Department Seeks Community Input On Improving Environmental Impact Assessments
Planning For The Future Of Royal National Park: Have Your Say
Petition: Rescind Adani's Unlimited Water License And Support Aussie Farmers!
Bouddi Coastal Walk Stepping Up For Visitors
UNESCO Agrees Reef 2050 Plan Is On Track
If Great Barrier Reef Crisis Is A Win, What Does Losing Look Like To Australia’s Environment Minister?
SMART Drumline Trial Expands
EPA Fines Mount Thorley Blasting Company After Diesel Leak
Joint Operation Targets Illegal Hunting Around Khancoban
Have Your Say On Mallee Cliffs National Park Draft Plan Of Management
Plastic Free July A Chance To Support Avalon Boomerang Bags
Navigation Warning - NSW Coastal Waters: Whale Migration Season
Bushcare’s Major Day Out At Mona Vale 2017
Mount Pleasant Coal Mine Modification 3
Update: Review Of Environmental Factors: Proposed Use And Upgrade Of Access Trail In Royal National Park For Bundeena Coast Eco Lodge
Grants Of Up To $3 Million Available For Innovative Solutions For Organic Waste
New Plant Species Discovered In New National Park In Australia
Fruit of Solanum jobsonii, a relative of the cultivated eggplant. Credit: Chris Martine
June 28, 2017
A team of botanists from the US has named a new bush tomato species, based on collections made by their Australian colleagues, during government-funded surveys in a brand new national park.
After looking at collections from biodiversity surveys of a 10,000 km2 area now known as Limmen National Park, Bucknell University biology professor, Chris Martine, decided to form an expedition to relocate and describe a mysterious bush tomato uncovered during the government-sponsored studies.
A year later, Martine and his co-authors, including an undergraduate student, have published the new species in the open access journal PhytoKeys. The discovery offers a powerful case for investing in conservation through park systems at a time when these systems are under threat.
For the team of US scientists, knowing where to go was one challenge, but understanding the landscape in such a remote corner of the Australian Northern Territory and figuring out how to get there was quite another. Martine and his team from Bucknell (undergraduate lead author Mae Lacey and postdoctoral fellow Jason T. Cantley) could not do it without the local assistance and expertise of Peter Jobson, Senior Botanist at the Northern Territory Herbarium in Alice Springs.
To acknowledge the pivotal role of Jobson in the successful search, the new species, Solanum jobsonii, has been named after him.
"Jobson is one of a handful of botanists employed by the Northern Territory government who are tasked with stewarding a vastly diverse flora," explains Martine. "Not only are many species there of conservation concern, but unknown numbers of species are yet to be found and given names. Those scientists are doing yeoman's work."
Martine named a previously discovered species for Ian Cowie, the Curator at the Northern Territory Herbarium in Palmerston, in 2011. Solanum cowiei, a species from Litchfield National Park, was described in a paper appearing also in PhytoKeys.
The scientists hope that the discovery of this latest new species turns a spotlight on the importance of protecting natural areas and supporting the individuals who are charged with their care.
"Notably, the use of trained biodiversity scientists in surveys of the proposed parkland provided masses of data in support of protecting this area as a national treasure," write the authors in the article. "The discovery of the new species described here, and the potential description of other new forms of biodiversity from Limmen National Park, is a testament to the benefits of not only investing in national parks in Australia and elsewhere, but also investing in parks-based scientific inquiry."
The new species, a relative of the cultivated eggplant, has been recorded under specific habitat conditions from only four locations in the monsoon tropics of northern Australia. Because of this, Martine and his colleagues have suggested that it be listed as "Vulnerable" as per the Red List Categories and Criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
"There are rare and unusual species all over the world, just like this one, that deserve our appreciation and protection"" said Martine. "Luckily, many are already living within the boundaries of conservation areas like state and national parks in Australia, the US, and elsewhere."
"However, the rise of anti-science and anti-conservation rhetoric in the US, especially, has put federal and state protected lands here at risk," he said. "It also threatens the rich biodiversity our Founding Fathers celebrated and the American scientific enterprise they held so dear."
L. Mae Lacey, Jason T. Cantley, Christopher T. Martine. Solanum jobsonii, a novel andromonoecious bush tomato species from a new Australian national park. PhytoKeys, 2017; 82: 1 DOI:10.3897/phytokeys.82.12106
The Madhouse effect: What is stopping
action on climate change ????
July 7th, 2017: UNSWAs evidence of climate change becomes more obvious, substantive action on climate change in Australia is as stalled as ever. In the US, the Trump administration is rolling back climate change initiatives and environmental protections as fast as it can.
Why is this happening? What are the factors that push governments to policy inertia or worse? What role can business and the community play? And what needs to shift if we want effective action on climate change?
Part of the UNSW Grand Challenge on Climate Change, the panel brings together noted US climatologist Michael E. Mann, psychologist Stephan Lewandowsky and activist Anna Rose to look at these complex questions from a range of perspectives and to share their suggestions for how to break the stalemate.
About the speakers:Stephen Lewandowsky is a cognitive scientist who is interested in unravelling how memory and decision-making work. His recent work looks at how misinformation persists and spreads in societies and in particular why people may not accept scientific evidence about issues like climate change and vaccinations. He is a Professor in the School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol.
Michael E. Mann is one of the authors of a key paper that reconstructed the historical climate record and showed in the ‘hockey-stick graph’ dramatic temperature increases in the 20th century. His ongoing work, and his willingness to speak out about it has made him the target of campaigns to intimidate and discredit him by the fossil-fuel lobby in the US. He is the Director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University and co-founder of the blog RealClimate.
Anna Rose is the co-founder of the Youth Climate Coalition and was until recently, the Chair of its board. In 2012, she co-starred in an ABC documentary, I Can Change Your Mind on Climate Change and released her first full-length book, Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic. Rose is the convenor of the Vice-Chancellor's Leadership & Influence course at the Australian National University.
Emma Alberici (Chair) is the presenter of ABC Television’s flagship current affairs program Lateline. Before that she spent four years as the Europe Correspondent for the ABC based in the UK and was previously the Finance Editor of 7.30. She has a Bachelor of Arts (journalism) and Economics and is the author of three editions of The Small Business Book published by Penguin.
DETAILSWhat: The Madhouse effect: What is stopping action on climate change?When: Wednesday, 16 August, 6.30-8pmWhere: The Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera HouseTickets: $38.50 (including booking fee)
There will be opportunities for book sales and signings after the session.
The Grand Challenges Program was established by UNSW to promote and lead critical discussions on some of the greatest issues facing humanity. There are currently four declared Grand Challenge topics – Climate Change, Refugees & Migrants, Inequality and Living with 21st Century Technology.
For more information visit the UNSW Grand Challenges website.
Fruit of Solanum jobsonii, a relative of the cultivated eggplant. Credit: Chris Martine
June 28, 2017
A team of botanists from the US has named a new bush tomato species, based on collections made by their Australian colleagues, during government-funded surveys in a brand new national park.
After looking at collections from biodiversity surveys of a 10,000 km2 area now known as Limmen National Park, Bucknell University biology professor, Chris Martine, decided to form an expedition to relocate and describe a mysterious bush tomato uncovered during the government-sponsored studies.
A year later, Martine and his co-authors, including an undergraduate student, have published the new species in the open access journal PhytoKeys. The discovery offers a powerful case for investing in conservation through park systems at a time when these systems are under threat.
For the team of US scientists, knowing where to go was one challenge, but understanding the landscape in such a remote corner of the Australian Northern Territory and figuring out how to get there was quite another. Martine and his team from Bucknell (undergraduate lead author Mae Lacey and postdoctoral fellow Jason T. Cantley) could not do it without the local assistance and expertise of Peter Jobson, Senior Botanist at the Northern Territory Herbarium in Alice Springs.
To acknowledge the pivotal role of Jobson in the successful search, the new species, Solanum jobsonii, has been named after him.
"Jobson is one of a handful of botanists employed by the Northern Territory government who are tasked with stewarding a vastly diverse flora," explains Martine. "Not only are many species there of conservation concern, but unknown numbers of species are yet to be found and given names. Those scientists are doing yeoman's work."
Martine named a previously discovered species for Ian Cowie, the Curator at the Northern Territory Herbarium in Palmerston, in 2011. Solanum cowiei, a species from Litchfield National Park, was described in a paper appearing also in PhytoKeys.
The scientists hope that the discovery of this latest new species turns a spotlight on the importance of protecting natural areas and supporting the individuals who are charged with their care.
"Notably, the use of trained biodiversity scientists in surveys of the proposed parkland provided masses of data in support of protecting this area as a national treasure," write the authors in the article. "The discovery of the new species described here, and the potential description of other new forms of biodiversity from Limmen National Park, is a testament to the benefits of not only investing in national parks in Australia and elsewhere, but also investing in parks-based scientific inquiry."
The new species, a relative of the cultivated eggplant, has been recorded under specific habitat conditions from only four locations in the monsoon tropics of northern Australia. Because of this, Martine and his colleagues have suggested that it be listed as "Vulnerable" as per the Red List Categories and Criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
"There are rare and unusual species all over the world, just like this one, that deserve our appreciation and protection"" said Martine. "Luckily, many are already living within the boundaries of conservation areas like state and national parks in Australia, the US, and elsewhere."
"However, the rise of anti-science and anti-conservation rhetoric in the US, especially, has put federal and state protected lands here at risk," he said. "It also threatens the rich biodiversity our Founding Fathers celebrated and the American scientific enterprise they held so dear."
L. Mae Lacey, Jason T. Cantley, Christopher T. Martine. Solanum jobsonii, a novel andromonoecious bush tomato species from a new Australian national park. PhytoKeys, 2017; 82: 1 DOI:10.3897/phytokeys.82.12106
The Madhouse effect: What is stopping
action on climate change ????
July 7th, 2017: UNSW
As evidence of climate change becomes more obvious, substantive action on climate change in Australia is as stalled as ever. In the US, the Trump administration is rolling back climate change initiatives and environmental protections as fast as it can.
Why is this happening? What are the factors that push governments to policy inertia or worse? What role can business and the community play? And what needs to shift if we want effective action on climate change?
Part of the UNSW Grand Challenge on Climate Change, the panel brings together noted US climatologist Michael E. Mann, psychologist Stephan Lewandowsky and activist Anna Rose to look at these complex questions from a range of perspectives and to share their suggestions for how to break the stalemate.
About the speakers:
Stephen Lewandowsky is a cognitive scientist who is interested in unravelling how memory and decision-making work. His recent work looks at how misinformation persists and spreads in societies and in particular why people may not accept scientific evidence about issues like climate change and vaccinations. He is a Professor in the School of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol.
Michael E. Mann is one of the authors of a key paper that reconstructed the historical climate record and showed in the ‘hockey-stick graph’ dramatic temperature increases in the 20th century. His ongoing work, and his willingness to speak out about it has made him the target of campaigns to intimidate and discredit him by the fossil-fuel lobby in the US. He is the Director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University and co-founder of the blog RealClimate.
Anna Rose is the co-founder of the Youth Climate Coalition and was until recently, the Chair of its board. In 2012, she co-starred in an ABC documentary, I Can Change Your Mind on Climate Change and released her first full-length book, Madlands: A Journey to Change the Mind of a Climate Sceptic. Rose is the convenor of the Vice-Chancellor's Leadership & Influence course at the Australian National University.
Emma Alberici (Chair) is the presenter of ABC Television’s flagship current affairs program Lateline. Before that she spent four years as the Europe Correspondent for the ABC based in the UK and was previously the Finance Editor of 7.30. She has a Bachelor of Arts (journalism) and Economics and is the author of three editions of The Small Business Book published by Penguin.
DETAILS
What: The Madhouse effect: What is stopping action on climate change?
When: Wednesday, 16 August, 6.30-8pm
Where: The Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Tickets: $38.50 (including booking fee)
There will be opportunities for book sales and signings after the session.
The Grand Challenges Program was established by UNSW to promote and lead critical discussions on some of the greatest issues facing humanity. There are currently four declared Grand Challenge topics – Climate Change, Refugees & Migrants, Inequality and Living with 21st Century Technology.
For more information visit the UNSW Grand Challenges website.
NSW'S BEST JUNIOR SURFERS TO HIT PORT MACQUARIE FOR THE 2017 NSW STATE JUNIOR SURFING TITLES
MAROUBRA BEACH, SYDNEY Wednesday, 5 July 2017By Surfing NSW The NSW State Junior Surfing Titles pres. by Ocean and Earth will call Port Macquarie home again in 2017, with 250 of the state’s best junior surfers partaking in the competition.
The prestigious seven-day event will run from Friday 14th – Thursday 20th July, 2017 and determine the qualifiers for the Havaianas NSW Junior Team for the 2017 Surf Dive N Ski Australian Junior Titles.
All qualifiers for the NSW State Junior Surfing Titles pres. by Ocean and Earth were determined by eight individual regional titles, which took place up and down the NSW coastline earlier in 2017.
“We’re delighted to be one of Surfing NSW’s preferred locations for the Junior State Titles, and welcome this popular event back to Port Macquarie this year,” said Port Macquarie-Hastings Deputy Mayor, Lisa Intemann.
“You’ll be spoilt for choice with our spectacular coastline, great waves, gorgeous hinterland and fabulous culinary options and we encourage competitors and their families to take the opportunity to explore our beautiful region over the week, when they’re not checking the surf of course.”
The last two days of the event will comprise of the NSW School Surfing Titles.
2017 will be the seventh year Surfing NSW will combine the NSW School Surfing Titles into the event.
Former competitors in the Ocean and Earth NSW Junior State Titles include current World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) surfers Owen and Tyler Wright, Matt Banting, Stuart Kennedy, Sally Fitzgibbons, Laura Enever, Ryan Callinan and Connor O'Leary.
The event will be fully mobile in the Port Macquarie area with Town Beach, Flynns Beach, Light House Beach, Rainbow Beach (Bonny Hills) and North Haven Beach all venue options.
The daily schedule and location will be confirmed via the event hotline at 6:45am each day. The event hotline is 0458 247 212.
The NSW State Junior Surfing Titles pres. by Ocean and Earth is proudly supported by Ocean and Earth, HIF, Australian Skin Cancer Clinics, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Big4 Bonny Hills Holiday Park, NBN, Toyota, Mothernest, Havaianas, Ohana Ocean Athletics and Surfing NSW
Above: 2016 Under-16 NSW Junior Champion Jay Brown (Cronulla) will be returning to the NSW State Junior Surfing Titles pres. by Ocean and Earth at Port Macquarie. Photo by Ethan Smith/Surfing NSW
MAROUBRA BEACH, SYDNEY
Wednesday, 5 July 2017
By Surfing NSW
The NSW State Junior Surfing Titles pres. by Ocean and Earth will call Port Macquarie home again in 2017, with 250 of the state’s best junior surfers partaking in the competition.
The prestigious seven-day event will run from Friday 14th – Thursday 20th July, 2017 and determine the qualifiers for the Havaianas NSW Junior Team for the 2017 Surf Dive N Ski Australian Junior Titles.
All qualifiers for the NSW State Junior Surfing Titles pres. by Ocean and Earth were determined by eight individual regional titles, which took place up and down the NSW coastline earlier in 2017.
“We’re delighted to be one of Surfing NSW’s preferred locations for the Junior State Titles, and welcome this popular event back to Port Macquarie this year,” said Port Macquarie-Hastings Deputy Mayor, Lisa Intemann.
“You’ll be spoilt for choice with our spectacular coastline, great waves, gorgeous hinterland and fabulous culinary options and we encourage competitors and their families to take the opportunity to explore our beautiful region over the week, when they’re not checking the surf of course.”
The last two days of the event will comprise of the NSW School Surfing Titles.
2017 will be the seventh year Surfing NSW will combine the NSW School Surfing Titles into the event.
Former competitors in the Ocean and Earth NSW Junior State Titles include current World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) surfers Owen and Tyler Wright, Matt Banting, Stuart Kennedy, Sally Fitzgibbons, Laura Enever, Ryan Callinan and Connor O'Leary.
The event will be fully mobile in the Port Macquarie area with Town Beach, Flynns Beach, Light House Beach, Rainbow Beach (Bonny Hills) and North Haven Beach all venue options.
The daily schedule and location will be confirmed via the event hotline at 6:45am each day. The event hotline is 0458 247 212.
The NSW State Junior Surfing Titles pres. by Ocean and Earth is proudly supported by Ocean and Earth, HIF, Australian Skin Cancer Clinics, Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Big4 Bonny Hills Holiday Park, NBN, Toyota, Mothernest, Havaianas, Ohana Ocean Athletics and Surfing NSW
Above: 2016 Under-16 NSW Junior Champion Jay Brown (Cronulla) will be returning to the NSW State Junior Surfing Titles pres. by Ocean and Earth at Port Macquarie. Photo by Ethan Smith/Surfing NSW
What Do They Want? Agriculture’s Young Leaders Tell RIRDC
03 July, 2017
OPINIONManaging Director of Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) John Harvey has been meeting with agriculture’s next generation of industry leaders, and he is seriously impressed. The next challenge, he says, is providing them with the support, networks and services they need to ensure the industry’s bright future.
________________________
The agriculture sector’s importance to Australia’s national economy has never been greater. It currently contributes $63 billion (2.3 per cent) of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the country’s bottom line and according to National Farmer’s Federation has the potential to rival the mining sector and tip over $100 billion by 2030.
It was with this big and bright future in mind that RIRDC set out to host seven Regional Innovation Conversation events, meeting with agriculture’s young leaders from every state and territory.
Having met 150 of these young leaders in recent months, it’s safe to say they’re up to the challenge. In fact, I’ve been blown away by the enormous talent and enthusiasm of Australia’s next generation of agricultural leaders.
RIRDC’s reason for meeting with them was to discuss the issues and challenges they’re facing and discover what support they need to succeed; however, almost to a fault, we found these young people are just getting on with the job.
Whether they are part of a farming enterprise, researchers, entrepreneurs, business owners, working in the supply chain or providing services to agriculture these young people share a ‘can-do’ attitude and a steely determination to succeed.
We also discovered that they are learning and networking differently. They aren’t joining traditional farmer organisations or reading traditional publications and media.
They’re getting their information, networking with each other and sharing knowledge via social media. But interestingly, they realise that in order to flourish professionally they need to be better connected; not just online and not just to each other but to people from other industries and countries with useful skills and experience. Real collaboration and the ability to be a part of a supportive innovation ecosystem was considered a critical ingredient that could lead to risk taking and innovation.
Technology doesn’t just influence their information consumption and the way they connect with others in their industry, it’s also creating an increasingly complex industry and workplace environment for these young people to become leaders – which is both an opportunity and a threat.
There was real excitement in the group about how on-farm decision making is being augmented by information from digital technology such as sensors, drones and robots. Plus the efficiency potential of autonomous vehicles, smart irrigation systems, 3D printing and more was an exciting prospect for this next generation of leaders.
Darrin Lee, a grazier and avid fisherman from Mingenew in Western Australia, brought this potential to life when he told us about how he uses low-bandwidth sensors to monitor water trough levels from his fishing boat and can then turn on a pump with a click on his phone.
There was also a lot of excitement from young leaders in the cotton industry about emerging technologies that make it possible to automate and remotely manage irrigation on their farms. New ‘smart syphon’ or ‘smart irrigation’ systems are being trialled extensively in Northern NSW and in Victoria companies like Rubicon Water are leading the way with inventions like the Smart Furrow Automation Irrigation Solution. What was once a dream has become a reality, with these growers now able to control the irrigation on their entire property from their laptop or smartphone.
More troubling was the consistent message we got from young leaders that they haven’t planned for the adoption of forthcoming transformative technologies and that their businesses haven’t built the necessary capital reserves to accommodate it.
There was also concern about how regulation struggles to keep pace with technology developments. And of course, connectivity issues in rural and regional Australia were raised consistently as a barrier to adoption, and to doing business efficiently in general. The positive flipside to this were the stories we heard about farmers bypassing traditional telecommunications carriers and service providers by installing their own wired and wireless solutions for full farm coverage.
This shift to increasingly technology savvy farms also highlighted how agriculture is becoming more reliant on non-traditional skills. Recruiting people with these necessary skills – in technology, engineering, finance, management and more – was considered one of the key challenges for the industry’s immediate future.
Freedom to fail was another idea we heard again and again at the conversations. In innovation and entrepreneurship, small failures are often considered a stepping stone to success, but in agriculture this approach doesn’t yet exist. What they were asking for was some room to face setbacks, with the security of knowing they would have time and resources to recover.
To take this one step further, many of the young leaders wanted to shift away from the traditional land ownership model of farming and thought it was time to consider alternative arrangements where equity partners not only provide capital but also bring a high level of skills into a farming business. Arrangements where corporate partners and non-traditional capital lending options support farm acquisition and growth were also considered exciting future prospects.
As you can see, these young industry leaders are dynamic, entrepreneurial, commercially savvy and well connected.
The question then turns, for RIRDC and the 14 other Research and Development Corporations, to how can we best support these young leaders to ensure a thriving future for Australian agriculture?
To my mind, it means we must think differently about how we get our research information and new products out to people. We need a new approach to make sure we keep pace with the types of skills and opportunities these young people need to be confident as industry leaders. We need to help them come together and we need to help build their capacity as decision makers. In response to their needs it’s now us that must be flexible.
Photo - Agriculture's next generation of Industry Leaders: RIRDC’s Managing Director John Harvey with Rebecca Miliken from Wagga Wagga NSW, who has been selected to take part in the Australian Rural Leadership Program (ARLP) (Sponsored by RIRDC).
03 July, 2017
OPINION
Managing Director of Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) John Harvey has been meeting with agriculture’s next generation of industry leaders, and he is seriously impressed. The next challenge, he says, is providing them with the support, networks and services they need to ensure the industry’s bright future.
________________________
The agriculture sector’s importance to Australia’s national economy has never been greater. It currently contributes $63 billion (2.3 per cent) of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the country’s bottom line and according to National Farmer’s Federation has the potential to rival the mining sector and tip over $100 billion by 2030.
It was with this big and bright future in mind that RIRDC set out to host seven Regional Innovation Conversation events, meeting with agriculture’s young leaders from every state and territory.
Having met 150 of these young leaders in recent months, it’s safe to say they’re up to the challenge. In fact, I’ve been blown away by the enormous talent and enthusiasm of Australia’s next generation of agricultural leaders.
RIRDC’s reason for meeting with them was to discuss the issues and challenges they’re facing and discover what support they need to succeed; however, almost to a fault, we found these young people are just getting on with the job.
Whether they are part of a farming enterprise, researchers, entrepreneurs, business owners, working in the supply chain or providing services to agriculture these young people share a ‘can-do’ attitude and a steely determination to succeed.
We also discovered that they are learning and networking differently. They aren’t joining traditional farmer organisations or reading traditional publications and media.
They’re getting their information, networking with each other and sharing knowledge via social media. But interestingly, they realise that in order to flourish professionally they need to be better connected; not just online and not just to each other but to people from other industries and countries with useful skills and experience. Real collaboration and the ability to be a part of a supportive innovation ecosystem was considered a critical ingredient that could lead to risk taking and innovation.
Technology doesn’t just influence their information consumption and the way they connect with others in their industry, it’s also creating an increasingly complex industry and workplace environment for these young people to become leaders – which is both an opportunity and a threat.
There was real excitement in the group about how on-farm decision making is being augmented by information from digital technology such as sensors, drones and robots. Plus the efficiency potential of autonomous vehicles, smart irrigation systems, 3D printing and more was an exciting prospect for this next generation of leaders.
Darrin Lee, a grazier and avid fisherman from Mingenew in Western Australia, brought this potential to life when he told us about how he uses low-bandwidth sensors to monitor water trough levels from his fishing boat and can then turn on a pump with a click on his phone.
There was also a lot of excitement from young leaders in the cotton industry about emerging technologies that make it possible to automate and remotely manage irrigation on their farms. New ‘smart syphon’ or ‘smart irrigation’ systems are being trialled extensively in Northern NSW and in Victoria companies like Rubicon Water are leading the way with inventions like the Smart Furrow Automation Irrigation Solution. What was once a dream has become a reality, with these growers now able to control the irrigation on their entire property from their laptop or smartphone.
More troubling was the consistent message we got from young leaders that they haven’t planned for the adoption of forthcoming transformative technologies and that their businesses haven’t built the necessary capital reserves to accommodate it.
There was also concern about how regulation struggles to keep pace with technology developments. And of course, connectivity issues in rural and regional Australia were raised consistently as a barrier to adoption, and to doing business efficiently in general. The positive flipside to this were the stories we heard about farmers bypassing traditional telecommunications carriers and service providers by installing their own wired and wireless solutions for full farm coverage.
This shift to increasingly technology savvy farms also highlighted how agriculture is becoming more reliant on non-traditional skills. Recruiting people with these necessary skills – in technology, engineering, finance, management and more – was considered one of the key challenges for the industry’s immediate future.
Freedom to fail was another idea we heard again and again at the conversations. In innovation and entrepreneurship, small failures are often considered a stepping stone to success, but in agriculture this approach doesn’t yet exist. What they were asking for was some room to face setbacks, with the security of knowing they would have time and resources to recover.
To take this one step further, many of the young leaders wanted to shift away from the traditional land ownership model of farming and thought it was time to consider alternative arrangements where equity partners not only provide capital but also bring a high level of skills into a farming business. Arrangements where corporate partners and non-traditional capital lending options support farm acquisition and growth were also considered exciting future prospects.
As you can see, these young industry leaders are dynamic, entrepreneurial, commercially savvy and well connected.
The question then turns, for RIRDC and the 14 other Research and Development Corporations, to how can we best support these young leaders to ensure a thriving future for Australian agriculture?
To my mind, it means we must think differently about how we get our research information and new products out to people. We need a new approach to make sure we keep pace with the types of skills and opportunities these young people need to be confident as industry leaders. We need to help them come together and we need to help build their capacity as decision makers. In response to their needs it’s now us that must be flexible.
Photo - Agriculture's next generation of Industry Leaders: RIRDC’s Managing Director John Harvey with Rebecca Miliken from Wagga Wagga NSW, who has been selected to take part in the Australian Rural Leadership Program (ARLP) (Sponsored by RIRDC).
Pelican Chicks All Grown Up And Congregating In Yanga National Park
Climate Change May Cause Huge Expansion To Ice-Free Areas Across Antarctica
28th June 2017: Australian Antarctic DivisionIce-free areas in Antarctica could expand by close to 25 per cent by 2100 and drastically change the biodiversity of the continent, research published today in Nature has shown.
The paper is the first to examine the impact of climate change on ice-free areas in Antarctica, which currently cover less than one per cent of the continent, yet are home to almost all Antarctic plants and animals.
Led under the Australian Antarctic Program by PhD student Jasmine Lee and Australian Antarctic Division senior research scientist, Dr Aleks Terauds, the research shows a warming climate will cause ice-free areas to expand and join together.
“While this might provide new areas for native species to colonise, it could also result in the spread of invasive species, and in the long-term, the extinction of less competitive native species,” Dr Terauds said.
“We predict that melt across the Antarctic continent will lead to the emergence of up to 17,267 km2, close to 25 per cent, of new ice-free areas by the end of this century.
“The Antarctic Peninsula shows the greatest change, but there are also impacts along the East Antarctic coastline.”
Adélie penguin at Lovill Bluff Colony, Mt Siple in West Antarctica (Photo: Jasmine Lee)
Ms Lee, from the University of Queensland and CSIRO, said the research team used models to examine the impact of climate change on ice-free areas.
“Until now, Antarctic climate change research has focused mainly on ice sheets and the potential impact on global sea level rise, while the effect of climate change on ice melt and native Antarctic biodiversity has been largely overlooked,” Ms Lee said.
“Permanently ice free areas range in size from less than one square kilometre to thousands of square kilometres and they are an important breeding ground for seals and seabirds. They are also home to small invertebrates such as springtails and nematodes, and vegetation including fungi, lichen and moss, many of which occur nowhere else in the world.”
Dr Terauds said the findings of the study were especially important given the restricted distribution of many of these species, which are often only present in a single region across the continent, or even a single ice-free area.
“Understanding the effect of expanding ice-free areas is essential if we are to fully understand the implications of climate change in Antarctica,” he said.
This research was presented at the recent Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held in China in May.
The paper was co-authored by scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division, ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (The University of Queensland), British Antarctic Survey, CSIRO, and the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (University of Tasmania).
Ice-free cliff in Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica (Photo: Jasmine Lee)
Jasmine R. Lee, Ben Raymond, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Iadine Chadès, Richard A. Fuller, Justine D. Shaw & Aleks Terauds. Climate change drives expansion of Antarctic ice-free habitat. Nature, 2017 DOI: 10.1038/nature22996
28th June 2017: Australian Antarctic Division
Ice-free areas in Antarctica could expand by close to 25 per cent by 2100 and drastically change the biodiversity of the continent, research published today in Nature has shown.
The paper is the first to examine the impact of climate change on ice-free areas in Antarctica, which currently cover less than one per cent of the continent, yet are home to almost all Antarctic plants and animals.
Led under the Australian Antarctic Program by PhD student Jasmine Lee and Australian Antarctic Division senior research scientist, Dr Aleks Terauds, the research shows a warming climate will cause ice-free areas to expand and join together.
“While this might provide new areas for native species to colonise, it could also result in the spread of invasive species, and in the long-term, the extinction of less competitive native species,” Dr Terauds said.
“We predict that melt across the Antarctic continent will lead to the emergence of up to 17,267 km2, close to 25 per cent, of new ice-free areas by the end of this century.
“The Antarctic Peninsula shows the greatest change, but there are also impacts along the East Antarctic coastline.”
Adélie penguin at Lovill Bluff Colony, Mt Siple in West Antarctica (Photo: Jasmine Lee)
Ms Lee, from the University of Queensland and CSIRO, said the research team used models to examine the impact of climate change on ice-free areas.
“Until now, Antarctic climate change research has focused mainly on ice sheets and the potential impact on global sea level rise, while the effect of climate change on ice melt and native Antarctic biodiversity has been largely overlooked,” Ms Lee said.
“Permanently ice free areas range in size from less than one square kilometre to thousands of square kilometres and they are an important breeding ground for seals and seabirds. They are also home to small invertebrates such as springtails and nematodes, and vegetation including fungi, lichen and moss, many of which occur nowhere else in the world.”
Dr Terauds said the findings of the study were especially important given the restricted distribution of many of these species, which are often only present in a single region across the continent, or even a single ice-free area.
“Understanding the effect of expanding ice-free areas is essential if we are to fully understand the implications of climate change in Antarctica,” he said.
This research was presented at the recent Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held in China in May.
The paper was co-authored by scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division, ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (The University of Queensland), British Antarctic Survey, CSIRO, and the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (University of Tasmania).
Ice-free cliff in Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica (Photo: Jasmine Lee)
Jasmine R. Lee, Ben Raymond, Thomas J. Bracegirdle, Iadine Chadès, Richard A. Fuller, Justine D. Shaw & Aleks Terauds. Climate change drives expansion of Antarctic ice-free habitat. Nature, 2017 DOI: 10.1038/nature22996
Through Fossil Leaves; A Step Towards Jurassic Park
Ginkgo fossil. Credit: Stephen McLoughlinJuly 4, 2017: Lund UniversityFor the first time, researchers have succeeded in establishing the relationships between 200-million-year-old plants based on chemical fingerprints. Using infrared spectroscopy and statistical analysis of organic molecules in fossil leaves, they are opening up new perspectives on the dinosaur era.
The unique results stem from a collaboration between researchers at Lund University, the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, and Vilnius University.
"We have solved many questions regarding these extinct plants' relationships. These are questions that science has long been seeking answers to," says Vivi Vajda, a professor at the Department of Geology at Lund University and active at the Swedish Museum of Natural History.
The researchers have collected fossil leaves from rocks in Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Greenland. Using molecular spectroscopy and chemical analysis, the fossil leaves were then compared with the chemical signatures from molecules in plant leaves picked at the Botanical Garden in Lund.
The use of genetic DNA analysis in modern research to determine relationships is not possible on fossil plants. The oldest DNA fragments ever found are scarcely one million-years-old. Therefore, the scientists searched for organic molecules to see what these could reveal about the plants' evolution and relationships.
The molecules were found in the waxy membrane, which covers the leaves and these showed to differ between various species. The membrane has been preserved in the fossil leaves, some of which are 200 million-years-old.
Using infrared spectroscopy, the researchers carried out analyses in several stages. Firstly, they examined leaves from living plants that have relatives preserved in the fossil archive. The analysis showed that the biomolecular signatures were similar among plant groups, much in the same way as shown by modern genetic DNA analysis.
When the method was shown to work on modern plants, the researchers went on to analyse their extinct fossil relatives. Among others, they examined fossil leaves from conifers and several species of Ginkgo. The only living species of Ginkgo alive today is Ginkgo biloba, but this genus was far more diverse during the Jurassic.
"The results from the fossil leaves far exceeded our expectations, not only were they full of organic molecules, they also grouped according to well-established botanical relationships, based on DNA analysis of living plants i.e. Ginkgoes in one group, conifers in another," says Vivi Vajda.
Finally, when the researchers had shown that the method gave consistent results, they analysed fossils of enigmatic extinct plants that have no living relatives to compare them with Among others, they examined Bennettites and Nilssonia, plants that were common in the area that is now Sweden during the Triassic and Jurassic around 250-150 million years ago. The analysis showed that Bennettites and Nilssonia are closely related. On the other hand, they are not closely related to cycads, which many researchers had thought until now.
Per Uvdal, Professor of Chemical Physics at Lund University and one of the researchers who conducted the study, considers that the overall results are astounding.
"The great thing about the biomolecules in the leaves' waxy membranes is that they are so much more stable than DNA. As they reflect, in an indirect way, a plants DNA they can preserve information about the DNA. Therefore, the biomolecules can tell us how one plant is related in evolutionary terms to other plants," he says.
The researchers are now going to extend their studies to more plant groups.
Vivi Vajda, Milda Pucetaite, Stephen McLoughlin, Anders Engdahl, Jimmy Heimdal, Per Uvdal. Molecular signatures of fossil leaves provide unexpected new evidence for extinct plant relationships. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0224-5
Ginkgo fossil. Credit: Stephen McLoughlin
July 4, 2017: Lund University
For the first time, researchers have succeeded in establishing the relationships between 200-million-year-old plants based on chemical fingerprints. Using infrared spectroscopy and statistical analysis of organic molecules in fossil leaves, they are opening up new perspectives on the dinosaur era.
The unique results stem from a collaboration between researchers at Lund University, the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, and Vilnius University.
"We have solved many questions regarding these extinct plants' relationships. These are questions that science has long been seeking answers to," says Vivi Vajda, a professor at the Department of Geology at Lund University and active at the Swedish Museum of Natural History.
The researchers have collected fossil leaves from rocks in Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and Greenland. Using molecular spectroscopy and chemical analysis, the fossil leaves were then compared with the chemical signatures from molecules in plant leaves picked at the Botanical Garden in Lund.
The use of genetic DNA analysis in modern research to determine relationships is not possible on fossil plants. The oldest DNA fragments ever found are scarcely one million-years-old. Therefore, the scientists searched for organic molecules to see what these could reveal about the plants' evolution and relationships.
The molecules were found in the waxy membrane, which covers the leaves and these showed to differ between various species. The membrane has been preserved in the fossil leaves, some of which are 200 million-years-old.
Using infrared spectroscopy, the researchers carried out analyses in several stages. Firstly, they examined leaves from living plants that have relatives preserved in the fossil archive. The analysis showed that the biomolecular signatures were similar among plant groups, much in the same way as shown by modern genetic DNA analysis.
When the method was shown to work on modern plants, the researchers went on to analyse their extinct fossil relatives. Among others, they examined fossil leaves from conifers and several species of Ginkgo. The only living species of Ginkgo alive today is Ginkgo biloba, but this genus was far more diverse during the Jurassic.
"The results from the fossil leaves far exceeded our expectations, not only were they full of organic molecules, they also grouped according to well-established botanical relationships, based on DNA analysis of living plants i.e. Ginkgoes in one group, conifers in another," says Vivi Vajda.
Finally, when the researchers had shown that the method gave consistent results, they analysed fossils of enigmatic extinct plants that have no living relatives to compare them with Among others, they examined Bennettites and Nilssonia, plants that were common in the area that is now Sweden during the Triassic and Jurassic around 250-150 million years ago. The analysis showed that Bennettites and Nilssonia are closely related. On the other hand, they are not closely related to cycads, which many researchers had thought until now.
Per Uvdal, Professor of Chemical Physics at Lund University and one of the researchers who conducted the study, considers that the overall results are astounding.
"The great thing about the biomolecules in the leaves' waxy membranes is that they are so much more stable than DNA. As they reflect, in an indirect way, a plants DNA they can preserve information about the DNA. Therefore, the biomolecules can tell us how one plant is related in evolutionary terms to other plants," he says.
The researchers are now going to extend their studies to more plant groups.
Vivi Vajda, Milda Pucetaite, Stephen McLoughlin, Anders Engdahl, Jimmy Heimdal, Per Uvdal. Molecular signatures of fossil leaves provide unexpected new evidence for extinct plant relationships. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0224-5
Avalon Boomerang Bags: An Idea That's Spreading To Stop Plastic Bag Use
Avalon Boomerang Bags
Tuesdays
11am-5pm @ sewcraft cook Unit 20/14 Polo Ave Mona Vale
Boomerang Bags is a bag-share initiative involving the installation of a number of ‘Boomerang Bag’ boxes throughout any given business district, shopping centre, street or market. Each box is stocked with re-useable bags for customers to borrow if they have forgotten to bring their own.
Unlike the traditional purchase-and-keep approach, Boomerang Bags are free, and local community members are responsible for returning the bags once they’re no longer required. The availability of free re-useable bags reduces the reliance of local businesses to supply bags to all customers, and encourages a mentality of re-use among local communities, thereby reducing the amount of plastic bag material entering our landfills and waterways.
So who makes the Boomerang Bags? Well, you do! Boomerang Bags are made by local communities for local communities, and are sewn from recycled and donated materials.
Get in touch if you'd like to donate materials, join us making bags, or implement Boomerang Bags in your own local area!
Tuesdays
11am-5pm @ sewcraft cook
Unit 20/14 Polo Ave Mona Vale
Boomerang Bags is a bag-share initiative involving the installation of a number of ‘Boomerang Bag’ boxes throughout any given business district, shopping centre, street or market. Each box is stocked with re-useable bags for customers to borrow if they have forgotten to bring their own.
Unlike the traditional purchase-and-keep approach, Boomerang Bags are free, and local community members are responsible for returning the bags once they’re no longer required. The availability of free re-useable bags reduces the reliance of local businesses to supply bags to all customers, and encourages a mentality of re-use among local communities, thereby reducing the amount of plastic bag material entering our landfills and waterways.
So who makes the Boomerang Bags? Well, you do! Boomerang Bags are made by local communities for local communities, and are sewn from recycled and donated materials.
Get in touch if you'd like to donate materials, join us making bags, or implement Boomerang Bags in your own local area!
A Further $6 Million For 20 Million Trees Available For Community Projects
Energy Locals For 100% Carbon Neutral Plans
From Surf Life Saving NSW Interested in 100% carbon neutral plans, huge solar feed in tariffs and Australian owned and operated in your energy provider? Look no further than SLSNSW's newest partner Energy Locals to see how they will revolutionise your energy plan: energylocals.com.au/providers/slsnsw
From Surf Life Saving NSW
Interested in 100% carbon neutral plans, huge solar feed in tariffs and Australian owned and operated in your energy provider? Look no further than SLSNSW's newest partner Energy Locals to see how they will revolutionise your energy plan: energylocals.com.au/providers/slsnsw
If Victoria Can Ban CSG, NSW Can Too!
By The Wilderness SocietyCoal seam gas (CSG) threatens our water, our health and our climate. Many jurisdictions around the world are permanently banning this dangerous industry, most recently Victoria. We do not need or want risky coal seam gas in NSW. It’s clear that the industry has no social licence in our state, yet vast and critical areas—as well as human health—are still under threat from CSG across the state.
Call on the new Premier Berejiklian and the new Planning Minister Roberts to follow Victoria's lead and ban this harmful and risky industry in NSW.
By The Wilderness Society
Coal seam gas (CSG) threatens our water, our health and our climate. Many jurisdictions around the world are permanently banning this dangerous industry, most recently Victoria. We do not need or want risky coal seam gas in NSW.
It’s clear that the industry has no social licence in our state, yet vast and critical areas—as well as human health—are still under threat from CSG across the state.
Call on the new Premier Berejiklian and the new Planning Minister Roberts to follow Victoria's lead and ban this harmful and risky industry in NSW.
Myna Action Group
Pittwater Natural Heritage Association (PNHA)
Indian Mynas - what a pest - like flying rats. Contact us on pnhainfo@gmail.com for more information and have a look athttps://www.facebook.com/MynaProblems/
Indian Mynas are displacing our native birds. They often nest in and around shops where their food source is. I took this one down this morning in Avalon (no chicks or eggs but I disturbed the female). There were literally hundreds of tiny bits of plastic in the nest which makes you think that all this plastic would be swilling down the stormwater drains into the sea.
Pittwater Natural Heritage Association (PNHA)
Indian Mynas - what a pest - like flying rats.
Contact us on pnhainfo@gmail.com for more information and have a look athttps://www.facebook.com/MynaProblems/
Indian Mynas are displacing our native birds. They often nest in and around shops where their food source is. I took this one down this morning in Avalon (no chicks or eggs but I disturbed the female). There were literally hundreds of tiny bits of plastic in the nest which makes you think that all this plastic would be swilling down the stormwater drains into the sea.
Living Ocean
Website: www.livingocean.org.au
Living Ocean was born in Whale Beach, on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, surrounded by water and set in an area of incredible beauty.Living Ocean is a charity that promotes the awareness of human impact on the ocean, through research, education, creative activity in the community, and support of others who sustain ocean health and integrity.
And always celebrating and honouring the natural environment and the lifestyle that the ocean offers us.
Our whale research program builds on research that has been conducted off our coastline by our experts over many years and our Centre for Marine Studies enables students and others to become directly involved.
Through partnerships with individuals and organizations, we conceive, create and coordinate campaigns that educate all layers of our community – from our ‘No Plastic Please’ campaign, which is delivered in partnership with local schools, to film nights and lectures, aimed at the wider community.
Additionally, we raise funds for ocean-oriented conservation groups such as Sea Shepherd.
Donations are tax-deductable
Website: www.livingocean.org.au
Living Ocean was born in Whale Beach, on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, surrounded by water and set in an area of incredible beauty.Living Ocean is a charity that promotes the awareness of human impact on the ocean, through research, education, creative activity in the community, and support of others who sustain ocean health and integrity.
And always celebrating and honouring the natural environment and the lifestyle that the ocean offers us.
Our whale research program builds on research that has been conducted off our coastline by our experts over many years and our Centre for Marine Studies enables students and others to become directly involved.
Through partnerships with individuals and organizations, we conceive, create and coordinate campaigns that educate all layers of our community – from our ‘No Plastic Please’ campaign, which is delivered in partnership with local schools, to film nights and lectures, aimed at the wider community.
Additionally, we raise funds for ocean-oriented conservation groups such as Sea Shepherd.
Donations are tax-deductable
Dairy Code Of Practice Welcomed
July 3rd, 2017: ASBFEO
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has welcomed the new dairy industry Code of Practice for Contractual Arrangements between farmers and processors.
Ombudsman Kate Carnell had input to the code and said she will monitor its effectiveness over the next 12 months.
Ms Carnell said the voluntary code addresses issues that may be contested under the Unfair Contract Terms law for Small Business, which began operating on November 12.
“I’m very pleased that all the major processors and farmer organisations have signed the code,” Ms Carnell said.
“Many farmers were crippled last year by retrospective price reductions, which are no longer allowed.
“There is now a requirement for notification and transparency, which will help farmers to make informed decisions.”
Ms Carnell welcomed the recognition by processors that downward price movements are undesirable.
The voluntary code requires 30 days’ notice of step-downs, which must be clearly set out in the contract. Farmers are also required to give 30 days’ notice of changing processors, with a cooling-off period of 21 days.
“A farmer is entitled to all accrued loyalty payments if they have supplied to the end of their contract term,” Ms Carnell said.
“This addresses a previous unfair situation.
“The voluntary code is a positive step and I hope it works. A negotiated voluntary agreement is better than seeking to introduce more regulation.
“I will review the effectiveness of the voluntary code to make sure it’s working as intended.”
Protecting Astronauts From Radiation In Space
July 3, 2017: Australian National University
The sample here contains hundreds of thousands of nanoparticles that manipulate the incoming light. Credit: Stuart Hay, ANU
Scientists at The Australian National University (ANU) have designed a new nano material that can reflect or transmit light on demand with temperature control, opening the door to technology that protects astronauts in space from harmful radiation.
Lead researcher Dr Mohsen Rahmani from ANU said the material was so thin that hundreds of layers could fit on the tip of a needle and could be applied to any surface, including spacesuits.
"Our invention has a lot of potential applications, such as protecting astronauts or satellites with an ultra-thin film that can be adjusted to reflect various dangerous ultraviolet or infrared radiation in different environments," said Dr Rahmani, an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Research Fellow at the Nonlinear Physics Centre within the ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering.
"Our technology significantly increases the resistance threshold against harmful radiation compared to today's technologies, which rely on absorbing radiation with thick filters."
Co-researcher Associate Professor Andrey Miroshnichenko said the invention could be tailored for other light spectrums including visible light, which opened up a whole array of innovations, including architectural and energy saving applications.
"For instance, you could have a window that can turn into a mirror in a bathroom on demand, or control the amount of light passing through your house windows in different seasons," said Dr Miroshnichenko from the Nonlinear Physics Centre within the ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering.
"What I love about this invention is that the design involved different research disciplines including physics, materials science and engineering."
Co-lead researcher Dr Lei Xu said achieving cost-efficient and confined temperature control such as local heating was feasible.
"Much like your car has a series of parallel resistive wires on the back windscreen to defog the rear view, a similar arrangement could be used with our invention to confine the temperature control to a precise location," said Dr Xu from the Nonlinear Physics Centre within the ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering.
The innovation builds on more than 15 years of research supported by the ARC through CUDOS, a Centre of Excellence, and the Australian National Fabrication Facility.
Mohsen Rahmani, Lei Xu, Andrey E. Miroshnichenko, Andrei Komar, Rocio Camacho-Morales, Haitao Chen, Yair Zárate, Sergey Kruk, Guoquan Zhang, Dragomir N. Neshev, Yuri S. Kivshar. Reversible Thermal Tuning of All-Dielectric Metasurfaces. Advanced Functional Materials, 2017; 1700580 DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201700580