Winter 2022 – National Parks Association of NSW

National Parks Council of Australia poll on how the community feels about national parks and nature protection

Posted by NPA NSWon May 31, 2022in Winter 2022Leave a comment

Note: much of the text below has been crafted by our colleagues at the Victorian National Parks Association. Thanks to VNPA Nature Conservation Officer Elizabeth Morison for allowing NPA to adapt her article for NSW.

The National Parks Australia Council (NPAC) brings together the peak non-government environmental organisations focused on the future of National Parks, Nature Reserves and other elements of our Protected Area Networks. The Council allows NPAs to share the experiences of each State and identify common challenges and opportunities to improve the condition of protected areas.

Film Review: Where the Water Starts

Posted by NPA NSWon May 31, 2022in Winter 2022Leave a comment

Luisa Bertoggi and Helen Wilson, Illawarra Branch

Illawarra Branch hosted the premiere theatrical screening of this important documentary about Australia’s high country. It gives a First Nations perspective on the Alps as ‘where the water starts’ and features Richard Swain, Indigenous ambassador for the Invasive Species Council. The enthusiastic audience asked Richard, Alison and the filmmakers a lot of questions and agreed the film needs to be seen by all Australians. Caring for the high country is crucial for addressing climate change and for managing our river systems. It’s no place for feral horses.

Hand-back day: Mt Yarrowyck Nature Reserve becomes Bulagaranda Aboriginal Area

Posted by NPA NSWon May 31, 2022in Winter 2022Leave a comment

Lynne Hosking, President, Armidale Branch

Bulagaranda (Mount Yarrowyck) Aboriginal Area is 30km west of Armidale. It is managed by the Anaiwan and Armidale Local Aboriginal Land Councils in joint partnership with NPWS on behalf of the registered Aboriginal owners.

Nature Kids: get serious about saving species!

Posted by NPA NSWon May 31, 2022May 31, 2022in Winter 2022Leave a comment

Chart-topping birdsong

Songs of Disappearance is an album of Australian bird calls, released in December 2021 to bring attention to the sad fact that one-in-six Australian bird species is threatened with extinction, mainly due to climate change, land clearing and bushfires.

Book Review: Gum: The story of eucalypts and their champions by Ashley Hay

Posted by NPA NSWon May 31, 2022in Winter 2022Leave a comment

First Published 2002. Updated edition published 2021.

Review by the NPA’s Environmental Book Group

Eucalypts are a special group of plants that most represent the character of the Australian bush. This book was discussed by the Group at its meeting on 14 March. It tells the history of the development of knowledge of eucalypts and their place in the broader story of Australia and the world. The period covered is from Cook’s 1770 voyage to 2020, with a look to the future. It also recognises long standing First Nation knowledge, culture, and practices. The narrative is told mainly as the story of “champions” and their contributions in exploring, collecting, exporting, drawing, painting, studying, classifying, writing about, promoting, and conserving eucalypts.

Book Review: The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson

Posted by NPA NSWon May 31, 2022in Winter 2022Leave a comment

First edition published 1951. 3rd edition published 2018.

Reviewed by Mike Pickles.

‘Since the publication in 1951 of Rachel Carson’s epic tribute to the ocean, more has been learned about the nature of the ocean and why it matters to the existence of life on Earth than had been learned in prior human history.’ So reads the opening paragraph of the introduction to the 2018 reprint of the book by Sylvia Earle, a marine biologist and Geographic Society Explorer in Residence with several books on the ocean to her name.