Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 130
Today marks the beginning of an international week of action called “Occupy the Trees.”
The week long action has been initiated by conservationists from the Cascadia region in the US, in order to “draw attention to the entities who exploit and destroy the planet for the sake of profit.” The call to action includes 3 main points which are:
- Immediate attention and reversal to Global Climate Change which threatens all life on Earth.
- Disruption of the Earth-destroying profit machines led by the richest1% of the world and their government lackies.
- Ending all Commercial Extraction from Public Lands in all nations of the Earth.
You can find out more at occupythetrees.org
Tasmanian forest groups Still Wild Still Threatened, Huon Valley Environment Centre and Code Green are getting on board with a week of events to draw attention to the urgent need to end the destruction of the earth. Some events include:
Tuesday April 24 there will be a Kids Afternoon at the Huon Valley Environment Centre 4-6pm. Sharing food, tree craft fun, tree planting and storytelling.
Thursday 25 April Action for the rights of the animals – Defend the Devil. Stay tuned for more info.
I am super excited about being a part of Occupy the Trees. It definitely fits in well with what I am doing! And so as part of the international week of action The Observer Tree is having a virtual Open Day all week… anyone who is keen to chat to me about what I am doing up here can organise a time to Skype with me. You could even get together with a group of friends or colleagues, or put on a little community forum and I would love to talk to you live from the tree tops. Just email me: observertree2011@gmail.com
And to start the week off, here is a new short film about what I’m doing in the tree tops! This film was made by Joel Philp and is a great introduction to The Observer Tree. Check it out and spread it around…
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 127
The smoke is suffocating. It had come across the valley quickly. Only a moment earlier I had taken a look out across the distant mountains and turned my head back for a second look. The gathering smoke had looked at first like innocent clouds floating above the ridges, but on the second look I could see the distinct thickness and dark colouring tinted with orange that distinguished them from the regular clouds gathered around them. I quickly checked my laptop to see if the Tasmanian Fire Service had listed any bush fires nearby, but there were none. When I looked up again the smoke had shifted from the neat clouds in the distance, to a thick layer of smoke that began to cover the entire forest. Drifting into every gap between the trees, into the valleys, over the mountains, taking over every breath of air. The bright sunny afternoon that I had been enjoying suddenly turned dark, with a looming apocalyptic sense of doom. The blackness filled the sky, and air thick and dense that it was hard to breathe. It was the beginning of the Forestry burn season.
If you have ever seen a high intensity burn you will know what I am talking about. When the helicopters drop their napalm-like substance into the dried out clear-fells an enormous mushroom cloud explodes into the sky. Giving the unnerving feeling that a war has been declared on the forest. The smoke rising up like the aftermath of a bomb. The fires assault the last remnants of life that have survived against all odds in desolate landscape of clearfells. Any insects that have escaped the falling of trees, the crushing weight of machine tracks, and the upturning of the soil, will be consumed by the furious flames. Any ferns that huddle close to creeks in the so-called buffer zones, that have battled tirelessly since the logging against the sudden exposure to wind and sun, will now lose their final battle, blackening and dying in the wake of the fire.
If you have ever walked through a clearfell that still smolders in the aftermath of forestry burns you will know what I am talking about. You will know the smell that assaults your nostrils making it hard to breathe. It is not the smell of wildfire. It has a strange smell that is hard to put your finger on, that is reminiscent of some strange chemical experiment in a science laboratory. It is a smell that does not belong in the forest. You will know the feel of radiating heat that burns through your shoes as you trump through the bed of ash. The scene is like a postapocalyptic world. It becomes almost impossible to recollect what once stood there. The lush green rainforest, babbling creeks, fern gullies seem like a whole world away, as you stand amongst blackened stumps, smoke still escaping silently from their charcoalled shells. Every thing is shade of black or grey. Even you, as the smoke and ash begin to stick to your skin and clothes. The smell of smoke with it’s strange hint of chemicals will linger on your skin long after you’ve left. And even longer you will find the scene of death and destruction will linger in your mind. It will flash past your memory suddenly, like a sad prediction of the future, next time you are standing by a creek that is bursting with ferns, and moss-laden sassafras trees.
I long for fresh air as the darkness of the smoke swallows my tree. It’s hard to breath. I can feel the smoke in the back of my throat, my lungs, my eyes. You don’t have to be sitting at the top of a tree in the forest to feel the impact though. The smoke makes it’s way through towns. Leaving it’s mark on the clean white sheets hung out to dry on suburban clothes lines. And most of all leaving its mark on the insides of the lungs of those who suffer from asthma. The forestry burn season is always a more difficult time for asthma sufferers in Tasmania. To the point where it has been recommended that people who suffer from asthma should stay indoors! Why is it that in Tasmania the logging industry is valued more than public health?
Below is a slide-show of images taken on April 4th 2012. The images depict two logging coupes. One in the Weld Valley where conservationists gathered to display a banner reading “Stop selling forest destruction.” The other is in the Plenty valley, where a burn off was taking place in a logged coupe. Both these areas are within the 572,000 hectare area of proposed new forest reserves that have now been verified as high conservation value. They are areas that should have been in a moratorium, yet have now been felled and burnt. The images are taken by Rob Blakers and Peter Maarsaveen.
New Poster – ObserverTree International Support
Check out this awesome new poster for the ObserverTree that shows some of the amazing support from all around the world for the protection of Tasmania’s precious forests. Click on the image below to download a pdf version of the poster that can be printed up to A2 poster size.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 124
Today I was visited by a class of university students who are studying environmental journalism. It was great to be able to chat with them (over the walkie-talkie) and answer their many questions about what I’m up to. Hopefully they will write some interesting articles about The Observer Tree. Here is a short video of some of their comments about visiting me today:
In other news, I am super excited about my up-coming interview on Primary Perspectives. It’s a very inspiring project – a radio program “created by kids for kids.” It’s so great to see young people getting active and having a voice and I’m really looking forward to chatting with them tomorrow (Tuesday April 17). If you’re in Melbourne you can tune in on 94.1FM or otherwise check out the website for live streaming or pod-casts. My Observer Tree video even made it onto their website as the “hot vod” of the month. Check it out HERE.
Miranda
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 122
Hope you enjoy this film. I actually took this footage a little while ago, so technically it is not a description of day 122. But I thought you might like another video blog to see what everyday life is like up in the tree sit.
Today was the most perfect sunny day. I climbed around from branch to branch to make the most of it … chasing the sunshine around the tree! And now with the sun down, the night sky is offering a very spectacular display of stars. I might take my swag out from underneath the tarp and fall asleep looking at the stars!
Talk again tomorrow,
Miranda.
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 121
A lot has happened today!
Ali talks to the media after being release from prison today
Fellow forest activist Ali Alishah was today released from Risdon Prison where he served, in total, a three month sentence for taking part in peaceful community action against the destruction of Tasmania’s forests. It’s great to have Ali back on the outside again. And I’m sure he has appreciated all the support he has received from people. “I remain committed to the protection of the Tasmanian marine, forest and community environments. I am proud of my actions in the past and I look forward to the legislated protection of Tasmania’s natural heritage” Ali said in a press statement today. He also congratulated me on my ongoing efforts…. Thanks Ali! I would like to congratulate Ali for his ongoing efforts, in fact. And for his continued committment to campaign for the protection of our precious forest, despite the harsh penalties that he has faced.I do remember the day he went in to prison I wrote on my blog that I hoped this forest would be protected and I’d be able to get down and meet Ali at the gates on the day he got released. Well, unfortunately, the forest is still under threat. There is still no sign of a moratorium on the area of forest that has now be verified by independent experts to be of significant conservation value, with many area to be of world heritage value (including the forest that I’m in). Sadly, logging continues in these forests.
The other big thing that happened today, which I’m sure you have all heard about by now, is that Bob Brown has resigned. I would like to say a big thank you to Bob for all his hard work and dedication over so many, many years… standing up for the forests and for the people. It must be a hard job being in politics, I’m sure, and trying to make changes for the betterment of people and planet. He has done so with remarkable committment and determination, and also with humility. I think his absence will be felt right across Australia.
Thanks to Bob for all the support he has given to me and the Observer Tree. I was glad to hear that in his resignation media release he said that now he has more time on his hands he will be looking forward to coming out to visit me and my tree. I will very much be looking forward to his visit too!
Two other exciting things happened in my day today. Firstly I got up very early to skype with people in North America. A group of people who had heard about what I am doing got together to hold an information display at the Cornell University Library. The information display and stall ran all day and generated lots of interest. I Skyped into the stall to answer questions and talk to people about the campaign. It was great to talk to people on the other side of the world about what is going on here. And if anyone else reading this feels inspired to organise something like this in your area, let me know (email observertree2011@gmail.com)
The second exciting thing is that the Guardian featured a story about me on the Environment page. Check it out HERE. It even features my recent video blog of the snow.
And what’s more…. I had a nice warm sunny day today up here. Which began with a beautiful sunrise and ended with an equally beautiful sunset. Another spectacular day in The Observer Tree!
Miranda
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 118
It snowed again!
So, I thought I would put together a little video of footage I recorded on day 100, the first snow day. Thanks to the lovely people at the Hobart Computer Repairs shop who donated their time to retrieve the data from my computer and hard-drive that were damaged on that night… Now I have been able to salvage that footage to show you how beautiful this forest is in the snow. I also have recovered the blog that I was writing for you on that day. Here it is:
“I had this dream last night. I awoke in the middle of the night marvelling at the insights of my dream. I was sure I’d never forget it. But when I woke in the morning I had no recollection of any of it. What I did remember was the thoughts that it inspired, the lessons I must have learnt from the dream, that I had lay awake turning over in my mind. I had been thinking about the importance of appreciating every moment for what it is. Not wanting it to be more or less. Not being distracted by thoughts of the future or the past. Not wishing to be somewhere else, doing something different. It was all about staying present and mindful. In a way it lead me to think about not just appreciating the moment, but really noticing it. I guess that is a form of meditation, in some ways. It was after these middle of the night epiphanies, that I awoke to one of the most splendid mornings in the world! And I was able to put those thoughts into practise as I spent time watching the snow falling. It is so mesmerizing, snow falling. It is like magic. The way it drifts through silently. The way the forest looks in the snow is like something out of a fairy tale.
Today we had all kinds of snow: snow mixed with rain that is more like sludge, light fluffy snow meandering weightlessly through the sky, heavy pelting snow driven at full force by the wind, hail bouncing off the platform. Sometimes the wind swirled the snow, ripping it through the air, it felt like being in the middle of a blizzard. And other times it was so silent and soft. The intermittent rain meant that the snow didn’t settle on the forest. But in the brief moments when the clouds relinquished their grip of the mountain tops around me, I could see the thick white blanket covering the ridges.
That’s how I spent my 100th day. Watching the snow fall. Staying present in every moment, appreciating every snow-flake that I could lay my eyes on. My toes and fingers a little numb. But happy and content all the same.”
Hope you all had a great Easter weekend. I had such a nice time, with lots of visits from people who were out attending the skillshare at Camp Florentine. And thank you to all the people who couldn’t make it out, but sent along notes and letters of support! What a lovely weekend of snow, visitors and of course chocolate!
Miranda
Miranda’s Daily Blog: Day 114
This is footage taken on Wednesday. It shows some of the destruction that is continuing to occur within the 572,000 hectares of forest that has been verified as having significant high conservation value, national heritage value and world heritage value.
The footage shows first an area of forest called Butlers Gorge. In the footage you can see not only logging operations occurring, but also new roads being pushed into areas of pristine and previously untouched wilderness. In fact, this area of forest has been recommended for inclusion in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area precisely because it is such a significant area of untouched wilderness. The West report described this area as one of the most, if not the most, significant tract of Tasmania’s tall eucalypt forest. Until about a decade ago it had no disturbance from logging or roading. And the majority of the area remains intact. It is outrageous that now, when it has been recommended as World Heritage, when negotiations are going about its future protection, that new roads would continue to be pushed in to the pristine tracts of forest there. They are compromising the very values that they are talking about protecting! This is the reason that we need an immediate moratorium on logging in the 572,000 hectares. To continue to log the very areas they are discussing as the potential future national parks and world heritage areas just doesn’t make sense. By the time they decide whether or not to protect them, how much of the forest will they have degraded or destroyed?
After the footage of Butlers Gorge, the video shows a devastating burn off in the Plenty. This is an area also within the 572,000 hectares of verified high conservation value forest. This burn off was the topic of an article in the Mercury today (which you can read by clicking HERE).
Finally the footage shows a blackened and still smoldering clearfell in the Weld Valley which was burnt about a week and a half ago. A group of conservationists gathered in the clearfell to hold a banner reading “Stop selling forest destruction.”
I think the footage speaks for itself, in showing the reason why a moratorium on these forests is so necessary. This moratorium is long overdue. Originally due to be in place by March 15th 2011; over a year ago now! And then when the IGA was signed in August last year, it said a conservation agreement would be put over 430,000 hectares, this was never fully implemented. The IGA also stated that once the verification process was complete (as it is now) the conservation agreement would need to be renewed to take into account the recommendations and information in the West report. Therefore, a new conservation agreement should be put in place over the full area of forest that has been verified. This includes these areas depicted in the footage above.
The fact that they are putting new roads into some of these areas raises serious questions about whether there is any intention to stop logging there. Why would Forestry Tasmania be wasting taxpayers money on constructing roads into areas that are being negotiated over and that have been recommended to be included in the World Heritage Area.
You can listen to the PM radio show coverage of the issue here: PM: “Stand off in forest peace deal”
Check out the news coverage from Monday night, about our “olive branch” offer:
Click HERE to view footage of Monday’s press conference with Peg Putt (Markets for Change), Jenny Weber (Huon Valley Environment Centre), Ula Majewski (The Last Stand) and me (Still Wild Still Threatened: skyping in from the Observer Tree).
Hope you are all having a good easter break! For those of you in Tasmania, why not spend the weekend in the wonderful Upper Florentine Valley? There is a great skillshare running at Camp Floz which will include lots of hands on workshops, discussions and walks (with a guided visit out to The Observer Tree too). stillwildstillthreatened@gmail.com for more details.
Take care and talk soon,
Miranda
Media Update: RESPONSE TO INTRANSIGENCE OF THE TASMANIAN FOREST INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
The ‘olive branch’ groups say their genuine offer to smooth the way for the forest industry to return to forest peace talks remains on the table despite its rejection by the Forest Industries Association of Tasmania (FIAT).
Whilst disappointed by the forest industry position, the groups point out that the Tasmanian government holds the key to ensuring a moratorium on logging high conservation value forests, in return for which they offer to suspend market action in Japan.
“Our offer is genuine and remains on the table despite the forest industry’s very disappointing outright rejection, as ultimately the power to impose a logging moratorium to try and get things on track lies with the Tasmanian government,” said Peg Putt for Markets for Change.
“We sent a letter to the government formally outlining our offer and have had an acknowledgment of receipt of the letter.”
“Just as FIAT has been in communication with Ta Ann customer companies in recent days so have we, providing an update on the independent verification group’s expert reports and on our offer of a market moratorium for a forests moratorium. We do not accept that our international or domestic communications should be censored whilst other forest industry stakeholders remain free to say and do whatever they please.”
“Consumers these days are concerned to know about the environmental impacts of the products they buy and want assurance that it is really eco-friendly when advertised as such, not misleading advertising like that in Japan that wrongly describes Ta Ann Tasmania’s plywood flooring range as plantation grown,” said Jenny Weber of the Huon Valley Environment Centre.
“It is not reasonable to expect that devastation of verified high conservation value forest is not restrained but that campaigns in defence of the forests are scuttled. That is a one-sided recipe without any element of compromise.”
Still Wild Still Threatened, Huon Valley Environment Centre, Markets for Change and The Last Stand.
Media Release: NEW FOREST SURVEILLANCE FOOTAGE MAKES CASE FOR MORATORIUM
The full cycle of logging incursions inside Tasmania’s verified, but unprotected, high conservation value forests has been captured in eye-opening new surveillance aerial footage filmed yesterday, which reinforces the case and urgency for an immediate moratorium on logging activity.
These four environment groups have offered an olive branch comprising a suspension of their market action in Japan for one month on the condition that a moratorium is imposed over the 572,000 hectares under discussion for potential future reservation, whilst forest talks take place.
“We are yet to receive a response on the offer we made to government and the industry, and in the meantime we have gained spectacular new footage showing forests inside the 572 000ha that are being logged, roaded and burnt right now,” said Jenny Weber of Huon Valley Environment Centre.
“The cycle of forest destruction in Tasmania stems from the roads pushed in to pristine forest, large scale industrial logging operations and high intensity burning. The outstanding values of the forests are completely destroyed and we are losing significant tracts of world-class forests every single day.”
“At a time when the focus should be on moving out and moving on, Forestry Tasmania is instead bulldozing new logging roads deep into wilderness of global significance and logging verified World Heritage forests. Make no mistake, this is strategic destruction and must be reined in,” Ms Weber said.
“The rapid devastation that is occurring in Butlers Gorge is seeing their unique ecosystems lost by ongoing logging operations. This area has been identified by the West report as one of the most significant tracts of Tasmania’s tall eucalpyt forests. The wilderness values of these forests are indicated as a key reason for the recommendation of adding them to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area,” said Miranda Gibson of Still Wild Still Threatened from the Observer Tree.
“Apocalyptic vision of the Forestry Tasmania regeneration burn in the Plenty Valley taken during our surveillance flight shows the unacceptable practice that blanketed The Channel in smoke yesterday. We filmed the aftermath of such fires inside the high conservation value area,” said Ula Majewski of The Last Stand.
“Regarding our olive branch offer, we have delivered a formal letter to government and await their response,” said Peg Putt, representing Markets for Change.
“We reiterate that our offer of a moratorium on market action is conditional on not continuing to log the forests under discussion for protection. Forestry Tasmania’s blatant attack on forests of the highest value which we have revealed, and their refusal to consider moving out, is a serious problem,” Ms Putt concluded.
T h e O b s e r v e r T r e e 