31 August 2020 By Ulrike Leave a Comment

Spring is in the Air

Plants are flowering.
Baby animals are showing their little faces.
Days are getting longer.
The air is warming.
We have a spring in our step.

Here in Australia spring starts on 1 September. In the astronomical calendar spring begins on the 21 September. We tend to do things differently in down under.

Wattle Day & the Golden Wattle

The 1st day of spring is also Wattle Day. The Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is an evergreen spreading shrub or small tree. Did you know there are more than 760 different types of wattle across Australia?

Yet, despite of the wattle’s iconic status some types are threatened by extinction. [Read more…]

23 March 2017 By Ulrike Leave a Comment

It is National Eucalypt Day!

There is a day for absolutely anything you may think and yes, naming a national day for a cause is a frequently employed marketing strategy. Why? Because it can be a very effective to raise awareness – hopefully it will work for the National Eucalypt Day as well!

Ghost Gum a painting by Albert Namatjira

The National Eucalypt Day is an initiative of the Bjarne K Dahl Trust. It aims to raise awareness of the iconic gum tree and celebrate the important place they hold in the hearts and lives of Australians.

Eucalypts are the epitome of the Australian landscape:

Eucalypts, commonly known as gum trees, form an integral part of the Australian identity with the bush. From the children’s song Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree through to the distinctive smell of eucalypts to iconic paintings and photographs, eucalypts are an essential part of Australian culture, featuring in art, music and literature. Quoted from http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/eucalypts

Koala and Gum Tree

The gum tree is essential for the Australian landscape and for many animals – including the equally iconic Koala. We need to preserve eucalypts and there was a symposium about this very issue, read more here: http://www.eucalyptaustralia.org.au/conserving-eucalypts-symposium

The Australian Koala Foundation has released a tree planting list – of course, to be useful for Koalas, trees have to be planted in groups and need to be connected to other Koala habitat.

Let’s celebrate the Australian gum tree today and ensure they are here for future generations.

Further information:

Eucalypt Australia is a grant making Charitable Trust that focuses on eucalypts – a significant aspect of Australia’s natural environment and biodiversity. The Trust would like to inspire the public to appreciate eucalypts. It used to operated under the name of Bjarne K Dahl Trust as it was set up by his estate.

5 January 2017 By Ulrike Leave a Comment

10 Tips How to Set up a Worm Farm – A Quick Guide.

Why Farm Worms?

Compost is an essential resource in any garden. Even in a small space, container gardening will be easier when you can create at least some of your own growing medium. In larger gardens, compost is a necessity. It can help you make sure that your soil remains healthy and capable of providing high yields. Fortunately, you can create compost even in the smallest of spaces.

A worm farm is a great way to create compost and worm farms come in all sizes. Worms can help you to break down kitchen waste into a great soil-enriching material, full of nutrients that will help your plants to grow. [Read more…]

1 September 2016 By Ulrike Leave a Comment

The First Day of Spring: Celebrating Wattle Day

Spring

Most of us are aware that the 1 September is the 1st day of spring in Australia. (In the astronomical calendar spring begins the 21 September but we do things differently here.)

If we are walking through life with our eyes wide open we notice nature blossoming all around us during this time of year, in particular, the strikingly yellow blossoms of a vast variety of wattles.

Wattle Day & the Golden Wattle

The 1st day of spring is also Wattle Day and the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is Australia’s official national floral emblem.

The Australian national colours of green and gold are derived from the Golden Wattle and are very well known due to national and international sport events – it would be interesting to find out how many Australians are aware of their origins.

The Wattle League Foundation

I was reminded last year when I was lucky enough to be involved in the launch of the Wattle League Foundation, a wonderful initiative aimed at providing supported transitional accommodation and support to veterans who find themselves homeless or at risk of homelessness as a result of mental health concerns.

As part of the background research for setting up this foundation I came across Wattle Day and loved that this common and humble plant is the national floral emblem of Australia. How very fitting and it wouldn’t it be lovely to make the wattle fashionable.

Plant a Wattle

Wattle Bush in Broken Head

I have planted quite a few in my garden and they are prospering and are much loved by bees and birds.

Why not plant a Golden Wattle or any other variety this September to celebrate Australia and all its beauty? You can find instructions on this fact sheet!

13 March 2014 By Ulrike 1 Comment

Eat Less. Care More. Feel Good! How?

Go Meat Free for a Week! Why?

Can you believe that with an average consumption of 111.5kg per hear per annum Australia is ranked in the top three biggest meat-eating countries in the world per capita? I guess you can – Australians love their meat in all shapes and forms, be it on the BBQ, in a pie or on a Pizza! Nine out of 10 Australians don’t eat enough vegetables, yet when it comes to meat, Australians eat more than double the world average of 41.9kg per person.

This massive consumption of meat apparently compromises our health, and with global meat production predicted to double within six years in line with the growth of the middle classes, we know for a fact, it also raises serious concerns about long-term sustainability of the planet and animal welfare. [Read more…]

16 February 2012 By Ulrike 1 Comment

hybrid flowers at the Byron Bay farmers markets – let’s get real!

The Byron Bay Farmers Market is doomed! Why? A hybrid flower stall turned up not long ago and selling these particular, non local, non native varieties of flowers point towards a bigger issue. Because hybirds are artificially refined. Because of us manipulating nature to ‘improve’ it without consideration of unintended consequences or in the worst case scenario, through simple carelessness.

For more than two decades I have been in love with Byron Bay due to its natural beauty and as an experiment in sustainable living – healthy living on a small footprint in harmony with the environment.

[Read more…]

17 May 2011 By Ulrike 10 Comments

let’s break the population taboo

Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Following consultation for a population strategy for Australia, the Australian Government has just released its ‘Sustainable Population, Sustainable Communities’ strategy and ignored the most important factor: the negative unsustainable environmental impact of population growth. How is this possible when submissions pointed these implications out so eloquently and conclusively? What a missed opportunity to engage in a mature debate about population control and pave the path to a sustainable Australia that considers itself part of a global community and wishes to maintain a decent quality of life for all.

Unfortunately, the Australian Government is not alone – although this is by no means to be interpreted as an excuse. The much loved and extremely well respected Sir David Attenborough, known for his wonderful nature documentaries, pointed out in his President’s Lecture at London’s Royal Society of Arts: ” … the [UK’s] Government’s ‘Foresight Report on the Future of Food and Farming’….[It] shows how hard it is to feed the seven billion of us who are alive today. It lists the many obstacles that are already making this harder to achieve – soil erosion, salinisation , the depletion of aquifers, over-grazing, the spread of plant diseases as a result of globalisation, the absurd growing of food crops to run into biofuels to feed motor cars instead of people – and so on. … …It recommends the widest possible range of measures across all disciplines to tackle this.. but doesn’t state the obvious fact that it would be much easier to feed 8 then 10 billion people.” [Read more…]