Australia nature conservation in federal budget….a verdict

“This week’s federal budget was a new low point for investment in nature. Environmental groups roundly criticised the “bad budget for nature”, which delivered next-to-no money to protect and recover Australia’s unique and threatened biodiversity. “ Three researchers wrote the following commentary in The Conversation  Our government has great aspirations. It has committed to end extinctions and expand our protected areas to cover 30% of every Australian ecosystem by 2030. This is part of its Nature Positive Plan, aligned with...

Mapping of wildlife : Australia

Here we begin a snapshot of some of the ‘tools’ used to check what species there are, and where they are… Australia : Atlas of Living Australia  What is it? ‘The Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) is a collaborative, digital, open infrastructure that pulls together Australian biodiversity data from multiple sources, making it accessible and reusable. The ALA helps to create a more detailed picture of Australia’s biodiversity for scientists, policy makers, environmental planners and land managers, industry and the...

No Mow May – why we need butterflies, bees?

  No Mow May is the UK charity Plantlife’s annual campaign calling all lawn owners not to mow during May. Let your wildflowers grow this summer, they state. We’ve lost approximately 97% of flower-rich meadows since the 1930’s and with them gone are vital food needed by pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. What are the benefits of NOT mowing your lawn? A healthy lawn with some long grass and wildflowers benefits wildlife, tackles pollution and can even lock away...

Green industry yes…. the Federal Budget

Last night’s budget is another missed opportunity to arrest the poor and deteriorating state of the Australian environment. Subsidising green industry in Labor’s Future Made in Australia policy may offer economic advantages if implemented well, but there is nothing in this budget to help address the immediate environmental crisis facing Australia. more information: https://theconversation.com/green-industry-yes-conservation-no-a-budget-for-people-not-for-nature-229904   LearnFromNature  Tweet  ...

Animal myths | bats are NOT blind!

l Contrary to what some most people believe, bats are not blind at all and in fact are believed to have eyesight keener than that of most humans. The misconception that bats are blind comes from their nocturnal nature and enhanced hearing abilities.   Bats are idiosyncratic creatures, with habits that humans find incredibly odd—like occasional bloodsucking, sleeping upside down, and staying up all night. We characterize bats as supernatural, associating them with vampires and even superheroes. With their talent...

Q&A | Why do birds migrate?

On World Migratory Bird Day, we celebrate one of nature’s greatest wonders – bird migration. Twice a year, we marvel at this extraordinary spectacle as migratory birds undertake epic journeys around the globe, connecting and inspiring people along the way.   Why do birds migrate? Not all birds stay in the same place their whole lives. Some migrate to take advantage of seasonal resources, especially food, so that they can breed successfully or simply survive. Some migrations are short, but many...

‘Spectacular’ solar colours seen across southern night skies

Aurora australis has lit up skies across southern Australia after an “extreme” geomagnetic solar storm. Brightly coloured skies were visible in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. So what IS “Aurora australis” ? This is from the University of Tasmania: “Outer space is filled with electrically charged particles. When they hit the Earth’s atmosphere, they can make it light up like a fluorescent light tube. This tends to happen in the polar regions, where Earth’s magnetic field is trapping...

Fighting ‘old man’s beard’ in New Zealand suburb

A group of volunteers are on a mission to rid Wellington, capital city of New Zealand, of Old Man’s Beard, a vine that smothers native bush. Following on from their success in clearing Old Man’s Beard from several reserves, the Old Man’s Beard Free Wellington (OMBFW) group now plan to clear the vine from the suburb of Highbury. Old Man’s Beard (Clematis Vitalba) is a vine that spreads rapidly in the New Zealand climate, smothering our native bush. Old Man’s...

The mighty pelican

A visit to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast, Queensland has brought into focus a few facts about the pelican…… The bill and pouch of pelicans play an important role in feeding. The bill is sensitive and this helps locate fish in murky water. It also has a hook at the end of the upper mandible, probably for gripping slippery food items. During periods of starvation, pelicans have been reported capturing and eating seagulls and ducklings. The gulls are...

Animals: red panda v panda

  The name panda is believed to come from the Nepali word “ponya,” meaning “bamboo eater” or “bamboo footed.” Despite sharing a common name, giant pandas and red pandas are not closely related. Red pandas are the only living members of their taxonomic family, Ailuridae, while …. giant pandas are in the bear family, Ursidae. Red panda: The red panda is an elusive and mysterious mammal of the biodiverse Himalayan forests. They have also been called the “firefox”, “lesser panda”,...

Heroes of the desert – or are they?

The recent ANZAC parade through Ipswich featured a very special animal…man’s other best friend, the camel. Some points about these amazing creatures….. One of the camel’s most notable physical traits is its hump or humps. While the dromedary camel has one hump, the Bactrian camel has two humps. The myth is / was that water was in these humps was full of life-giving water….. In truth, they store fat in these humps, which later can be used as an energy...