you. But I thought if I move I will frighten it away. So I decided to just stay and appreciate the moment. And I thought you would forgive me for supplying no images, just a description of how lovely it was! Well, I tell you this now because as I was sitting there thinking about the looming possibility of gale force winds, watching dark clouds appear over the mountains, a pair of rosellas flew over to the tree nearby. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. I am always meaning to film Rosellas, but so often they seem to stay just below the canopy unless they are flying by quickly. They were so cute sitting there on the branches unfazed as they tree swayed in the wind. Take a look:
I was feeling super chirpy, the sun was still out, it was getting pretty windy but was still relatively mild, I had some cute Rosella footage for my blog… it was going to be a good day. Time for a spring clean, I thought. And I started to sort out all my boxes and bags of things. I have gathered a lot up here over the past four months. And some of the things people have sent up are not one hundred percent essential. You know those days when you decide to tidy the house, and then there comes a point where you have made it a lot messier…. the contents of the cupboards sprawled across the floor and you start to doubt whether it was a good idea? Well, that is what it was like, I had things laid out all over my swag. In fact it seemed a miracle that ALL of that stuff had actually fit into those bags and boxes that sat neatly at the end of the platform. And it was at this moment that it happened. The weather changed so quickly I hardly had time to react. The wind ripped through the valley with such violent force that I had to hold onto my ropes to keep steady. My tarp, getting a bit weathered now from so many days like this, submitted in one finally act of defeat as the eye lets ripped from their seams. My most beloved possession… my bio-snaky sprout garden was over the edge before I even realised it, only it’s lid remained teetering on the edge of the platform. I was grabbing wildly at things trying to keep them from going overboard, while the tarp convulsed madly and the wind spat fat drops of rain onto my swag.
What a relief when I finally sat down, cosy and dry surrounded by a make shift tarp and woolen blanket combo holding out the cold wind. My clothes were dripping wet so I decided it was time for a dry jumper. I did my usual spider-check of the clothing before putting it on. But I didn’t see the spider fall quietly out onto my shirt. It was when I had the jumper half suspended over my head, my arms sticking half out the sleeves that I saw him crawling up my shirt. Now, I am starting to get used to these little buddies. You kind of have to up here. But that being said, I am still not quiet over my fear of tem. So you can imagine the chaos that ensued. I panicked and tried to flick him away. He disappeared… where? Down in my harness? My jumper had somehow been liberated and tossed aside and I’m frantically checking the crevices of my harness. Then I see him. Or at least I think it is him, though I can’t be sure since there are a LOT of spiders here and they all look the same. He is curled up on the platform. He looks dead. Oh dear, for all my fear of spiders I still care about them and I feel awful that I may have accidentally flicked this spider to his death.
So, there I was feeling a bit miserable. I’d lost my biosnacky, inadvertently murdered an innocent spider and I was now shivering with cold (I was feeling a bit scared of putting my jumper back on, even though I’m pretty sure it was now clear of all spiders). And then it started to snow. Oh snow, my favourite thing! Well, I didn’t feel as enthusiastic about the snow as I did the last two times. And there was no soft gentle magic snow, just the slushy kind that plopped down with the rain. I thought about the time I’d been telling someone about the amazing experiences of it snowing at Camp Florentine, but instead of joy they expressed concern. I didn’t understand…. Don’t you like the snow? Well, yes. They said. But it’s nice to watch through the window from the comfort of your house! I didn’t understand this at the time. I thought that was crazy. Why wouldn’t you want to run outside and play in it? Well, I still want to run outside and play in the snow and (I hope) I always will. But sitting watching in plop plop plop onto my tarp, while the cold wind made its way through every available crack and gap in the tarp, I think I can sort of understand where they are coming from. I think I might just crawl back into my sleeping bag right now… my fingers are getting a bit icy typing on this keyboard!
Well, now it’s evening again. It was a beautiful day which started with an amazing sunrise. The snow-covered peaks of Mount Field glowing in a hazy golden halo as the sunlight sprawled into the mist. I sat enjoying the view, with my camera and binoculars by my side, waiting for my little pardelote friend to come back! It was perfect weather for birds to be out and about. They love the early morning sun. I could hear them in the distance. But you know how these things go; they’ll only come over to my tree the moment I give up and put the camera away!
I have some exciting news to tell you before I go though. I have a special visitor coming to visit tomorrow. From Warren Macdonald. Now, I wont tell you too much about him…. I don’t want to spoil the blog for you! But just giving a heads up to all the Hobart folk – Warren will be doing a talk on Tuesday night at The Lark distillery. Here is a little blurb about it:
Media Release: Devils demand den protection
Four conservationists have been arrested today at Forestry Tasmania’s Hobart headquarters. An alliance of forest groups including Still Wild Still Threatened, Huon Valley Environment Centre and Code Green conducted a “sit in” dressed as Tasmanian devils. The “devils” occupied the atrium of the Forestry Tasmania building and refused to leave. Four demonstrators were arrested and charged with committing a Trespass. They have subsequently been released on bail.
Today’s action highlights community concerns surrounding recent findings of a healthy juvenile devil in an area scheduled for logging, in the forest of the Tyenna Valley, surrounding The Observer Tree. Miranda Gibson, permanent resident of The Observer Tree platform for the past four months, released footage of the young devil on Monday
“This footage is evidence of the existence of devil dens in the area. In December Still Wild Still Threatened released footage of a mother devil in the same location. Had logging proceeded in this area over summer, the maternal den site would have been disturbed and this young devil may not have survived. This highlights the importance of protecting these forests for the future survival of this species” said Ms Gibson
“Maternal dens are used from generation to generation. It is likely that this young devil may raise young in the same area. With these findings it is now more critical than ever that these high conservation value forests are formally protected” said Ms Gibson.
“Tasmanians are calling for greater protection for Tasmania’s most iconic species. The Tasmanian devil and other endemic species are at risk of extinction due to rapid decreases in population and secure undisturbed habitat. The community is demanding Forestry Tasmania and the State Government install immediate measures to ensure the restoration and protection of habitat for our unique species. Protection of the 572,000ha of native forests, over half of which were identified by the government’s experts as key habitat for the Tasmanian Devil, is the obvious first step to take.” said spokesperson for today’s action Ali Alishah (Still Wild Still Threatened).
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 132
Today an alliance of grassroots environment groups including Huon Valley Environment Centre, Code Green and Still Wild Still Threatened (the group that I am a part of) are launching a cyber action, calling for an end to the forest industry “regeneration burns.” Please get on board… take a few minutes to sign the online petition.
I feel inspired by all the people who took part in a great action on Hobart Parliament Lawns today, to bring attention to this critical issue. Check out the video posted on The Mercury website. And the ABC online article. A group of conservationists from the Huon Valley Environment Centre let off flares in front of Parliament House to highlight the reality of forest industry burn offs and draw attention to the community concerns over this issue, particularly the heath impacts. It’s great to see so many people raising their voice on such an important issue. Yesterday again I had burns being conducted not that far from my tree sit. I was lucky that the wind as not blowing my way, otherwise I would have faced another night smothered in smoke. Instead the smoke drifted into the Styx valley, obscuring my view of the surrounding mountains.
I have written quiet a number of times on my blog now about the “regeneration” burns and the problems with this out-dated industry practise. For more information on the health impacts of these burns check out the “Ban the Burns” article below, or go to page the Still Wild Still Threatened website. Please help us spread the word around and let’s get as many people as we can signing the online petition. Our target is 2000 emails. So far we have 120 when I last checked… so tell all your friends about it!
Yesterday’s release of the baby devil footage also got good media coverage. Check out the article and footage on The Mercury site.
Ban the Burns
Enough is enough.
The Tasmanian forestry industry has been burning waste caused by logging in the forests for far too long. Take action: sign our online petition HERE.
.
An alliance of grass roots forest NGO’s are calling for a ban on the burns. Our Alliance includes Huon Valley Environment Centre, Still Wild Still Threatened and Code Green.
The entire model of forestry practices in Tasmania is broken. The forest industry has made attempts to ‘improve’ the community impacts of their “regeneration burns”, by having communication in the media for example. However, our organisations say that it is not good enough to continue to engage in the practice of burning the large amounts of waste in the logging areas, including rainforest species that have been left to burn.
The wasteful practice is polluting the clean air, threatening our health and environment and damaging the clean green brand of Tasmanian small industries.
What are ‘regeneration burns’?
Every year in Autumn Forestry Tasmania burns the waste left after large scale industrial logging has destroyed tracts of forest.
The so-called “regeneration burns” are a tool used to engineer the forest, killing off the rainforest species that naturally form the understory of Tasmania’s amazing wet eucalypt forests, and to encourage the proliferation of eucalypts which are the trees sought for future logging. The clearfall and burn method is destroying the natural forest ecology to turn it into a loggers wonderland, at the same time that it is dumping massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and polluting people’s lungs with particulates that are injurious to health.
In 2012 Forestry Tasmania planned to conduct 245 burns across the state of Tasmania.(1) Due to unfavourable weather conditions last season in 2011, more burns were planned for the Huon and Circular Head regions.(2)
Impact on Environment and Climate
Research that was published in 2012, conducted by the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania, an institute of University of Tasmania (UTAS) found that landscape fire smoke comprises emissions for forest, grass and agricultural fires. These emissions affect both climate and air quality. (3) Interventions in reducing smoke emissions from landscape fires could also potentially provide benefits for the slowing of global warming and slowing the loss of biodiversity. (4)
In 2009 Professor David Bowman, from the University of Tasmania’s School of Plant Sciences, co-author of the 2012 research mentioned above, stated that ‘burning was an unsophisticated 20th century approach and the licence to do it was dropping away. Finding an alternative to regeneration burns should be a number one priority’. (5) Prof Bowman and 21 researchers have had their findings on the contribution of fire to carbon dioxide emissions published in the journal Science. The 2009 international study funded by the US National Science Foundation found that fire had been overlooked as a cause of climate change. Bowman says, ‘Fires are one of the largest causes of increased carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. There is also methane, aerosol particles in smoke and the changing reflectance of a charred landscape which contributes to changes in climate.’ (6)
High intensity burns carried out by the forestry industry in Tasmania release a large amount of carbon in to the atmosphere. A Forestry Tasmania study in 2001 found that approximately 700 tonnes CO2 is released into the atmosphere for each hectare of mixed forest that is burnt in the so-called “regeneration burns” after logging (7). More than 10,000 hectares of logged forest are burnt each year in this way, leading to more than 7 million tonnes of emissions annually. This is only slightly less than the emissions from all other measured Tasmanian sources combined!
Based on Forestry Tasmania’s estimation of the quantity of carbon released in regeneration burns, and their own figures from 2010 that the average area of forest burnt would be 45 hectares, taking in to account some areas would be much larger, though not really much smaller. (8) For 2012 it is estimated that approximately 7.8 million tonnes of CO2 will be released to the atmosphere from the annual season of burns, as Forestry Tasmania’s estimated 245 burns would be conducted.
Smoke from burns can cause very high particle levels in the air overnight, and have the potential to cause public health harms. Fine smoke particles are known to affect breathing. The smaller the particles, the deeper they go into the lungs. These particles can cause a variety of health problems, from itchy or burning eyes, throat irritation and runny nose, to more serious conditions such as bronchitis and asthma. Smoke can also aggravate existing heart and lung conditions, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma. (9)
In March 2012 a burn was lit in the Plenty area, a logging region behind Huonville. Forestry Tasmania admitted the next day, smoke from smouldering heavy logs and stumps following yesterday’s burning became trapped in the overnight fog leading to elevated particle concentrations being measured at Judbury, Huonville and Geeveston, in southern Tasmania. (10)
The culture of acceptable burning for so-called “regeneration burns” by the forest industry also influences private industry and householders to conduct vegetation burn offs. In April 2012, a large burn off was conducted by a sector of the forest industry, not Forestry Tasmania, and subsequently spread smoke to Hobart, Tasmania’s capital city. The Asthma Foundation of Tasmania Chief Executive Officer Cathy Beswick made a public statement, ‘Be very, very careful about your asthma management plan and avoid the smoke, stay indoors, keep the windows and doors shut’. (11)
During the burns season in 2010 Tasmania’s Director of Public Health stated that the poor air quality in and around Burnie, in North West Tasmania, was unacceptable and advised people with breathing difficulties to take a number of precautions due to smoke from Forestry Tasmania’s regeneration burns. The precautions included staying indoors with windows and doors closed and avoid vigorous exercise. (12)
During 2011, Forestry Tasmania commissioned CSIRO to compare the smoke pollution from “regeneration burns” and wood heaters in the Huon Valley. Forestry Tasmania attempted to justify their burning practices by comparing one type of smoke pollution with another. However, all smoke pollutions are an unwanted nuisance for the community, particularly people with respiratory problems. The findings of the report did nothing to justify the out dated and unsustainable practices of “regeneration burns”. The study did find that smoke from regeneration burns exceeded healthy limits three times between April 2009 and May 2011. (13)
In 2012 an investigation into the health impacts of wood smoke by Prof Bowman and Menzies Research Institute Tasmania research fellow Fay Johnston found pollution from landscape fires contributed to 339,000 deaths worldwide between 1997 and 2006. The impact is most pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Professor Bowman said wood smoke deserved special attention in terms of pollution that could harm humans. Furthermore, Professor Bowman says there are implications for forestry burns in Tasmania. He states, ‘We are exposing populations to risks and preventative measures have got to be taken. There has got to be an understanding that people who complain about the smoke have a legitimate case, the medical science is on their side now.’ (14)
Solution End the logging industry waste burns, Forestry Tasmania’s unnecessary and damaging practice of so-called “regeneration burns” must be banned. The integrated model of industrial logging that generates massive waste must be abandoned.
Forest Furnaces Not a Solution
Forestry Tasmania attempts to allay the community’s fear and outrage about “regeneration burns” is to push ahead with plans to burn native forests in polluting and inefficient power stations. (15) Burning native forests for energy is not a solution. These proposed forest furnaces would only exacerbate the climate impacts of logging our native forests and perpetuate the slaughter of native forests. Native forest furnaces would continue to damage climate, biodiversity and the jobs and sustainability of Tasmanian communities. Clean electricity doesn’t come out of a smoke stack.
Article by: Huon Valley Environment Centre, Code Green and Still Wild Still Threatened.
References (1) Blanks, Tony. Examiner Newspaper, Forestry to fire up 245 burns in autumn. Rosemary Bolger, 21 Feb, 2012
(2) Blanks, Tony. Examiner Newspaper, Forestry to fire up 245 burns in autumn. Rosemary Bolger, 21 Feb, 2012 (3) Johnson, F. and Bowman, D. University of Tasmania, 2012, Fire-smoke important contributor to deaths worldwide, http://www.utas.edu.au/tools/recent-news/news/fire-smoke-important-contr… (4) Johnson, F. and Bowman, D. University of Tasmania, 2012, Fire-smoke important contributor to deaths worldwide, http://www.utas.edu.au/tools/recent-news/news/fire-smoke-important-contr…
(5) Bowman, D., in Scientist warns on forest burns, By Clark, N. in The Mercury Newspaper 29 April 2009 (6) David M. J. S. Bowman, et al, Fire in the Earth System, in Science 324, 481 (2009); http://firecenter.berkeley.edu/docs/bowmanetalscience.pdf
(7) A. Slijepcevic, Forestry Tasmania, Loss of carbon during controlled regeneration burns in Eucalyptus obliqua forest Tasforests Vol. 13 No. , December 2001, http://www.forestrytas.com.au/assets/0000/0208/281_290.pdf
(8) Forestry Tasmania 2010, The forest industry’s regeneration burning and re-seeding program, http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/pdf2010/planned_burns_lea… (9) Taylor, R. Director of Public Health, in Health Warning – Smoke in the Burnie area 22 April 2010, http://www.media.tas.gov.au/print.php?id=29443TheThe (10) Forestry Tasmania, Media Comment, 14 March 2012
(11) Paine, M., 2 April 2012, Health Alert over smoke, The Mercury Newspaper (12) Taylor, R. Director of Public Health, in Health Warning – Smoke in the Burnie area 22 April 2010, http://www.media.tas.gov.au/print.php?id=29443TheThe
(13) Meyer, M. et al, August 2011, Impacts of smoke from regeneration burning on air quality in the Huon Valley,Tasmania. http://www.forestrytas.com.au/uploads/File/pdf/pdf2011/huon_valley_csiro… & Study clears forestry fires ABC 24/08/2011, http://www.abc.net.au/nature/news/NatureNews_3301319.htm (14) Johnson, F. and Bowman, D. University of Tasmania, 2012, Fire-smoke important contributor to deaths worldwide, http://www.utas.edu.au/tools/recent-news/news/fire-smoke-important-contr… & ABC online, Wood smoke linked to deaths, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-20/wood-smoke-linked-to-deaths/384057… (15) Forestry Tasmania, April 2011, http://www.forestrytas.com.au/news/2011/04/biomass-part-of-the-solution-…
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 131
Remember in mid-december at the start of The Observer Tree project, we captured footage of a devil we believed was carrying food to babies in its den? Well, guess what? Now we have captured footage of a juvenile devil! It looks like this baby devil is of the age that it would have been born early last year and would have been in the den until recently. So, it is highly likely that this little cub is Davina the Devil’s baby!
It is absolutely CUTE! Check out the footage:
At this age they would have left the den and be out exploring the world. Finding food for themselves, using their nose like a super-smelling-detector to find dead mammals, birds and insects. Dispersing young often are playful like puppies and play fight and wrestle – and are more nimble than their adult counterparts. However, this playfulness can lead them to misadventure such as getting hit by vehicles at dusk and dawn.
This time of year is breeding season for devils. This devil is too young for reproduction, but will be old enough by this time next year.At this time some mature female devils may have jelly bean sized young already – which will be permanently attached to the teat for about the next 5 months! Then mum has to find a safe den to house them in when she goes foraging for food.
Seeing this little baby devil on film, bouncing around exploring the world… I feel overcome with a sense of happiness. This little one was very lucky and might not have survived. Logging began in this coupe on December 13th 2011. The day after we captured the footage of the mama devil. At the time I felt so worried about the possibilities that somewhere in this coupe was a den full of baby devils and if we couldn’t stop the logging continuing then those babies might be crushed and trapped under falling logs and machinery. Thankfully, after a week of logging the machines left and haven’t returned yet. I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling that the reason they haven’t continued with their plan to log this coupe is to avoid the public exposure that would result from logging while I watch from The Observer Tree. If I wasn’t here, would this whole coupe have been clearfelled by now? Would this baby devil have survived?
I feel even more determined to stay up here until this forest is protected. I hope that this devil will spend its life oblivious to the logging industry… I hope that this area will be protected into the future. I hope that next year this little devil will be safe and maybe having babies of its own. I hope that generations of devils will live and survive in this forest.
I hope you feel the same sense of happiness as me when you watch the footage of this little devil. My fellow Still Wild Still Threatened members will continue to monitor this area with remote-sensor cameras. So chances are we might see this young one again! In that case, perhaps we should give him/ her a name? Any suggestions?
Ha, I feel like a proud mum….. And a protective mum too. Because certainly this little one is going to need us to protect it. It’s time to let the government and Ta Ann know that this logging madness has to end. We cannot stand by and let them destroy this baby devils home!
Check out (and share) this short film I made explaining the significance of this footage and the reasons why it is now critical to protect these forests:
Environment groups in Tasmania have created a Fact Sheet, detailing the findings of the Jonathon West report about Tasmanian devils. You can download it here: Tas Devil Fact Sheet.
Media Release: Observer Tree exposes baby devils in area threatened by logging
Miranda Gibson, Tasmania’s long-time treesitter in The Observer Tree has today released footage of a baby devil in the threatened forest that Gibson is living in.
New footage captured in the forest surrounding The Observer Tree shows a healthy juvenile Tasmanian devil. Still Wild Still Threatened conservationists have been monitoring this area of forest for the past six months and in December 2011 captured footage of a devil believed to be taking food back to young in the den. The new footage reveals a young devil that is of right age to be the offspring.
Still Wild Still Threatened spokesperson Miranda Gibson has been at the top of a tree watching over this area of threatened forest for the past four months.
“It is a significant find to see young healthy devils in this forest, adding to the already clear evidence that these areas need protection. Tragically we are losing this species to a rapacious disease (DFTD) yet everyday habitat and maternal dens are being destroyed by ongoing logging ” said Ms Gibson.
“It is not clear what happens to mothers and their young devils when maternal dens are destroyed by logging and heavy machinery. If logging had proceeded in this area, this young devil may have been trapped and died in it’s den. The habitat of the young dispersing devil is still under threat from logging, despite the area being verified as having world heritage values by the Government’s commissioned independent report by Jonathon West.” said Ms Gibson.
“The Jonathon West report showed that more than half of the proposed forest reserves are high priority for the protection of Tasmanian devils. Immediate and full legislated protection is required for these world heritage value forests and to ensure the protection of den sites which are passed on between generations of Tasmanian devils ” said Ms Gibson.
Still Wild Still Threatened releases this footage today coinciding with an International Day of Action for Occupy the Trees. An alliance of forest groups including Still Wild Still Threatened, Huon Valley Environment Centre and Code Green will join forest advocacy groups in the USA and conduct a calendar of events this week to highlight the destruction of wild places around the world and the irreversible impacts of climate change.
T h e O b s e r v e r T r e e 