Birdlife plea for help

please read the article with: birdlife on getting rat poison out of the bird food chain

Image and article here taken directly from Birdlife 

And have your say by making a submission

1. There are lots of ways to minimise your need for rodenticides. Which of these bird-friendly changes can you commit to?  Make your house and garden less friendly for rodents: seal potential roof/wall cavity access points that rodents might be using pick up any fallen fruit, ensure excess pet food isn’t accessible, rodent-proof chook pens and aviaries, replace rat-friendly palms with owl-friendly natives, and tidy up garden waste and limit access to compost heaps  
2. Encourage native predators: plant native trees, and install nest boxes for owls to breed in.  
3. Reduce dependence on poison baits: consider other, non-poison pest control, like snap traps, only put out baits when you actually need to, read the labels on any poisons you buy and make the change to first generation anticoagulant rodenticides (FGARs) or other alternatives. Look for active ingredients like Warfarin and Coumatetralyl or natural constituents like Sodium Chloride, and leave second generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) on the shelf.

national bird count week

image from Birds in Backyards

Wonderfully saw a powerful owl at Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens to remind me that it is once again the national bird count week - seek more info via birdlife. An important research aid in evaluating the changes in our natural world.

Bird counting fun

To find out more about how to count, where to count and why we are counting head over to the Frequently Asked Questions page. Or to start submitting counts straight away, download the free Aussie Bird Count app or use the online web form.

GreenWay Art Prize 2018

details here

The Red Project at The Coal Loader Centre of Sustainability in Waverton is going to be huge... here is a sneaky peak preview of an exhibition of pollinators made by my younger friends within the Coal Loader tunnel 1 during the first half of March.

for details of exhibition and upcoming events.. check here

GreenWay Art Prize Exhibition workshop/Installation

Living Plastic Free

Here is a website about choosing to refuse "single-use" plastic and they have a challenge:  Plastic Free July

This is something I aim for but since my art practice is about our consumption with plastic I now collect and "hoard" it for various installations... oh dear dilemma 

PS. I believe ultimately in NO PLASTIC use (excluding the new bioplastics...not to be confused with "biodegradable plastics" that are still harmful petrochemical-based )

birdcount brought by BirdLife Australia

The A - Z of Sustainable Living

view here at 1millionwomen.com.au

5 easy steps to quit plastic

via 1 million women

a great way to start the process of quitting plastic in your life look here

Freeloader at Art on the GreenWay

detail of Freeloader in the GreenWay 

Unfortunately it's the end of the Art on the GreenWay show of 6 temporary environmental art works presented by Leichhardt Council and supported by NSW EPA Waste Less, Recycle More initiative funded by the waste levy, as part of the annual event LOST. A fab initiative supporting local artists who provide an innovative approach in questioning our ways with waste through a new view along the GreenWay, at the Iron Cove end.

Backyard Wind Tree

The wind turbine for your backyard: 26ft 'Wind Tree' uses tiny silent blades to generate electricity from light breezes

• 
  
• The 'Wind Tree' uses tiny blades housed in the 'leaves' that turn in breezes
• 
  
• A French firm is installing the first model at  Place de la Concorde in Paris
• 
  
• 'Aeroleaves' generate electricity in wind speeds as low as 4.5mph (7km/h)
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• This can provide enough power to supply 15 street lamps or one electrical car for 10,168 miles (1,360km) over the course of a year

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3450924/The-wind-turbine-backyard-Wind-Tree-uses-tiny-blades-generate-electricity-light-breezes.html#ixzz42MpwoyWf

Art on the GreenWay

detail of Freeloader in the GreenWay

Wonderfully for the second year, Leichhardt Council has offered artists interested in Environmental Art a chance to win funds to create a temporary artwork for installation in the GreenWay.  

Art on the GreenWay is a featured event of LOST, Leichhardt Open Studio Trail 2016  - see No. 34 on the LOST map

Works will be on show from Wednesday 9 to Sunday 20 March 2016

some good cheer and greenway shrubbery to you

Cities support a greater number of threatened species than non-urban areas

Investigators looked at the distributions of 1,643 protected species in Australia, and counted up the number of these species that occurred in square-kilometer units across the continent. By comparing the cells found in cities with those located in non-urban areas, the researchers explored the relative importance of cities for conserving nationally-protected species.

All cities in Australia contained protected species, and 30% of the species listed as protected in Australia inhabited urban environments. Cities consistently supported a greater number of protected species than other areas.

The findings highlight the opportunities that cities present for tackling biodiversity loss.

"Our results show that to tackle species extinction we can no longer afford to ignore the places where most of us live and work," said Dr. Christopher Ives, co-lead author of the Global Ecology and Biogeography study. "In Australia, every city has a role to play in safeguarding the country's most threatened biodiversity."

Wiley. "Cities support a greater number of threatened species than non-urban areas." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 December 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151207164339.htm>.

Backyard Bird Count

Over 42,000 nature-loving Australians counted over 1,000,000 birds for the second annual Aussie Backyard Bird Count.

The Top 10 most common bird species in Australia remain unchanged from last year, with the Rainbow Lorikeet once again taking out the number one spot. 

Check out the website for more details and to download the species results for Australia and your state: http://aussiebirdcount.org.au/results/

National Threatened Species Day

National Threatened Species Day is held on 7 September each year to commemorate the death of the last Tasmanian Tiger in 1936. 

This National Threatened Species Day, BirdLife Australia turns its attention to five of our most endangered woodland birds to highlight the fragility of our wonderful birdlife and the ongoing need to protect them. 

Gardening news...

The Ashfield Community Gardeners are proud to announce the launch of our brand 
new website at www.ashfieldcommunitygardeners.org 

If you would like to try community gardening in Ashfield Council locale, please come along to one of our working bees at the times listed below.

• Summer Hill Eora Garden: 9:30am on the second Saturday and fourth Sunday of the month
• Haberfield Community Garden: 9:30am on the fourth Saturday of the month
• Ashfield Park Community Garden: 9:00am on the first and third Saturday of the month

Castor Oil Plant

Ricinus communis

image from Wikipedia

Tall shrub to 3m high common in waste areas. The stems

are red tinged and the leaves are large and lobed, with

suppressed veins. The sap is white. Native to Africa. Often found along railway lines.

Flowers: Reddish green, flowers in summer.

Fruit/Seed: Green to black spiny fruit capsule occuring

in autumn. Seeds are speckled and bean-like.

Dispersal: Seed explosion from capsule, water.

Special Note: Seeds are highly toxic to humans and animals.

words and above image are from IWEG's bandicoot bush care newsletter

Bird Week 20 - 26 Oct

a White faced heron  visted my backyard this morning.. first time I have seen one at home! I am a little excited and it happens to be bird week where Bird Australia wants You to get involve in bird conservation.  "this year we invite you to take part in our new Aussie Backyard Bird Count. It’s easy and it’s fun, so hit the website to get a free app with a built-in field guide so you can get started."   I just did my count!