Magella Lajoie, Sydney Region Branch
Since the COVID-19 crisis, my husband and I head off for the bush at the end of our street everyday. We are very lucky to live in a suburb with abundant greenspace. We have been bushwalkers all our lives and know that feeling of introspection during the walk and value that feeling of rejuvenation after a bush walk. Now science has bourgeoning evidence that urban greenspace is good for our health, our mental health and our wellbeing.
Phil Smith, Director, Speaking 4 the Planet
Speaking 4 the Planet is founded on the belief that Science provides the information we need to achieve sustainability, and the Arts are the vehicles to bring change to our societies: Science provides the data; the Arts change the world.
Beat Plastic Pollution. Connecting People to Nature. Illegal Trade in Wildlife. Seven Billion Dreams.One Planet.Consume with Care. Raise your Voice, Not the Sea Level. Think.Eat.Save. Beat Air Pollution.
Mark Roebuck, NPA member and bushwalker
Australia’s Aboriginal Rock Art is of World Heritage significance. Many people are familiar with the spectacular rock art of Northern Australia. It is a lesser known fact that similar treasures lay on the doorstep of Sydney’s large population centres. Wollemi National Park consists of 5,000 square kilometres of rugged and difficult to access, trackless terrain. It is rich in Aboriginal art and other cultural sites. Many of these sites have only recently been re-discovered. Many more remain in obscurity, lost to knowledge (waiting to be found) due to the forced cultural disconnection of the Aboriginal custodians and protected by the rugged wilderness.
Kim Taysom, Far South Coast Branch
The South East Forests National Park (the Park) straddles the Bega Valley and Snowy Monaro Shires and comprises around 130,000 hectares of escarpment forests inland from Eden, Merimbula and Bega.
In terms of area burnt, the recent fires are unprecedented. The Bega Valley Shire had 58% of its area burnt, with the forested areas being the hardest hit. To put this in historical context, past fires which have burnt 10% of a shire’s area have been deemed significant events.
Author: Tim Bonyhady | Publisher: Text Publishing 2019 | Reviewed by Helen Wilson, Illawarra Branch
Bonyhady has a wide range of expertise as historian, cultural critic, environmentalist and lawyer. I loved his last book Good Living Street, about his Viennese Jewish family’s pre World War 2 history, which came out in 2011. The Enchantment of the Long-Tailed Rat is a return to environmental themes, but with the same openness to a variety of sources and nose for revealing stories.
Review by Sam Garrett-Jones
Billy Griffiths, Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia. Black Inc, Schwartz Publishing, Carlton, Vic, 2018. www.blackincbooks.com
