Environment News: June 2025 - Issue 643

Week Five May 2025 - Week One June 2025 (May 26 - June 1): Issue 643

 

World Oceans Day 2025 at Bongin Bongin Bay Mona Vale: The Janice Mason Memorial Swim + Family- Friendly Activities

Bongin Bongin Bay - Mona Vale Basin . Photo by Joe Mills

Mona Vale SLSC is bringing back its Winter Solstice Swim, as the Janice Mason Memorial Swim, a 1km ocean swim in celebration of the United Nations World Oceans Day.

In partnership with Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay, this event supports their mission to establish a marine sanctuary zone for the bay by 2027 and will include family-friendly activities and the FoBBB sharing insights into Bongin Bongin Bay's environment.

The Mona Vale SLSC's Winter Solstice swim is named to honour the memory of Janice Mason, a much-loved P.E teacher, clubbie and a Dawnbuster swimmer, known as a phenomenal athlete by her peers, who succeeded at whatever sport she turned her hand to.  

A legend of Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club, where she had been a member since 1989, moving through the ranks from nippers to senior club, taking on the roles of chief instructor and race secretary, Janice won multiple medals at branch, state and Aussies level. 

Sadly, in May of 2020, Janice passed away during her daily morning swim ritual with the Dawnbusters across the Mona Vale basin.

Ms Mason’s husband Alan, a past Mona Vale SLSC president and life member, said “it is truly lovely that they have named the event after her.” 

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for her memory to live on and remember all the things she did at the surf club.” 

The Mona Vale Dawnbusters swim at Mona Vale Basin at 6.30am weekdays and 7.30 on weekends.

The 'Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay’ evolved in February 2023 from a group of swimmers who traverse the bay each morning taking in the wonders of nature. The group is currently seeking to mobilise the community, seeking its support in having the area declared by the NSW Government as a ‘no take’ aquatic reserve. The primary objective of aquatic reserves in NSW is to conserve the biodiversity of fish and marine vegetation.

The FoBBB state they are not anti-fishing, explaining;

''Marine sanctuaries provide a refuge for fish from being caught, allowing them to aggregate freely, grow large, and reproduce. Sanctuaries are an important tool not just to halt biodiversity loss and to create climate resilience, but to ensure food security. As fish and invertebrates grow larger they produce exponentially more eggs; the bigger the fish, the more babies they produce.

We believe that establishing areas where larger fish can proliferate free from extractive pressures is of great value to areas adjacent that are open to fishing.''

Their logo is 'Ned the Octopus', created by Jo Bell of Ocean Love Art & Design and donated to the group, her drawing seeks to incorporate, in her words; 

“...as many of our marine friends as possible that we see and swim with into the drawing, as well as the sea grasses, seaweed and shells”.

The logo now features on reusable mugs, t-shirts and hoodies, for that after-swim warm up. The limited edition mug is also available at present at the Brightside Cafe, located in the Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club building on the beachfront.

You can find out more about the Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay at: www.bonginbonginbay.org.au

The 2025 edition of the Janice Mason Memorial Swim features four race divisions with prizes:

  • Male and Female categories
  • Regular and ‘Skins & Fins’ divisions

The famous post-swim soup is back too! This year, your $40 entry includes a souvenir FoBBB 'Ned the Octopus' ceramic mug—a keepsake for a great cause. Online entries close Saturday June 7 at 3pm, sign up here: oceanswims.com/event/the-janice-mason-memorial-swim

The race starts at 10 AM, but the fun begins early.

The WOD festival includes the Bongin Bongin Ukulele Band, the Department of Primary Industries ’Bluey’ kids activities trailer, and Aboriginal displays and activities.

Although the Winter Solstice will not officially be celebrated until June 25 2025, this is a great way to celebrate World Oceans Day 2025 - which has a theme of  "Wonder: Sustaining what sustains us"  to emphasise the ocean's importance as a source of life and its role in supporting all life on Earth - and the first full week of Winter in the best place in Sydney; Pittwater.

Oceans Day was first declared as 8 June, 1992 in Rio de Janeiro at the Global Forum, a parallel event at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) which provided an opportunity for non-government organizations (NGOs) and civil society to express their views on environmental issues.

The Declaration was inspired by an event organised on that day by the Oceans Institute of Canada and supported by the Canadian Government: “OCEANS DAY AT GLOBAL FORUM – THE BLUE PLANET”. The programme featured international experts, opinion leaders and those in a position to speak for the oceans’ contributions to sustaining the Blue Planet.

In 2008, led by Canada, the General Assembly resolved that 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as “World Oceans Day”. (General Assembly resolution 63/111)

In the interim, observation of Oceans Day had broadened and deepened. The need and scope for this was reflected in the broad range of concerns expressed in 2008 by the UN Secretary-General, including implementation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, maritime space, international shipping, maritime security, marine science and technology, marine biological diversity, the marine environment and sustainable development, climate change and regional and international cooperation. The awareness and action spurred by observation of World Oceans Day would be crucial in all these areas.

The theme of the inaugural observance of World Oceans Day by the United Nations in 2009 was ‘Our Oceans, Our Responsibility’.

“The first observance of World Oceans Day allows us to highlight the many ways in which oceans contribute to society. It is also an opportunity to recognize the considerable challenges we face in maintaining their capacity to regulate the global climate, supply essential ecosystem services and provide sustainable livelihoods and safe recreation.” – then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

In the spirit of the ocean, bring your favourite swim cap! Join MVSLSC and FoBBB for a morning of ocean swimming, community spirit, and environmental immersion to celebrate World Oceans Day.

To inspire you, a poem by Viva Brock, daughter of George Brock, the gentleman who built 'The Oaks'. Mr. Brock owned a yacht called the 'Dolphin', and had been a member of the Royal Prince Alfred Club from the 1890's, so certainly would have visited Pittwater prior to his grand dreaming of realising 'The Oaks'.

Viva had written of the Mona Vale Basin a few times, only she called it 'Mermaid's Basin' but she too knew of the sea life that lives there, in this aquatic nursery:

The Jester:
A Sea-egg and an Octopus were walking hand In hand;
They wept like anything to see a girl upon the sand.
"If she were only swept away," they said, "it would be grand."

"If seven whales and seven sharks hung round for half a day,
Do you suppose," the Sea-egg said, "that still she'd want to stay?"
"I fear so," said the Octopus and brushed a tear away.
"If I were only old enough," it added, with a sigh,
"I'd squeeze her up to jolly In the winking of an eye."

"Still, why not throw your ink at her?" the Sea-egg did reply.
"Oh, come now," said the Octopus, "I'll own it is a bore
To find a tiresome girl like this thus littering up our shore,
But a revenge so horrible was never planned before."

' For don't you see," he added, "she's already fond of ink.
And like a thirsty blotting pad would simply lie and drink,
With a consequence so awful that I shudder as I think."
"I understand," the Sea-egg said, "I quite com prenez-vous,
There'd be sonnets on the ocean, and on each wave a few,
While odes unto the billows continually she'd do.

"And goodness gracious, gracious me, too horrible 'twould be,
If she should make a poem upon you, dear friend, or me,
An 'Ode Unto an Octopus,' or 'Lines to Egg of-Sea.' "

"Oh, Viva," wept the Octopus "you've had a pleasant swim,
Won't you be trotting home again; it's high time you went in?
I dare not angry grow with you, I find 'twould be a sin."

Peeps in Four States. (1906, March 21). Australian Town and Country Journal (NSW : 1870 - 1907), p. 38. Retrieved from  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71528448


Swimmers at The Basin or Bongin Bongin Bay (Mona Vale Beach) just after dawn. Photo: Joe Mills (Turimetta Moods)

 Looking north, "La Corniche", Mona Vale - Digital Order Number: a105575 - from album Scenes views and interiors of "La Corniche", Mona Vale, N.S.W., Sydney & Ashfield : Broadhurst Post Card Publishers, courtesy Mitchell Library - State Library of NSW.

Dust storm over Pittwater

Red dust from South Australia, currently in drought, and carried by strong winds, settled over Sydney and the Illawarra on Tuesday morning, May 27.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the dust haze is a result of "prolonged dry weather conditions and strong and gusty winds ahead of a very strong cold front".

Wollongong's air quality was worst hit with an air quality index score of 926 at 10am, classified as "hazardous" — the highest level on the air quality scale.

Freshening winds by md-morning dispersed the dust but the air quality remained poor.

Dust haze over Wollongong. Photo: Gabriel Dalton/via Instagram

Dust haze over Pittwater. Photo: A J Guesdon

Elanora Dragon Rescue

May 29, 2025
An Eastern Water Dragon was found curled up near a front door in Elanora Heights, showing little interest in moving, even after 24 hours. The concerned resident noticed a bend in the tail and called WIRES for help.

WIRES Emergency Responder Rachel attended the rescue and found the lizard alert but unusually still, even when approached. With temperatures dropping, Rachel suspected the dragon may have been preparing to enter brumation (a hibernation-like state) and had become displaced. As the lizard began to shake, possibly from stress or exposure, Rachel transported it to a nearby vet for monitoring and further assessment.

Eastern Water Dragons are cold-blooded reptiles and rely on environmental warmth to stay active. If you see a reptile out in the cold or in distress, contact WIRES on 1300 094 737.

Our work is only possible thanks to compassionate supporters like you. Together, we can give native animals the second chance they deserve.

Your gift can make all the difference for wildlife in urgent need. 💚
Learn more or donate today: https://bit.ly/Emergency_Appeal25

Photos: Rachel/WIRES

Labor approves Woodside's North West Shelf extension: 'a prelude to approval for Woodside's Browse Project carbon bomb' 

One of the world's leading rock art specialists has accused the WA government of producing "propaganda" to support its view that Woodside's controversial North West Shelf gas project should be allowed to extend, labelling government-produced documents a "disgrace to Australian science".

On Friday the WA government released a report into one of the world's most significant and dense collections of ancient petroglyphs, on the Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga) near Karratha, which are thought to be thousands of years old.

University of Western Australia professor of archaeology Benjamin Smith said the 800-page report found rock art closest to industry had been most degraded and recent industry was to blame — details he said the executive summary, which he states was produced by the government — failed to mention.

Another leading scientist, Emeritus Professor Adrian Baddeley, has expressed "grave concern" about "unacceptable interference" in a major study of the impacts of industrial emissions on ancient Aboriginal rock carvings in a complaint obtained by the ABC.

The West Australian government released the long-awaited results, completed in May 2024, from its ongoing Rock Art Monitoring Program, which is studying petroglyphs on the Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga, near Karratha in WA's north.

The five-year study was trying to determine whether industrial pollution has degraded Indigenous rock carvings thought to be 40,000 years old. The $27 million rock art monitoring project was led by the WA government in collaboration with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, using experts from Curtin University.

See: 
Curtin University (2024) Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program: Monitoring Studies Report 2024. Submitted to the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Government of Western Australia. DWER
Technical report COPP21065-REP-G-105, revision 2

See ABC reports:

The latest results were considered by federal Environment Minister Murray Watt, as part of his ruling on whether to approve a 45-year licence extension of Woodside's North West Shelf LNG facilities on the Burrup Peninsula. The project was approved by the new 'Minister for the Environment' and announced as such on Wednesday May 28.

''Following the consideration of rigorous scientific and other advice including submissions from a wide cross-section of the community, I have today made a proposed decision to approve this development, subject to strict conditions, particularly relating to the impact of air emissions levels from the operation of an expanded on-shore Karratha gas plant.

In making my proposed decision I was required to consider: 
  • the potential impacts of extending the life of the plant on the national heritage values of nearby ancient rock art, and
  • economic and social matters concerning the proposed development.
Based on the evidence before me and the Department’s recommendations, my proposed decision is subject to strict conditions.

My responsibility is to consider the acceptability of the project's impact on protected matters. In this case, the impact of air emissions on the Murujuga rock art that forms part of the Dampier Archipelago was considered as part of the assessment process. I have ensured that adequate protection for the rock art is central to my proposed decision.'' Minister Watt's statement says

Minister Watt had been in WA last week meeting with stakeholders, including the Cook government, ahead of the decision and a coming rewrite of the laws governing environmental approvals.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the minister had "failed at the first hurdle".

"What the environment minister has done today is protected the big gas corporation Woodside and foreign-owned gas companies that will take these exports, rather than protecting Australia's environment or climate," Senator Hanson-Young said.

Greenpeace chief executive David Ritter said the approval was a "terrible decision".

"The North West Shelf facility is one of the dirtiest and most polluting fossil fuel projects ... despite what the gas lobby says, the reality is we don't need more polluting gas," Mr. Ritter said.

Greenpeace's WA campaign lead Geoff Bice said in a statement;
"The primary purpose of Woodside's North West Shelf extension is to process gas from the Browse gas field underneath Scott Reef — the minister should be looking at these gas mega projects as a whole," 

Last week Western Australia's environmental watchdog took the unusual step of reopening public consultation to Woodside's $30 billion Browse joint venture project.

Browse is Australia's largest untapped conventional gas resource, which Woodside is hoping to develop. The energy giant has made an application to WA's Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to make changes to its proposal. Climate groups have labelled Browse a "carbon bomb", claiming the project could lead to emissions of up to 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over its lifetime — an amount three times Australia's annual pollution output.

The Conservation Council WA has reaffirmed its rejection of Woodside’s Browse gas proposal, even in light of revised plans before the WA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which it says simply “tinkers around the edges”.  

These changes include reducing the size of the development envelope to 78km2, to avoid overlapping parts of the heritage-listed Scott Reef.  

Executive Director Matt Roberts said the revision was a “smoke and mirrors exercise” and in no way altered the threat posed by the Browse proposal to the fragile and pristine Scott Reef.  

“Drilling will still be taking place unacceptably close to this unique marine ecosystem, which includes Sandy Islet, a critical nesting ground for endangered green sea turtles. Gas drilling is highly likely to cause subsidence of the ocean floor, potentially submerging this tiny atoll altogether,” Mr Roberts said.  

“And as the revised proposal states, there is no change to the area of direct or indirect seabed disturbance estimates; subsidence is not addressed in any detail.   

“While Woodside has significantly lowered the envelope of its drilling field, we’re still talking about an area four times the size of Rottnest Island (Wadjemup). Its initial plans for a 1,220km2 envelope was all about going in with outrageously large number, then scaling the project back to paint itself as a good corporate citizen.  

“There is no reduction in the amount of gas they plan to extract from beneath this unique marine habitat, or the emissions that will be generated by the project. In essence, nothing has changed, Woodside has simply wrapped it up in a nice green ribbon.”  

Mr Roberts said the WA EPA has already found the Browse proposal poses unacceptable risks to endangered pygmy blue whales, the green sea turtle and other threatened marine species at Scott Reef.  

“Woodside’s revised proposal does nothing to mitigate the risk that gas extraction could cause the seabed to subside, potentially rendering Sandy Islet underwater and unusable for turtle nesting.   

“Worst of all, Woodside’s Browse Gas proposal still entails the risk of a major oil spill catastrophically impacting the reef.  

“In 2009, the Montara oil spill almost reached Scott Reef, which was only saved thanks to a chance change in prevailing winds and tides. At the start of this year, Santos was found guilty of another oil spill off the Pilbara coast that killed dolphins.   

“Just two days ago, the offshore oil and gas regulator ordered Santos to stop drilling for their Barossa gas project due to a failure in the equipment that prevents oil spills from occurring. Offshore oil and gas drilling is inherently dangerous.  

“And yet Woodside is comfortable labelling the risk to Scott Reef from an oil spill as ‘only a mere theoretical possibility.’ If a spill occurs, the impacts could be catastrophic.   

“This revised proposal is simply artful deception – gambling with the future of Australia’s largest offshore coral reef, a haven for marine life found nowhere else on earth - that could result in catastrophic impacts that do irreparable damage to this pristine wilderness forever.  

“There is no way to mitigate the unacceptable risks Browse gas poses to Scott Reef. The proximity of the project to the incredible natural values of the Scott Reef system which are at risk from oil spills, subsidence and disturbance from the operations is untenable. The only option is to reject it,” Mr Roberts added. 
 
See ABC report: 
Woodside's North West Shelf approval just a stepping stone to enable Browse project

The Climate Council has labelled the Albanese Government’s approval of the North West Shelf gas extension a failure of leadership.

''The decision to extend the life of ​​Australia’s largest mainland gas facility until 2070 locks in more than 4 billion tonnes of climate pollution. That is equivalent to a decade of Australia’s annual emissions. It gives proponent Woodside the green light to keep operating one of the country’s most polluting fossil fuel projects until 2070.'' the Climate Council stated

Former North West Shelf Manager at BP Greg Bourne said: “Extending the North West Shelf will haunt the Albanese Government. They’ve just approved one of the most polluting fossil fuel projects in a generation, fuelling climate chaos for decades to come. This single project will unleash more than four billion tonnes of climate pollution. It undoes the good work they’ve done on cutting climate pollution and betrays the mandate Australian voters just gave them.

“The global market is already awash with gas. It is rubbish to say that Australia needs this gas when the lion’s share is marked for export and none of it will be used on the East Coast. It’s bad for the climate, bad for Australia’s economy, and completely out of step with where the world is heading.”

Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said: “Communities in NSW are starting the clean-up after record-breaking floods. It is shocking that at the same time the Albanese Government has approved this massive climate bomb as its first act of this term of government. They’ve just opened the floodgates on over 4 billion tonnes of climate pollution.”

“Peter Dutton promised to approve this project before the last election. Voters rejected Dutton. Why would the Albanese Government take Dutton’s lead on climate policy? Approving the North West Shelf extension leaves a polluting stain on Labor’s climate legacy. Australians voted for a renewable-powered future, not more climate pollution and destruction.

“If the Government is actively making the climate crisis worse it must explain to communities, like those experiencing flooding right now, how it will protect them from more frequent and forceful extreme weather events.”

This project marks the Albanese Government’s 27th coal, oil or gas approval since taking office. It is the most polluting of them all. 

Key facts on North West Shelf:
  • Gas is a polluting fossil fuel: It’s made up mostly of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Gas accelerates the climate crisis when it is released or burnt. When exported, it’s just as bad for our climate as coal.
  • This project is not needed to support renewable power in Australia. Most of it will be exported, and in WA where the project is located: only 0.7 – 1.0% of WA’s gas supply is needed for electricity generation in the state over the next nine years. WA has more than enough gas to meet this need. Nationally, there is a small and declining role for gas in the switch to clean energy, and it is wrong to claim this project will play a role.
  • Over its 45-year life, the project would lead to over 4 billion tonnes (gigatonnes) of climate pollution. This is more than double the two billion tonnes of climate pollution associated with the Coalition’s nuclear scheme to 2050. 
  • This is equivalent to 10 years of Australia’s current climate pollution, and will contribute to more intense and frequent unnatural disasters that are harming Australians.
  • While most of the gas will be exported, the pollution from gas extraction and processing is expected to be 7.7 million tonnes per year – equivalent to the annual pollution from a coal-fired power station or 2.8 million cars. That would make it Australia’s second most polluting fossil fuel facility.
  • UNESCO has warned that industrial emissions from this gas facility are damaging 50,000-year-old Indigenous rock art. Instead of protecting the globally significant heritage site at Murujuga, the Albanese Government has waved through decades more pollution.
Background in: The Pilliga Push, March 2016 by Dick Clarke

Green light for gas: North West Shelf gas plant cleared to run until 2070

Franklin64/Shutterstock
Samantha HepburnDeakin University

In a decision surprising very few people, Australia’s new environment minister Murray Watt has signed off on an extension for the gas plant at Karratha, part of the enormous North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project.

The decision had been deferred until after the federal election, given significant environmental concerns around the project.

This approval means the gas plant at Karratha can now keep running until 2070. The Woodside-operated project has helped to shape Australia’s reputation as one of the biggest suppliers of LNG in the world.

Watt did not have to consider climate impacts, but rather what damage the extension might do to ancient rock art as well as economic and social matters. His approval is “subject to strict conditions”, which largely focus on air emissions from the project. Critics claim the extension will threaten irreplaceable 50,000 year old rock carvings and petroglyphs.

The decision will enrage environmentalists. If the project continues to operate, it has been estimated to generate four billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over 50 years.

Australia has committed to reach net zero emissions by 2050. But the majority of the gas extracted from the North West Shelf will be exported, meaning the huge emissions generated from its extraction, liquefaction, transportation and burning will not be counted domestically.

But while the Karratha plant now has a lifeline, there’s still an open question about where the gas will come from. For decades, the plant has processed gas from the North Rankin, Perseus and Goodwyn gasfields offshore. These are now running out.

The main purpose of extending the Karratha plant’s lifespan would be to process gas extracted from giant new gasfields lying underneath the pristine Scott Reef. Approval to open these gasfields has not yet been given because of the significant concerns extraction will damage the reefs.

What is the North West Shelf Project?

The North West Shelf development has been operational since the 1980s. Gas is extracted from huge basins located off the Pilbara coast and processed at the Karratha plant on the Burrup Peninsula.

To date, only a third of the 33 trillion cubic feet of gas in this basin has been extracted.

Woodside Petroleum is the project operator, holding a one-third shareholding along with Chevron and Shell in what is known as the North West Shelf Joint Venture.

The project is the largest producer of domestic gas in Western Australia, providing almost two-thirds of the state’s consumption. In the 2023-2024 financial year, it produced gas worth about A$70 billion.

Domestic consumers are paying much more for this gas than their international counterparts. For example, a $25 billion contract entered into with China in 2002 includes a guarantee prices will remain the same until 2031.

With the rapid escalation of gas prices, this means China is paying a third of the price paid by domestic consumers. Other markets for the gas include Japan and South Korea, which lack domestic gas resources.

karratha gas plant panorama
The Karratha plant has been cleared to run until 2070. Hans Wismeijer/Shutterstock

The ‘transition fuel’ worse than coal

Gas has long been touted as a transition fuel in a decarbonising economy. But this is questionable on several fronts.

Rather than replacing coal, LNG may actually be displacing renewables.

Worse, a recent study showed emissions from LNG are 33% higher than coal over a 20 year period when extraction, piping to a processing facility, compression, shipping, decompression and burning for energy are considered. “Ending the use of LNG should be a global priority,” the report concludes.

Turning methane-heavy natural gas into a liquid to allow it to be shipped overseas is energy intensive. Large leaks of methane from wells and pipes are common during extraction and transport. When the gas is finally burned to generate energy, it produces carbon dioxide.

In China, coal’s share of electricity production has been eroded by renewables but not by LNG, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

From a big picture point of view, climate commitments can’t be met if high-emitting infrastructure keeps being commissioned. Alongside stopping the expansion of fossil fuel projects, existing fossil fuel infrastructure must be retired or retrofitted with cleaner technology.

Eroding ancient rock art

The project’s processing plant is located on the Burrup Peninsula, also known as Murujaga. But this peninsula also has about 500,000 rock carvings by First Nations groups, the densest concentration in the world. In 2023, former environment minister Tanya Plibersek announced a bid to give this area World Heritage listing.

In a new draft decision, the United Nations World Heritage Committee flagged concerns over the bid and referred it back to the Australian government to “ensure the total removal of degrading acidic emissions” and “prevent any further industrial development” near the petroglyphs.

Gas production and ancient rock art are poorly matched. Research suggests processing plant gases such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and ammonia have been gradually eroding the fragile petroglyphs for decades. Successive state and federal governments have failed to act to safeguard this area.

Gas projects seem untouchable

Approving the North West Shelf extension is a disaster for the environment, our climate commitments and the fragile and irreplaceable rock art in Murujuga.

It would seem that despite well-founded concerns on many fronts, big gas projects in Australia are all but untouchable.The Conversation

Samantha Hepburn, Professor, Deakin Law School, Deakin University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

How the North West Shelf expansion risks further damage to Murujuga’s 50,000-year-old rock art

Murujuga Rock Art Conservation ProjectCC BY-NC-ND
Benjamin SmithThe University of Western Australia and John BlackUniversity of Sydney

Yesterday, new environment minister Murray Watt approved an extension for the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project. The gas plant at Karratha, Western Australia, will run until 2070.

This expansion – and the pollution it will release – has led to a recommendation by the International Council on Monuments and Sites to defer UNESCO’s decision on the world heritage listing of the nearby Murujuga rock art.

Two of the recommendations prior to renomination of the site are to “ensure the total removal of degrading acidic emissions” and “prevent any further industrial development adjacent to, and within, the Murujuga Cultural Landscape”.

Murujuga has more than one million petroglyphs, some up to 50,000 years old.

It has the oldest depictions of the human face in the world and records the lore and traditions of Aboriginal Australians since the first human settlement of this continent. It is strikingly beautiful and is of enormous cultural and spiritual importance to the Traditional Owners.

Despite the immense significance of the site, a large industrial precinct has been built at its centre.

Concerns about the Murujuga Rock Art report

On Friday, the Western Australian Government released the long awaited Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program Year 2 report. This report examines the effect of industrial pollution upon one of the world’s most significant rock art sites.

We have conducted our own independent project into the impact of industrial emissions on Murujuga since 2018. Many of our findings support the details in this report but the government’s report summary and subsequent political commentary downplays the ongoing impacts of acidic emissions from industry on the world unique rock art.

The most significant findings are the Weathering Chamber results. These subjected all rock types from Murujuga to the air pollutants released by industry. The results showed that all were degraded, even with relatively low doses of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).

The second highly significant finding is that “there is statistically significant evidence of elevated porosity of granophyre rock surfaces”. This is centred on the industrial precinct in Murujuga. The report acknowledges industrial pollution is the most likely cause.

This degradation and elevated porosity of the rocks puts the survival of the petroglyphs at risk.

On our research team, Jolam Neumann’s still to be published PhD thesis at the University of Bonn, Germany, considered the impacts of industrial pollution on Murujuga rocks.

He used actual samples of gabbro and granophyre rock collected from Murujuga and simulated six years of weathering under current pollution conditions. He found elevated porosity in both rock surfaces. He also collected the residue to understand what was eroded from the rock and how.

He found there was significant degradation of birnessite (manganese) and kaolinite (clay) from the surface. The dark red/brown surface of the rock became porous and started to break down.

His work confirms industrial emissions are the cause of the elevated porosity in the report. His work shows the seriousness of the porosity: it is symptomatic of a process causing the rapid disintegration of the rock surface.

Damage is ongoing

With Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program report showing evidence of damage to the art from pollution, the state government chose to emphasise in their report summary that a defunct power plant from the 1970s and 1980s was likely the culprit.

The report’s data suggests this power plant produced about 3,600 tonnes of NO₂ per year, and less than 400 tonnes of SO₂ per year. Current industry in the immediate area produces more than 13,000 tonnes of NO₂ per year and more than 6,500 tonnes of SO₂.

If the old power plant damaged the art then contemporary industrial emissions will be damaging the rock art at least five times faster.

Neumann also gained access to a piece of rock collected in 1994 by archaeological scientist Robert Bednarik, and stored in his office in Melbourne for the past 30 years.

The area where this rock came from now has elevated porosity, but the Bendarik rock shows no signs of it. This means the bulk of the industrial damage is likely more recent than 1994 – and is ongoing.

Losing 50,000 years of culture

The rock art was formed by engraving into the outer thin red/brown/black surface of the rock, called rock varnish, exposing the blue-grey parent rock beneath.

This rock varnish was made in a process that involved the actions of specialised microbes called cyanobacteria. They concentrate manganese and iron from the environment to form an outer sheath to protect themselves from the harsh desert environment.

The rock varnish forms at an incredibly slow rate: 1 to 10 microns in 1,000 years (a human hair is about 100 microns).

These organisms can only thrive when the rock surface acidity is near neutral (pH 6.5–7). Their manganese sheaths are crucial to the integrity of the rock varnish, it binds it together and holds it to the underlying rock.

If you lose the manganese you lose the rock varnish and the rock art.

Neumann found the proportion of manganese in the Bednarik rock sample was 18.4% by weight. In samples collected in the same area in 2021, the manganese content had fallen to 9.6%. The depth of the varnish was reduced, and the varnish layer was full of holes where the manganese had been degraded.

The damage by industry over the last 26 years was clearly visible.

Increased porosity is reducing the density of the rock varnish layer and leading to its eventual degradation. There is also an absence of cyanobacteria close to the industrial sites, but not at more distant sites, suggesting industrial emissions are eliminating the varnish-forming microbes.

Where to next?

Industrial pollution has degraded the rock art and will continue to do so until the industrial pollution levels at Murujuga are reduced to zero.

There are two well-recognised ways to eliminate NO₂ emissions. One uses selective catalytic reduction to convert NO₂ to nitrogen and water. The second method is to replace all gas burning heat production processes with electricity.

The use of such technologies should form part of the conditions to the ministerial approval of the North West Shelf extension.The Conversation

Benjamin Smith, Professor of Archaeology (World Rock Art), School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia and John Black, Adjunct Professor Emeritus, School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

As record floods raged, NSW Government quietly approved fifth coal mine expansion

Monday May 26, 2025
The NSW Minns Government quietly approved another coal mine expansion - Glencore’s Ulan project near Mudgee - at the very same time as NSW was at the epicentre of devastating record flooding supercharged by the burning of fossil fuels

This is the fifth coal mine expansion approved by the NSW Labor Government. The estimated total greenhouse emissions from all five projects is 335 million tonnes of climate pollution (lifetime) which equates to about three times NSW’s total annual emissions from all sources.

The Ulan Modification 6 project has been approved despite the fact that it is seeking approval for a mine expansion that will occur from 2033-2041, an even though the Net Zero Commission has found NSW is not on track to meet either its 2030 or 2035 target.

Lock the Gate Alliance NSW Coordinator Nic Clyde said, “While people were stranded on rooftops, or being rescued from floodwaters by dinghies, the Minns Government ticked off on a fifth coal mine expansion that will fuel yet more climate chaos. 

“The approval of Glencore’s coal mine expansion, which won’t even start until 2033, shows an extraordinary disregard for NSW climate targets and for local communities on the frontlines of climate disaster. 

“More coal mine expansions mean more extreme weather events causing more harm and are making it harder for communities to bounce back. They mean higher insurance bills, and higher clean up bills for the state. 

“Research shows that NSW is in the top 10% of jurisdictions globally that is most vulnerable to physical risks from climate change, but the NSW Government is pandering to multinational coal companies and forcing NSW communities to pay a terrible price.”

Rosemary Hadaway, President Mudgee District Environment Group said, “The decision to approve the Ulan Modification 6 is based on very poor cost benefits analysis while allowing cumulative impacts on threatened species, water sources, Aboriginal cultural heritage and fuelling more climate change.

“Glencore will clear critically endangered nature to make way for this coal mine expansion. The ongoing loss of critically endangered bushland, sandstone cliff-lines and threatened species habitat in the Mudgee region through coal mine expansion cannot be adequately offset and is leading to a regional extinction crisis.

“The NSW Government is failing to meet biodiversity protection and net zero emissions targets. The approval of Ulan Mod 6 is a failure of the planning system, and as the flooding disaster shows, a failure of the government to act in the community’s best interests.”

Minns Government approves sixth coal mine expansion as NSW communities start cleanup after latest climate disaster

May 27, 2025
The NSW Government has approved its sixth coal mine expansion since coming to power, mere days since record flooding, supercharged by the burning of fossil fuels, wreaked havoc on Mid North Coast communities. 

The Sanjeev Gupta-owned Tahmoor expansion project, 25 km from Campbelltown, is the fourth coal mine approval since the NSW Net Zero Commission warned that NSW is not on track to meet its emission reduction targets for 2030 or 2035.  

Lock the Gate Alliance says the Tahmoor expansion will make meeting climate targets even harder and is a blow to communities who are bearing the brunt of the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis. 

NSW Labor has approved six coal mines that when combined would be responsible for estimated 340 million tonnes of climate pollution (lifetime), more than three times NSW’s total annual emissions from all sources. 

Tahmoor coal mine is the second most polluting coal mine in NSW, with high volumes of methane emissions. However, the company was not proposing to implement best practice methane abatement for this expansion. 

This approval allows Tahmoor to operate for an additional nine months in 2032, to access a new long wall and to release an additional 5.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions. Longwall mining at Tahmoor is causing damage to homes in the nearby village of Bargo. 

Lock the Gate Alliance NSW Coordinator Nic Clyde said, “The mining of coal is supercharging the climate crisis and worsening catastrophic weather events like the flooding that has devastated communities north of Newcastle recently. 

“People are suffering and homes have been flooded, but it’s business as usual with a sixth coal mine expansion in NSW - despite coal being a major contributor to the climate crisis that is leading to increasingly extreme weather.

“It’s appalling to see the NSW Government extend the second most polluting coal mine in NSW given the severe warming effect of methane emissions which are 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. 

“This is the sixth coal-mine expansion approved by the Minns Labor government despite the Net Zero Commission warning  that NSW is not on track to meet any of its legislated climate targets and that coal expansions are a key reason why.

“The Minns Government needs to decide whether it is on the side of communities or big coal mining companies. So far, it is siding with the coal companies and communities are paying the price.”

Pilliga Update: NSW Labor Backs Santos to drill 850 wells in Forest Of Gomeroi Country; First Nations' land rights extinguished by Court in favour of multinational’s right to mine gas - Unions vow to back fight ‘whatever the cost’ 

On May 20 2025 the Native Title Tribunal cleared the way for multinational mining behemoth Santos to commence mining the Pilliga Forest for gas in the face of opposition from Traditional Owners, the Gomeroi people, farmers and residents.
 
For nearly a decade Gomeroi Traditional Owners have repeatedly expressed serious concerns about the devastating cultural and environmental impact that Santos mining in the Pilliga Forest will have on their land.
 
Today’s decision at the Native Title Tribunal effectively means that the Traditional Owners concerns will be completely dismissed in favour of Santos’ plans to mine gas for sale into global markets.
 
Since Gomeroi Traditional Owners first blew the whistle on the project they have been strongly supported by a large and sometimes unusual cross section of the community, from major land holders in the area through to environmentalists, teachers, healthcare professionals, tradespeople and their unions. 
 
Unions NSW President Vanessa Seagrove expressed deep disappointment in the ruling, stating; “We believe that the right to land is fundamental to the cultural identity and survival of Indigenous peoples. The ruling is a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles faced by First Nations communities in asserting their rights,” said Vanessa Seagrove, Assistant Secretary of Unions NSW.
 
 "Nurses and midwives must use our voice to advocate for real action on climate change – this means no new fossil fuel extraction should occur. The NSWNMA commits our ongoing support for the right of the traditional owners of this land to have their voice heard," said Michael Whaites, Assistant General Secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association.
 
The Independent Education Union NSW/ACT Branch condemns today’s decision handed down by the Native Title Tribunal. The Native Tribunal originally received 23,700 submissions against Santos’s gas mining project and a mere 300 in favour. The IEU acknowledges the tenacity and courage of the Gomeroi in their David and Goliath struggle against Santos. We recommit to supporting the Gomeroi against Santos’ plans to inflict environmental and cultural vandalism on the Pilliga,” echoed David Towson, Deputy Secretary of the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch.
 
“The ETU NSW/ACT is disappointed in the Tribunal’s decision not to uphold the Native Title rights of the Gomeroi people in the Narrabri region or the historic precedent to consider climate change as part of project approvals. This disgraceful decision to side with deep-pocketed fossil fuel company Santos will undermine First Nation land rights and will give less job security and certainty to workers involved in nearby renewable energy zone projects. 

Renewable energy projects in the region are already set to create over 13,000 local jobs, Santos’ coal seam gas project will undermine the skills and supply chain pipeline needed to make that happen. The ETU is proud to stand in solidarity with Gomeroi people and will continue its support of initiatives to advance First Nations communities through the energy transition, especially through the Renewable Energy Sector Board & First Nations Clean Energy Strategy,” said Allen Hicks, Secretary of ETU NSW.
 
“This is a catastrophic failure of justice for the Gomeroi people.  State and Federal Governments could have ended this travesty years ago but have instead decided to side with a multinational behemoth over our own First Nations community. If the Government doesn’t take action to fix this, then the Union movement will. We will do what we have to in order to stop this project. Make no mistake, we will not stand by while faceless multinational corporations trash cultural and natural heritage” said Paul Keating, Sydney Branch Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia.

The Native Title Tribunal has handed down a decision that extinguishes the land rights of the Gomeroi People in order to allow multinational gas giant Santos to proceed with its coal seam gas project in the Pilliga Forest. The NSW Labor Government’s support for the project, despite strong and sustained opposition from Traditional Owners and the community, has been labelled a profound betrayal of cultural heritage, environmental integrity and climate justice.

Greens MP and spokesperson for the environment and First Nations justice, Sue Higginson, said the decision prioritised fossil fuel profits over the rights of First Nations people, the protection of sacred Country, and the future of the environment and climate.

"This result has completely failed the Gomeroi, demonstrating the severely broken system for land rights, and it’s a victory for corporate fossil fuel interests. The Gomeroi People have consistently and clearly opposed this project for over a decade. More than 23,000 public submissions were made against the Narrabri Gas Project, compared to only 300 in support. A wide coalition of unions, scientists, farmers and community members have stood with Gomeroi Traditional Owners to stop Santos. This outcome shows how little the rights of First Nations communities matter when profit is on the table."

"The Pilliga Forest is a place of immense cultural, spiritual and environmental significance. It is the largest inland native forest in eastern Australia, a critical recharge zone for the Great Artesian Basin, and home to threatened species. Santos plans to drill up to 850 coal seam gas wells across this landscape. The environmental risks are well-documented and irreversible. Once the Pilliga is fractured by this project, it cannot be undone."

"The conditions that have been imposed are wholly insufficient to prevent damage and are insulting in the context of what is being lost, again highlighting how broken and limited the system is. Requiring that the gas be used for domestic supply does not stop the destruction of Country. Enhanced cultural heritage protections do not reverse the fact that sacred sites will be placed under industrial pressure. A ranger program cannot substitute for land rights and self-determination. These conditions do not meaningfully address the Gomeroi People’s deep and consistent objections. They greenwash the result and give political cover to a dangerous fossil fuel project."

"The NSW Labor Government has actively supported this project and must be held accountable. They had the power to stop this and chose not to. By siding with Santos, they have chosen fossil fuel profits over First Nations justice. They have ignored cultural significance, community opposition and climate science. This is not the public interest. It is a political failure and a moral failure."

"This project should never have been approved and it is not too late to stop it. The Federal Government has the power to revoke environmental approvals. The NSW Government can withdraw its support. Communities will not stand by while Country is destroyed. I stand with the Gomeroi People. The community stands with the Gomeroi People. The fight to protect the Pilliga is far from over."

Mid North Coast Floods: “We are in a new climate reality – the Government must act”

May 29, 2025
As communities across the Mid North Coast and Hunter grapple with the aftermath of catastrophic flooding, NSW Greens MPs Tamara Smith and Sue Higginson have called on the NSW Government to urgently abandon its ongoing support for policies that fuel climate disaster, including coal and gas expansion and native forest logging.

“No sooner have the people of the Northern Rivers marked the third anniversary of the devastating 2022 floods, than communities just south of us are facing another deadly climate-driven disaster,” said Tamara Smith MP, Member for Ballina and Greens NSW spokesperson for Disaster Relief.

“Some flood levels in the Hunter and Mid North Coast have exceeded those of 1929. These are not one-in-100-year events – they are our new reality, and they demand a serious response from Government.”

Tamara Smith expressed her deep concern for affected residents, saying:
“My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones, the nearly 800 families who cannot return to their homes, to the townspeople and business owners whose lives have been upended, to the farmers who have lost stock and crops, and to the SES workers and volunteers holding these communities together. No one is untouched by this disaster.”

Sue Higginson MLC, Greens NSW spokesperson for Climate Change, said the disaster must be a turning point for government action on climate.

“The science has long warned us that climate change would drive more frequent and more intense flooding across the East Coast of NSW. We are now living that warning, and yet the Minns Government continues to approve new coal and gas projects, and allows the ongoing destruction of climate-critical native forests.”

"The peer-reviewed attribution report produced by ClimaMeter as the floods were going on, demonstrate that the intensity of the floods were a direct result of human activity and climate change. The fact that the NSW Government approved the extension of a large coal mine during these climate fuelled floods, is a reckless act of harm against all communities living on the front lines of the climate crisis,"

“The Government is committing acts of climate negligence. Every day they delay real action is another day it fails the people of NSW.”

Both MPs have called for:
  • An immediate end to new coal and gas approvals in NSW.
  • A moratorium on native forest logging to protect carbon stores and natural flood mitigation.
  • Urgent review of planning and housing approvals in flood-prone regions.
  • Increased funding and permanent support for disaster preparedness and community resilience programs.
“Climate change is not a future threat – it is here, and it is destroying lives,” said Tamara Smith.

“To pretend these floods are simply freak weather events is wilful ignorance. The NSW Government must face reality and take responsibility.”

Report: Heavy rain in May 2025 New South Wales  floods locally intensified by human-driven climate change

  • Meteorological conditions similar to that causing floods in New South Wales  are up to 3 mm/day (up to 15%) wetter over the coast in the present than they have been in the past. 
  • This event was associated with very rare meteorological conditions.
  • We mostly ascribe the increase in precipitation of the New South Wales  floods to human driven climate change and natural climate variability likely played a modest role.
Alberti, T., & Faranda, D. (2025). Heavy rain in May 2025 New South Wales floods locally intensified by human-driven climate change. ClimaMeter, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CNRS. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15489583


Fifth anniversary of Juukan Gorge disaster

The PKKP Aboriginal Corporation has stated:
''The 24th of May 2025 marks the fifth anniversary of the destruction of the Juukan-2 rockshelter.

The rockshelter, which sits 60 km north west of Tom Price on Puutu Kunti Kurrama Country was legally destroyed, against the wishes of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama Traditional Owners, by mining company Rio Tinto as part of the expansion of its Brockman 4 mine.

The destruction caused significant distress to the PKKP community and lead to global condemnation of Rio Tinto’s actions and a parliamentary inquiry into the state of heritage legislation in Australia.

What happened five years ago will never be forgotten by the PKKP people but to ensure such tragedies do not happen again we continue to work with Rio Tinto and other miners to implement effective and fair co-management agreements for their activities on PKKP Country.

Members of the PKKP community will meet at Juukan Gorge on the 24th of May to observe and mourn their significant loss. On this day our people request media organisations and representatives to respect their privacy and importance of the anniversary.''

Senator the Hon Murray Watt, Minister for the Environment and Water, said in a statement released May 23:
''The Albanese Government acknowledges the deep hurt and trauma the destruction of the Juukan Gorge site in 2020 caused the Traditional Owners and the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura community. 

I agree with the statement made on behalf of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama people and the Pinikura people to the subsequent Parliamentary Inquiry on the Juukan Gorge disaster, that this was a tragedy for the heritage of all Australians and indeed humanity as a whole.

In a remarkable testament to their strength, generosity and resilience, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura community have indicated their determination to build a positive legacy from the disaster that benefits all Traditional Owners and the resource industry.''

However, Minister Watt's statement belies the facts attested to by the Traditional owners own statement and would indicate what will come first in his term as Australia's Environment Minister.

The reality was Juukan Gorge's traditional owners, the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people, were unable to prevent Rio Tinto from blasting the sacred site in 2020. The PKKP attempted to stop the blast through various means, but were ultimately unsuccessful due to legal and contractual constraints.

The PKKP were bound by confidentiality clauses in their agreement with Rio Tinto, limiting their ability to speak publicly about the situation. They were also told they couldn't apply for a federal emergency halt without Rio Tinto's permission and a 30-day notice, which effectively prevented them from stopping the blast. 

While federal legislation existed to protect heritage sites, it was designed as a last resort, was difficult to access, and ultimately proved ineffective in this case. 

Atop all that, Rio Tinto later admitted to not informing the traditional owners that there were four options for blasting, three of which would have avoided the destruction of the rock shelters. They chose the only one that would.

The Juukan Gorge blast destroyed 46,000-year-old rock shelters that were a vital part of the PKKP's culture and heritage. 

The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people are still NOT focussed on outcomes that destroy the environment and cultural sacred sites for he benefit of the 'resource industry'.

Traditional owners in WA's Pilbara fear heritage laws will still not prevent another incident like Juukan Gorge, despite the public outcry that followed - stating these are still occurring. The WA state government backflipped on stricter heritage legislation in 2023 after just five weeks of approving updated protections.

Surfrider Foundation: June 2025 Events

Check out our Epic line-up of events this month ! 🌊🤙
Join the wave of changemakers protecting our beautiful blue backyard !
🌊This Sun 1 June - Adopt a Beach Community Clean ups
Venue: 9 x northern beach locations.
Time: 3 - 4pm
*Note* the new event time during winter months (June, July, Aug) 
Check out our Impact to-date and beach location details: https://www.surfrider.org.au/impact/adoptabeach/


🌊Thu 5 June - A Brew for the Blue 
Venue: Bonsai Bar ( below 4 Pines Brewery Manly)
Time: 5 - 7pm 
A collaboration with SIMS (Sydney Institute of Marine Science)
A Celebration for World Ocean Day, Science, Underwater photography competition.
Surfrider will join a panel of SIMS scientists to chat about Sydney’s ocean conservation programs.
Tix $10 includes a cold brew on arrival. Event details and Book tickets here



🌊Sun 22 June - Surfrider 3rd Annual Surf swap & Repair Market
Venue: Surfrider Gardens, 50 Oceans St, Narrabeen
Time: 11 - 3pm 
Ride the Use Wave - Sell, Swap, Repair or repurpose your preloved Surf gear.
Meet shapers and makers of sustainable surfboards, local innovators of upcycling waste into surf accessories
Upcycle your ‘end of life’ wetsuit with Ripcurl, attend minor board repair workshops
Chill to smooth beats in the winter sun and enjoy killer coffee from the local cafes
This event is held with the support of the Northern Beaches Council.
Free to attend and a waste free event!
Event Registration here - Day traders and Stallholders

'Warringah and Pittwater Garden Heritage'

Saturday, 7 June, 2025 11am - 1pm
The Annex, Dunbar Park, Avalon

All are welcome to attend this special talk on significant local heritage gardens presented by expert Stuart Read, Chair, Sydney Branch of the Australian Garden History Society. Stuart is a landscape architect focusing on garden history, cultural landscapes and dry stone walls.

Photos: Jeanne Villani's Waterfall Cottage at Bayview. 

Bob Storey's Tarrangaua at Lovett Bay (formerly Dorothea MacKellar's home)

The talk is presented by the Avalon Armchair Gardeners club. No charge to attend.

Enquiries:  Fran Colley - francescolley@me.com

Whale Census Day 2025: June 29

Have your say on council's climate change policy

The Manly to Barrenjoey peninsula is particularly vulnerable to impacts associated with climate change which are likely to increase in future years according to the NSW State Disaster Mitigation Plan.

The council states it has delivered numerous initiatives to reduce the contribution to, and the impacts of, climate change and has now drafted a new Climate Change Policy that will guide how it manages climate change risks and continues to reduce emissions. The council is now seeking feedback from the community on its draft Policy.

The risks include increasingly severe and complex impacts associated with coastal hazards and flooding, and more frequent extreme weather, bush fires, high winds, heatwaves and drought. 

Mayor Sue Heins said the council is committed to doing its part to reduce emissions, but importantly also focusing on building community resilience to these impacts.

“Such impacts can go beyond these physical hazards, creating challenges and driving changes across the community, natural environment and economy,” Mayor Heins said. 

“Recent bush fire, storm and flooding events have directly impacted the local community, through property damage and increased clean-up, repair and insurance costs, as well as causing stress, fatigue and uncertainty.    

“We want to ensure that we’re not just reducing emissions, but importantly we’re adapting to projected climate change and building community resilience.

“This requires preparedness for both council and the community and we welcome feedback from our community on the draft policy” Mayor Heins said.

Palm Beach stormwater drain opposite Wilshire Park creek, July 6, 2024, filled with plastic bag encased sandbags

Snapperman Beach seawall in March 2022 with plastic filled sandbags now deep into the beach itself - was damaged in storm of March 2021 - was finally repaired in February through March 2023

The council's Climate Change draft Policy has the following 13 Principles:

1. Ensure that Council’s Integrated Planning and Reporting framework incorporates suitable measures to reduce the contribution to, and the impacts of climate change across its assets, functions, services and reporting.

2. Adopt a proactive and adaptive approach to managing the impact of climate change, informed by the best available science and guidance, and adjusted regularly for changes in data, technology, and policy.

3. Maintain up to date greenhouse gas emission  reduction targets for Council and the community that are monitored, reviewed, and publicly reported against.

4. Ensure consistency with state, national, and international legislation, guidelines, benchmarks and targets, as appropriate. 

5. Prioritise the management of risk to people, property, and the environment from the impacts of climate change in accordance with Council’s obligations and its Enterprise Risk Management Framework.

6. Mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from Council activities as far as possible. Council may offset the remaining emissions to meet its adopted targets.

7. Incorporate the range of climate projections aligned to emission scenarios SSP2 and SSP3 when managing Council assets and services and when developing studies, management plans and in land use planning. When making decisions, use SSP2 for short-term scenarios and SSP3 for longer-term scenarios.

8. Work with the community and key stakeholders to reduce emissions, address climate risks and enhance resilience across the Northern Beaches.

9. Ensure Council decisions consider the impacts of climate change for current and future generations.

10. Identify and manage climate change impacts and obligations through Council’s systems and frameworks. This includes project management, enterprise risk management, procurement, business and financial planning, as well as strategic and land use planning  frameworks.

11. Reduce current and future risks to the community and the environment by locating new development out of high-risk hazard areas (particularly those expected to be at greater risk from climate change), and/or incorporating appropriate measures to reduce the risk to an appropriate level in accordance with relevant guidelines and statutory controls (including utilising appropriate land zoning).

12. Consider the options of protection, accommodation, avoidance, nature-based adaptations and relocation where climate change poses a significant risk to existing development and land uses.

13. Advocate for, and where possible implement, better building and construction standards, delivery of multi-agency projects, waste minimisation and management, zero emissions transport, sustainable finance and equitable community support to reduce the causes, risks and impacts of climate change.

Policy's Scope and application

This Policy applies to officials of the Northern Beaches Council and will be implemented across Council’s assets, functions and services.

Policy's Definitions for Adaptation responses

• Nature-based: Nature based solutions such as protecting and augmenting dunes, revegetating foreshore buffers or undertaking rehabilitation of natural coastal habitats such as mangrove, saltmarsh and salt-tolerant transitional vegetation.

• Accommodation: Design new structure and/or altering existing structure to reduce vulnerability to impacts. Example: raising the floor height of a flood-prone building.

• Avoidance: Minimising intensification of existing exposure and preventing new development in areas subject to current or future risks. Example: prohibiting new development in areas subject to bush fire risk.

• Protection: Implementing temporary or permanent works that provide a barrier between a structure and a hazard. Example: hard protection such as seawalls or levees or soft protection (often referred to as ecosystem-based adaptations) such as dunes, sand nourishment or planting of bush fire resistant vegetation. 

• Relocation:  Removal or relocation of existing exposed structure or asset out of an at-risk area.

Policy Document's definitions

Carbon offset A reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that is used to compensate for emissions that occur elsewhere. A carbon offset credit is a transferrable instrument certified by governments or independent certification bodies to represent an emission  reduction of one metric tonne of CO2-e. The purchaser of an offset credit can ‘retire’ it to claim the reduction towards their own emission reduction goals.

Climate change Change in the state of the climate that can be identified by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Throughout this policy, the term refers to changes to the climate  attributable to human activities such as greenhouse gas emissions or land use changes.

Climate risk Refers to potential negative or positive impacts of natural hazards and climate under the influence of rising global  greenhouse gas emissions.

Emissions Greenhouse gases released from human activities that contribute to the greenhouse effect, global warming and climate change.

Hazard A potential natural or human-induced physical event, trend or disturbance with negative consequences.

NARCliM The NSW Government provides high-quality regional climate  projections and information for public use through the NSW and Australian Regional Climate Modelling (NARCliM) project. Resilience The capacity of individuals, communities, businesses, and  systems to survive, adapt and thrive in response to chronic stresses and acute shocks.

SSPs Shared Socioeconomic Pathways are a range of scenarios for climate change that consider different levels of greenhouse gas emissions, population, economics, social factors, and other key concepts. They help assess potential climate futures and their impacts.

SSP2 and SSP3 

The SSP2 scenario assumes that global trends continue without major shifts. Some countries make good progress, while others struggle. Environmental degradation continues, but resource and energy use become more efficient.

SSP3 scenario assumes countries prioritise security and economic independence, leading to slow technological progress and high challenges for climate mitigation and adaptation.

Targets Includes Council’s targets, aspirations, commitments, benchmarks, and actions as outlined in all Council policies, strategies, and action plans.

The draft Climate Change Policy has been prepared to update and replace the current policies and guide the integration of climate change mitigation and adaptation action across the council’s assets, functions and services. 

The policy is on exhibition from Friday 23 May to 22 June. For more information and to have your say visit the council's Climate Change Policy - draft; consolidating existing former council policies webpage


Collaroy on January 4th 2022. Image: Ian Bird Photography.


Collaroy on January 4th 2022. Image: Ian Bird Photography.

Council's Draft Land Dealings Policy: Have your Say

  • Submissions opened: Fri 23 May 2025
  • Submissions close: Mon 23 Jun 2025

The council has made available its Draft Land Dealings Policy.

The council states its ''draft Policy is an integral part of the council's adopted Property Management Framework (PMF), ensuring that Land Dealings are conducted transparently, accountably, and in the best interests of the community.

If adopted, the draft Policy will replace 5 policies of the 3 former Councils (available in the Attachments Booklet for the May 20 2025 Council Meeting).

Under the Policy ''Land assets will be subject to ongoing review in relation to their purpose, usability, viability, and overall community benefit, in accordance with this Policy and the Property Management Framework.''

The 'Draft Council Policy NB-P-42 Land Dealings' is a 2 1/2-page policy which also refers to a 'Land Dealings Guidelines' - however, that document, or guidelines, have not been made available, so it would b difficult to provide informed feedback based on being able to scrutinise the document/s or guideline/s named in the policy. 

The policy further states:

'Proposals for Land Dealings, where required, will be reported to the relevant Council Committees and the elected Council for consideration in accordance with Council’s adopted Property Management Framework.

Confidential reporting may be necessary under certain circumstances where there may be legal, commercial or privacy/safety issues should the information be made publicly available.'

In closing the document states:

This Council policy relates to the Community Strategic Plan Outcome of:

• Good governance - Goal 19 Our Council is transparent and trusted to make decisions that reflect the values of the community.

The feedback webpage, Draft Land Dealings Policy, provides a 1 question survey you can take or provide written feedback via the email/postal method.

Council's Proposed Amendments to Development Control Plans (DCPs) For Low and Mid-Rise Housing: Have Your Say

The council is inserting the phrase from Chapter 6 of the State Government's - 'Chapter 6, Part 2 of State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing) 2021 (the Housing SEPP); ''Where there is any inconsistency between the controls in this DCP and the Housing SEPP, the Housing SEPP prevails.''

Stage 1 started on 1 July 2024, permitting dual occupancies and semi-detached dwellings in all R2 low density residential zones.

Stage 2 started on 28 February 2025, allowing townhouses, terraces and small apartment buildings (up to 9.5 metres high) in R1 and R2 zones within 800 metres of nine identified town centres on the peninsula. It also permits apartment buildings up to 6 storeys (22-24 metres) in R3 medium density residential zones within 400 metres of these centres, and up to 4 storeys (17.5 metres) within 400-800 metres.

The 9 identified town centres on the peninsula are:

  • Balgowlah
  • Brookvale
  • Dee Why
  • Forestville
  • Forest Way
  • Frenchs Forest
  • Manly
  • Manly Vale
  • Mona Vale

See last week's report: Pittwater MP slams the Government’s Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy for turning on the tap for developers

The council states it is also making proposed changes to existing development control plans (DCPs) to protect the local character, amenity, heritage and streetscapes and safeguard the valued tree canopy.  

The proposed changes are a response to the NSW Government’s change to planning laws, known as the Low and Mid-Rise Housing Reforms, which have recently allowed greater building heights and density surrounding town centres and train stations and the introduction of dual occupancy development in all R2 zoned land in the LGA.

Currently, separate DCPs for the former Manly, Warringah and Pittwater Councils provide detailed guidance for development including building setbacks, trees and landscaping areas, heritage protection and car parking requirements. 

The council states they do not include controls that adequately address development types now permitted under the new reforms.

The council states their proposed DCP amendments aim to promote best practice and create greater consistency, so that the same rules apply to these developments as to other similar developments in the NBC LGA area.

The council states the Northern Beaches Council is one of the first councils to consider DCP amendments in response to the State Government reforms.

Mayor Sue Heins said the council’s power had been reduced in relation to applications submitted under the new State Government rules. 

“The new one-size-fits-all approach to planning has implications for our area, increasing heights and density up to 6-storeys in and around 9 town centres, without corresponding development controls that protect the character we value,” Mayor Heins said.  

“While council has been stripped of the power to refuse applications that comply with the new rules, we can amend our Development Control Plans to ensure any new townhouse, apartment or terrace style development is at least subject to the same controls as others like them outside the new town centre zones. 

“Controls like how much space is allocated to landscaping and trees, the streetscape appearance, parking requirements, electric vehicle charging, ventilation and natural sunlight and consideration of privacy, separation and views. 

“We are also moving to protect our local heritage, especially in the Manly Conservation Area, strengthening protection and consideration of the unique historic character of the area in the development controls. 

“All the changes being proposed to the DCPs can have a real impact on the lifestyle of those living in the town centres and to the look and feel of our much-loved neighbourhoods. I encourage the community to have their say.”

The proposed changes to the DCPs will be on exhibition from Friday 23 May to Sunday 22 June. 

For more information and to provide feedback visit council's Proposed Amendments to Development Control Plans (DCPs) For Low and Mid-Rise Housing webpage

Weed of the Week: Blue Spur Flower - please get it out of your garden

 Blue spur flower Plectranthus ecklonii and a Crab Spider Sidymella rubrosignata photo by A J Guesdon/PON

The blue spur flower (Plectranthus ecklonii), originally a south African plant, is regarded a minor environmental weed in Victoria and as a potential environmental weed or 'sleeper weed' in other parts of southern Australia. Regarded as ‘Naturalised’ (establishing or persisting in a new environment or location after being introduced from another region) in some parts of south-eastern Australia (i.e. in southern Victoria and the coastal districts of central New South Wales), this beautiful weed flowers in late Autumn and winter in Australia but drops a lot of seed and also propagates from stems left on damp ground. 

First Strategy to protect NSW heritage released

Monday May 19, 2025

Community members and heritage stakeholders are being invited to have their say on the first NSW Heritage strategy. It will seek to update the approach to heritage by recognising, protecting, enhancing and celebrating our state’s rich history.

The Minns Labor Government’s vision is for a heritage system that recognises the rich places, people and experiences that have shaped NSW. 

The draft strategy examines ways to modernise the approach to heritage and at the same time ensuring that housing can be built. 

The draft strategy has been informed by more than 1,750 submissions from heritage experts, advocacy groups, government bodies and members of the public.

Key questions within the strategy are how to:

  • recognise and protect a broader range of stories and values to represent the diverse history and communities of NSW within the heritage system
  • improve alignment between the heritage and planning systems including simplifying approval processes
  • enhance support for heritage owners and custodians
  • encourage new uses for heritage places, including government-owned heritage
  • champion activation and adaptive reuse of heritage places and spaces to create significant social and economic benefits
  • work with Aboriginal communities to better acknowledge, celebrate and protect cultural heritage
  • promote climate adaptation and sustainability upgrades to heritage places and objects
  • establish a more robust State Heritage Register and underpinning legislation.

Individuals and organisations can provide feedback on the draft NSW heritage strategy and submit ideas on the Have your say web page.

Consultation is open until 13 July 2025. 

Minister for Heritage, Penny Sharpe, said:

“Establishing the state’s first heritage strategy is a significant step to ensure we protect and celebrate the heritage items that reflect and resonate with all members of our community. 

“The strategy reflects the diverse and changing needs of our community. I encourage you to have your say about how NSW can make our heritage system world leading.”

Sydney Water sewage licences reviews open for public consultation: Warriewood + Manly

May 2025

Warriewood - Environment Protection Licence EPL:  1784

Northern Suburbs (North Head) Manly - Environment Protection Licence EPL:  378

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has commenced public consultation on its statutory five-yearly review of the licences for Sydney Water’s 23 sewage treatment systems across Greater Sydney and the Illawarra.

The EPA states it wants to ensure the licences are fit for purpose, deliver an appropriate level of regulation and reflect the community’s views about the protection of human health and the environment.

In particular they would like your feedback on:

  • the level of treatment required at Sydney Water’s sewage treatment plants and associated levels of environmental protection, wet weather discharges and the impacts of climate change
  • monitoring requirements

Please note that pollution studies and reduction programs are targeted licence conditions aimed at addressing a specific issue e.g. wet weather overflow abatement. It should also be noted that this licence review does not relate to Sydney Water’s potable water supply activities.

The licences cover Sydney Water’s sewage treatment plants and the associated network of pipes and pumping stations that convey sewage from homes and businesses to those treatment plants.

NSW EPA Director Adam Gilligan said all environment protection licences are required to be reviewed every five years to ensure the licences are fit for purpose and reflect contemporary best practice and operating measures.

“We value community input to this review, which will help shape our approach to regulating Sydney Water’s sewage treatment systems,” Mr Gilligan said.

“We’re continuing to monitor the operations of Sydney Water to ensure it is complying with its strict licence requirements.

“We will keep the public informed, listen to concerns and provide summary feedback on submissions once the consultation has been completed.”

In particular the EPA is seeking feedback on the impacts to local environment from overflows and the level of treatment required at Sydney Water’s sewage treatment plants (STPs) as well as community access to information.

STP licences do not cover the stormwater system, which is typically regulated by local councils.

Public consultation for the review of Sydney Water’s licenses will be open until Thursday 12 June 2025. To learn more, you can access the public consultation and Have Your Say via the EPA’s online consultation portal https://yoursay.epa.nsw.gov.au.

You can provide your feedback by:

Responding to the short survey here

Provide written feedback by emailing metrowater.infrastructure@epa.nsw.gov.au

 Warriewood Beach looking north to Mona Vale. Pic: AJG/PON.

Sydney Water Management Regulation 2025: have your say

The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is seeking feedback on the draft Sydney Water Regulation 2017 remake.
Consultation period

From: 19 May 2025
To: 15 June 2025

The Sydney Water Regulation 2017 will be automatically stop operating on 1 September 2025. 

It is important to have regulations in place because they support Sydney Water to carry out obligations under the Sydney Water Act 1994. 

The Regulation enables Sydney Water to protect its assets, implement water restrictions during drought, and ensure compliance with certain rules relating to Controlled Areas, plumbing and drainage works and water restrictions.

We would like your feedback to better understand how the regulation supports Sydney Water in: 
  • acting to protect its assets and water quality, in order to provide safe, clean, reliable drinking water
  • protecting waterways and the environment
  • providing drinking, recycled, wastewater and stormwater services to over 5.4 million people across Sydney, Blue Mountains and the Illawarra.
Most of the content of the 2025 Regulation will be similar to the 2017 Regulation, but the department proposes some changes that will:
  • Modernise processes to improve user experience, customer service and administration, which includes allowing more processes to happen online and simplifying some requirements.
  • Increase some penalties for breaching water restrictions to bring them in-line with other similar fines.
  • Extend the time period from 2 to 6 years during which Sydney Water can direct a person who carried out defective plumbing works to conduct repairs, and/or impose a fine for failing to comply with the direction. This change ensures directions do not expire before works can be identified and fixed.
  • Streamline and clarify the regulations to improve understanding and compliance.
Have your say
Have your say by 11:59pm Sunday 15 June 2025.

There are 2 ways to submit your feedback.

You are welcome to attend an online information session (webinar) and complete an online survey. Department staff will provide an update on the proposed changes and answer your questions.  

Please visit the Department's web page for more information and to register. 

Online consultation
19 May 2025 to 15 June 2025
Have your say on the consultation website 

Webinar consultation
5 June 2025
12:00pm to 1:00pm

WIRES 2025 Grants Applications Now Open 

WIRES National Grants Program

National Support for Critical Wildlife Projects

WIRES’ National Grants Program (NGP) is designed to support best practice wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, an increase in emergency preparedness for wildlife, and native species recovery projects, to improve long-term outcomes in Australia.

Program Objectives

  • The NGP was developed to provide ongoing support for wildlife, and their habitats, across Australia. WIRES’ focus is on proposals that have tangible, positive, and ideally long-term, outcomes for wildlife. Program objectives include:
  • Building capacity and capability for the Australian wildlife rescue and rehabilitation sector,
  • Improving emergency preparedness and response capabilities to assist wildlife,
  • Preserving species and their habitat through projects leading to long term positive outcomes for native wildlife,
  • Raising community awareness and inspiring broader community involvement in supporting Australian wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and preservation.

Funding Categories

Up to $1 million is available across these tiers annually, and eligible applicants are invited to submit proposals for:

  • Tier 1: Individually Licensed Wildlife Rescuers and Carers (maximum $2,000)
  • Tier 2: Licensed Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Organisations (maximum $8,000)
  • Tier 3: Environmental NGOs and Community Groups (maximum $20,000)
  • Tier 4: Consortia/Multi-partner Collaborations (maximum $50,000)
Application process
Key dates for 2025 applications:

Please note that due to limited funding and a competitive assessment process, not every application that meets the eligibility criteria may receive a WIRES Grant.

Applications open - 19th May 2025

Online webinar #1 - 12.30pm AEST 21st May Register Here

Online webinar #2 - 7.30pm AEST 3rd June - Register Here

Applications close – 20th June (5pm AEST)

Successful applicants notified - September 2025 

Grant announcements and unsuccessful applicants notified - October 2024 

Reports due - Final for 6-month progress for – March 2026

Final Report due and project completed - 12-month month projects - September 2026.

How to Apply

Please note that due to limited funding and a competitive assessment process, not every application that meets the eligibility criteria may receive a WIRES Grant.

Click on APPLY NOW link when available to access the WIRES Grant Portal.
  • Create account or log in. Please note that you will need to tick “Yes” to receiving notifications if you wish to be sent confirmation of application submission.
  • Read information on the home page
  • Click on “Start application”
  • Select your State/Territory
  • Select “WIRES National Grants Program 2025” and then the appropriate tier.
  • If you wish to leave a partially completed application, make sure you press ‘Save + close’ and log out.
  • You can log back in and continue to edit your application form until you are ready to submit.
  • To submit your application, select the ‘Submit application’ button.
  • Note, no changes can be made once this is selected.
You will receive a confirmation email when your application has been successfully received. If you do not receive an email, please ensure you check your junk mail and add us to your safe sender list.

Visit this page on May 19 when the apply now link becomes available to commence your application.

Feedback invited until June 3 on proposed shorter-term WaterNSW prices: IPART's Prices for WaterNSW Greater Sydney from 1 October 2025

May 14, 2025

IPART is reviewing maximum prices for WaterNSW’s bulk water services. IPART has released an Information Paper and seeks feedback on proposed shorter-term prices that will be in place for up to 3 years.

WaterNSW has sought to increase in its revenue by 43% over the next 5 years including a 38% increase for Greater Sydney and 53% for regional and rural NSW. This would lead to price increases above what customers have told WaterNSW they can afford.

See

IPART seeks feedback on water pricing proposals: Submissions close December 9 2024 and 

Scotland Island Dieback AcceleratingIPART Review of increases In Sydney Water's Pricing Proposals An Opportunity to ask: 'what happened to the 'Priority Sewerage Scheme' for our Island?

Sydney Water:  Our 2025–30 price proposal

The Tribunal is not convinced at this stage that the full increases proposed by WaterNSW are sufficiently well justified. Additional information, consultation and analysis are required. However, the current pricing determination for WaterNSW’s regional and rural services expires on 30 June 2025 and cannot be extended to allow more time for assessment of WaterNSW’s proposed increases. 

Tribunal Chair Carmel Donnelly said, “The Tribunal proposes to set shorter-term prices that could be in place for up to 3 years for both Greater Sydney and Rural Valleys. While these prices are in place, IPART will continue further review of WaterNSW’s proposed prices for bulk water services in Greater Sydney and regional and rural NSW to inform future pricing decisions.”

Shorter-term draft prices for WaterNSW’s regional and rural customers would increase by 1.9% plus inflation from 1 July 2025 and then by inflation only on 1 July 2026 and 1 July 2027.

For WaterNSW Greater Sydney, where Sydney Water is the main customer, draft maximum bulk water prices would increase by 6.9% plus inflation from 1 October 2025 and then by inflation on 1 July 2026 and 1 July 2027.

“IPART’s current review to set the maximum prices for WaterNSW has been complex,” said Ms Donnelly. “WaterNSW has proposed a significant increase in revenue, which implies large price increases for customers. Some broader issues have also emerged during the review. WaterNSW indicates the main drivers of the proposed increases are macroeconomic factors and increased requirements which have imposed additional costs. At the same time demand for WaterNSW services is forecast to decrease.”

The shorter-term draft prices could be in place until June 2028 but may be replaced earlier if ongoing work by WaterNSW and IPART enables new price determinations earlier. Any new determinations would be made only after IPART issues a draft report, seeks and considers submissions and holds a public hearing.

“Our information paper and WaterNSW’s pricing proposal are available on IPART’s website. We welcome community feedback via IPART’s website until 3 June 2025,” Ms Donnelly said. 

“We are also undertaking financial analysis to ensure the draft shorter-term prices will enable WaterNSW to meet its obligations.” 

The Tribunal will consider all feedback and release shorter-term pricing decisions in June 2025 for WaterNSW’s regional and rural services to take effect from 1 July 2025 and in September 2025 for WaterNSW’s Greater Sydney services to take effect from 1 October 2025.

To read the Information Paper provide feedback visit: www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/review/water-metro-pricing/prices-waternsw-greater-sydney-1-october-2025

Related IPART Documents:

Maximum prices for Water NSW's Greater Sydney Services from 1 October 2025 - Draft  Determination May 2025

Prices for WaterNSW bulk water services - Information Paper, May 2025


Draft Decisions on Hunter Water's Prices

On April 9 2025 IPART released its draft decisions on Hunter Water’s maximum prices from 2025-26 to 2029-30.

Tribunal Chair Carmel Donnelly said Hunter Water’s price proposal did prioritise and defer expenditure where appropriate to limit price increases in a time of high cost of living, while also including investment so Hunter Water can deliver on important customer outcomes such as water security.

“However, the Tribunal has found that prices do not need to increase as much as Hunter Water proposed,” Ms Donnelly said.

Under IPART’s draft decisions, bills for a typical household customer receiving water and wastewater services would increase, on average, by $48 (or 3.6%) plus inflation each year for 5 years from 1 July 2025. This would see typical household bills increasing from $1,241 in 2024-25 to $1,481 by 2029-30, plus inflation, which is lower than the yearly increases under Hunter Water’s proposed prices (of $71 or 5.2% per year before inflation).

“The increases in draft maximum prices and bills are mainly driven by the efficient costs of new infrastructure, including the proposed Belmont desalination plant,” Ms Donnelly said.

“We have set draft prices that reflect the efficient costs of Hunter Water providing its services, and have phased in these price increases over 5 years.”

“Under our draft prices, Hunter Water customers will continue to pay around the median of water bills when compared with other major water businesses around Australia.”

“We know there are some households that may be more impacted by these prices during this time of high cost of living and that is why we have also made recommendations to the NSW Government to increase rebates and expand eligibility for bill relief to a broader range of lower income households.”

Hunter Water also has hardship assistance programs for customers facing difficulties paying their bills, IPART stated.

“We are inviting community feedback on these draft decisions, and we’re interested to hear from customers of Hunter Water, whether they are households or businesses. We will consider all comments made through our survey and in submissions before we finalise our decisions.”

IPART’s Draft Report and Hunter Water’s pricing proposal are available on IPART’s website. We welcome community feedback via the website, or via our customer survey, until 6 May 2025. The Tribunal will publish a Final Report with final pricing decisions in June 2025. The prices set in this review will apply to customers from 1 July 2025.

First NSW Waste and Circular Infrastructure Plan released

The Minns Labor Government has released a draft of NSW’s Waste and Circular Infrastructure Plan, which is needed to prevent Greater Sydney running out of landfill. Without intervention, waste collection and disposal services could be severely impacted by 2030, forcing councils to transport rubbish to regional areas or interstate.

Failure to tackle this would drive up the cost of kerbside bin collections and lead to costs for residents and businesses increasing by around 20%.

A slowdown in rubbish collection would also impact critical infrastructure projects, such as new housing developments. It’s estimated that it could cost the economy around $23 billion.

The first chapter of the draft NSW Waste and Circular Infrastructure Plan will consult councils, industry and the community on the next steps to build the infrastructure required across Greater Sydney.

Future chapters are expected to be released later this year and will focus on enhancing recycling infrastructure and addressing the unique waste challenges facing regional and remote NSW.

The release of this chapter lays out how the NSW Government will:
  • safely manage the waste we don’t recycle and avoid Greater Sydney’s imminent shortfalls in landfill capacity
  • collect and process increased volumes of organic waste, as source-separated FOGO collections are rolled out across Greater Sydney.
The Minns Labor Government recognises that a state government cannot do this alone. A new Ministerial Advisory Committee will be established to guide the plan’s implementation and advise on local barriers, identify opportunities for investment and report on progress.

This plan follows the NSW Government’s recent mandate of Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) recycling. FOGO will reduce the volume of food waste sent to landfill, by diverting up to 950,000 tonnes of each year.

To have your say by 25 June 2025, visit the Draft NSW Waste and Circular Infrastructure Plan web page.

Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe said:
“For too long, state governments have ignored the fact that Greater Sydney is running out of landfill.

“Waste collection is an essential service.

“This draft plan is the first of its kind and is long overdue.

“We can no longer kick this problem down the road. I look forward to working with local councils, industry and local communities to urgently address the problem.”

Solar for apartment residents: Funding

Owners corporations can apply now for funding to install shared solar systems on your apartment building. The grants will cover 50% of the cost, which will add value to homes and help residents save on their electricity bills.

You can apply for the Solar for apartment residents grant to fund 50% of the cost of a shared solar photovoltaic (PV) system on eligible apartment buildings and other multi-unit dwellings in NSW. This will help residents, including renters, to reduce their energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions.

Less than 2% of apartment buildings in NSW currently have solar systems installed. As energy costs climb and the number of people living in apartments continue to increase, innovative solutions are needed to allow apartment owners and renters to benefit from solar energy.

A total of $25 million in grant funding is available, with up to $150,000 per project.

Financial support for this grant is from the Australian Government and the NSW Government.

Applications are open now and will close 5 pm 1 December 2025 or earlier if the funds are fully allocated.

Find out more and apply now at: www.energy.nsw.gov.au/households/rebates-grants-and-schemes/solar-apartment-residents 

Have your say: NSW Sustainable Communities Program - Support to minimise the socio-economic impacts of the Restoring Our Rivers 450 GL target

The NSW Sustainable Communities Program (NSW SCP) will provide $160 million to create jobs, establish industry, and support existing industry to innovate and stimulate economic development.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is delivering the Sustainable Communities Program for NSW under the Australian Government's Restoring Our Rivers Framework, as part of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

The objective of this consultation is to complement the existing evidence base and provide additional insights to assist in the design and delivery of the NSW SCP to minimise the socio-economic impacts of water recovery.

We are seeking information from Basin communities on their challenges, opportunities and concerns associated with the potential impacts of water purchasing and how we could prioritise investment under the program to respond to identified needs.

We are taking a 3-stage approach to deliver the NSW SCP. Further information about this approach and our consultation activities can be found at the NSW SCP website.

Tell us what you think

You can take part by completing the survey by 5pm Friday 13 June 2025.

Yiraaldiya National Park: Have your say - Draft Plan of Management

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is seeking feedback on the Yiraaldiya National Park draft plan of management.

Consultatio0n closes June 3 2025

A draft plan of management has been prepared for Yiraaldiya National Park. The format of this draft plan reflects a revised format proposed in response to recent changes to the park planning provisions of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

Yiraaldiya National Park is located in western Sydney in the suburb of Shanes Park on the traditional Country of the Dharug people.

The park is a key part of a network of feral predator-free areas established across New South Wales to enable the reintroduction of native animal species that are either declining or locally extinct.

The Yiraaldiya National Park draft plan of management proposes objectives and operations to achieve:

  • reintroduction of native animal species that are either declining or locally extinct
  • continued recovery of threatened and rare ecosystems and species
  • protection of Aboriginal cultural heritage and natural values
  • opportunities for nature-based visitor activities including bushwalking, cycling, and environmental and cultural education.

Have your say

Have your say by 5pm Wednesday 3 June 2025.

Read the Yiraaldiya National Park draft plan of management (PDF 32.49 MB / Pages 31)

You can provide feedback in 4 ways.

Conservation of intergenerational assets: Have your say

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is seeking feedback on the draft conservation action plans for Assets of Intergenerational Significance.

Consultation period

From: 22 May 2025

To: 5 June 2025

An Asset of Intergenerational Significance can be any area of exceptional value – environmental or cultural – that warrants special protection, including dedicated management measures.

For each Asset of Intergenerational Significance, the National Parks and Wildlife Service has a statutory obligation to prepare and implement a concise conservation action plan which sets out:

  • the environmental and cultural values of the land
  • key risks to those values
  • management activities to address and mitigate the risks – such as dedicated feral animal control or fire management
  • actions to measure and report on the health and condition of the declared value.

You can view the draft conservation action plans online.

One key action outlined in the Threatened Species Framework is the declaration of important areas of threatened species habitat in national parks as Assets of Intergenerational Significance.

Assets of Intergenerational Significance can be any area of exceptional value – natural or cultural – that warrants special protection including dedicated management measures.

We have a statutory obligation to prepare and implement a concise conservation action plan which sets out:

  1. key risks to the declared area of habitat for the threatened species
  2. priority actions to reduce risks to this important habitat – such as dedicated feral animal control or fire management, or the establishment of insurance populations
  3. actions to measure and report on the health and population of the threatened species.

Have your say

Have your say by Thursday 5 June 2025.

You can provide feedback in 3 ways.

Batemans Bay Dredging: Have your say

Transport for NSW is seeking feedback on the proposed 10 year Batemans Bay Dredging Plan and Review of Environmental Factors. 

Consultation period

From: 12 May 2025

To: 2 June 2025

Transport for NSW is committed to improve and sustain accessibility to key coastal locations, river entrances and local waterways to improve navigation for commercial and recreational vessels. 

Transport for NSW has prepared a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) that will give us environmental approval to dredge when needed for the next 10 years in Batemans Bay, subject to available funding.  The Batemans Bay Dredging project proposes to:

  • Improve safety and navigability of the bar.
  • Remove about 30,000 cubic metres of sand each dredging campaign.
  • Provide a minimum 40-metre-wide channel and -2.9 LAT at the entrance bar.
  • Make beneficial use of dredge sand, by placing the sand in-water to use the natural power of waves and currents potentially nourishing nearby beaches.
  • Monitor and deliver maintenance dredging when needed for the next 10 years, subject to available funding. 

A brief overview of the proposal is detailed in our latest Community Update.

For more information and to view the full Review of Environmental Factors (REF) document or go to our website.  

Have your say

Have your say by Monday 02 June 2025.

You can provide feedback in 4 ways.

Mine safety cost recovery regulation: have your say

NSW Resources is seeking feedback on the proposed Mine and Petroleum Site Safety (Cost Recovery) Regulation 2025.

Consultation period

From: 22 May 2025

To: 18 June 2025

The proposed regulation will remake the Mine and Petroleum Site Safety (Cost Recovery) Regulation 2019, which is due to be automatically repealed on 1 September 2025, with minor changes.

The proposed regulation supports the Mine and Petroleum Site Safety (Cost Recovery) Act 2005, which provides for the funding of regulatory activities in relation to safety at mines and petroleum sites in NSW. The Act has established a Mine and Petroleum Site Safety Fund for this purpose.

An explanatory guide is available which provides an overview of the proposed regulation and the intended changes. The guide is available on the consultation website.

Have your say

Have your say by 5pm Wednesday 18 June 2025.

NSW Resources invites written comments and submissions on the proposed regulation.

Those wishing to contribute comments are asked to note that submissions may be made public, subject to the provisions of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.

Online consultation

Have your say on the consultation website 

nSW Government’s call to action on illegal tree clearing

The Minns Labor Government has stated it is responding to calls from local government to help address the growing number of cases of illegal tree clearing in NSW.

An Explanation of Intended Effect (EIE) has been released today and offers stakeholders the opportunity to help shape reforms to the urban tree clearing framework.

A new resource to help planners, developers and builders tackle urban heat has also been released.

The EIE is aimed at protecting tree canopy by proposing stronger penalties for illegal tree and vegetation clearing.

Under the proposed policy changes, additional enforcement powers would be given to councils and exemptions would be tightened for dead, dying and dangerous vegetation to close loopholes that have been open to abuse.

The EIE responds to growing concerns among councils, the community and stakeholders that the current framework needs to be updated.

In addition to the EIE, the new Cooler Places hub has also been launched today to help address urban heat.

The NSW Government’s Cooler Places online resource has also been released to assist councils, residents and developers in accessing practical guidance to incorporate cooling measures into their homes and designs.

Urban heat can have negative effects on communities’ wellbeing, creating hotter homes and streetscapes. Some features of our urban landscape, such as the large areas of hard and dark surfaces, contribute to rising temperatures and amplify heatwaves.

The resource encourages cooling through low cost and innovative measures such as water saving features, trees, shrubs awnings and the use of materials and colours that absorb less heat.

In 2020, a study from Macquarie University found shade provided by urban trees can lower temperatures at ground level by up to 6°C.

Similarly, research from Wollongong University in 2019 showed that areas with at least 30 per cent tree canopy cover experience improved mental and physical health outcomes.

Cooler Places will help deliver cooler, more resilient cities, precincts, streets, parks and homes.

To read the illegal tree and vegetation clearing EIE and make a submission visit the Vegetation in non-rural areas web page.

The consultation period closes on 5pm on Wednesday, 4 June 2025. HAVE YOUR SAY HERE

For more information on Cooler Places visit the Cooler Places web page.

Minister for Environment and Climate Change Penny Sharpe said:

“NSW records some of the hottest temperatures on the planet and we need to minimise the impacts of urban heat and build climate resilience.

“Tackling illegal tree clearing is an essential part of this.

“Working with councils on these proposed measures will increase the ability to crack down on illegal activity.”

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said:

“Communities have become increasingly frustrated by the growing number of instances of illegal tree clearing in urban areas, particularly on public land.

“Our housing reforms have leant on the development of infill housing, near existing infrastructure and services because constant urban sprawl is not sustainable. These proposed changes will better protect the existing tree canopy as we deliver more homes in developed areas.

“I encourage everyone to have their say on the proposed changes.

“The Cooler Places resource contains tips and advice on how to design and build cooler homes and neighbourhoods, delivering better communities.”

First strategy to protect NSW heritage released

May 19, 2025

Community members and heritage stakeholders are being invited to have their say on the first NSW Heritage strategy. It will seek to update the approach to heritage by recognising, protecting, enhancing and celebrating our state’s rich history.

The Minns Labor Government’s vision is for a heritage system that recognises the rich places, people and experiences that have shaped NSW.

The draft strategy examines ways to modernise the approach to heritage and at the same time ensuring that housing can be built.

The draft strategy has been informed by more than 1,750 submissions from heritage experts, advocacy groups, government bodies and members of the public. 

Key questions within the strategy are how to:

  • recognise and protect a broader range of stories and values to represent the diverse history and communities of NSW within the heritage system
  • improve alignment between the heritage and planning systems including simplifying approval processes
  • enhance support for heritage owners and custodians
  • encourage new uses for heritage places, including government-owned heritage
  • champion activation and adaptive reuse of heritage places and spaces to create significant social and economic benefits
  • work with Aboriginal communities to better acknowledge, celebrate and protect cultural heritage
  • promote climate adaptation and sustainability upgrades to heritage places and objects
  • establish a more robust State Heritage Register and underpinning legislation.

Individuals and organisations can provide feedback on the draft NSW heritage strategy and submit ideas online: www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/nsw-heritage-strategyConsultation is open until 13 July 2025.

Dorrigo Arc Rainforest Centre environmental review available: Have your say

The Dorrigo Arc Rainforest Centre is a $32 million proposed information and education centre that will attract visitors to Dorrigo National Park, with improved facilities such as parking, picnic areas and amenities. It will also be the start of the proposed Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk.

Members of the community can have their say on the proposal with the environmental review now available online.

The new visitor centre is a single-storey building with a spectacular elevated walkway providing a world-class rainforest experience and improved access to walking tracks including the Wonga walk, and waterfalls of Dorrigo National Park.

This also includes a new car park with bus drop off, electric vehicle charging points and an arrival forecourt as well as nature play and picnic areas.

To make way for this, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is proposing to demolish the existing Dorrigo Rainforest Centre and Skywalk, with many materials and components being recycled and re-used to create the new centre and elevated walkway.

Earlier in the year, NPWS shared the environmental review for the associated multi-day Dorrigo Escarpment Great Walk. NPWS is reviewing the feedback received during the exhibition period and a summary report will be shared once the environmental assessment is determined.

The review of the new Dorrigo Arc Rainforest Centre is available for public input until 16 June 2025 here: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/consult

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Coffs Coast Director Russell Madeley said:

“As the existing Dorrigo Rainforest Centre facilities are approaching the end of their useful life, this is an opportunity to enhance the way NPWS showcases local Gumbaynggirr culture and connections.

“The proposed design minimises environmental impacts, while creating a sustainable visitor precinct that improves accessibility to help everyone experience the park.

“It’s fantastic that Dorrigo National Park has become a popular visitor location, and we want to make sure that we can sustainably manage this increase into the future.”

View from the Skywalk, Dorrigo Rainforest Centre, Dorrigo National Park. Image credit; Shane Ruming/DCCEEW

‘1080 pest management’

Applies until Friday August 1st 2025. 

NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service will be conducting a baiting program using manufactured baits, fresh baits and Canid Pest Ejectors (CPEs) containing 1080 poison (sodium fluroacetate) for the control of foxes. The program is continuous and ongoing between 1 February 2025 and 31 July 2025 in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Don’t touch baits or ejector devices. Penalties apply for non-compliance.

All baiting locations are identifiable by signs.

Domestic pets are not permitted in NSW national parks and reserves. Pets and working dogs may be affected (1080 is lethal to cats and dogs). In the event of accidental poisoning seek immediate veterinary assistance.

Fox baiting in these reserves is aimed at reducing their impact on threatened species.

For more information, contact the local park office on:

  • Forestville 9451 3479 or Lane Cove 8448 0400 (business hours)
  • NPWS after-hours call centre: 1300 056 294 (after hours).

Volunteers for Barrenjoey Lighthouse Tours needed

Details:

Johnson Brothers Mitre 10 Recycling Batteries: at Mona Vale + Avalon Beach

Over 18,600 tonnes of batteries are discarded to landfill in Australia each year, even though 95% of a battery can be recycled!

That’s why we are rolling out battery recycling units across our stores! Our battery recycling units accept household, button cell, laptop, and power tool batteries as well as mobile phones! 

How To Dispose Of Your Batteries Safely: 

  1. Collect Your Used Batteries: Gather all used batteries from your home. Our battery recycling units accept batteries from a wide range of products such as household, button cell, laptop, and power tool batteries.
  2. Tape Your Terminals: Tape the terminals of used batteries with clear sticky tape.
  3. Drop Them Off: Come and visit your nearest participating store to recycle your batteries for free (at Johnson Brothers Mitre 10 Mona Vale and Avalon Beach).
  4. Feel Good About Your Impact: By recycling your batteries, you're helping support a healthier planet by keeping hazardous material out of landfills and conserving resources.

Environmental Benefits

  • Reduces hazardous waste in landfill
  • Conserves natural resources by promoting the use of recycled materials
  • Keep toxic materials out of waterways 

Reporting Dogs Offleash - Dog Attacks to Council

If the attack happened outside local council hours, you may call your local police station. Police officers are also authorised officers under the Companion Animals Act 1998. Authorised officers have a wide range of powers to deal with owners of attacking dogs, including seizing dogs that have attacked.

You can report dog attacks, along with dogs offleash where they should not be, to the NBC anonymously and via your own name, to get a response, at: https://help.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au/s/submit-request?topic=Pets_Animals

If the matter is urgent or dangerous call Council on 1300 434 434 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

If you find injured wildlife please contact:
  • Sydney Wildlife Rescue (24/7): 9413 4300 
  • WIRES: 1300 094 737

Plastic Bread Ties For Wheelchairs

The Berry Collective at 1691 Pittwater Rd, Mona Vale collects them for Oz Bread Tags for Wheelchairs, who recycle the plastic.

Berry Collective is the practice on the left side of the road as you head north, a few blocks before Mona Vale shops . They have parking. Enter the foyer and there's a small bin on a table where you drop your bread ties - very easy.

A full list of Aussie bread tags for wheelchairs is available at: HERE 


Stay Safe From Mosquitoes 

NSW Health is reminding people to protect themselves from mosquitoes when they are out and about.

NSW Health states Mosquitoes in NSW can carry viruses such as Japanese encephalitis (JE), Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE), Kunjin, Ross River and Barmah Forest. The viruses may cause serious diseases with symptoms ranging from tiredness, rash, headache and sore and swollen joints to rare but severe symptoms of seizures and loss of consciousness.

A free vaccine to protect against JE infection is available to those at highest risk in NSW and people can check their eligibility at NSW Health.

People are encouraged to take actions to prevent mosquito bites and reduce the risk of acquiring a mosquito-borne virus by:
  • Applying repellent to exposed skin. Use repellents that contain DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Check the label for reapplication times.
  • Re-applying repellent regularly, particularly after swimming. Be sure to apply sunscreen first and then apply repellent.
  • Wearing light, loose-fitting long-sleeve shirts, long pants and covered footwear and socks.
  • Avoiding going outdoors during peak mosquito times, especially at dawn and dusk.
  • Using insecticide sprays, vapour dispensing units and mosquito coils to repel mosquitoes (mosquito coils should only be used outdoors in well-ventilated areas)
  • Covering windows and doors with insect screens and checking there are no gaps.
  • Removing items that may collect water such as old tyres and empty pots from around your home to reduce the places where mosquitoes can breed.
  • Using repellents that are safe for children. Most skin repellents are safe for use on children aged three months and older. Always check the label for instructions. Protecting infants aged less than three months by using an infant carrier draped with mosquito netting, secured along the edges.
  • While camping, use a tent that has fly screens to prevent mosquitoes entering or sleep under a mosquito net.
Remember, Spray Up – Cover Up – Screen Up to protect from mosquito bite. For more information go to NSW Health.

Mountain Bike Incidents On Public Land: Survey

This survey aims to document mountain bike related incidents on public land, available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K88PSNP

Sent in by Pittwater resident Academic for future report- study. 

Report fox sightings

Fox sightings, signs of fox activity, den locations and attacks on native or domestic animals can be reported into FoxScan. FoxScan is a free resource for residents, community groups, local Councils, and other land managers to record and report fox sightings and control activities. 

Our Council's Invasive species Team receives an alert when an entry is made into FoxScan.  The information in FoxScan will assist with planning fox control activities and to notify the community when and where foxes are active.



marine wildlife rescue group on the Central Coast

A new wildlife group was launched on the Central Coast on Saturday, December 10, 2022.

Marine Wildlife Rescue Central Coast (MWRCC) had its official launch at The Entrance Boat Shed at 10am.

The group comprises current and former members of ASTR, ORRCA, Sea Shepherd, Greenpeace, WIRES and Wildlife ARC, as well as vets, academics, and people from all walks of life.

Well known marine wildlife advocate and activist Cathy Gilmore is spearheading the organisation.

“We believe that it is time the Central Coast looked after its own marine wildlife, and not be under the control or directed by groups that aren’t based locally,” Gilmore said.

“We have the local knowledge and are set up to respond and help injured animals more quickly.

“This also means that donations and money fundraised will go directly into helping our local marine creatures, and not get tied up elsewhere in the state.”

The organisation plans to have rehabilitation facilities and rescue kits placed in strategic locations around the region.

MWRCC will also be in touch with Indigenous groups to learn the traditional importance of the local marine environment and its inhabitants.

“We want to work with these groups and share knowledge between us,” Gilmore said.

“This is an opportunity to help save and protect our local marine wildlife, so if you have passion and commitment, then you are more than welcome to join us.”

Marine Wildlife Rescue Central Coast has a Facebook page where you may contact members. Visit: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076317431064


Watch out - shorebirds about

Summer is here so watch your step because beach-nesting and estuary-nesting birds have started setting up home on our shores.
Did you know that Careel Bay and other spots throughout our area are part of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP)?

This flyway, and all of the stopping points along its way, are vital to ensure the survival of these Spring and Summer visitors. This is where they rest and feed on their journeys.  For example, did you know that the bar-tailed godwit flies for 239 hours for 8,108 miles from Alaska to Australia?

Not only that, Shorebirds such as endangered oystercatchers and little terns lay their eggs in shallow scraped-out nests in the sand, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Threatened Species officer Ms Katherine Howard has said.
Even our regular residents such as seagulls are currently nesting to bear young.

What can you do to help them?
Known nest sites may be indicated by fencing or signs. The whole community can help protect shorebirds by keeping out of nesting areas marked by signs or fences and only taking your dog to designated dog offleash area. 

Just remember WE are visitors to these areas. These birds LIVE there. This is their home.

Four simple steps to help keep beach-nesting birds safe:
1. Look out for bird nesting signs or fenced-off nesting areas on the beach, stay well clear of these areas and give the parent birds plenty of space.
2. Walk your dogs in designated dog-friendly areas only and always keep them on a leash over summer.
3. Stay out of nesting areas and follow all local rules.
4. Chicks are mobile and don't necessarily stay within fenced nesting areas. When you're near a nesting area, stick to the wet sand to avoid accidentally stepping on a chick.


Possums In Your Roof?: do the right thing

Possums in your roof? Please do the right thing 
On the weekend, one of our volunteers noticed a driver pull up, get out of their vehicle, open the boot, remove a trap and attempt to dump a possum on a bush track. Fortunately, our member intervened and saved the beautiful female brushtail and the baby in her pouch from certain death. 

It is illegal to relocate a trapped possum more than 150 metres from the point of capture and substantial penalties apply.  Urbanised possums are highly territorial and do not fare well in unfamiliar bushland. In fact, they may starve to death or be taken by predators.

While Sydney Wildlife Rescue does not provide a service to remove possums from your roof, we do offer this advice:

✅ Call us on (02) 9413 4300 and we will refer you to a reliable and trusted licenced contractor in the Sydney metropolitan area. For a small fee they will remove the possum, seal the entry to your roof and provide a suitable home for the possum - a box for a brushtail or drey for a ringtail.
✅ Do-it-yourself by following this advice from the Department of Planning and Environment: 

❌ Do not under any circumstances relocate a possum more than 150 metres from the capture site.
Thank you for caring and doing the right thing.



Sydney Wildlife photos

Aviaries + Possum Release Sites Needed

Pittwater Online News has interviewed Lynette Millett OAM (WIRES Northern Beaches Branch) needs more bird cages of all sizes for keeping the current huge amount of baby wildlife in care safe or 'homed' while they are healed/allowed to grow bigger to the point where they may be released back into their own home. 

If you have an aviary or large bird cage you are getting rid of or don't need anymore, please email via the link provided above. There is also a pressing need for release sites for brushtail possums - a species that is very territorial and where release into a site already lived in by one possum can result in serious problems and injury. 

If you have a decent backyard and can help out, Lyn and husband Dave can supply you with a simple drey for a nest and food for their first weeks of adjustment.

Bushcare in Pittwater: where + when

For further information or to confirm the meeting details for below groups, please contact Council's Bushcare Officer on 9970 1367 or visit Council's bushcare webpage to find out how you can get involved.

BUSHCARE SCHEDULES 
Where we work                      Which day                              What time 

Avalon     
Angophora Reserve             3rd Sunday                         8:30 - 11:30am 
Avalon Dunes                        1st Sunday                         8:30 - 11:30am 
Avalon Golf Course              2nd Wednesday                 3 - 5:30pm 
Careel Creek                         4th Saturday                      8:30 - 11:30am 
Toongari Reserve                 3rd Saturday                      9 - 12noon (8 - 11am in summer) 
Bangalley Headland            2nd Sunday                         9 to 12noon 
Catalpa Reserve              4th Sunday of the month        8.30 – 11.30
Palmgrove Park              1st Saturday of the month        9.00 – 12 

Bayview     
Winnererremy Bay                 4th Sunday                        9 to 12noon 

Bilgola     
North Bilgola Beach              3rd Monday                        9 - 12noon 
Algona Reserve                     1st Saturday                       9 - 12noon 
Plateau Park                          1st Friday                            8:30 - 11:30am 

Church Point     
Browns Bay Reserve             1st Tuesday                        9 - 12noon 
McCarrs Creek Reserve       Contact Bushcare Officer     To be confirmed 

Clareville     
Old Wharf Reserve                 3rd Saturday                      8 - 11am 

Elanora     
Kundibah Reserve                   4th Sunday                       8:30 - 11:30am 

Mona Vale     
Mona Vale Beach Basin          1st Saturday                    8 - 11am 
Mona Vale Dunes                     2nd Saturday +3rd Thursday     8:30 - 11:30am 

Newport     
Bungan Beach                          4th Sunday                      9 - 12noon 
Crescent Reserve                    3rd Sunday                      9 - 12noon 
North Newport Beach              4th Saturday                    8:30 - 11:30am 
Porter Reserve                          2nd Saturday                  8 - 11am 

North Narrabeen     
Irrawong Reserve                     2nd Saturday                   2 - 5pm 

Palm Beach     
North Palm Beach Dunes      3rd Saturday                    9 - 12noon 

Scotland Island     
Catherine Park                          2nd Sunday                     10 - 12:30pm 
Elizabeth Park                           1st Saturday                      9 - 12noon 
Pathilda Reserve                      3rd Saturday                      9 - 12noon 

Warriewood     
Warriewood Wetlands             1st Sunday                         8:30 - 11:30am 

Whale Beach     
Norma Park                               1st Friday                            9 - 12noon 

Western Foreshores     
Coopers Point, Elvina Bay      2nd Sunday                        10 - 1pm 
Rocky Point, Elvina Bay           1st Monday                          9 - 12noon

Friends Of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment Activities

Bush Regeneration - Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment  
This is a wonderful way to become connected to nature and contribute to the health of the environment.  Over the weeks and months you can see positive changes as you give native species a better chance to thrive.  Wildlife appreciate the improvement in their habitat.

Belrose area - Thursday mornings 
Belrose area - Weekend mornings by arrangement
Contact: Phone or text Conny Harris on 0432 643 295

Wheeler Creek - Wednesday mornings 9-11am
Contact: Phone or text Judith Bennett on 0402 974 105
Or email: Friends of Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment : email@narrabeenlagoon.org.au

Gardens and Environment Groups and Organisations in Pittwater


Ringtail Posses 2023

Earth is heading for 2.7°C warming this century. We may avoid the worst climate scenarios – but the outlook is still dire

Aliraza Khatri's Photography/Getty
Sven TeskeUniversity of Technology Sydney

Is climate action a lost cause? The United States is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement for the second time, while heat records over land and sea have toppled and extreme weather events have multiplied.

In late 2015, nations agreed through the Paris Agreement to try to hold warming well under 2°C and ideally to 1.5°C. Almost ten years later, cutting emissions to the point of meeting the 1.5°C goal looks very difficult.

But humanity has shifted track enough to avert the worst climate future. Renewables, energy efficiency and other measures have shifted the dial. The worst case scenario of expanded coal use, soaring emissions and a much hotter world is vanishingly unlikely.

Instead, Earth is tracking towards around 2.7°C average warming by 2100. That level of warming would represent “unprecedented peril” for life on this planet. But it shows progress is being made.

How did we get here?

Global greenhouse gas emissions have risen since industrialisation began around 1850. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is far and away the most common greenhouse gas we emit, while methane and nitrous oxide also play a role. These gases trap the sun’s heat in the atmosphere, preventing it from radiating back out to space.

In 2023, 41% of the world’s energy-related CO₂ emissions came from coal, mainly for electricity generation. Some 32% came from burning oil in road vehicles, and 21% from natural gas used for heating buildings and industrial processes.

The world is certainly feeling the effects. The World Meteorological Organization confirmed 2024 was the hottest year on record, temporarily hitting 1.5°C over the pre-industrial era. In turn, the world suffered lethal heatwaves, devastating floods and intense cyclones.

flooded houses, climate change.
Extreme weather hit hard in 2024. Pictured: Flooded houses after Cyclone Debby hit Florida. Bilanol/Shutterstock

How are we tracking?

In 2014, the world’s peak body for assessing climate science – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – began using four scenarios called Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). These four big picture climate scenarios are based on what actions humanity does or doesn’t take. They comprise:

  • rapid climate action, low emissions (RCP 2.6)
  • two scenarios of some action and medium emissions (RCP 4.5 and 6.0)
  • no action, high emissions (RCP 8.5).

The numbers refer to how many more watts of heat strike each square metre of the planet.

Of these four, only the RCP 2.6 scenario is compatible with the Paris Agreement’s goal of holding climate change well under 2˚C.

But Earth is tracking towards somewhere between RCP 2.6 and 4.5, which would translate to about 2.7°C of warming by 2100.

IPCC experts also developed five pathways of possible social, economic and political futures to complement the four scenarios.

Of these pathways, we are tracking closest to a middle of the road scenario where development remains uneven, the intensity of resource and energy use declines, and population growth levels off.

While effective, these scenarios are now more than a decade old and need to be updated. In response, my colleagues and I produced the One Earth Climate Model to outline rapid pathways to decarbonise. We set an ambitious carbon budget of 450 gigatonnes of CO₂ before reaching net zero – a pathway even more ambitious than the RCP 2.6.

The US, European Union and China together represent about 28% of the global population, but are responsible for 56% of historic emissions (926 gigatonnes) . The pathways compatible with 1.5°C give them a remaining carbon budget of 243 Gt CO₂. China would require the largest carbon budget to reach decarbonisation.

For this to happen, by 2050, the world would have to be 100% powered by clean sources and phase out fossil fuel use. This would limit global warming to around 1.5°C, with a certainty of just over 50%. We would also have to end deforestation within the same timeframe.

Emissions peak – are we there yet?

Emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have still not plateaued, despite sharply increasing renewable electricity generation, battery storage and lower-cost electric vehicles.

But there has been real progress. The EU says its emissions fell by 8.3% in 2023 compared to 2022. Europe’s net emissions are now 37% below 1990 levels, while the region’s GDP grew 68% over the same period. The EU remains on track to reach its goal of reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030.

Australia’s emissions fell by 0.6% last year. The country is now 28.2% below June 2005 levels, which is the baseline set for its Paris Agreement goal of a 43% reduction by 2030.

In the US, emissions are still below pre-pandemic levels and remain about 20% below 2005 levels. Since peaking in 2004, US emissions have trended downward.

The world’s largest emitter, China, is finally cutting its emissions. Huge growth in renewables has now led to the first emissions drop on record, despite surging demand for power. This is good news. For years, China’s domestic emissions remained high despite its leading role in solar, wind, EVs and battery technology.

China produces almost one-third (31%) of the world’s energy-related carbon emissions – not least because it is the workshop of the world. Every cut China makes will have a major global effect.

According to the IPCC, limiting warming to around 1.5°C requires global emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest. It now looks like the peak may occur this year.

Despite daily negative news, the decarbonisation train has left the station. In 2024, renewables accounted for more than 90% of growth in electricity production globally. Electric vehicles became cost competitive, while heat pumps are developing fast and solar is on a winning streak.

So, is it too late to save the climate? No. The technologies we need are finally cheap enough. The sooner we stop climate change from worsening, the more disasters, famine and death we avert. We might not manage 1.5°C or even 2°C, but every tenth of a degree counts. The faster we make the shift, the better our climate future.The Conversation

Sven Teske, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

As Australia’s carbon offset industry grapples with integrity concerns, how can companies genuinely tackle climate change?

Deemerwha studio/Shutterstock
Andrew MacintoshAustralian National University

Australia’s largest carbon market player, GreenCollar, has quit the federal government’s voluntary carbon neutral program, Climate Active. More than 100 companies have left the program in the past two years.

Climate Active provides certification to businesses and other organisations to verify that they are carbon neutral. Certification is supposed to mean an organisation has neutralised the impacts its greenhouse gas emissions have on global warming by buying carbon offsets, which represent emission reductions achieved elsewhere.

GreenCollar is among many Australian organisations that develop emissions-reduction projects, such as storing carbon in vegetation. Upon exiting the Climate Active scheme, GreenCollar co-founder James Schultz told The Australian that Climate Active had become too risky, due to criticism from environmentalists the carbon abatement associated with offsets is often not genuine.

Electricity retailer EnergyAustralia has also acknowledged “legitimate public concern” about carbon offsets and programs such as Climate Active that rely on them.

Effective carbon offset projects do exist in Australia. However, research by my colleagues and I, and many other experts, has found integrity issues are widespread in carbon offset schemes – and low integrity projects are all too common, including in Australia.

So how has this situation arisen, and what should companies do to genuinely reduce their climate impact?

What are carbon offsets for?

Every day, companies emit greenhouse gas emissions. This can occur directly from their own operations, or indirectly through electricity they use and products they consume. Some emissions can be cut easily and cheaply, but others are harder and more expensive to reduce.

Carbon credits emerged to fill this gap. Where it is expensive for companies to reduce their own emissions, they can buy carbon credits to offset them. Each credit is supposed to represent one tonne of carbon abatement.

For the credits to be legitimate, they must represent real, additional and permanent abatement. Real refers to whether the emissions abatement has actually occurred. Additional means the abatement would not have occurred without the incentive provided by the crediting scheme. Permanent means the carbon stored in, say, planted trees, will stay there over the long term.

Under the scheme, companies that buy carbon credits to offset their emissions can be certified as “carbon neutral”.

A key problem is that companies can purchase old, super-cheap credits issued under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism. These credits come from overseas projects such as windfarms and landfill gas projects overseas.

Serious doubts exist over the integrity of these credits. For example, a comprehensive review by European researchers in 2016 found the credits had “fundamental flaws” and most were “not providing real, measurable and additional emission reductions”.

Historically, these cheap credits have accounted for most carbon credits used in the Climate Active scheme.

The remainder have come from the Australian carbon offset scheme, which issues Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). But this scheme has also been plagued by integrity problems such as:

These problems exist in carbon offset schemes around the world. Last year, an international group of researchers assessed carbon credits covering almost one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. They found less than 16% constituted real emission reductions.

Where to now?

So what should be done?

The first step is for companies to ensure they are investing in high-integrity projects. In overseas markets, ratings agencies exist to assist with this. In Australia, ratings agencies do not assess domestic projects because the federal government doesn’t publish enough information to make this possible.

The government could help companies invest in genuine emissions reductions by requiring more transparency from carbon offset projects, and ensuring relevant information is publicly accessible.

Rather than purchasing carbon abatement, companies may be better off directly cutting their own emissions as much as possible, by changing the way they operate. This might mean investing in new low-emissions equipment, reducing air travel by employees, or switching to green electricity.

Companies can also make direct investments in quality projects which help mitigate climate change and support biodiversity conservation.

And the federal government should clamp down on the significant number of low integrity offset projects in Australia’s offset scheme.


In response to issues raised in this article, a spokesperson from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, which oversees Climate Active, said:

The Australian Government is actively considering the future direction of the Climate Active program. We recognise that Climate Active needs reform and that work is under way as a priority that will involve proper consultation.

The Climate Active program continues to operate, certifying entities that have met the program requirements.

The Australian Government continues to work to ensure the integrity of the ACCU Scheme, following recent reviews by the Climate Change Authority (CCA), independent experts and the Australian National Audit Office. These reviews have found the ACCU Scheme is well designed, well administered, and contributing to Australia’s transition to net zero by 2050.The Conversation

Andrew Macintosh, Professor and Director of Research, ANU Law School, Australian National University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

UNESCO expresses ‘utmost concern’ at the state of the Great Barrier Reef

Jon C. DayJames Cook University and Scott F. HeronJames Cook University

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has again raised grave fears for the future of the Great Barrier Reef, highlighting the problems of water pollution, climate change and unsustainable fishing.

The committee this week released draft decisions regarding the conservation of 62 World Heritage properties. This included the Great Barrier Reef, for which it noted:

Overall, while progress has been made, significant challenges remain in achieving water quality targets, managing extreme climate impacts, and ensuring the long-term resilience of the property.

The comments confirm what experts already know too well: despite substantial investments from successive Australian governments, threats to the Great Barrier Reef remain.

Climate change is the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs around the world. But water pollution is the most significant local threat. That issue, along with unsustainable fishing, is entirely within Australia’s control.

The World Heritage Committee will consider the draft decision at its next meeting in Paris in July. It may amend the decision, but the concerns are now on the public record.

What’s all this about?

The Great Barrier Reef has been on UNESCO’s World Heritage list for more than 40 years. The listing recognises outstanding natural and cultural places around the world.

The reef is jointly managed by the Australian and Queensland governments. UNESCO’s draft decision expressed “utmost concern” at the findings of last year’s outlook report, published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. It noted:

the overall outlook for the property remains one of continued deterioration due largely to climate change, while the long-term outlook for the ecosystem of the property also remains ‘very poor’.

Poor water quality persists

Poor water quality is a major issue on the Great Barrier Reef. It is caused when sediment, nutrients, pesticides and pollution from land-based activities, such as land clearing, farming and coastal development, are carried into the ocean.

In its draft decision, UNESCO noted with “regrets” that the latest water quality targets for sediment and nitrogen – a key component of fertilisers – were not achieved. UNESCO said the updated water quality plan should ensure targets and actions “are sufficiently ambitious and funded”.

As the below graph shows, actions from 2009 to now have reduced pollution only by about half the desired amounts. At the existing rate of progress and funding commitments, the targets will not be met until 2047 (for sediment) and 2114 (for dissolved inorganic nitrogen).

Huge gaps exist between current pollutants levels and the water quality targets. These and some other targets are well out of reach under existing funding levels.

The draft decision also requests a halt to illegal land clearing while strengthening vegetation laws – both fundamental to reducing water pollution.

Severe weather events exacerbate the water quality problem. In February this year, for example, floodwaters from ten major rivers merged to form extensive flood plumes along 700 kilometres of coastline from Cairns to Mackay, and up to 100 kilometres offshore.

Such plumes can remain present for months after a flood. They can smother seagrass and corals, and cause damaging algal growth.

satellite image of sediment in floods Queensland.
Queensland’s floods in February discharged large plumes of sediment-laden floodwaters towards the Great Barrier Reef. This Sentinel 2 satellite image shows sediment from the Burdekin River estuary south of Townsville. TropwaterCC BY-NC-ND

The wicked problem of climate change

UNESCO’s draft decision noted “the overall outlook for the property remains one of continued deterioration due largely to climate change”.

Ocean heatwaves can lead to coral bleaching and potentially death. Mass bleaching occurred again this year on the Great Barrier Reef – the sixth such event since 2016.

UNESCO described as “deeply concerning” preliminary results showing heat stress was the highest on record during the 2023–24 mass bleaching event.

Climate change is also expected to produce more frequent and intense extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, which can damage reefs and island ecosystems.

UNESCO called on Australia to align its policies with the global goal of “limiting global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”, and to take steps to mitigate negative impacts from extreme weather events.

The challenges of fishing

Unsustainable fishing practices damage the Great Barrier Reef. UNESCO’s draft decision noted progress in eliminating gillnet fishing, which is on track for the target of 2027.

The fishing method involves mesh nets which can accidentally kill other wildlife, including threatened species such as dugongs, turtles, dolphins and sawfish.

But smaller nets can still be used throughout much of the World Heritage area, so some threats to threatened species remain.

UNESCO also urged Australia to expand electronic monitoring of commercial fishing vessels, and to ensure the targets in its Sustainable Fisheries Strategy are met. It also called for a comprehensive review of coral harvesting, which primarily supplies the global aquarium trade.

What next?

Despite the significant resources and management efforts Australia expends on the Great Barrier Reef, serious threats remain.

The Great Barrier Reef is struggling under the cumulative impacts of a multitude of threats. The problems outlined above are not isolated challenges.

Both the Queensland and Australian governments could do far more to boost the health of the reef. Clearly, more funding is needed. Without it, the future of the Great Barrier Reef is in jeopardy, and so too its tourism and fishing economies, and thousands of jobs.

UNESCO has now asked Australia to provide more comprehensive results from the recent mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, along with an updated plan to improve water quality. Its draft decision maintains the spotlight on conservation concerns for this precious natural asset.


Support for the aerial footage in the lead image to this article was provided by TropWATER JCU, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Office of the Great Barrier Reef, NQ Dry Tropics and CSIRO.The Conversation

Jon C. Day, Adjunct Principal Research Fellow, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University and Scott F. Heron, UNESCO Chair on Climate Change Variability of Natural and Cultural Heritage and Professor in Physics, James Cook University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Antarctica’s sea ice is changing, and so is a vital part of the marine food web that lives within it

Jacqui Stuart, VUWCC BY-NC-ND
Jacqui StuartTe Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Natalie RobinsonNational Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Antarctica is the world’s great cooling unit. This vital part of Earth’s climate system is largely powered by the annual freeze and melt of millions of square kilometres of sea ice around the continent.

Our research shows changes to this annual freeze cycle in McMurdo Sound can lead to shifts in the diversity of algal communities that live within the sea ice.

At the start of the southern winter, as sea water begins to freeze, it expels salt and forms heavy and very cold brine. This sinks to the seafloor, ultimately forming what’s known as Antarctic Bottom Water. This is then pumped out to the rest of the world through several major oceanic currents.

Historically, this cycle meant that Antarctica effectively doubled in size and the continent was surrounded by an enormous apron of sea ice at the peak of winter. But the changing climate is shifting this annual cycle.

A stylised map showing the currents that transport cold Antarctic Bottom Water out to the rest of the world.
Major ocean currents transport cold Antarctic Bottom Water out to the rest of the world. Jacqui Stuart, VUWCC BY-NC-ND

For the past decade, Antarctic sea ice has been in decline. It hasn’t been a steady trend, but each year since 2016 less sea ice has formed compared to historic averages.

Antarctica’s annual maximum sea ice extent in September 2023 was the lowest on record, with approximately 1.75 million square kilometres less sea ice than normal – an area equivalent to about 6.5 times the land area of Aotearoa.

Change happening at the continental scale is usually well documented and publicised. However, smaller, more local changes are also occurring in places such as McMurdo Sound, the home of Aotearoa New Zealand’s only Antarctic outpost.

For four of the last seven years, unseasonable winter southerly storms have been associated with significant delays in the timing of sea-ice formation within McMurdo Sound.

Where measurements were taken during these “unusual” years, the sea ice that formed later was thinner (1.5 metres compared to 2.5 metres) and had less snow cover (about 5 centimetres versus 15-30 centimetres) compared to the same locations during “typical” years.

Two people dropping a tape measure into a hole in the ice in Mcmurdo Sound, Antarctica.
Ken Ryan and Jacqui Stuart measuring the depth of sea ice and the sub-ice platelet layer in McMurdo Sound in 2022. Svenja Halfter, NIWACC BY-NC-ND

Icy reefs and algal meadows

Another type of ice, known as “platelet ice”, also appears to be affected by the later formation of sea ice.

A layer of platelet ice extends into the ocean below the sea ice in some regions around Antarctica, including McMurdo Sound. It is a fragile lattice structure made up of loosely consolidated plate-shaped ice crystals, creating an upside-down reef-like structure.

The resulting protective environment is a hot spot for primary productivity – microscopic algae that support the base of the marine food web. When sea ice forms later, the platelet ice doesn’t have as much time to accumulate beneath and can be metres thinner than beneath older ice (down to about 1 metre from more than 3 metres).

Three people with a sled travelling on sea ice in McMurdo Sound.
Scientist collecting cores of sea ice in McMurdo Sound. Jacqui Stuart, VUWCC BY-NC-ND

Why should we care about sea ice? Because, it isn’t just a frozen, lifeless sheet expanding out from the continent, broken by the odd silhouette of a seal or a gathering of penguins on the top.

Beneath the desolate surface, where ice meets water, green meadows of microalgae can spread out as far as the eye can see.

View from under the sea ice in McMurdo Sound, with the sub-ice platelet layer extending down into the water.
View from under the sea ice in McMurdo Sound, with the sub-ice platelet layer extending down into the water. The green-yellow tinge shows thriving microalgae living within the reef-like structure. Leigh Tate, NIWACC BY-NC-ND

Microalgae are single-cell, plant-like organisms that use sunlight to create energy. Similar to land-based meadows, they provide food for many other creatures. In winter, when other sources of food can be scarce, this sea-ice superstore plays a crucial role in feeding other inhabitants of McMurdo Sound.

Diminishing algal diversity under thinner sea ice

Our research indicates that when the sea ice forms later, microalgal communities living within the ice are also different. In later-forming sea ice, these vital communities are less diverse and dominated by fewer species.

Some species usually abundant in earlier-forming sea ice are absent or in low numbers when the sea ice forms later. Interestingly, though, it appears the quantity of microalgae in later-forming ice conditions is similar to “typical” ice. However, instead of being spread out through almost three metres depth of the platelet layer, they are crammed into a metre-thick habitat instead.

These microscopic snacks are diverse in shape, size and the roles they play in the ecosystem. It can help to think of microalgal communities as the produce section in the supermarket. Each type has preferred growing conditions and different nutritional values, producing varied quantities of important resources such as proteins, carbohydrates and fatty acids.

A graphic showing different microalgae and a range of fruits and vegetables.
Microalgae come in different shapes, sizes and nutritional content, like fruits and vegetables. Jacqui Stuart, VUWCC BY-NC-ND

Imagine, one winter the weather is different and all that grows are cabbages and sweet peas. These won’t provide you with all the nutrients you need. This mirrors the problem when there is less diversity at the base of the food web. As the microalgal communities shift in the ways our research has observed, the quantity and quality of resources they provide are likely to change, too.

These early signals matter. They foreshadow wider ecological impacts, especially, if Antarctic sea ice continues to thin, retreat or form later each year.

We need more research to establish the nuances of these changes and the extent of their impact. But it is worth remembering that what happens at the base of the food web in Antarctica doesn’t necessarily stay there. These changes could ripple through ecosystems further afield with the potential to affect key fisheries in the Southern Ocean.

By paying close attention now, we have a chance to understand and adapt, to ensure ecosystems stay resilient in a changing world.The Conversation

Jacqui Stuart, Postdoctoral Researcher in Marine Ecology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Natalie Robinson, Marine Physicist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Most of Australia’s conservation efforts ignore climate risks – here are 3 fixes

Yi Fei ChungThe University of Queensland and Jonathan RhodesQueensland University of Technology

Imagine replanting various native species only to have them die because the area is too hot or too dry. Or reconnecting woodland habitat only to lose large tracts to bushfire.

Well, our new research suggests those scenarios are entirely possible.

We analysed the two most common ways to prevent overall biodiversity loss on private land in Australia. We found these efforts largely ignore climate risks such as fire, heat, drought and floods.

Climate change is already threatening the survival of species. Unless conservation efforts are made more resilient to climate change, Australia’s aim to to reverse biodiversity loss could fail.

What we found

We examined two types of biodiversity measures in Australia. One is “biodiversity offsets”, which aim to compensate for damage caused by development. The other is voluntary conservation programs, including “conservation covenants”.

We analysed 77 policy documents underpinning nine biodiversity offset policies and 11 voluntary conservation programs.

Of the 77 documents, 84% did not consider the impact of climate change. What’s more, only 44% of biodiversity offset policies and 27% of voluntary conservation programs considered climate risk. Even then, they often lacked detail or tools to translate policy into real action on the ground.

The most common climate adaptation strategies were:

  • safeguarding climate refuges
  • connecting habitat so wildlife can escape extreme heat, fires or droughts
  • targeting funding
  • avoiding offset sites vulnerable to threats such as sea-level rise.

But most documents lacked details on implementing these strategies.

We suggest three practical steps to ensure conservation efforts deliver lasting results in a changing climate.

Bar chart showing the proportion of climate-informed programs / policies in voluntary conservation programs and biodiversity offset policies
Few private land conservation programs or biodiversity offset policies took climate change into account. Chung, Y. F., et al, (2025) Biological Conservation

1. Identify and protect climate refuges

Climate refuges are areas somewhat shielded from the effects of climate change. Gullies, sheltered slopes and forests with good water supplies can help species survive during heatwaves and droughts.

These places can provide a lifeline for endangered species and prevent local extinctions. Species may shelter in these areas during climate extremes and recolonise well-connected habitats when conditions improve.

Protecting climate refuges by restricting land clearing or other damaging activities is a common climate adaptation strategy. We found it featured in six policy documents supporting voluntary conservation programs and biodiversity offsets across Australia. But few policy documents explain where these places are or how to protect them.

For example, the New South Wales Biodiversity Conservation Investment Strategy lists climate refuges as high-priority assets under threat. The strategy says future investment should target these areas.

But we found no explanation of how investments would be prioritised, or where to find that information. Without this detail, mentioning climate refuges in policy documents is little more than having good intentions.

To be effective, refuges need to be mapped, prioritised and supported with appropriate protections and incentives. Nature law reform must strengthen protection of climate refuges to prevent further loss.

Conservation programs could also specifically incentivise landholders to protect or restore refuges on their properties.

Here’s how to protect Australia’s native species from climate change (The Climate Council)

2. Promote the actions that build resilience

On the ground, conservation actions must adapt to climate change. That could mean doing things differently. For example, planting species more likely to survive future climates, or connecting habitat so wildlife can move to new areas.

While these strategies are well established, we only found three policy documents that mention them. One is the Heritage Agreement policy in South Australia. This offers guidance and potential funding to help landholders implement these actions.

As Australia’s nature laws are reformed, funding commitments and conservation guidelines need to follow suit.

Financial incentives or technical support could be offered to landholders for activities that build resilience. Biodiversity offset policies could also mandate conservation actions that improve climate resilience at offset sites.

3. Adapting to climate change needs to link policy to on-ground action

Our research found a clear gap between high-level intent and guidelines for on-ground actions. If they don’t line up, then conservation efforts risk falling short. Field programs may lack legal backing, or legislation may not translate into action where it matters most.

Climate change should be considered at all levels of conservation policies – from high-level legislation to guidelines for implementing individual programs.

Policies should include clear and consistent targets informed by climate risk. This should be supported by regulations ensuring compliance and practical guidelines for on-ground action.

Voluntary conservation programs in New South Wales show how it can be done. State biodiversity conservation legislation includes conserving biodiversity under climate change as a key objective. This can then shape real-world programs. For example, the NSW Conservation Management plan echoes this climate commitment. It makes addressing climate change impacts one of the main targets.

A chance to get it right

National nature law reform and state reviews present an opportunity to future-proof Australia’s conservation policies.

These policies must consider the accelerating pace of change and ensure adaptation is embedded through to action. Such actions must be clear, well-resourced, and equipped with practical tools government agencies and landholders can use.

Otherwise, we risk making conservation policies unfit for the future – missing a golden opportunity to safeguard biodiversity.The Conversation

Yi Fei Chung, PhD Candidate in Environmental Policy, The University of Queensland and Jonathan Rhodes, Professor & Director, QUT Centre for Environment and Society, Queensland University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Earth’s seasonal rhythms are changing, putting species and ecosystems at risk

Shutterstock/Colin Stephenson
Daniel Hernández CarrascoUniversity of Canterbury and Jonathan TonkinUniversity of Canterbury

Seasonality shapes much of life on Earth. Most species, including humans, have synchronised their own rhythms with those of Earth’s seasons.

Plant growth cycles, the migration of billions of animals, and even aspects of human culture – from harvest rituals to Japanese cherry blossom viewings – are dictated by these dominant rhythms.

However, climate change and many other human impacts are altering Earth’s cycles. While humans can adapt their behaviour by shifting the timing of crop harvests or Indigenous fire-burning practices, species are less able to adapt through evolution or range shifts.

Our new research highlights how the impacts of shifting seasons can cascade through ecosystems, with widespread repercussions that may be greater than previously thought.

This puts species and ecosystems at risk the world over. We are still far from having a full picture of what changes in seasonality mean for the future of biodiversity.

Almost every ecosystem on Earth has seasons

From tropical forests to polar ice caps and abyssal depths, the annual journey of Earth around the Sun brings distinct seasons to all corners of the planet.

These seasonal rhythms shape ecosystems everywhere, whether through monsoonal rains in equatorial regions or the predictable melt of snowpack in mountain ranges.

But the seasonality of these processes is changing rapidly due to local human impacts. This includes dams in many rivers, which completely and abruptly disrupt their natural flow, and deforestation, which changes the timing of the onset of the rain season.

These local influences are compounded by climate change, which is systematically modifying seasonal patterns in snow covertemperature and rainfall around the world.

Monsoon rain in Kerala, India, with buffaloes grazing in heavy rain.
Monsoon rains represent one of Earth’s major seasonal cycles. Shutterstock/Milju varghese

From the earlier seasonal melting of glaciers and the snowpack to the disruption of monsoonal rain cycles, the effects of these changes are being felt widely.

Many important ecological processes we rely on could be affected. A mismatch between plankton blooms and the life cycles of fish could affect the health of fisheries. Tourism dependent on seasonal migrations of large mammals could suffer. Even the regulation of the climate system itself is tightly controlled by seasonal processes.

Changing seasonality threatens to destabilise key ecological processes and human society.

Evolutionary adaptations to seasonal fluctuations

The seasonal rhythms of ecosystems are obvious to any observer. The natural timing of annual flowers and deciduous trees – tuned to match seasonal variations in rainfall, temperature and solar radiation – transforms the colours of whole landscapes throughout the year.

The arrival and departure of migratory birds, the life cycle of insects and amphibians, and the mating rituals of large mammals can completely change the soundscapes with the seasons.

These examples illustrate how seasonality acts as a strong evolutionary force that has shaped the life cycles and behaviour of most species. But, in the face of unprecedented changes to Earth’s natural rhythms, these adaptations can lead to complex negative impacts.

White snowshoe hare in the snow during a Canadian winter - mostly white with brown feet.
Snowshoe hares are struggling to adapt to shifts in the timing of the first snowfall and melt. Shutterstock/Karen Hogan

For instance, snowshoe hares change coat colour between winter and summer to blend in with their surroundings and hide from predators. They are struggling to adapt to shifts in the timing of the first snow and snowmelt. The impact of changing seasonality on hare populations is linked with changes in predation rates. But predators themselves may also be out of sync with the new onset of seasons.

Our research highlights that these kinds of complex interactions can propagate impacts through ecosystems, linking individual species’ seasonal adaptations to broader food web dynamics, or even ecosystem functions such as carbon sequestration.

Although biologists have studied seasonal processes for centuries, we know surprisingly little about how they mediate any ecological impacts of altered seasonality. Our findings show we are likely underestimating these impacts.

The distinct mechanisms involved deserve further attention. Until we account for these complex processes, we risk overlooking important ecological and human consequences.

The more we understand, the better prepared we are

Understanding the extent to which impacts of altered seasonality can interact and propagate from individuals to whole ecosystems is a big challenge. It will require different types of research, complex mathematical modelling and the design of new experiments. But it is not easy to manipulate the seasons in an experiment.

Scientists have come up with inventive ways of experimentally testing the effects of altered seasonality. This includes manually removing snow early in springmanipulating rainfall patterns through irrigation and moving plants and animals to places with different seasonality.

Some researchers have even recovered seeds from centuries-old collections to sprout them and look at how recent changes in climate have affected plant populations.

These efforts will be of great value for forecasting impacts and designing effective management strategies beneficial for ecosystems and humans alike. Such efforts help to anticipate future shocks and prioritise interventions.

For instance, understanding the mechanisms that allow native and non-native species to anticipate seasonal changes has proven useful for “tricking” non-native plants into sprouting only in the wrong season. This gives an advantage to native plants.

Similarly, studies on the molecular mechanisms involved in the response to seasonality can help us determine whether certain species are likely to adapt to further changes in seasonal patterns. This research can also point out genes that could be targeted for improving the resilience and productivity of crops.

Not only are we likely underestimating the ecological risks of shifting seasons, we tend to forget how much our everyday lives depend on them. As Earth’s rhythms change, the risks multiply. But so does our opportunity to better understand, anticipate and adapt to these changes.The Conversation

Daniel Hernández Carrasco, PhD Candidate in Ecology, University of Canterbury and Jonathan Tonkin, Associate Professor of Ecology and Rutherford Discovery Fellow, University of Canterbury

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

From surprise platypus to wandering cane toads, here’s what we found hiding in NSW estuaries

Maarten De Brauwer
Maarten De BrauwerSouthern Cross UniversityKaitlyn HarrisSouthern Cross University, and Kelly GittinsIndigenous Knowledge

Rivers up and down the north coast of New South Wales have been hammered again, just three years after devastating floods hit the Northern Rivers and Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley.

The events of 2022 sparked our latest research into the estuaries of NSW. These special places, where the rivers meet the sea, are teeming with life. Now – for the first time – we can reveal what lives where, in maps based on tell-tale traces of DNA.

Together with Indigenous rangers from six language groups, we surveyed 34 estuaries to capture evidence of living species – everything from microbes to fish, plants and mammals.

We were surprised to find platypus in places they had not been seen for years. We also identified elusive native species such antechinus and rakali, and 68 invasive or pest species including cane toads – spreading further south than previously thought.

This catalogue of species in NSW estuaries can be used by authorities and scientists – but anyone, anywhere can explore the map online.

Mapping life in NSW estuaries (Southern Cross University)

Estuaries are vital, yet many questions remain

First Nations Peoples have long recognised the vital importance of the areas where land meets sea. Estuaries are have provided food resources for thousand of years and are home to important historical and contemporary cultural sites.

Today, 87% of Australians live within 50km of the sea. This makes estuaries one of the most intensively used areas of NSW. They provide critical habitats such as seagrass or mangroves, host high biodiversity, and have a high social value as places for recreational activities such as fishing.

Yet research into the species that live in estuaries is mostly limited to large estuaries such as Sydney HarbourBotany Bay or Port Stephens.

NSW has excellent water quality monitoring programs, and vital habitats such as seagrass meadows have been the subject of long-term mapping programs. However, large gaps remain.

Understanding how biodiversity in estuaries changes over time, especially in response to extreme events, can help governments design appropriate responses to maintain or restore ecosystem health. But with nearly 200 estuaries in NSW, studying changes in biodiversity is not a simple task.

A screenshot showing the results for one of the estuaries.
Find out what lives in your local estuary free, online. Wilderlab

Our DNA detective work

Measuring salinity or oxygen levels in water is relatively straightforward, using equipment on the shoreline or hanging off the side of a boat. Finding out what lives where is much more difficult. This where new genetic methods come in.

Three people standing on a pier collecting DNA samples with the Clarence River estuary in the background
Collecting environmental DNA samples at the Clarence River estuary. Southern Cross University

Life forms leave tell-tale traces of DNA in the environment. Animals may shed hair, skin or scales, as well as poo. Plants produce pollen and leaves that end up in the water.

We matched small snippets of DNA to find the species it belonged to – a bit like scanning a barcode in the supermarket.

This technique allows us to analyse the full extent of biodiversity in estuaries. This includes not just fish, but also species at the base of the food chain such as microscopic algae – all from a few litres of water.

Indigenous rangers live and work on Country and know it well. We formed alliances with six groups of Indigenous rangers through the state’s Cultural Restoration Program:

  • Batemans Bay Local Aboriginal Land Council (Walbunja)
  • Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council
  • Jali Local Aboriginal Land Council
  • Jerinja Local Aboriginal Land Council
  • LaPeruse Local Aboriginal Land Council (Gamay)
  • Yaegl Wadyarr Gargle Land and Sea Contractors.

Our research builds on the different strengths and interests of local groups. The rangers worked with us all the way through, from the design phase to selecting sampling sites of ecological or cultural significance, helping to conduct surveys and working with scientists to interpret the results.

Trained in environmental DNA methods, rangers can monitor their Country independently in future.

What did we find?

We now have the largest publicly available biodiversity dataset for NSW estuaries. It covers everything from single-celled algae at the base of the food chain, to top predators such as great white sharks and white-bellied sea eagles.

Anyone can explore the interactive map to find out what lives in the estuaries nearby or further afield.

Rangers detected platypus in the lower reaches of Bega River, in places where they were thought to have disappeared. Totemic species such as dolphins were widespread across the state, including urban estuaries such as Botany Bay in Sydney, while mullet and bream were found shifting between the mouth and further upriver. Cane toads were found at Sandon River in the Northern Rivers region, and most recently in Coffs Harbour, much further south than expected.

These results mean a lot to local Indigenous mobs. They can integrate contemporary scientific results into traditional ecological knowledge and use both approaches to better understand how estuaries respond to extreme weather events or activities such as habitat restoration.

We also recently returned to sample sites following Tropical Cyclone Alfred and the extreme rainfall events in March. Being able to compare the data to a well-established baseline survey means we will be able to see which species were worst affected.

Knowledge sharing for the future

Two-way knowledge sharing between Indigenous knowledge holders and research scientists is improving our understanding of estuarine health.

The results of this project will help Indigenous groups to care for their Country while also improving scientific knowledge to better respond to environmental impacts such as floods for decades to come.

A group of four people standing with their arms around each other on a jetty with an estuary in the background.
The project was a team effort. L to R: Kait Harris (NSW Departments of Primary Industries and Regional Development), Maarten De Brauwer (Southern Cross University), Shaun Laurie (Yaegl Rangers), and Amos Ferguson (Yaegl Rangers). Southern Cross University

The authors wish to acknowledge this program was delivered collaboration with and on behalf of the Departments of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), Fisheries & Forestry, with funding provided by the Australian and NSW governments under Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements as part of the NSW Estuary Asset Protection program (NEAP).The Conversation

Maarten De Brauwer, Senior Research Scientist in Marine and Estuarine Ecology, Southern Cross UniversityKaitlyn Harris, Research Assistant, NSW Estuary Monitoring Program, Southern Cross University, and Kelly Gittins, Aboriginal Project Officer, Fisheries, Department of Primary Industries, Indigenous Knowledge

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

This rare alpine frog is fighting against a lethal fungus – by breeding faster and faster

Laura BrannellyCC BY-NC-ND
Laura BrannellyThe University of MelbourneAlex WendtThe University of Melbourne, and Danielle WallaceThe University of Melbourne

For a small frog, the alpine tree frog (Litoria verreauxii alpina) packs a lot of surprises.

For one, this tree frog lives in snowy gullies and high mountain crags across the Australian Alps, far from the tropical areas we normally associate with tree frogs.

But these frogs have another surprise. Their numbers have been decimated by a deadly fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, which spreads in water, enters the frog’s skin, and kills by causing cardiac arrest. The chytrid fungus has wiped out almost all alpine tree frogs, whose numbers have fallen more than 80% since the 1980s. The species now occurs in only a few fragmented and highly isolated sites. Even here, the fungus kills almost all alpine tree frogs in their first breeding season.

Given these odds, it begs the question – how is the species not extinct? To find out, we used lab and field studies to investigate whether the threat of chytrid infection was forcing these frogs to change.

To our surprise, we found clear signs of change. When infected with the fungus, male frogs set about fathering more offspring.

alpine tree frog
The alpine tree frog can survive cold – and perhaps even a deadly fungus. Tiffany Kosch/Corey DoughtyCC BY-NC-ND

The fungal threat

Before the emergence of the fungus, brisk spring nights across the Australian Alps would have been filled with the songs of male alpine tree frogs.

These choruses are long gone across most of the species’ range. The alpine tree frog is now critically endangered.

The call of the alpine tree frog. Laura BrannellyCC BY-NC-ND274 KB (download)

In the 1970s, frog species around the world began to die off en masse. But it wasn’t until 1998 that an Australian team figured out the cause wasn’t natural – it was an introduced fungus.

Wherever chytrid fungus has gone, it has laid waste to amphibians – especially frogs, where death rates can reach 100%. Worldwide, more than 500 amphibian species have been driven to decline and at least 90 species have been lost to extinction.

The fungus doesn’t like heat and needs water to spread. As a result, frogs in colder, wetter areas have been hardest hit. Seven Australian frog species have gone extinct due largely to the fungus, including remarkable gastric brooding frogs.

Some frogs have tried to fight this deadly disease by producing skin secretions called antimicrobial peptides, which reduce fungal growth. But not every frog’s skin secretions work against this disease.

Unfortunately, the invasive cane toad is strongly resistant to the fungus. More positively, one native species, Fleay’s barred frog, appears to have developed natural resistance to the fungus.

But for the alpine tree frog, chytrid fungus poses an existential threat.

Breeding at double speed

To find out how the species was still clinging on, we examined these frogs in the field and in laboratories. We tested sperm quality, analysed breeding patterns and looked at breeding success.

What we found suggests the species is adapting in real time, pushed by the huge selective pressure of the fungus.

When a male tree frog was infected, it set about breeding with new fervour. Infected males took part in almost a third (31%) more breeding events than uninfected frogs.

There were more changes, too. Infected males produced higher quality sperm and in greater volumes than healthy males. This meant their fertility was actually greater than those not carrying the fungus.

Not only that, but infected males produced more colourful mating displays in their throat patches. The more colourful the patch, the more attractive it could be to female frogs. Infection was making individual males more attractive as breeding partners.

These changes resulted in better breeding success for infected males – they fathered more tadpoles than uninfected frogs. The fungus doesn’t affect the eggs, and leaves tadpoles largely unharmed.

For the species, this had real benefits – it meant more and more tadpoles were being produced. While the fungus would kill most of them as adult frogs, their increased numbers bolstered the species.

alpine frog habitat
This frog likes ponds and wetlands in the Australian Alps. Laura BrannellyCC BY-NC-ND

Spawning before succumbing

These findings can seem counterintuitive. We might expect a sick animal would save its energy and try to fight the infection rather than try to reproduce. But these frogs are taking the opposite approach, spawning frantically before they succumb.

This strategy isn’t common in the animal kingdom, but it’s not unheard of. Tasmanian devils face a similar threat from a lethal cancer which spreads from animal to animal by biting. In areas where devil facial tumour disease is present, females reproduce earlier and have more babies with each pregnancy than in disease-free areas.

Like the devils, alpine tree frogs were choosing reproduction over their personal survival.

These adaptations had real use. In fact, we believe the changes have made it possible for the frog species to avoid extinction in the wild alongside the disease.

That’s not to say all is well. The species is only just holding on. If other threats emerge, it could be enough to tip it over the edge into extinction.

This is where human intervention can help. Now we know their accelerated breeding patterns are important, we can focus on protecting breeding habitat. Creating new breeding ponds and corridors between breeding sites could give these frogs a helping hand.

The deadly fungus isn’t going away. But the frogs aren’t either. If we lend our help alongside their ingenious survival strategies, perhaps the beautiful whistling songs of the alpine tree frog will ring out across the Australian Alps once again.The Conversation

Laura Brannelly, Senior Lecturer in One Health and Biostatistics, The University of MelbourneAlex Wendt, PhD candidate, The University of Melbourne, and Danielle Wallace, PhD candidate, The University of Melbourne

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Australia-Indonesia bird flu partnership takes flight on global stage

May 30, 2025

A new avian influenza collaboration between CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and Indonesia has gained international recognition in Paris overnight, with endorsement from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

The project is part of WOAH’s prestigious Laboratory Twinning Programme and brings together CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) and Indonesia’s Disease Investigation Centre (DIC) Wates’s laboratory to strengthen the Asia-Pacific region’s response to the continuing threat of avian influenza.

The project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative, reflecting Australia's commitment to health security and regional cooperation.

Dr Debbie Eagles, Director of ACDP, said the project comes at a critical time as highly pathogenic avian influenza strains like H5 continue to pose serious risks across the globe.

“H5 bird flu remains one of the most significant animal disease threats globally, with growing impacts on wildlife, agriculture and trade,” Dr Eagles said.

“By sharing our expertise as a WOAH Reference Centre, we’re helping build a stronger, more connected network for early detection and response.

“This strengthens regional capacity and also supports Australia’s national efforts to protect our own environment, poultry industry and food security.”

The three-year initiative, called BICOLLAB, was formally endorsed at the World Assembly of Delegates during WOAH’s General Session—a key annual gathering of world animal health authorities—marking a significant step in regional biosecurity collaboration.

Australia's Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Beth Cookson, said the endorsement was an important vote of confidence in the science-led collaboration.

"This project is about more than knowledge sharing; it’s about building sustainable diagnostic capacity that protects animal and public health across our region. We’re proud to support our Indonesian colleagues as they work toward becoming a WOAH Reference Laboratory for avian influenza,” Dr Cookson said.

Under the three-year initiative, DIC Wates will receive expert mentorship, hands-on training, and technical support to strengthen its diagnostic capabilities, quality systems, and biosafety procedures. The project also promotes international standards, long-term sustainability, and integration into global disease surveillance systems.

Dr Imron Suandy, Director of Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture-Republic of Indonesia, welcomed the endorsement as a major opportunity for Indonesia’s animal health system.

“Through BICOLLAB, we are enhancing Indonesia’s capacity for avian influenza diagnostics and surveillance through support to the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture’s Disease Investigation Centre Wates as the designated avian influenza national reference laboratory and ASEAN Regional Reference Centre for Bioinformatics in animal health,” Dr Suandy said.

“Furthermore, this project is enhancing our ability to detect and respond to avian influenza outbreaks more quickly and reliably. This collaboration strengthens not only our laboratory, but the resilience of the entire region.”

CSIRO has a strong track record in this space, having completed three previous twinning projects in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. BICOLLAB represents the next chapter in CSIRO’s long-standing commitment to science-driven partnerships that improve regional and global biosecurity.

Photo: The collaboration was endorsed by the World Organisation for Animal Health in Paris. L-R: Dr Pebi Purwo Suseno, Animal Protection Team Leader, Directorate of Animal Health, Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health Services; Dr Hirofumi Kugita, WOAH Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific; Dr Imron Suandy, Director of Animal Health, Ministry of Agriculture-Republic of Indonesia; Dr Beth Cookson, Australian Chief Veterinary Officer; Dr Mariana Marrana, Programme Manager, Preparedness and Resilience Department, WOAH; Dr Dwane O’Brien, Deputy Director, CSIRO Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness

Faces you hear? Dolphin ‘signature whistles’ may transmit more than just identity information

Ekaterina Ovsyanikova
Ekaterina OvsyanikovaThe University of Queensland

Like us humans, many animals rely on social interactions to survive and thrive. As a result, effective communication between individuals is essential.

Highly social animals often have more complex communication systems. Think of a group of chimpanzees gesturing and vocalising at each other, or a family of elephants communicating through touch or low-frequency calls.

Bottlenose dolphins live in complex societies where each animal has a small number of closely connected individuals and a larger number of looser associates (not dissimilar to our own social networks). They rely heavily on interpersonal interactions to maintain a healthy social balance.

Scientists have long known that dolphins use “signature whistles” to identify themselves to others. In our recent study, we present evidence suggesting that these whistles may contain more information than just identity.

Dolphins frolicking.
Dolphins live in complex societies where communication is important. Ekaterina Ovsyanikova

A unique but variable sound

Dolphins use various sounds, such as burst pulses and whistles, to communicate. There are two broad categories of whistles: signature whistles (distinctive whistle types that are unique to each individual) and non-signature (the rest).

Dolphins use the unique frequency patterns of their signature whistles to broadcast their identity. They develop these signals when they are young and maintain them throughout their lives.

When interacting with others, up to 30% of a dolphin’s whistling may be comprised of its signature whistle. There is often some variation in the whistle versions produced by the individual animals. This led us to analyse the balance between stability and variability of the signature whistles to test if they can contain more information than just the whistler’s identity.

Listening to whistles

In 2017 and 2018, our research team made repeated sound recordings of a group of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) at Tangalooma Island Resort near Moreton Island, off the coast of Brisbane in eastern Australia.

We collected many instances of signature whistles produced by the same animals. We also used historical data collected from the same group 15 years earlier.

We found that, while the whistles were exceptionally stable in their frequency patterns, they did vary a certain amount (this variability also remained similar across the years). This suggests that even though frequency patterns of signature whistles encode identity, they are also likely to transmit more information, such as emotional or contextual cues.

Photo of a dolphin's dorsal fin emerging from the water, accompanied by several graphs showing a changing frequency pattern.
An example of the variability in signature whistle renditions produced by a single animal. Dolphins can be individually identified by their dorsal fins. Ekaterina Ovsyanikova

Our study group of animals was too small to draw definitive conclusions, but our findings indicated that males demonstrate more variability in their signature whistles than females. It could be linked to the differences in their social roles and the nature of their interactions with others.

We also identified a whistle much like a signature, but which was shared between several individuals. This supports recent findings that groups of dolphins may have shared distinctive whistles, along with their individual ones.

Faces that you hear

What does all this mean?

First, signature whistles are likely to be more versatile than previously thought. They may carry additional information within their frequency patterns, and possibly other structural elements.

The second lesson is that, while signature whistles are individually learned “labels” that are like human names in many ways, in terms of the information they transmit, a useful analogy may be human faces.

Humans carry identity information in our fixed facial features. At the same time, we transmit a lot of additional information, including emotional and contextual cues, through more transient facial expressions. Like signature whistles, our faces combine stability and variability in their “information package”.

A pair of dolphins swimming along the surface.
Like human faces, dolphin signature whistles may convey a stable identity alongside other information. Ekaterina Ovsyanikova

Making the whole world blurry

Understanding dolphin communication helps us better understand the challenges these animals face in an increasingly human-affected world.

Take noise pollution in the oceans. It’s a hot topic among marine bioacoustics researchers, but rarely at the front of the general public’s mind.

If we do think of it, it’s probably in human terms. Living in a noisy environment for us might be annoying and stressful, but we could still do most of the things we need to do.

But for dolphins, deafening shipping noise would be the equivalent of the whole world going blurry for us. Imagine what it would be like to navigate through life, make friends, stay away from bad connections, and be socially effective (which is necessary for survival), if you can’t recognise anyone’s face or see their expressions.

Thinking of the dolphins’ key signal, a signature whistle, as informational equivalent of our faces, may help us see (and hear) the world from a dolphin’s perspective.The Conversation

Ekaterina Ovsyanikova, Academic, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Raining one week, dusty the next – how did a dust storm make it all the way to rainy Sydney?

A false-colour satellite showing dust as a pink cloud. Himawari-9 satelliteCC BY-SA
Tegan ClarkAustralian National University

Much to the surprise of Sydney-siders, a dusty haze settled over the city on Tuesday morning after a week of heavy rain.

Satellite images reveal the dust storm formed in the Mid-North region of South Australia, east of Spencer Gulf, at around 11am on Monday. It then travelled through western Victoria into New South Wales, reaching Sydney approximately 18 hours later.

It’s an odd time of year for a dust storm, but South Australia is in drought. The soil is very dry, bare and loose. So when a cold front with strong winds moved through SA earlier this week, it picked up lots of dust.

This demonstrates how everything is interconnected in Australia, despite the nation’s huge size. Extreme weather events such as drought in one part of the country can cause trouble for people “downwind”, hundreds of kilometres away. Climate change is likely to further raise the risk of dust storms in the future.

The dust bowl era

In the 1930s, prolonged drought in the United States coupled with poor land management practices caused devastating dust storms. This eroded valuable agricultural soils and forced many families off the land. All this took place across the Central Plains, which became known as the American Dust Bowl – later immortalised in Steinbeck’s book The Grapes of Wrath.

Australia experienced its own smaller dust bowl about a century after British settlers arrived. Overgrazing in the late 1800s removed native vegetation from large parts of western New South Wales. Dust storm activity picked up dramatically from the late 1800s onwards and hit a maximum in 1944-45 during the World War II drought.

Fortunately, the dust storms and drought experienced during the 1940s soon prompted a change in both policy and attitude. The focus of land management shifted from “taming the land” to more sustainable use, such as moving livestock around from time to time – allowing paddocks to rest and recover. The government also provided more financial support to manage drought.

Growing awareness and the desire to protect environmental assets also led to development of the NSW Soil Conservation Service.

Australia has continued to experience heightened dust activity and major dust storms after 1945. In 2009, Sydney awoke to what looked like apocalyptic scenes straight out of the movie Mad Max when a dust storm engulfed the city.

The last big dusty period was the Black Summer of 2019-20. Parts of NSW such as Wagga Wagga and Sydney were shrouded in smoke and dust for days. But there were significantly fewer “dust storm days” compared to 1944-45. This is partly due to improved land management practices that value sustainability, including the revegetation of denuded land.

The movie Mad Max featured apocalyptic dust storm scenes.

More dust storms as the climate changes

Around the world, climate change is expected to make dust storms more common globally.

Recent research suggests southern Australia may experience longer and more frequent droughts in the future. Grazing and cropping will put extra pressure on the land.

In addition, the cold fronts that typically trigger large dust storms are expected to intensify with climate change. This means a growing chance of major dust storms such as the one this week.

Dust is a health hazard

Dust consists of tiny particles, some smaller than the width of a single strand of hair. These particles may include sand, topsoil, pollen, microbes, iron and other minerals, lifted into the air.

When these tiny particles enter the lungs, they can cause breathing difficulties and respiratory diseases such as asthma. Dust storms are also known to transport diseases such as Valley Fever.

The 2009 dust storm in Sydney led to an increase in emergency hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses, especially asthma.

During the latest dust storm, health authorities warned people with respiratory issues to stay indoors and monitor symptoms.

Developing early warning systems

The 2019-20 dusty period and the current SA drought shows Australia can still fall victim to these major dust storms. But there are things we can do to be better prepared and more resilient.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification suggests better ways to reduce harm from dust. These include improving land management practices, implementing early warning systems and improving monitoring of dust events.

On the ground, NSW is well equipped to monitor dust through the DustWatch network. The air quality monitoring network acts as an early warning system, particularly for people in Sydney living downwind of sources interstate. But usually no more than 12-24 hours notice is provided. This means the authorities might might start to prepare to issue a warning when they detect poor air quality in Western NSW.

However, these systems pale in comparison to the predictive capacity available in South Korea and Japan. There, alerts of dust storms and poor air quality can be issued days in advance.

Using our eyes in the sky

My PhD research project involves using satellites to deepen our understanding of where dust storms are coming from and where they might travel to.

For instance the Himawari-8/9 satellite scans Australia every ten minutes, allowing us to track the evolution of dust events from start to finish.

We can pinpoint almost the exact moment a dust storm begins. These areas can then be targeted using satellites to understand the conditions of the land causing dust storms to form and monitor high-risk areas for erosion in the future.

Putting technology to good use will get us part of the way to a more resilient Australia. There is also a clear need to adapt to the changing climate in our nation’s grazing and cropping systems.The Conversation

Tegan Clark, PhD Candidate, College of Systems and Society, Australian National University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

For many island species, the next tropical cyclone may be their last

The Bahama warbler, a species which suffered greatly as a result of Hurricane Dorian in 2019. David Pereira
Simon ValleBangor University and David Jorge PereiraUniversity of Birmingham

When a major cyclone tears through an island nation, all efforts rightly focus on saving human lives and restoring livelihoods. However, these storms have permanent consequences for other species that are often forgotten.

As the world continues to heat, cyclones are expected to become more frequent, intense and unpredictable. The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on biodiversity, lists storms as one factor threatening species. But just how much of a threat is still poorly understood.

The effects of cyclones on biodiversity are easily neglected because the damage is sudden, scattered and hard to measure. Extinctions can be abrupt and go unnoticed. This largely overlooked extinction crisis is likely to worsen with climate change.

In a new study, we measured the threat posed by tropical cyclones on the diversity of land-based mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles globally. We mapped all severe tropical cyclones that occurred between 1972 and 2022 and checked how many overlapped with areas widely recognised to be exceptionally rich in species, otherwise known as biodiversity hotspots.


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We focused on severe cyclones only – those with wind speeds exceeding 130 mph – as historically, it is these that have caused species to severely decline or go extinct.

What we found surprised us: three-quarters of all severe cyclones struck hotspots which are entirely comprised of islands. This seemed alarming. Islands have an inherently high extinction risk anyway because they support many species that are found nowhere else and which evolved in isolation. These species often have very small populations and nowhere to escape when disaster strikes.

Even more worrying, more than 95% of the severe cyclones that struck island biodiversity hotspots hit the same five ones. In descending order of cyclone frequency these are: Japan, Polynesia-Micronesia, the Philippines, Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands, and the Caribbean islands.

We clearly identified high-risk areas, but what does this mean for the animal species that live there? To find out we consulted the red list of threatened species which is compiled and regularly updated by the IUCN to see how many vertebrate species were noted for their vulnerability to storms.

One cyclone away from extinction

The hotspots experiencing the most severe cyclones are not necessarily those that have the most storm-threatened species. For example, Japan has the most storms but the fewest species at risk, whereas the Caribbean has fewer storms but over 128 species are threatened by them. This suggests that the frequency of cyclones alone does not determine the danger to each region’s biodiversity.

Other aspects are likely to play a role. In particular, the data indicates that species in island biodiversity hotspots made up of a lot of small islands are more at risk of local or global extinction.

The more we learned about the dangers posed by cyclones, the more concerned we became. Many species are so restricted in range that they could be entirely wiped out by just one cyclone. It has happened before. The Bahama nuthatch (Sitta insularis), a small forest-dwelling songbird, is thought to have gone extinct following the passage of Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

One of the last known sightings of the Bahamas nuthatch.

Preparing for the unpredictable

To begin raising awareness and help conservationists prioritise their efforts, we compiled a watchlist of the species that are most at risk from tropical cyclones. This includes 60 storm-threatened species which are present only on a single location on a single island.

For each of these 60 species, the next severe tropical cyclone may be their last. A better understanding of the distribution and status of these species is only the beginning. Conservationists need to plan how to help them avoid a sudden demise.

The need to act quickly is clear. Of the 60 species on our list, only 24 are part of any active conservation effort and just six are in captive breeding programmes. Coordinated efforts are our best bet and we propose a task force under the IUCN to allow better preparation, rapid response and international support.

With the right knowledge and foresight, we can ensure human recovery and ecological survival for future generations.


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Simon Valle, Conservation Planning Officer at IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group & Honorary Lecturer in Conservation Science, Bangor University and David Jorge Pereira, PhD Candidate, Conservation Science, University of Birmingham

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Anti-environmentalism is on the rise but it’s full of contradictions

Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock
Alastair BonnettNewcastle University

Anti-environmentalism is gaining ground. Attacks on the net zero goal and hostility to conservation measures and anti-pollution targets are becoming more common. And, as recent election results have shown, these tactics are reshaping politics in Britain and across the west.

Anti-environmentalism is a rejection of both environmental initiatives and activism. But despite its sudden rise and bold rhetoric, it is built on shaky foundations. The messages it offers are often contradictory and row against the tide of everyday experience.

Take the US president, Donald Trump. He dismantled many environmental protections in his last term of office, and is now removing those that are left – including support for research that even mentions the word climate. Yet he told a rally in Wisconsin in 2024: “I’m an environmentalist. I want clean air and clean water. Really clean water. Really clean air.”


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Some of the contradictions of anti-environmentalism reflect its departure from traditional conservatism. Although routinely identified as “conservative”, the populist anti-green politics of Republicans in the US and Reform in the UK, along with the AfD in Germany and National Rally in France, represent a radical challenge to the ideals of continuity and conservation that were once at the heart of conservatism.

The Conservative Environment Network is an organisation which pitches itself as an “independent forum for conservatives in the UK and around the world who support net zero, nature restoration and resource security”. Much of this network’s work involves reminding people that important environmental protections, from America’s national parks to controls on pollution and climate change in Britain and elsewhere, were introduced by conservatives.

But few on the right appear to be listening. A populist tide is washing this conservative tradition away, despite the fact that support for environmental protection remains very popular.

Polling indicates that 80% of people in the UK worry about climate change. Public backing for the work of the US Environmental Protection Agency is also overwhelming, including among Republican voters.

In part, this support reflects the fact that environmental damage is an everyday reality: unpredictable weather, the collapse of animal and insect populations, and a range of other challenges are not just on the TV, they are outside the window.

In my research for a forthcoming book on environmental nostalgia across the world, I keep bumping into an irony. In western nations, voices from the right say they want their country back, yet appear hostile to environmental policies that would protect their country and ensure its survival.

There are many reasons for this disconnect, including resentment against initiatives that require lifestyle and livelihood changes. However, the enmity and disengagement is more complicated than a simple rejection of nature.

Many people – including Trump himself – claim they are environmentalists even when the evidence suggests otherwise. The signs and symbols of environmental care are knitted into every aspect of our commercial and cultural life: if wildlife could sue for copyright, there would a lot of rich bears.

I argue that a distinction can be made between what I call “cold” and “hot” forms of environmentalism. The former values and mourns the loss of nature, but as a spectacle to be observed – a set of appealing images of flora and fauna – while the latter feels implicated and anxious.

The former position allows people to claim they love nature yet be indifferent or even hostile to initiatives to save it. However, the line between cold and hot, or between anti- and pro-environmentalist, is neither fixed nor hard.

Another quality of anti-environmentalism is that its beliefs are changeable, even quixotic. Climate change is an example.

Reform’s leaders have long flirted with climate change denial. “Climate change has happened for millions of years,” explained former Reform UK leader Richard Tice in 2024, adding that “the idea that you can stop the power of the Sun or volcanoes is simply ludicrous”. Tice has not changed his views but later the same year, the party’s new leader, Nigel Farage, told the BBC that he was “not arguing the science”.

Like other populist parties, Reform adopts a mobile position on the environment, moving between denying that climate change is happening or that humans are causing it, and the very different contention that anthropogenic climate change is real but that environmental targets are unreachable and unfair, given that other nations (China is often mentioned) supposedly do so little.

A post-western paradox

Researchers are only just starting to think about anti-environmentalism. One key analysis is environmental politics researcher John Hultgren’s The Smoke and the Spoils: Anti-Environmentalism and Class Struggle in the United States. This new book explains how Republicans managed to convince working-class voters that there is “zero-sum dichotomy between jobs and environmental protection, workers and environmentalists”.

This kind of binary has also been found by contributors to The Handbook of Anti-Environmentalism, who identify and critique the stereotyping of environmentalism as middle-class and elite in several western countries.

Yet the geographical focus of these pioneering works misses yet another of the paradoxes of anti-environmentalism: that although its rhetoric often accuses China and other non-western countries of doing little, there has been a significant environmental turn in both policy and public attitudes beyond Europe and the US.

Environmentalism is becoming post-western. This is partly because the realities of environmental damage are so stark across much of Asia and Africa.

Extreme temperatures and unpredictable rainfall are leading to food insecurity and community displacement. Environmentalism in the African Sahel and south Asia might better be called “survivalism”.

And despite its continuing reliance on fossil fuels, China’s state-led vision of a transition to a conservationist and decarbonised “ecological civilisation” is positioning it as a global environmental leader.

Stereotypes of environmentalism being primarily a western concern are crumbling. Because of this, along with the many contradictions that beset it, the rise of anti-environmentalism appears not only complex, but curious and unsustainable.


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Alastair Bonnett, Professor of Geography, Newcastle University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Pittwater Reserves: histories + Notes + Pictorial Walks

A History Of The Campaign For Preservation Of The Warriewood Escarpment by David Palmer OAM and Angus Gordon OAM
A Saturday Morning Stroll around Bongin Bongin - Mona Vale's Basin, Mona Vale Beach October 2024 by Kevin Murray
A Stroll Along The Centre Track At Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park: June 2024 - by Kevin Murray
A Stroll Around Manly Dam: Spring 2023 by Kevin Murray and Joe Mills
A Stroll Through Warriewood Wetlands by Joe Mills February 2023
A Walk Around The Cromer Side Of Narrabeen Lake by Joe Mills
A Walk on the Duffy's Wharf Track October 2024 by Kevin Murray and Joe Mills
America Bay Track Walk - photos by Joe Mills
An Aquatic June: North Narrabeen - Turimetta - Collaroy photos by Joe Mills 
Angophora Reserve  Angophora Reserve Flowers Grand Old Tree Of Angophora Reserve Falls Back To The Earth - History page
Annie Wyatt Reserve - A  Pictorial
Annie Wyatt Reserve, Palm Beach: Pittwater Fields of Dreams II - The Tree Lovers League 
Aquatic Reflections seen this week (May 2023): Narrabeen + Turimetta by Joe Mills 
Avalon Beach Reserve- Bequeathed By John Therry  
Avalon Beach This Week: A Place Of A Bursting Main, Flooding Drains + Falling Boulders Council Announces Intention To Progress One LEP For Whole LGA + Transport Oriented Development Begins
Avalon's Village Green: Avalon Park Becomes Dunbar Park - Some History + Toongari Reserve and Catalpa Reserve
Bairne Walking Track Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP by Kevin Murray
Bangalley Headland  Bangalley Mid Winter
Bangalley Headland Walk: Spring 2023 by Kevin Murray and Joe Mills
Banksias of Pittwater
Barrenjoey Boathouse In Governor Phillip Park  Part Of Our Community For 75 Years: Photos From The Collection Of Russell Walton, Son Of Victor Walton
Barrenjoey Headland: Spring flowers 
Barrenjoey Headland after fire
Bayview Baths
Bayview Pollution runoff persists: Resident states raw sewerage is being washed into the estuary
Bayview Public Wharf and Baths: Some History
Bayview Public Wharf Gone; Bayview Public Baths still not netted - Salt Pan Public Wharf Going
Bayview's new walkway, current state of the Bayview public Wharf & Baths + Maybanke Cove
Bayview Sea Scouts Hall: Some History
Bayview Wetlands
Beeby Park
Bilgola Beach
Bilgola Plateau Parks For The People: Gifted By A. J. Small, N. A. K. Wallis + The Green Pathways To Keep People Connected To The Trees, Birds, Bees - For Children To Play 
Botham Beach by Barbara Davies
Brown's Bay Public Wharf, on McCarrs Creek, Church Point: Some History
Bungan Beach Bush Care
Careel Bay Saltmarsh plants 
Careel Bay Birds  
Careel Bay Clean Up day
Careel Bay Marina Environs November 2024 - Spring Celebrations
Careel Bay Playing Fields History and Current
Careel Bay Steamer Wharf + Boatshed: some history 
Careel Creek 
Careel Creek - If you rebuild it they will come
Centre trail in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Chiltern Track- Ingleside by Marita Macrae
Clareville Beach
Clareville/Long Beach Reserve + some History
Clareville Public Wharf: 1885 to 1935 - Some History 
Coastal Stability Series: Cabbage Tree Bay To Barrenjoey To Observation Point by John Illingsworth, Pittwater Pathways, and Dr. Peter Mitchell OAM
Cowan Track by Kevin Murray
Curl Curl To Freshwater Walk: October 2021 by Kevin Murray and Joe Mills
Currawong and Palm Beach Views - Winter 2018
Currawong-Mackerel-The Basin A Stroll In Early November 2021 - photos by Selena Griffith
Currawong State Park Currawong Beach +  Currawong Creek
Deep Creek To Warriewood Walk photos by Joe Mills
Drone Gives A New View On Coastal Stability; Bungan: Bungan Headland To Newport Beach + Bilgola: North Newport Beach To Avalon + Bangalley: Avalon Headland To Palm Beach
Duck Holes: McCarrs Creek by Joe Mills
Dunbar Park - Some History + Toongari Reserve and Catalpa Reserve
Dundundra Falls Reserve: August 2020 photos by Selena Griffith - Listed in 1935
Elsie Track, Scotland Island
Elvina Track in Late Winter 2019 by Penny Gleen
Elvina Bay Walking Track: Spring 2020 photos by Joe Mills 
Elvina Bay-Lovett Bay Loop Spring 2020 by Kevin Murray and Joe Mills
Fern Creek - Ingleside Escarpment To Warriewood Walk + Some History photos by Joe Mills
Hordern Park, Palm Beach: Some History + 2024 Photos of park from top to beach
Iluka Park, Woorak Park, Pittwater Park, Sand Point Reserve, Snapperman Beach Reserve - Palm Beach: Some History
Ingleside
Ingleside Wildflowers August 2013

Irrawong Falls Walk May 2025 by Joe Mills
Irrawong - Ingleside Escarpment Trail Walk Spring 2020 photos by Joe Mills
Irrawong - Mullet Creek Restoration
Katandra Bushland Sanctuary - Ingleside
Lucinda Park, Palm Beach: Some History + 2022 Pictures
McCarrs Creek
McCarrs Creek Public Jetty, Brown's Bay Public Jetty, Rostrevor Reserve, Cargo Wharf, Church Point Public Wharf: a few pictures from the Site Investigations for Pittwater Public Wharves History series 2025
McCarr's Creek to Church Point to Bayview Waterfront Path
McKay Reserve
Milton Family Property History - Palm Beach By William (Bill) James Goddard II with photos courtesy of the Milton Family   - Snapperman to Sandy Point, Pittwater
Mona Vale Beach - A Stroll Along, Spring 2021 by Kevin Murray
Mona Vale Headland, Basin and Beach Restoration
Mona Vale Woolworths Front Entrance Gets Garden Upgrade: A Few Notes On The Site's History 
Mother Brushtail Killed On Barrenjoey Road: Baby Cried All Night - Powerful Owl Struck At Same Time At Careel Bay During Owlet Fledgling Season: calls for mitigation measures - The List of what you can do for those who ask 'What You I Do' as requested
Mount Murray Anderson Walking Track by Kevin Murray and Joe Mills
Mullet Creek
Muogamarra Nature Reserve in Cowan celebrates 90 years: a few insights into The Vision of John Duncan Tipper, Founder 
Muogamarra by Dr Peter Mitchell OAM and John Illingsworth
Narrabeen Creek
Narrabeen Lagoon Catchment: Past Notes Present Photos by Margaret Woods
Narrabeen Lagoon Entrance Clearing Works: September To October 2023  pictures by Joe Mills
Narrabeen Lagoon State Park
Narrabeen Lagoon State Park Expansion
Narrabeen Rockshelf Aquatic Reserve
Nerang Track, Terrey Hills by Bea Pierce
Newport Bushlink - the Crown of the Hill Linked Reserves
Newport Community Garden - Woolcott Reserve
Newport to Bilgola Bushlink 'From The Crown To The Sea' Paths:  Founded In 1956 - A Tip and Quarry Becomes Green Space For People and Wildlife 
Out and About July 2020 - Storm swell
Out & About: July 2024 - Barrenjoey To Paradise Beach To Bayview To Narrabeen + Middle Creek - by John Illingsworth, Adriaan van der Wallen, Joe Mills, Suzanne Daly, Jacqui Marlowe and AJG
Palm Beach Headland Becomes Australia’s First Urban Night Sky Place: Barrenjoey High School Alumni Marnie Ogg's Hard Work
Palm Beach Public Wharf: Some History 
Paradise Beach Baths renewal Complete - Taylor's Point Public Wharf Rebuild Underway
Realises Long-Held Dream For Everyone
Paradise Beach Wharf + Taylor's Wharf renewal projects: October 2024 pictorial update - update pics of Paradise Wharf and Pool renewal, pre-renewal Taylors Point wharf + a few others of Pittwater on a Spring Saturday afternoon
Pictures From The Past: Views Of Early Narrabeen Bridges - 1860 To 1966
Pittwater Beach Reserves Have Been Dedicated For Public Use Since 1887 - No 1.: Avalon Beach Reserve- Bequeathed By John Therry 
Pittwater Reserves: The Green Ways; Bungan Beach and Bungan Head Reserves:  A Headland Garden 
Pittwater Reserves, The Green Ways: Clareville Wharf and Taylor's Point Jetty
Pittwater Reserves: The Green Ways; Hordern, Wilshire Parks, McKay Reserve: From Beach to Estuary 
Pittwater Reserves - The Green Ways: Mona Vale's Village Greens a Map of the Historic Crown Lands Ethos Realised in The Village, Kitchener and Beeby Parks 
Pittwater Reserves: The Green Ways Bilgola Beach - The Cabbage Tree Gardens and Camping Grounds - Includes Bilgola - The Story Of A Politician, A Pilot and An Epicure by Tony Dawson and Anne Spencer  
Pittwater spring: waterbirds return to Wetlands
Pittwater's Lone Rangers - 120 Years of Ku-Ring-Gai Chase and the Men of Flowers Inspired by Eccleston Du Faur 
Pittwater's Great Outdoors: Spotted To The North, South, East + West- June 2023:  Palm Beach Boat House rebuild going well - First day of Winter Rainbow over Turimetta - what's Blooming in the bush? + more by Joe Mills, Selena Griffith and Pittwater Online
Pittwater's Parallel Estuary - The Cowan 'Creek
Pittwater Pathways To Public Lands & Reserves
Resolute Track at West Head by Kevin Murray
Resolute Track Stroll by Joe Mills
Riddle Reserve, Bayview
Salt Pan Cove Public Wharf on Regatta Reserve + Florence Park + Salt Pan Reserve + Refuge Cove Reserve: Some History
Salt Pan Public Wharf, Regatta Reserve, Florence Park, Salt Pan Cove Reserve, Refuge Cove Reserve Pictorial and Information
Salvation Loop Trail, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park- Spring 2020 - by Selena Griffith
Scotland Island Dieback Accelerating: November 2024
Seagull Pair At Turimetta Beach: Spring Is In The Air!
Some late November Insects (2023)
Stapleton Reserve
Stapleton Park Reserve In Spring 2020: An Urban Ark Of Plants Found Nowhere Else
Stealing The Bush: Pittwater's Trees Changes - Some History 
Stokes Point To Taylor's Point: An Ideal Picnic, Camping & Bathing Place 
Stony Range Regional Botanical Garden: Some History On How A Reserve Became An Australian Plant Park
Taylor's Point Public Wharf 2013-2020 History
The Chiltern Track
The Chiltern Trail On The Verge Of Spring 2023 by Kevin Murray and Joe Mills
The 'Newport Loop': Some History 
The Resolute Beach Loop Track At West Head In Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park by Kevin Murray
Topham Track Ku-Ring-Gai Chase NP,  August 2022 by Joe Mills and Kevin Murray
Towlers Bay Walking Track by Joe Mills
Trafalgar Square, Newport: A 'Commons' Park Dedicated By Private Landholders - The Green Heart Of This Community
Tranquil Turimetta Beach, April 2022 by Joe Mills
Turimetta Beach Reserve by Joe Mills, Bea Pierce and Lesley
Turimetta Beach Reserve: Old & New Images (by Kevin Murray) + Some History
Turimetta Headland
Turimetta Moods by Joe Mills: June 2023
Turimetta Moods (Week Ending June 23 2023) by Joe Mills
Turimetta Moods: June To July 2023 Pictures by Joe Mills
Turimetta Moods: July Becomes August 2023 by Joe Mills
Turimetta Moods: August Becomes September 2023 ; North Narrabeen - Turimetta - Warriewood - Mona Vale photographs by Joe Mills
Turimetta Moods: Mid-September To Mid-October 2023 by Joe Mills
Turimetta Moods: Late Spring Becomes Summer 2023-2024 by Joe Mills
Turimetta Moods: Warriewood Wetlands Perimeter Walk October 2024 by Joe Mills
Turimetta Moods: November 2024 by Joe Mills
Turimetta Moods: mid-February to Mid- March 2025 by Joe Mills
Warriewood Wetlands - Creeks Deteriorating: How To Report Construction Site Breaches, Weed Infestations + The Long Campaign To Save The Warriewood Wetlands & Ingleside Escarpment March 2023
Warriewood Wetlands and Irrawong Reserve
Whale Beach Ocean Reserve: 'The Strand' - Some History On Another Great Protected Pittwater Reserve
Whale Migration Season: Grab A Seaside Pew For The Annual Whalesong But Keep Them Safe If Going Out On The Water
Wilshire Park Palm Beach: Some History + Photos From May 2022
Winji Jimmi - Water Maze

Pittwater's Birds

Attracting Insectivore Birds to Your Garden: DIY Natural Tick Control small bird insectivores, species like the Silvereye, Spotted Pardalote, Gerygone, Fairywren and Thornbill, feed on ticks. Attracting these birds back into your garden will provide not only a residence for tick eaters but also the delightful moments watching these tiny birds provides.
Aussie Backyard Bird Count 2017: Take part from 23 - 29 October - how many birds live here?
Aussie Backyard Bird Count 2018 - Our Annual 'What Bird Is That?' Week Is Here! This week the annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count runs from 22-28 October 2018. Pittwater is one of those places fortunate to have birds that thrive because of an Aquatic environment, a tall treed Bush environment and areas set aside for those that dwell closer to the ground, in a sand, scrub or earth environment. To take part all you need is 20 minutes and your favourite outdoor space. Head to the website and register as a Counter today! And if you're a teacher, check out BirdLife Australia's Bird Count curriculum-based lesson plans to get your students (or the whole school!) involved

Australian Predators of the Sky by Penny Olsen - published by National Library of Australia

Australian Raven  Australian Wood Duck Family at Newport

A Week In Pittwater Issue 128   A Week In Pittwater - June 2014 Issue 168

Baby Birds Spring 2015 - Rainbow Lorikeets in our Yard - for Children Baby Birds by Lynleigh Greig, Southern Cross Wildlife Care - what do if being chased by a nesting magpie or if you find a baby bird on the ground

Baby Kookaburras in our Backyard: Aussie Bird Count 2016 - October

Balloons Are The Number 1 Marine Debris Risk Of Mortality For Our Seabirds - Feb 2019 Study

Bangalley Mid-Winter   Barrenjoey Birds Bird Antics This Week: December 2016

Bird of the Month February 2019 by Michael Mannington

Birdland Above the Estuary - October 2012  Birds At Our Window   Birds at our Window - Winter 2014  Birdland June 2016

Birdsong Is a Lovesong at This time of The Year - Brown Falcon, Little Wattle Bird, Australian Pied cormorant, Mangrove or Striated Heron, Great Egret, Grey Butcherbird, White-faced Heron 

Bird Songs – poems about our birds by youngsters from yesterdays - for children Bird Week 2015: 19-25 October

Bird Songs For Spring 2016 For Children by Joanne Seve

Birds at Careel Creek this Week - November 2017: includes Bird Count 2017 for Local Birds - BirdLife Australia by postcode

Black Cockatoo photographed in the Narrabeen Catchment Reserves this week by Margaret G Woods - July 2019

Black-Necked Stork, Mycteria Australis, Now Endangered In NSW, Once Visited Pittwater: Breeding Pair shot in 1855

Black Swans on Narrabeen Lagoon - April 2013   Black Swans Pictorial

Brush Turkeys In Suburbia: There's An App For That - Citizen Scientists Called On To Spot Brush Turkeys In Their Backyards
Buff-banded Rail spotted at Careel Creek 22.12.2012: a breeding pair and a fluffy black chick

Cayley & Son - The life and Art of Neville Henry Cayley & Neville William Cayley by Penny Olsen - great new book on the art works on birds of these Australian gentlemen and a few insights from the author herself
Crimson Rosella - + Historical Articles on

Death By 775 Cuts: How Conservation Law Is Failing The Black-Throated Finch - new study 'How to Send a Finch Extinct' now published

Eastern Rosella - and a little more about our progression to protecting our birds instead of exporting them or decimating them.

Endangered Little Tern Fishing at Mona Vale Beach

‘Feather Map of Australia’: Citizen scientists can support the future of Australia's wetland birds: for Birdwatchers, school students and everyone who loves our estuarine and lagoon and wetland birds

First Week of Spring 2014

Fledgling Common Koel Adopted by Red Wattlebird -Summer Bird fest 2013  Flegdlings of Summer - January 2012

Flocks of Colour by Penny Olsen - beautiful new Bird Book Celebrates the 'Land of the Parrots'

Friendly Goose at Palm Beach Wharf - Pittwater's Own Mother Goose

Front Page Issue 177  Front Page Issue 185 Front Page Issue 193 - Discarded Fishing Tackle killing shorebirds Front Page Issue 203 - Juvenile Brush Turkey  Front Page Issue 208 - Lyrebird by Marita Macrae Front Page Issue 219  Superb Fairy Wren Female  Front Page Issue 234National Bird Week October 19-25  and the 2015 the Aussie Back Yard Bird Count: Australia's First Bird Counts - a 115 Year Legacy - with a small insight into our first zoos Front Page Issue 236: Bird Week 2015 Front Page Issue 244: watebirds Front Page Issue 260: White-face Heron at Careel Creek Front Page Issue 283: Pittwater + more birds for Bird Week/Aussie Bird Count  Front Page Issue 284: Pittwater + more birds for Bird Week/Aussie Bird Count Front Page Issue 285: Bird Week 2016  Front Page Issue 331: Spring Visitor Birds Return

G . E. Archer Russell (1881-1960) and His Passion For Avifauna From Narrabeen To Newport 

Glossy Black-Cockatoo Returns To Pittwater by Paul Wheeler Glossy Cockatoos - 6 spotted at Careel Bay February 2018

Grey Butcher Birds of Pittwater

Harry Wolstenholme (June 21, 1868 - October 14, 1930) Ornithologist Of Palm Beach, Bird Man Of Wahroonga 

INGLESIDE LAND RELEASE ON AGAIN BUT MANY CHALLENGES  AHEAD by David Palmer

Issue 60 May 2012 Birdland - Smiles- Beamings -Early -Winter - Blooms

Jayden Walsh’s Northern Beaches Big Year - courtesy Pittwater Natural Heritage Association

John Gould's Extinct and Endangered Mammals of Australia  by Dr. Fred Ford - Between 1850 and 1950 as many mammals disappeared from the Australian continent as had disappeared from the rest of the world between 1600 and 2000! Zoologist Fred Ford provides fascinating, and often poignant, stories of European attitudes and behaviour towards Australia's native fauna and connects these to the animal's fate today in this beautiful new book - our interview with the author

July 2012 Pittwater Environment Snippets; Birds, Sea and Flowerings

Juvenile Sea Eagle at Church Point - for children

King Parrots in Our Front Yard  

Kookaburra Turf Kookaburra Fledglings Summer 2013  Kookaburra Nesting Season by Ray Chappelow  Kookaburra Nest – Babies at 1.5 and 2.5 weeks old by Ray Chappelow  Kookaburra Nest – Babies at 3 and 4 weeks old by Ray Chappelow  Kookaburra Nest – Babies at 5 weeks old by Ray Chappelow Kookaburra and Pittwater Fledglings February 2020 to April 2020

Lion Island's Little Penguins (Fairy Penguins) Get Fireproof Homes - thanks to NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Fix it Sisters Shed

Lorikeet - Summer 2015 Nectar

Lyre Bird Sings in Local National Park - Flock of Black Cockatoos spotted - June 2019

Magpie's Melodic Melodies - For Children (includes 'The Magpie's Song' by F S Williamson)

Masked Lapwing (Plover) - Reflected

May 2012 Birdland Smiles Beamings Early Winter Blooms 

Mistletoebird At Bayview

Musk Lorikeets In Pittwater: Pittwater Spotted Gum Flower Feast - May 2020

Nankeen Kestrel Feasting at Newport: May 2016

National Bird Week 2014 - Get Involved in the Aussie Backyard Bird Count: National Bird Week 2014 will take place between Monday 20 October and Sunday 26 October, 2014. BirdLife Australia and the Birds in Backyards team have come together to launch this year’s national Bird Week event the Aussie Backyard Bird Count! This is one the whole family can do together and become citizen scientists...

National Bird Week October 19-25  and the 2015 the Aussie Back Yard Bird Count: Australia's First Bird Counts - a 115 Year Legacy - with a small insight into our first zoos

Native Duck Hunting Season Opens in Tasmania and Victoria March 2018: hundreds of thousands of endangered birds being killed - 'legally'!

Nature 2015 Review Earth Air Water Stone

New Family of Barking Owls Seen in Bayview - Church Point by Pittwater Council

Noisy Visitors by Marita Macrae of PNHA 

Odes to Australia's Fairy-wrens by Douglas Brooke Wheelton Sladen and Constance Le Plastrier 1884 and 1926

Oystercatcher and Dollarbird Families - Summer visitors

Pacific Black Duck Bath

Painted Button-Quail Rescued By Locals - Elanora-Ingleside escarpment-Warriewood wetlands birds

Palm Beach Protection Group Launch, Supporters InvitedSaturday Feb.16th - Residents Are Saying 'NO' To Off-Leash Dogs In Station Beach Eco-System - reports over 50 dogs a day on Station Beach throughout December-January (a No Dogs Beach) small children being jumped on, Native birds chased, dog faeces being left, families with toddlers leaving beach to get away from uncontrolled dogs and 'Failure of Process' in council 'consultation' open to February 28th 

Pardalote, Scrub Wren and a Thornbill of Pittwater

Pecking Order by Robyn McWilliam

Pelican Lamps at Narrabeen  Pelican Dreamsong - A Legend of the Great Flood - dreamtime legend for children

Pittwater Becalmed  Pittwater Birds in Careel Creek Spring 2018   Pittwater Waterbirds Spring 2011  Pittwater Waterbirds - A Celebration for World Oceans Day 2015

Pittwater's Little Penguin Colony: The Saving of the Fairies of Lion Island Commenced 65 Years Ago this Year - 2019

Pittwater's Mother Nature for Mother's Day 2019

Pittwater's Waterhens: Some Notes - Narrabeen Creek Bird Gathering: Curious Juvenile Swamp Hen On Warriewood Boardwalk + Dusky Moorhens + Buff Banded Rails In Careel Creek

Plastic in 99 percent of seabirds by 2050 by CSIRO

Plover Appreciation Day September 16th 2015

Powerful and Precious by Lynleigh Grieg

Red Wattlebird Song - November 2012

Restoring The Diamond: every single drop. A Reason to Keep Dogs and Cats in at Night. 

Return Of Australasian Figbird Pair: A Reason To Keep The Trees - Aussie Bird Count 2023 (16–22 October) You can get involved here: aussiebirdcount.org.au

Salt Air Creatures Feb.2013

Scaly-breasted Lorikeet

Sea Birds off the Pittwater Coast: Albatross, Gannet, Skau + Australian Poets 1849, 1898 and 1930, 1932

Sea Eagle Juvenile at Church Point

Seagulls at Narrabeen Lagoon

Seen but Not Heard: Lilian Medland's Birds - Christobel Mattingley - one of Australia's premier Ornithological illustrators was a Queenscliff lady - 53 of her previously unpublished works have now been made available through the auspices of the National Library of Australia in a beautiful new book

7 Little Ducklings: Just Keep Paddling - Australian Wood Duck family take over local pool by Peta Wise 

Shag on a North Avalon Rock -  Seabirds for World Oceans Day 2012

Short-tailed Shearwaters Spring Migration 2013 

South-West North-East Issue 176 Pictorial

Spring 2012 - Birds are Splashing - Bees are Buzzing

Spring Becomes Summer 2014- Royal Spoonbill Pair at Careel Creek

Spring Notes 2018 - Royal Spoonbill in Careel Creek

Station Beach Off Leash Dog Area Proposal Ignores Current Uses Of Area, Environment, Long-Term Fauna Residents, Lack Of Safe Parking and Clearly Stated Intentions Of Proponents have your say until February 28, 2019

Summer 2013 BirdFest - Brown Thornbill  Summer 2013 BirdFest- Canoodlers and getting Wet to Cool off  Summer 2013 Bird Fest - Little Black Cormorant   Summer 2013 BirdFest - Magpie Lark

The Mopoke or Tawny Frogmouth – For Children - A little bit about these birds, an Australian Mopoke Fairy Story from 91 years ago, some poems and more - photo by Adrian Boddy
Winter Bird Party by Joanne Seve

New Shorebirds WingThing  For Youngsters Available To Download

A Shorebirds WingThing educational brochure for kids (A5) helps children learn about shorebirds, their life and journey. The 2021 revised brochure version was published in February 2021 and is available now. You can download a file copy here.

If you would like a free print copy of this brochure, please send a self-addressed envelope with A$1.10 postage (or larger if you would like it unfolded) affixed to: BirdLife Australia, Shorebird WingThing Request, 2-05Shorebird WingThing/60 Leicester St, Carlton VIC 3053.


Shorebird Identification Booklet

The Migratory Shorebird Program has just released the third edition of its hugely popular Shorebird Identification Booklet. The team has thoroughly revised and updated this pocket-sized companion for all shorebird counters and interested birders, with lots of useful information on our most common shorebirds, key identification features, sighting distribution maps and short articles on some of BirdLife’s shorebird activities. 

The booklet can be downloaded here in PDF file format: http://www.birdlife.org.au/documents/Shorebird_ID_Booklet_V3.pdf

Paper copies can be ordered as well, see http://www.birdlife.org.au/projects/shorebirds-2020/counter-resources for details.

Download BirdLife Australia's children’s education kit to help them learn more about our wading birdlife

Shorebirds are a group of wading birds that can be found feeding on swamps, tidal mudflats, estuaries, beaches and open country. For many people, shorebirds are just those brown birds feeding a long way out on the mud but they are actually a remarkably diverse collection of birds including stilts, sandpipers, snipe, curlews, godwits, plovers and oystercatchers. Each species is superbly adapted to suit its preferred habitat.  The Red-necked Stint is as small as a sparrow, with relatively short legs and bill that it pecks food from the surface of the mud with, whereas the Eastern Curlew is over two feet long with a exceptionally long legs and a massively curved beak that it thrusts deep down into the mud to pull out crabs, worms and other creatures hidden below the surface.

Some shorebirds are fairly drab in plumage, especially when they are visiting Australia in their non-breeding season, but when they migrate to their Arctic nesting grounds, they develop a vibrant flush of bright colours to attract a mate. We have 37 types of shorebirds that annually migrate to Australia on some of the most lengthy and arduous journeys in the animal kingdom, but there are also 18 shorebirds that call Australia home all year round.

What all our shorebirds have in common—be they large or small, seasoned traveller or homebody, brightly coloured or in muted tones—is that each species needs adequate safe areas where they can successfully feed and breed.

The National Shorebird Monitoring Program is managed and supported by BirdLife Australia. 

This project is supported by Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority and Hunter Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program. Funding from Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and Port Phillip Bay Fund is acknowledged. 

The National Shorebird Monitoring Program is made possible with the help of over 1,600 volunteers working in coastal and inland habitats all over Australia. 

The National Shorebird Monitoring program (started as the Shorebirds 2020 project initiated to re-invigorate monitoring around Australia) is raising awareness of how incredible shorebirds are, and actively engaging the community to participate in gathering information needed to conserve shorebirds. 

In the short term, the destruction of tidal ecosystems will need to be stopped, and our program is designed to strengthen the case for protecting these important habitats. 

In the long term, there will be a need to mitigate against the likely effects of climate change on a species that travels across the entire range of latitudes where impacts are likely. 

The identification and protection of critical areas for shorebirds will need to continue in order to guard against the potential threats associated with habitats in close proximity to nearly half the human population. 

Here in Australia, the place where these birds grow up and spend most of their lives, continued monitoring is necessary to inform the best management practice to maintain shorebird populations. 

BirdLife Australia believe that we can help secure a brighter future for these remarkable birds by educating stakeholders, gathering information on how and why shorebird populations are changing, and working to grow the community of people who care about shorebirds.

To find out more visit: http://www.birdlife.org.au/projects/shorebirds-2020/shorebirds-2020-program