Thanks for that. I think I have written enough on the subject too. I still am interested to know the story behind the nest boxes. As it happens I am reading
a book that Michael Lenz gave me exactly 10 years ago today, for my then 50th birthday, called “The new nature”. (I had a big party 10 years ago..... ) It contains a lot of interesting discussion about the role of human activity in the environment
but takes a quite different view from most and is very relevant to a lot of this discussion. My impression is that it cherry picks a lot of examples to demonstrate the point..........
Philip
From: John Harris [
Sent: Tuesday, 17 January, 2017 4:03 PM
To: <>
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] What are they for?
I was going to bite my tongue and say no more, embarrassed that I had opened a Pandora’s box which released remarkably strong opinions and dominated the chatline
for the past few days. I feel emboldened, however, to break my little vow to thank several contributors, particularly David Rees, Philip Veerman and Con Boekel. They are insightful and knowledgeable people, more erudite than I am in this field. Their words,
taken together, said all of the balanced and commonsense things that I would have liked to have said. They said them graciously and with wisdom, paired with an admirable skill with words to which I can only aspire. With kind regards, not only to them but
to all who have contributed,
From:
David Rees <>
Date: Tuesday, 17 January 2017 at 2:42 PM
To: chatline <>
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] What are they for?
In response to an email I have received I have written this, I think it deserves a wider viewing.
By any international standards Canberra has a great city nature reserve system. The amount of native wildlife we still have here is great and I celebrate that
with my filming. Sometimes, say with birds like the Regent Honeyeater, Canberra is one small piece in a much bigger jigsaw. We cannot 'win' that one here, even if we chose not to 'move on'. There is no bird species that is dependent on the ACT for all
or even most of its range and what we do here needs to be put in context of a greater SE Australia picture. That way we can focus our efforts better. It may be different with other animals such as reptiles or even insects.
Insects are mentioned, one that is listed here (and Federally) is the Golden Sun Moth - funny thing is, of the family it belongs to it is probably the most
common and widely distributed species in Australia and yet as far as I can determine it is the only one listed in endangered species lists, you do wonder about this process when it throws up results like that! Meanwhile, on the plains around Melbourne.......
In Canberra, a few years ago I have seen our sun moth living on the median strip of Parkes Way - hardly a pristine 'nature reserve' (have photos). At least it did until contractors parked heavy road fixing gear and dumped tarmac on top of them, don't know
if they survived, not good for soil compaction. I understand though that in-between the runways at the airport is also a good spot for our sun-moth.
Personally I don't see the Arboretum as a significant problem for wildlife given it is an ex pine forest, it is a city park for people to enjoy and as such
is not an 'outdated concept'. It gets families out and having a walk, something I did this morning round an equally 'exotic' locale, along with lots of other folk. If individuals are offended by exotic trees then they can choose to walk on Black Mountain.
I suspect the visitor rates between these two locations will show which is more popular with the general public. We are right to be concerned with funding for existing nature parks and we need to support the great people who look after them.
The arboretum was not an issue during several territory elections, that being the case the Government has a mandate and we should respect that decision. You
may personally not like the concept of glades of exotic trees on a summers' day but many people do. If it were not for exotic deciduous trees Canberra would be a much more unpleasant place to live in - they provide shade in summer and light in winter, something
native trees don't. They save this city heaps in power usage and can be a lower fire risk and safer re limb drop (e.g. oaks) than native alternatives. They are part of the 'functional architecture' of the place.
Don't forget that almost everything you and I eat, plant and animal, is produced from an exotic species. Most Australians would not be here if it was not for
them. We would run out of 'roo meat, moths and yam daisies pretty quickly, no disrespect intended to the first peoples of this 'country' who lived here within the means available to them.
We should celebrate the fact that the human-made environment in this city is now a significant wildlife habitat - you only have to look at the reed filled drains,
silt traps and ponds etc. built in ex sheep paddocks, now new suburb. Could have all been concrete as it was initially in the older suburbs. For this the Government should be congratulated, how much more of this can we do? Who would have thought you could
have Lewin's Rail living less than 10m from someones front door step, but in Canberra it has happened as I have seen first-hand!
As I said there is plenty of other flogged ex pine forest out there in need of TLC and properly bringing into the reserve system, the Arboretum site is taken.
There are also areas near Angle Crossing that probably was grassy woodland before being cleared for pines and cleared again, currently it looks a mess. Your comment about volunteering for a parkcare group is a valid one. I already do some voluntary work
relating to the environment and I probably could do more. Such areas need a bit more than a parkcare group, they need some 'heavy lifting' to start the remediation process off and a broad-scale plan. It would be a good idea for the various environment groups
around town to work with the Government to achieve that. That is what I mean by 'moving on'. it is a positive process.
In my working life I have for a while worked at the coalface of exotic organism incursions, you learn pretty quick that you win some battles and loose others,
you learn from the losses but you have to move on. No point being the 'dog hanging onto the meatless bone' as there are other 'bones' to be had. You also learn that if everyone hates you 'a bit' you have done well. I have had direct involvement in successfully
keeping a number of major 'nasties' out of Australia under first-hand situations that still give me sleepless nights had 'we got it wrong'. I know I can be proud of what I have done for the Australian environment and the wonderful work that my ex colleagues
still do under difficult circumstances. I do wonder if those making a living or otherwise out of writing 'submissions' to add something to a list are having a similar impact, I hope they are!
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